Crossing the Bridge

Week 31 Liverpool are virtually out of contention for a Champions League place after being blown away 4-1 at Arsenal with the Gunners moving into 2nd place. Manchester City failed to reclaim 2nd spot when they lost 2-1 at Crystal palace on Monday evening and are now behind Manchester United who enjoyed a 3-1 home win over Aston Villa. The other big winners were Queens Park Rangers who thumped their hosts 4-1 at West Brom and picked up a further point in a 3-3 thriller at Aston Villa one Tuesday evening, but bottom team Leicester City were also winners when they rallied to a 2-1 win at home to West Ham and Burnley earned a point in a no-score bore draw at home to Tottenham. Charlie Adam scored from 66 yards but Stoke lost 2-1 at leaders Chelsea and a single goal gave Sunderland an important win over neighbours Newcastle United. A single goal was also enough to give Everton all 3 points against Southampton and Hull are in imminent danger of being sucked into the relegation zone after losing 3-1 at Swansea.

Week 32 Manchester City scored an early goal at Old Trafford but were taken apart 4-2 by Manchester United who extended the gap in 3rd place ahead of their neighbours. Arsenal picked up their 8th win in a row with a single goal at Burnley while a late goal at Queens Park Ranger broke the deadlock to give Chelsea another 3 points as they march on at the top. Sunderland fell apart in front of their home fans as Crystal Palace struck 4 times in 14 minutes to smash the Black Cats 4-1 with Yannick Bolasie grabbing an 11-minute hat-trick while Leicester City scored in stoppage time to come from behind and win 3-2 at West Bromwich Albion. Tim Sherwood took Aston Villa to his old club Tottenham where they won 1-0 with another Benteke goal. There were 1-1 draws for Everton at Swansea and Stoke City at West Ham United while Southampton put 2 past their visitors from Hull as did Liverpool against Newcastle on Monday evening.

 Week 33 Chelsea took another strep towards the league title with a solitary goal at home to Manchester United while Manchester United moved within a point of their neighbours with 2 home goals against West Ham. Leicester City gave their home supporters hope with a 2-0 win against Swansea City as they moved off the bottom and were replaces by Burnley who fell to a single goal at Everton while Crystal Palace lost 2-0 at home to West Brom and Newcastle were swept aside 3-1 by Tottenham at St James' Park. With Arsenal, Aston Villa and Liverpool on FA Cup duty the only other league match was played at Stoke where the Potters came from behind to inflict a 2-1 loss on Southampton.

Week 34 Chelsea picked up a point in a goalless draw at Arsenal who fell below Manchester City into 3rd place on goal difference after the Blues scored a last-minute winner having relinquished a 2 goal lead at home to Aston Villa while Manchester United were beaten 3-0 at Everton. Southampton and Tottenham shared 4 goals at St Mary's failing to catch up with Liverpool who drew 0-0 at West Brom. Newcastle suffered their 7th defeat in a row, losing 3-2 at home to Swansea while Sunderland drew 1-1 at Stoke City. Queens Park Rangers missed a penalty as they drew 0-0 at home to West Ham while Burnley's penalty miss at home was immediately punished by Leicester City who scored the only goal of the match at the other end. An N'Doye brace at Crystal Palace secured a 2-0 win for Hull City who further enhanced their chances of survival with a vital goal at home to Liverpool on Tuesday evening while on Wednesday Chelsea came from behind to win 3-1 at Leicester and leave themselves a win away from the league title.

Week 35 A gaol at Stamford Bridge against Crystal Palace secured the Premier League title for Chelsea with 3 matches to go. Newcastle United ended the match with 9 players as they suffered their 8th straight defeat with Ulloa netting a brace to help hosts Leicester City to a 3-0 win moving them within a point of the Magpies while 10-man Queens Park Rangers lost 2-1 at Liverpool with Gerrard heading the late winner having earlier missed a penalty and Burnley who were controversially reduced to 10 men lost to a spot kick at West Ham. West Bromwich Albion celebrated a 1-0 victory at Manchester United while a single goal gave Manchester City a win at Tottenham and Southampton, who were reduced to 10 men, lost 2-1 to 2 Jordi Gomez penalties at Sunderland. Everton lost 3-2 at Aston Villa and Stoke were defeated 2-0 at Swansea with both losing sides having a player sent off while on Monday evening Arsenal scored 3 goals in the first half to win 3-1 at Hull.       

