Villa's Lambert upbeat on Benteke injury

Aston Villa lost key striker Christian Benteke to injury but still managed to snap a three-game Premier League losing streak with a 1-0 win at Norwich City on Saturday. Last season's top scorer with 19 goals, Benteke limped off with an apparent groin injury during the first half but his replacement, Libor Kozak, tapped in the game's only goal within two minutes of coming on. It was the Czech Republic striker's first goal for Villa since his £7 million ($11.2 million, 8.3 million euros) move from Lazio and gave Paul Lambert's side a first win since their 3-1 success at Arsenal on the season's opening day. Leaders Liverpool will look to strengthen their grip on first place when they welcome Southampton to Anfield later on Saturday. Brendan Rodgers's side went into the weekend with a one-point lead over Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, both of whom play on Sunday, having ceded their 100 percent record in Monday's 2-2 draw at Swansea City. Jose Mourinho's Chelsea, meanwhile, can bring an end to a damaging run of four games without victory in all competitions if they prevail at home to west London rivals Fulham. The Europa League holders lost 1-0 at Everton in their last league outing and were surprisingly beaten 2-1 at home by Basel in the Champions League on Wednesday. Elsewhere, bottom two clubs West Bromwich Albion and Sunderland meet at The Hawthorns, while Everton travel to West Ham United and Newcastle United are at home to Hull City. Manchester United visit Manchester City on Sunday in the season's first Manchester derby, when both City manager Manuel Pellegrini and his United counterpart David Moyes will be sampling the fixture for the first time.