Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Premier League Match Week 31 Results

The big dogs were off having their own party over the weekend as Manchester City claimed the EFL trophy in a 2-0 win over a stagnant Arsenal side. Nico O’Reilly headed home twice in the second half to keep Arsenal thirsting for a first trophy since 2020 while Manchester City claimed the EFL silverware for the fifth time in ten years.

With the Premier League title chase on hold, the top four race was in focus as Aston Villa defeated West Ham while Liverpool and Chelsea both lost. Manchester United drew 1-1 with Bournemouth to remain a point ahead of fourth place Villa. Liverpool is fifth, five points back of Aston Villa after the Reds were victimized by a Danny Welbeck brace in a 2-1 loss at Brighton. Welbeck has found the net 12 times in the Premier League this season, more than any English player, and is raising questions as to why he has not been chosen for the English national team. The rejuvenated Seagulls have won four of their last five league matches to revive their hopes of a possible European berth. Liverpool, which beat Galatasaray during the week, continues to struggle with the toll of its joint European and domestic schedule as the Reds have lost five of 10 league games following a midweek Champions League contest. Injuries are a contributor as Mohamed Salah and Alysson Becker were both out for the Brithon tussle, a contest which also saw Hugo Ekitike leave early with a “dead leg.”

Chelsea failed to take advantage of Liverpool’s stumble as the Blues lost for a third time in their last four Premier League matches. The bloom is most certainly off the rose of Manager Liam Rosenior’s honeymoon period after his side was thrashed 3-0 at Everton. Beto had two goals and an assist in the Toffees’ rout of a shambolic Chelsea side which appears increasingly dysfunctional under Rosenior.

Aston Villa was also spiraling entering the weekend. The Villans, however, put an end to a three-match losing run and tightened their hold on fourth position in the table with their 2-0 defeat of West Ham. After an early goal from John McGinn, Ollie Watkins ended a six-match goal drought with an insurance goal to send the Hammers home without a point and ensure they stay in the relegation zone at least until the end of the international break in two weeks. West Ham dearly missed the presence of injured forward Cryscencio Summerville as the Hammers have now failed to win any of the seven matches he has missed this season. Victorious Aston Villa moved to within a point of third place Manchester United which began the weekend schedule on Friday with a 2-2 draw at Bournemouth. A Junior Kroupi 81st minute penalty kick equalized for the Cherries after Manchester United’s Harry Maguire was red carded for taking down Evanilson in the box. It was a bittersweet day for Maguire who was named to the England squad earlier for the first time since 2024.

While the weekend saw some minor jostling in the race for Champions League slots, the greater drama unfolded at the bottom of the table. The most impactful match of the weekend might well have taken place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium where the home side once again disappointed an increasingly worried supporter base. Nottingham Forest emerged as 3-0 victors in a crucial “six pointer” in the race for Premier League survival. The victory moved the Tricky Trees past Spurs who now sit one point above the drop line with West Ham the threat to yet crawl out of the relegation zone, potentially sending Tottenham Hotspur to its first ever Premier League relegation. These were not heavyweights who played in north London on Sunday. Spurs has yet to win a league match this calendar year and has the worst home record in the Premier League. Nottingham Forest had not won a league game in two months before Sunday’s statement win. And yet the Tricky Trees were clearly the superior side, defeating the home side by the same 3-0 scoreline as in the reverse fixture between the clubs. Spurs are safe for the international break only due to the West Ham loss at Aston Villa.

Leeds, meanwhile, edged ever more lightly ahead of the primary relegation contenders. The Whites moved to four points above the drop line with their goalless draw versus Brentford. Though winless in six matches, Leeds is doing just enough to steer clear so far of the morass of flawed clubs below them. Things can change quickly when one of the downtrodden clubs scores an actual win, however, with Nottingham Forest now just a point below Leeds.

Seventh place Brentford drew for a third consecutive match and is level on points with Everton after the Toffees’ win over Chelsea. Fulham is just two points behind the Bees and Toffees after the Cottagers’ straightforward 3-1 win over dismal Burnley.