Week 36 Sunderland took a step towards safety with a 2-0 win at Everton and Newcastle finally earned a morale-boosting point drawing 1-1 at home to West Bromwich Albion, while Burnley's 1-0 win at Hull City was not enough as they became the first Premier League side to be relegated this season dragging their hosts into the bottom 3 in the process. A day later in Manchester, Queens Park Rangers were dumped into the Championship by a rampant City side who put 6 past the hapless Hoops. Mahrez scored 2 early goals as Leicester City continued to move in the right direction with a 2-0 home win over Southampton while West Ham lost to a single goal at Aston Villa and Tottenham were brushed aside 3-0 at Stoke. Manchester United won 2-1 at Crystal Palace while Liverpool drew 1-1 at newly crowned champions Chelsea and on Monday evening Arsenal suffered a huge blow in their attempt to finish 2nd when they lost 1-0 at home to Swansea City.

 Week 37 Sadio Mane grabbed a hat-trick for Southampton in just under 3 minutes to break a Premier League record as the Saints thrashed Aston Villa 6-1 at St Mary's while Steven Gerrard said goodbye to Anfield in Liverpool's 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace. Hull City remained on the brink of relegation after a 2-0 loss at Tottenham while Newcastle lost 2-1 at Queens Park Rangers and Sunderland earned a point in their 0-0 draw at home to Leicester City. Stoke could only draw 0-0 at relegated Burnley and Everton won 2-1 at West Ham while on Sunday Swansea City came back from 2 down, but lost 4-2 at home to Manchester City with Yaya Toure netting a brace for the visitors while in Manchester Arsenal drew 1-1 with United and on Monday evening Berahino scored twice as champions Chelsea were beaten 3-0 at West Brom. On Wednesday evening Sunderland secured their Premier League survival with a goalless draw at Arsenal that cemented 2nd place for Manchester City.

Week 38  Having already secured the title, Chelsea lifted the Premier League trophy at Stamford Bridge after their 3-1 win over Sunderland with Loic Remy netting twice for the Blues, while at the other end of the table Newcastle United celebrated survival with a 2-0 win over West Ham United at St James' Park sending Hull City down after their goalless draw at home to Manchester United who had Marouane Fellaini sent off. Frank Lampard scored in his last match in England as Manchester City ended the season with a 2-0 home win over Southampton while Steven Gerrard, also bowing out of English football, scored as Liverpool were taken apart 6-1 at Stoke who struck 5 times in the first half. Theo Walcott scored a first-half hat-trick in front of his home crowd as Arsenal triumphed 4-1 over West Brom and relegated Queens Park Rangers were outclassed 5-1 at Leicester while Burnley bid farewell to the Premier League with a 1-0 win at FA Cup finalists Aston Villa. Harry Kane scored the only goal of the match at Everton to secure Tottenham the 5th spot and Crystal Palace ended their season on a high with a 1-0 win at home to Swansea City.

On Monday Norwich City followed Bournemouth and Watford into the Premier League with a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough at Wembley.

 

The final standings were 1- Chelsea  2- Manchester City 3- Arsenal  4- Manchester United 5- Tottenham 6- Liverpool 7- Southampton 8- Swansea City 9- Stoke City 10- Crystal Palace 11- Everton 12- West Ham United 13- West Bromwich Albion 14- Leicester City 15- Newcastle United 16- Sunderland 17- Aston Villa 18- Hull City 19- Burnley 20- Queens Park Rangers

The final push

With eight matches left in the Premier League there is still plenty to play for as the European hopefuls chase Chelsea at the top and the battle at the bottom hots up.

