Gameweek 31 of the 2025/26 Premier League season saw a major shift in the landscape across the table, including the top-four race and the widely entertaining relegation battle.
It was the kind of weekend that reminds you why the Premier League is so brutally compelling, a gameweek where reputations bent under pressure, relegation fears deepened, and the race for the UEFA Champions League football became messier than ever. Gameweek 31 did not offer clarity to those seeking it. What it offered instead was chaos, a few genuinely stunning results, and a table that looks entirely different now to how it did on Friday evening.
Liverpool arrived at the Amex Stadium knowing that a win could breathe fresh life into their top-five ambitions. Alas, they left with nothing. Danny Welbeck, in the kind of form that makes Brighton & Hove Albion such a nuisance against the so-called bigger clubs, put the home side ahead before half-time and added a second in the second period.
Milos Kerkez then pulled one back, but it was a consolation in every sense. The reigning champions, still carrying the scars of a season that has never quite fired domestically, fell to a 2-1 defeat and left Arne Slot with more uncomfortable questions than answers. Then, Chelsea had the chance to take full advantage of Liverpool’s stumble, but they did they take it?
Everton, brimming with confidence under David Moyes and playing with a hunger that belied their position in the table, were simply magnificent at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. Beto scored twice, his fourth and fifth Premier League goals since the turn of the year, while Iliman Ndiaye added a third that was as well-taken as it was emphatic, and the 3-0 scoreline was not flattering to Everton; if anything, it was fair
Down at Villa Park, the contest between Aston Villa and West Ham United told a different kind of story. There were no dramatics or late twists. Villa were simply the better side across 90 minutes. John McGinn opened the scoring midway through the first half before Ollie Watkins, relentless and restless in his movement all afternoon, added a second after the break to give Unai Emery’s side a composed 2-0 victory.
For West Ham, a team desperately needing results to drag themselves clear of the relegation scrap, it was a deflating afternoon that left Nuno Espirito Santo searching for answers. But the result that sent the biggest shockwave through Gameweek 31 came from North London. Nottingham Forest walked into the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, one of the most intimidating venues in the country on its day, and turned it into a library.
Igor Jesus, Morgan Gibbs-White, and Taiwo Awoniyi scored in a 3-0 dismantling that was as complete as the scoreline suggests. For Forest, it was a statement of intent in the relegation battle. For Tottenham, it was yet another chapter in a season that has quickly become a crisis.
Elsewhere across the Premier League round of fixtures, Manchester United had to make do with a 2-2 draw at Bournemouth. It was a result that, given the chaos unfolding beneath them, will feel considerably more useful than it looked in the moment.
Fulham continued their quietly impressive run by dismantling Burnley 3-1 at Craven Cottage, while Sunderland, the season’s most unlikely and most loved story, pulled off another away win, beating Newcastle United 2-1 at St. James’ Park to keep their European dream alive. Brighton’s win over Liverpool made it four victories from their last Premier League five outings, and Brentford’s goalless draw with Leeds United kept the Europa League conversation ticking over.
With seven games to go, the top five is still wide open, and the relegation battle is rapidly becoming one of the most gripping finales this division has seen in years. Gameweek 31 did not simplify anything, it simply raised the stakes further.
Manchester United and Aston Villa find their footing
Manchester United may not have been everyone’s pick to be eyeing a UEFA Champions League spot heading into March, but three-and-a-half months of quiet consistency has made it difficult to ignore them.
The draw at Bournemouth was not the result Michael Carrick would have written for his side, but in the wider context of the gameweek, it was arguably good enough despite the larger talking point of refereeing blunders. Liverpool dropped points, Chelsea dropped points, and United’s third-place cushion of 55 points remains healthy with seven games to play.
Aston Villa, however, were the real story for anyone watching the top-five race. Unai Emery’s side ground out a 2-0 win over West Ham United with very little fuss, and the consequence of that result is that the West Midlands sit fourth on 54 points, five clear of Liverpool in fifth.
For a team that looked inconsistent through October and November, this is a remarkable turnaround, and it is now genuinely hard to see where Villa slip up badly enough to fall out of the top five. Their remaining fixtures are not without danger, but the gap at the bottom of the Champions League places is wide enough to absorb a wobble.
Manchester United, similarly, have the buffer they need. They have now suffered only one defeat in ten Premier League games under Michael Carrick. Although they have drawn more than they would have liked this season, those dropped points have rarely cost them, especially in recent weeks, because the rivals beneath them have been equally inconsistent.
At this stage of the season, both Manchester United and Aston Villa look the most settled of the top-five contenders. Barring a dramatic collapse in form, a top-five finish, and Champions League football next season, now seems very much within their grasp
Liverpool and Chelsea’s self-made problems
There is a version of this season where Liverpool finish comfortably in the top five on the back of their UEFA Champions League campaign, and Chelsea use their squad depth to grind out results when it counts. We are not living that version. Instead, both clubs have spent the second half of the season handing their rivals reasons to believe, and Gameweek 31 of the 2025/26 Premier League gave everyone another one.
Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion was their tenth Premier League loss of the campaign, a damning number for any reigning champions. It is a figure that only four previous Premier League holders have ever reached in their title defences, which tells you just how wide the gap has been between their European nights and their league weekends.