The middle of the table saw the latest iteration of the Tyne-Wear derby, the heated rivalry between Newcastle and Sunderland that has been dominated by the Black Cats in recent times. Bryan Robbey’s dramatic 90th minute goal delivered a 2-1 Sunderland win and extended Newcastle’s frustration, and even embarrassment, in the regional rivalry. The Magpies are winless in their last 11 Premier League battles with the Black Cats. Sunderland leapfrogged Newcastle into 11th in the table with the victory at St. James’s Park.

The Premier League now pauses for an international break before resuming on Friday April 10th when West Ham hosts Wolverhampton with a chance for the Hammers to escape the relegation zone.

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Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Premier League Match Week 31 Preview

Arsenal and Manchester City are going head-to-head this weekend. The setting is the EFL Cup Final, however, so their Premier League title battle is on hold. Last weekend saw the Gunners increase their lead to an imposing nine points over Manchester City in the battle at the top of the Premier League table. Manchester City holds a game in hand, and the two clubs will meet again on April 19th at the Etihad. Victories by Manchester City in both those matches, the makeup versus Crystal Palace and the clash at the Etihad, would leave the theoretical gap between the teams at three points with six other matches left to determine the season.

For this weekend, the Premier League focus is on the other Champions League qualification contenders and the relegation rumble at the bottom of the table. The action near the drop line is perhaps the most impactful where Tottenham Hotspur will host Nottingham Forest on Sunday. Spurs may have caught a spark from an unexpected draw at Liverpool last week which ended a club record run of six losses across all competitions. The struggling club has wilted all season under the eyes of its home supporters, however. Tottenham Hotspur’s 10 points from its 15 home matches are the least of any Premier League team while Spurs’ nine home losses are exceeded only by cellar dwelling Wolverhampton.

Manager Igor Tudor needs to build on the Anfield performance and deliver a hammer blow to fellow relegation battler Nottingham Forest. Spurs is currently one point north of the Tricky Tees who are deadlocked on 29 points with West Ham. Only Wolverhampton and Burnley dwell in the depths below the Trees and Hammers, so it is a game of musical chairs right now between Spurs, Forest and West Ham (with marginally safer Leeds still not totally comfortable as it hosts Brentford this weekend) to determine who will be the third team to go down.

West Ham travels to Aston Villa on Sunday for a match which will be played concurrently with the Spurs and Trees skirmish. Fourth place Villa is still clinging to a Champions League place but has lost three consecutive league matches. Liverpool is tenuously clinging to the fifth and presumably final Champions League place as the Reds try to recover from their shock draw with Spurs.

The defending league champs will travel to a surging Brighton club for a tricky match on Saturday. The Seagulls have won three of their last four matches and have lost on just three occasions in their 15 matches to date at American Express Stadium.

Chelsea is currently on the outside looking in at Champions League qualification, trailing Liverpool by a point in the table as the Blues prepare to visit Everton on Saturday. The Blues’ swoon in performance and their comical team huddle routine have riddled Manager Liam Rosenior’s credibility. Even a strong run-in may not be enough to save the manager’s job for next season.

Manchester United, meanwhile, holds the strongest hand for a Champions League spot beyond the top two clubs in the table. The third place Red Devils are six points above currently sixth place Chelsea in the table. Manchester United kicks off the weekend slate with a match at Bournemouth on Friday.

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Monday, March 16, 2026

Premier League Match Week 30 Results

Arsenal may have a chokehold on the title chase after Week 30 saw the Gunners increase their lead over Manchester City to an imposing nine points. Arsenal’s win was more difficult than the 2-0 score versus Everton would indicate. The clubs were locked in a goalless draw at the Emirates on Saturday until Viktor Gyokeres scored in the 89th minute for what would be sufficient to capture the three points. The Gunners added a bit of history to their important win, however, when 16-year-old Max Dowman scored the second goal to become the youngest scorer in Premier League history.

Manchester City were then unable to keep pace with the league leaders when the Citizens were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw at West Ham. West Ham needed only one shot to capture a crucial point in its relegation battle. Manchester City, comparatively, launched 21 shots, six on target, in a failed attempt to stay in title contention. The Hammers negated an earlier Bernardo Silva goal for Manchester City when Konstantinos Mavropanos headed home his first goal in three years. It would be West Ham’s only shot of the game, and it was enough to move the Hammers temporarily out of the relegation places pending the Sunday results.

