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.

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🔴 Liverpool 1-1 Tottenham 🟡

▪️ Richarlison gets a late equaliser as Liverpool FC miss a chance to move into fourth.#PremierLeague #LIVTOT pic.twitter.com/gVHxkwgRGo

— 𝐀𝐅𝐂 🍿 (@TheLokiLad) March 15, 2026

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.

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.

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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. 

Premier League Match Week 29 Results: Arsenal Increases Lead With Win And Manchester City Draw; Chelsea Embarrasses Aston Villa; Wolves Shock Liverpool; West Ham Defeats Fulham To Move Closer To Safety; 10 Man Newcastle Hands Manchester United First Loss Under Carrick; Spurs In Relegation Jeopardy After Latest Loss To Crystal Palace

Arsenal has extended its lead over Manchester City to seven points in the Premier League title chase. The Gunners narrowly edged Brighton 1-0 on a Bukayo Saka goal while Manchester City could only manage a point in a 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest at the Etihad. Arsenal enjoyed a piece of luck in further bolstering its title hunt when Saka’s ninth-minute goal resulted from a deflection off a Brighton player which dribbled through the legs of flat-footed Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen. The Gunners proceeded to preserve their lead in ugly fashion, their blatant time-wasting infuriating Brighton Manager Fabian Hurzeler. Arsenal, however, has little interest in style points as it grounds out results in pursuit of a long-sought title.

That title hope got a boost when Manchester City could only manage a draw versus a desperate Nottingham Forest side which is fighting for Premier League survival. The result was clearly damaging to Manchester City’s title prospects. Assessing the outcome for Nottingham Forest is a bit more complicated. West Ham’s victory over Fulham puts the Hammers level with the Tricky Trees in the dangerous nether regions of the table. The away point by Forest against a top opponent, however, keeps them out of the relegation zone for now based on a superior goal differential to that of West Ham. Elliot Anderson, ironically rumored to be moving to Manchester City in the summer, scored the 76th minute equalizer to keep the Tricky Trees safe for the time being. The dropped points by Manchester City came despite January addition Antoine Semenyo scoring his seventh goal for his new club.

Chelsea striker Joao Pedro has now found the net 17 times in his debut season with the London club after his hat trick keyed Chelsea’s 4-1 demolition of Aston Villa at Villa Park. 

The victory moved Chelsea past Liverpool into fifth place with five spots expected to be available for Premier League clubs in next season’s Champions League. Chelsea is also just three points removed from third place Manchester United and struggling Villa which is level on points but deficient in goal differential to the Red Devils. Aston Villa lost a second consecutive match and has won just one of its last six Premier League matches.

Liverpool, meanwhile, was a 1-0 loser to suddenly dangerous Wolves. Wolverhampton, which has won just three matches all season, secured a second win in five days when Andre scored in the 94th minute, the fifth time that Liverpool has conceded a stoppage time winner this season. Wolves also relied on a stoppage time goal last weekend in a win over Aston Villa as Manager Rob Edwards has his men displaying grit despite their inevitable relegation plight. Liverpool could ill afford the dropped points as it now has fallen out of the presumed Champions League places in the table. The Champions League race is far from finished, however, as the four clubs in spots 3-6 in the Premier League table are separated by just three points.

Manchester United, third in the table, lost its first league match under interim manager Michael Carrick. The good feeling of Carrick’s seven match unbeaten run gave way to incredulity as the Red Devils fell to a 10-man Newcastle side. The Magpies had lost three of their past four Premier League matches entering Wednesday’s match at St. James’ Park. Things looked dark for the home side when Jacob Ramsey was dismissed with a red card in a wild first half stoppage period. Following Ramsey’s 46th minute red card, Anthony Gordon gave the shorthanded Magpies a short-lived lead, converting a penalty kick after the Newcastle speedster was fouled in the Manchester United box by Bruno Fernandes.

Three minutes later, a Casemiro header would equalize things for the Red Devils off a Fernandes corner. Following all that late first half excitement, the two clubs then slogged through almost an entire second half where Manchester United failed to take advantage of its extra man. Frustration turned to disappointment for the Red Devils when Newcastle substitute William Osula struck the winner on the 90-minute mark.

The relegation race is also heating up with West Ham’s win at Fulham, the Nottingham Forest draw and another loss by Tottenham Hotspur. West Ham drew level on points with 17th place Nottingham Forest when Crysencio Summerville scored in the 65th minute of a 1-0 Hammer win at Craven Cottage. Tottenham Hotspur, meanwhile, is now just a point better than the Trees and Hammers after Spurs were defeated 3-1 at home by Crystal Palace, a fifth consecutive Premier League loss for the north London club. There are already calls for the sacking of Spurs Manager Igor Tudor who has lost all three of his matches in charge.

Thursday’s debacle saw Mickey van de Ven exit via red card in the 38th minute. Crystal Palace proceeded to score all three of its goals, two from the foot of Ismaila Sarr, in what was then left of the first half. Only Burnley has been worse at home than Tottenham Hotspur this season, making Tottenham Hotspur Stadium a cauldron of catcalls, dissent and early exits.

Leeds is still not free of relegation concern after the Whites’ 1-0 loss to Sunderland; Habib Diarra scoring a second half penalty to give Sunderland its 10th victory of the Premier League season and end a four-match winless run for the Black Cats. The week’s Premier League results now reflect Leeds just two points above Tottenham Hotspur and three points clear of Nottingham Forest and West Ham in the accelerating relegation race with Burnley, a 2-0 loser to Everton on Tuesday, and Wolverhampton still seeming assured of the drop.

Brentford still hopes for a Conference League bid but those prospects for the league’s seventh place club were not overly helped by the Bees’ goalless draw at Bournemouth on Tuesday. The Premier League races, from top to bottom, resume March 14th after a FIFA international break.