The performances are not always bad, but the results keep finding a way to turn. Arne Slot’s men have now lost more Premier League eague games than any other team in the top eight, and with their fixtures becoming progressively harder (games against Chelsea, Manchester United, and Aston Villa are still to come), there is a real nervousness around Anfield about whether fifth place holds.
Chelsea’s situation is arguably more baffling given how good they looked in February. Liam Rosenior’s side had top three within touching distance through some genuinely impressive attacking football. However, the 3-0 hammering by Everton, their highest league defeat this season, raises uncomfortable questions about the West London club’s resilience. Chelsea remain just two points off Liverpool in fifth, so this is far from over.
But the pattern is worrying: when it truly matters, when a win would vault them past a rival, Chelsea and Liverpool seem to find a way to stumble. Both teams are still in the conversation, but they are leaving the door open for others, and those others are increasingly willing to walk through it.
The chasing pack smells blood
If there was a gameweek tailor-made for the teams just outside the top five to announce themselves, this was it, and several of them obliged.
Everton were the headline act, and deservedly so. Their 3-0 win over Chelsea was not a smash-and-grab; it was controlled, clinical, and delivered on the back of genuine momentum. Beto now has five Premier League goals in 2026 alone, and with the Toffees sitting just three points behind Liverpool in the table, David Moyes’ side have moved from Europa League hopefuls to legitimate top-five threats.
Brighton made it four wins from their last five games with the victory over Liverpool. Fabian Hürzeler’s side have quietly transformed their form at the best possible time, and while a Champions League place may be a stretch, a top-seven finish looks increasingly certain. For a club of Brighton’s size, that would mean European football — and they have earned it.
Fulham were impressive as they swept Burnley aside 3-1 at Craven Cottage, with Josh King, Harry Wilson, and Raúl Jiménez all getting on the scoresheet. Marco Silva’s team are now seventh on 46 points, and they have the kind of experienced, hard-to-beat squad that tends to finish seasons well.
Sunderland, the season’s feel-good story, produced another shock at St. James’ Park, beating Newcastle 1-2 through Chemsdine Talbi and Brian Brobbey. The newly promoted side currently sit eighth, and a Europa League or Conference League spot is not beyond them.
Brentford drew 0-0 with Leeds — a point that keeps them seventh and in play for Europe, even if it was not the most thrilling advert for their ambitions
The race for Europe below the top five is genuinely fascinating. Seventh place currently leads to the Europa League, with eighth likely earning a Conference League berth. That means Brighton, Fulham, Everton, and Sunderland are all credibly in the conversation.
With seven games remaining and the points separating fifth through eighth being wafer-thin, any one of them could end up making Europe or missing out depending on how the next fortnight unfolds
Tottenham’s freefall has a name: Relegation
Let us not dress this up in diplomatic language; Tottenham are in serious trouble. The 3-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest on Sunday was not just another loss. It was a statement result in what has now become an eleven-game winless run in the Premier League, the longest active such streak in the top flight. Igor Tudor was brought in to arrest the slide after Thomas Frank’s dismissal, but the Spurs faithful are still waiting for the first league win of his tenure.
What makes the result against Nottingham Forest particularly alarming is the manner of it. This was not a battling defeat where Tottenham ran out of luck. Forest were simply better, more organised, sharper in transition, and far more hungry in a game billed as a relegation six-pointer. Igor Jesus, Gibbs-White, and Taiwo Awoniyi did not have to work overtime.
The crowd of 61,519 inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium were left in stunned silence, and the questions being asked of this Spurs squad and their setup are only getting louder. After the result, Tottenham sit with 30 points from 31 games. Forest, now on 32, have climbed above them in the table.
The teams directly involved in the survival fight all have games against each other in the coming weeks, which makes prediction for the fall almost impossible. But Spurs’ remaining schedule includes a trip to Wolves and home games against Leeds United and Crystal Palace, fixtures where nothing can be taken for granted given their current form.
For a club of Tottenham’s stature, spending the final weeks of a season calculating how many points they need to survive is extraordinary. The financial projections tell the story starkly: relegation could cost Spurs as much as £261 million in lost revenue. For now, every game between now and May 24th is a cup final. Whether Tudor’s side have the stomach for it remains to be seen
Can West Ham survive where Spurs cannot?
West Ham United’s 2-0 defeat at Villa Park was not a catastrophe on the pitch, as they were organised and showed fight at points. However, the timing and the scoreline made it feel like one. The Hammers had gone into the game knowing that a win, combined with defeat for Spurs, could have moved them out of the bottom three with serious momentum.
Instead, the East London outfit were second-best from the opening whistle, and Nuno Espirito Santo must look at a set of results this weekend and feel the window closing. West Ham’s saving grace is that their form, at least in recent weeks, has been noticeably better than Tottenham’s.
Since the turn of the year, the Hammers have accumulated more points than any other side in the bottom six, and their squad, while stretched, has more Premier League knowhow than Burnley and Leeds United.
Their upcoming run includes a home game against Wolves in April, a fixture they will back themselves in, as well as direct encounters with teams around them. Spurs, by contrast, have the harder run of form, the heavier psychological baggage, and an ongoing goalkeeper crisis after Guglielmo Vicario’s surgery.
If West Ham can string together two wins from their next four games, they can make the survival fight entirely about Spurs; and at this point, that would be a very comfortable place to be. The Hammers are not safe yet, but for the first time in months, the situation feels like it is more in their hands than it is out of them. Whether they have the nerve to hold on will be the real story of the season’s final chapter