Chelsea continue to lead the way with a game in hand. After their rare 5-3 home loss to Tottenham and 5-0 success at Swansea they have had three 1-1 home draws against Manchester City, Burnley and Southampton and picked up narrow wins in the rest of their matches.

Manchester City suffered a setback losing 2-0 at home to Arsenal and were held 1-1 at home by Hull City. A 2-1 defeat at Liverpool and a 1-0 loss at Burnley put daylight between them and the leaders.

Arsenal lost 2-0 at Southampton and 2-1 at Tottenham, but won 2-0 at Manchester City and with 6 wins in a row are tightly sandwiched between the two Manchester clubs.

Manchester United lost 1-0 at home to Southampton and 2-1 at Swansea, but seem to be going in the right direction with 4 wins in their latest matches including an easy 3-0 win at home to Tottenham and a 2-1 victory in Liverpool.

Liverpool began the new year with a 2-2 draw at home to Leicester but since then had only dropped points in a goalless draw at Everton until Manchester United arrived and dealt a blow to their European hopes with a 2-1 win.

Southampton showed they were serious contenders for Europe with a 2-0 home win over Arsenal followed by a 2-1 victory at Manchester United, but home defeats 1-0 to Swansea and 2-0 to Liverpool and a goalless draw at home to West Ham has left them slightly below their desired position despite a 1-1 draw at Chelsea.

Tottenham enjoyed home wins over their London rivals, Chelsea 5-3 and Arsenal 2-1, but lost 2-1 at Crystal Palace and drew 2-2 at home to West Ham. After losing 3-0 at Manchester United a 4-3 win at home to bottom team Leicester keeps Tottenham among the top teams.

Swansea City who were thrashed 5-0 at home to Chelsea have a 2-1 home victory over Manchester United to their name, but are 10 points behind their nearest rivals.  

West Ham United had only won once this year until their recent 1-0 home win over Sunderland, but a 1-1 home draw against Manchester United and draws at Southampton 0-0 and Tottenham 2-2 have kept the hammers at the top half of the table.

Stoke City held visiting Manchester United to a 1-1 draw but where easily beaten 3-0 at Arsenal and 4-1 at home to Manchester City. The Potters recently enjoyed a 2-0 home win against Everton before losing 1-0 at West Brom and 2-1 at home to Crystal Palace to find themselves at the mid point of the table.

Crystal Palace have steered clear of the relegation zone with a 2-1 home victory over Tottenham and 3-1 wins away to West Ham and at home to QPR followed by a 2-1 win at Stoke.

Newcastle United have been losing too many matches before picking up points. Wins against lower sides, such as 3-0 at Hull and 1-0 at home to Aston Villa, have kept the Magpies away from the immediate drop zone.

Everton have underachieved and are sitting uncomfortably in 13th place, but after losing 2-0 at Arsenal and Stoke have picked up 2 wins in a row for only the second time this season 3-0 at home to Newcastle and 2-1 at Queens Park Rangers.

West Bromwich Albion have won 3 home matches in a row, since their 3-0 defeat to Spurs, including 1-0 over high flyers Southampton and with 4 away draws this year the Baggies are just above the relegation zone.

Hull City drew 1-1 at Manchester City and have picked up points against some of the troubled teams, but are perilously close to the drop zone.

Aston Villa slid down the table with 7 straight defeats, but since the appointment of manager Tim Sherwood have picked up a 2-1 home win against West Bromwich Albion and smashed Sunderland 4-0 at the Stadium of Light.

Sunderland are only one point above the relegation zone and with home defeats 2-0 to troubled Queens Park Rangers and 4-0 to lowly Aston Villa presenting them huge concerns, Dick Advocaat was called in to save the black Cats from the dreaded drop.

Burnley are still in the bottom three but a 1-1 draw at Chelsea and a 1-0 win at home to Manchester City should give them the confidence to battle for survival.

