The Premier League form table as Leicester and Everton draw thriller
After three Prime Ministers, two ruling monarchs and one ill-advised winter World Cup, this never-ending edition of the Premier League has entered its final month.
Heading into the last handful of league matches, the form boasted by each side threatens to have a seismic impact on the precarious positioning of an eminently malleable table. The title race may be on its last legs but the battle for Europe is as fierce as ever and the Sarlacc pit of a relegation zone threatens to haul half the division into it.
Here's how each team has fared across their previous half-dozen matches in England's top flight.
Premier League form table (last six games)
Position | Team | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Man City | 6 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
2 | Newcastle | 5 | 0 | 1 | 15 |
3 | Liverpool | 4 | 2 | 0 | 14 |
4 | Crystal Palace | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
5 | Aston Villa | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
6 | Man Utd | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
7 | Bournemouth | 4 | 0 | 2 | 12 |
8 | Brighton | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
9 | Wolves | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
10 | Arsenal | 2 | 3 | 1 | 9 |
11 | West Ham | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
12 | Brentford | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
13 | Fulham | 2 | 0 | 4 | 6 |
14 | Tottenham | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
15 | Leicester | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
16 | Leeds | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
17 | Nottingham Forest | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
18 | Everton | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
19 | Chelsea | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
20 | Southampton | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
In four of the last five seasons, Manchester City have embarked upon a winning run of at least 12 Premier League matches on their way to the title. Pep Guardiola's side brought this year's tally to eight on the spin with a 2-1 win over Fulham which was soaked in more grit than glitz.
Over this sequence of matches, Newcastle United are the only other club to win as many as five games. The Magpies are the only side to outscore City, plundering a whopping 20 goals over their last six games - yet, just four Newcastle players (Callum Wilson, Joelinton, Alexander Isak and Jacob Murphy) have found the net in this period.
Southampton became the latest victims of Newcastle's frightening prolificacy, shipping three goals after taking the lead at St James' Park on Sunday. The Saints, sitting rock bottom of the form table and actual standings, have not won a top-flight match since the first weekend of March.
Current Premier League table, top scorers & upcoming fixtures
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Chelsea are one of only two sides to lose to Southampton since Ruben Selles took on the interim post in February. Graham Potter, Bruno Saltor and Frank Lampard have all taken charge of the Blues across the club's previous six league games - yet, not one of them has been able to coax a win out of the expensively assembled squad.
No team has scored fewer goals than Chelsea during this run, with the wayward Blues registering a pitiful three league strikes.
Diogo Jota has scored five goals in just his last four games. Liverpool's returning forward winced as he knotted his legs in a meditation pose to celebrate his most recent goal, winning a bonkers 4-3 thriller against Tottenham that was the opposite of zen.
Jurgen Klopp was not convinced before the match that his side could be called "consistent". Liverpool did record a fourth consecutive win - and can point to the second-longest unbeaten run in the division - but gave up a 3-0 lead against Spurs before Jota's heroics. However, Klopp was sure that: “No one will forget that game, ever.” Agreed.
Tottenham may want to erase the pain of conceding 99 seconds after mounting a spirited comeback. Ryan Mason's side have taken five points from their last six matches while shipping 17 goals. Only Leeds United - a team that is desperately reliant upon the crippling lack of quality at the foot of the table - have conceded more during this period.
Unai Emery's Aston Villa boast the best defensive record in the division over the last six matches, conceding just three goals. Bruno Fernandes' winner was one of this trio as Manchester United became the first side to stop Villa from scoring since Emery's appointment on Sunday. The lone goal which Fernandes celebrated by eerily glaring into the away end also halted Villa's ten-match unbeaten run, extending United's lossless streak at Old Trafford to 15 Premier League games.
Leicester and Everton had the chance to move up both the form table and the real thing on Monday night. The two relegation strugglers traded leads but ended their clash at the King Power Stadium all square at 2-2, leaving each club with a nervy few weeks in the fight against the drop.
On this edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders, Graeme Bailey & Toby Cudworth discuss Chelsea's likely appointment of Mauricio Pochettino, the carnage at Tottenham and Harry Kane's next steps, David de Gea and Harry Maguire's Man Utd futures, Lionel Messi's impending Barcelona return & more!
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