Aston Villa 3-2 Burton Albion
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Scott Hogan (left) has scored five goals in his last five appearances after failing to score in his previous 16
Promotion hopefuls Aston Villa recorded their sixth successive league win at the expense of lowly Burton Albion.
The hosts took the lead when Scott Hogan tapped in after good work from Robert Snodgrass and Albert Adomah.
Adomah made it 2-0 after being played in by Snodgrass, but Ahmed Elmohamady put the ball in his own net to give the Brewers hope.
Jack Grealish put Villa back in control before debutant Liam Boyce's late consolation for Burton.
It is the first time third-placed Villa have won six games in a row since 1990, but Derby's home victory over Brentford meant they remain a point off second place.
After an even opening Steve Bruce's side took the lead when in-form striker Hogan scored his eighth of the season and top scorer Adomah looked to have made it comfortable when he added the second after the break.
However, the bottom-placed Brewers kept battling and Elmohamady's own goal put them back in it and, despite Grealish's volley, they set up a tense finish when Boyce scored in time added on.
It was not enough for Nigel Clough's side, though, and they remain three points adrift of safety.
Aston Villa assistant manager Colin Calderwood:
"We are very happy with the win although we were a little nervy near the end.
"We conceded a couple of strange goals which is unusual for Villa and hopefully it will not occur again.
"We got nervy when there was only one goal in it and you need your experienced players, who rose to the occasion."
Burton manager Nigel Clough:
"Given our present circumstances I do not think the team could have done any better, I think it was a brilliant performance.
"What we will try to do for the next 16 games is to play as we did against Villa.
"We will try and play with a smile on our face even if we are bottom of the league."