Queens Park Rangers are 2nd from bottom and with only one win and one draw in their last ten matches are in serious danger of relegation.

Leicester City are bottom of the table and despite starting the year with a 2-2 draw at Liverpool and a 1-0 win at home to Aston Villa have picked up 2 more draws and seem to need something of a miracle to stay up.

Blue Christmas

The Christmas fixtures brought the Premier League to its midway point with Chelsea and Manchester City leading the way.

Chelsea suffered their first defeat of the season when they fell 2-1 away to Newcastle and also dropped points in a goalless draw at Sunderland and in their most recent match 1-1 at Southampton.

Manchester City had won 7 matches in a row since drawing 2-2 at QPR until they lost a 2 goal lead to draw at home to Burnley in their latest match and are 3 points behind the leaders.

Manchester United had been picking up wins including 2-1 at Arsenal against the run of play, but have recently slowed down somewhat with a 1-1 draw at Aston Villa and 0-0 at Tottenham.

Southampton have been through a rough patch, losing at home to the Manchester clubs and away to Arsenal. The Saints were even shocked 1-0 at Burnley but turned things around by sending Everton home 3-0 losers and winning 3-1 at Crystal Palace before earning a respectable 1-1 draw at home to leaders Chelsea,  

Arsenal are on the fringe of Europe after overtaking West Ham with a 2-1 success at the Boleyn Stadium but will be regretting their first-half performance at Stoke which led to a 3-2 defeat.

West Ham United are in 6th place after consecutive home wins over Newcastle, Swansea and Leicester and a 2-1 away victory at West Brom.

Tottenham have won most of their matches 2-1 since their 2-1 defeat at home to Stoke, but have also drawn 0-0 at home to Crystal Palace and recently Manchester United. Their only other recent setback was 3-0 at Chelsea.

Liverpool who have been disappointing by the high standards they set last season moved above Swansea on goals scored after cruising 4-1 past the Welsh outfit at Anfield in the last match of 2014.   

Swansea City have been inconsistent, with their 2-1 win at home to Arsenal being reversed by Tottenham and points being dropped in a 1-1 draw at home to Crystal Palace.

Newcastle United have had their ups and downs, inflicting a 2-1 loss on Chelsea at St James' Park before crashing 4-1 at Arsenal and losing 1-0 at home to neighbours Sunderland. However, they finished the year on a high with a 3-2 home win over Everton.

Stoke City have had their fair share of wins with Tottenham, Arsenal and Everton among their scalps, but have also lost 2-1 at home to Burnley and are at the midpoint of the table.

Everton have ended the year with 3 straight defeats including 3-0 at Southampton and find themselves in the bottom half of the table.

Aston Villa who are behind Everton on goal difference have ended the year with 1-0 losses at West Brom and Swansea and home draws against Manchester United and Sunderland.

Sunderland are close to the danger zone having drawn 6 of their last 9 matches. Draws at home to Chelsea and away to Liverpool should have given them hope but a recent 3-1 failure at home to Hull City would have sounded alarm bells for the Black Cats.

Queens Park Rangers have picked up vital points to climb out of the relegation zone with home wins over West Brom 3-2 and Burnley 2-0 and a 2-2 draw at home to Manchester City.

West Bromwich Albion are a point clear of the drop zone with a goalless draw at Hull and a single-goal win at home to Aston Villa all they have to show for in their last 9 matches.

Hull City are just above the bottom 3 on goal difference but will be happy with their 1-1 draw at Everton 3-1 victory at Sunderland.

Crystal Palace parted with manager Neil Warnock at Christmas, having only tasted one victory in their last 9 matches, beating Liverpool 3-1 at Selhurst Park, though the London side have picked up several draws even away from home.

Burnley are second from bottom despite wins over Hull, Stoke and Southampton and draws against Newcastle, Aston Villa and a recent 2-2 at Manchester City.  

Leicester City are bottom of the Premier League with a 1-0 win at Hull City in their latest match and a goalless draw at home to Sunderland the only points they have picked up in their last 12 matches.