Aston Villa missed out on third spot in the Premier League when they were held 0-0 at Wigan Athletic. Villa were second best for much of the game against a tenacious Wigan side and were indebted to some smart goalkeeping from Thomas Sorensen.

With the game just a minute old Sorensen somehow kept out a close-range header from Lee McCulloch and he was by far the busier keeper throughout the match.

Villa did almost take the lead with their first real attack, however, when Peter Whittingham's right-foot volley hit the post after 13 minutes.

Henri Camara blazed wastefully wide for Wigan in the first half when through on goal and shortly after the break Villa had a big let-off when defender Isaiah Osbourne dived to intercept a cross but headed the ball against his own post.

Sorensen did well to parry Paul Scharner's shot while at the other end Villa captain Gareth Barry failed to hit the target after a clever flick from striker Chris Sutton.

Despite plenty of possession Wigan were unable to find a way through as their four-game winning run in the league came to a frustrating end.

Villa stay fifth with 22 points while Wigan move above Liverpool into ninth.