Manchester City has now dropped 10 points from winning positions in the last 18 games, allowing Arsenal to take command of the title race with its far more consistent play, ugly at times but more often than not delivering the needed result. The Gunners have kept 15 clean sheets and conceded but 22 goals in their 31 matches. Manchester City is now closer to Manchester United than to Arsenal in the Premier League table.

Manchester United solidified its hold on third place and moved to six points behind Manchester City by smashing Aston Villa 3-1 at Old Trafford. Bruno Fernandes made a bit of history when his contributions on the first two goals edged him past David Beckham as Manchester United’s all-time assists leader. Benjamin Sesko, meanwhile, bagged the third Manchester United goal, marking his eighth goal in his last 10 matches. And yet the most instrumental player on the pitch may well have been Casemiro who bagged the match’s first goal and calmly controlled the middle of the field, thwarting Aston Villa’s attack aspirations throughout the match. Casemiro is slated to make his exit from Manchester when his contract expires at the end of the season, but appreciative Old Trafford supporters recognized his recent performance for the badge with chants of “one more year” on Sunday.

Manchester United moved three points ahead of fourth place Villa and, importantly, six points ahead of sixth place Chelsea in the battle for the expected five Champions League places. Chelsea embarrassed themselves on Saturday, though they barely seemed to realize it. The Blues gathered pregame in the center of the field in a seeming attempt at unity and motivation, a demonstration which has irked other teams in recent weeks and done little for actual results. This time, however, referee Paul Tierney was encircled in the midst of the team huddle in a comical scenario which saw Cole Palmer giving a big hug to the English referee.

The game at Stamford Bridge was not all fun and games, however, as the Blues lost for a fourth time at the Bridge this season against only six home victories. An unmarked Anthony Gordon scored the first half winner for Newcastle. Manager Liam Rosenior, however, spoke at greater lengths after the match about the pre-match faux pax than he did about his club’s poor performance which damaged their Champions League hopes. The Blues have won just once in their last five league outings and collapsed to PSG in Champions League competition this past week. The Rosenior honeymoon may be fast approaching its freshness date.

Luckily for Chelsea, fifth place Liverpool also dropped points in a 1-1 draw with beleaguered Tottenham Hotspur. The Reds were stunned when Richarlison scored an equalizing goal in the 90th minute to end a club record six match losing run for Spurs and just maybe save the job, for the time being, of Manager Igor Tudor. It was the eighth time this season that Liverpool has conceded in the 90th minute or later, the most ever for the club in a Premier League season. The defending Premier League champions have won just four of their 12 league matches in 2026 to jeopardize Liverpool’s qualification for next season’s Champions League competition.

Spurs, meanwhile, matched fellow relegation battlers West Ham and Nottingham Forest by taking a point away from the weekend. While West Ham and Spurs grabbed points from top six opponents, Nottingham Forest needs to be more than a little disappointed with just a draw at home versus Fulham. The Tricky Trees failed to score for the 14th time in 30 league matches in their goalless draw with the Cottagers. Regardless, Forest remains safe on goal differential with West Ham headed down on present standings. Tottenham Hotspur is one point above the Trees and Hammers. Leeds, after its own goalless draw with Crystal Palace, is three points north of the drop line.

Burnley also failed to score in a third Premier League goalless match on the weekend. The dreary struggle and outcome meant little for the Clarets, however, whose relegation fate is essentially sealed. The outcome was more damaging for opponent Bournemouth, whose waning hopes for a lesser European berth are heavily damaged by the dropped points. The Cherries are tenth in the Premier League table after a mind numbing fourth consecutive draw, three of those four matches ending with neither side scoring a goal.

Things are going better for Brighton as the Seagulls nipped Sunderland 1-0 for a third win in the Seagulls’ last four Premier League matches. An intended cross from Yankuba Minteh found its way inside the near post in the 58th minute past blindsided Sunderland goalkeeper Melker Ellborg. A downward trend continues for Sunderland as the Black Cats, undefeated at home in league play until February, lost for a third consecutive time at the Stadium of Light.

Monday action will see bottom of the table Wolverhampton try to win a third consecutive match when Manager Keith Andrews takes his suddenly dangerous squad to Brentford. The homestanding Bees, however, are still making noise in the top half of the table. A win by the seventh place Bees would bring them within a point of Chelsea, just two points behind Liverpool and the Champions League places. 

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