The Premier League title and relegation races are all but over

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The Football Faithful

·5 April 2025

The Premier League title and relegation races are all but over

It’s early April and there is virtually nothing to play for at the extreme ends of the Premier League table.

Liverpool are marching towards a second title in five years after being handed another gift by Arsenal, who could only draw with Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday.

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The Reds can extend their lead at the top of the table to 14 points with victory over Fulham on Sunday. It would take nothing short of a miracle for the Gunners to close that gap between now and the final day on 25 May.

A number of factors have contributed to Arsenal’s inability to capitalise on Manchester City‘s sudden decline, while Liverpool have found the perfect blend of old and new under Arne Slot to run away with the league. In truth, a title race never materialised.

This weekend also bore witness to the last meaningful contest in the relegation battle. Coming off the back of a big draw with Bournemouth, Ipswich Town looked as if they might have a go at a great escape after they took an early lead against 17th-placed Wolves at Portman Road.

But Wanderers shut that possibility down with a second-half comeback as goals from Pablo Sarabia and Jorgen Strand Larsen crushed whatever hopes remained of a genuine fight for survival. Twelve points now separate the two clubs, but with just seven games remaining it may as well be fifty.

The Tractor Boys will make an instant return to the Championship alongside Leicester City and Southampton, their legacy as the worst trio of promoted top-flight clubs in living memory assured.

Over the years we have been treated to some memorable struggles to stay up, leading to nail biting conclusions to the season. Aston Villa, Everton, Nottingham Forest and Leeds United have provided incredible moments in the most tense of situations, clinching safety by the skin of their teeth.

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Looking at the next batch of potential sides to come up, it might be awhile before we get anything like that again. Leeds could be competitive, but Sheffield United and Burnley seem destined to be yo-yo clubs. The rest of the chasing pack look ill-equipped for the step up.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Premier League is generally improving, widening the gap between the top two divisions. Forest, Fulham, Brighton and Bournemouth are all deservedly in contention for Europe. Crystal Palace remain stuck in mid table purgatory but are playing better than ever.

The once squeezed middle is now thriving, bloodying the noses of the upper classes on a near weekly basis. A bad season for Manchester United or Spurs used to mean a ninth-placed finish at worst, but now both clubs are languishing in the bottom half. The race for Europe is extremely competitive, with only seven points separating fourth and tenth in the table.

The irony is that this has resulted in a monotonously predictable relegation battle, which has felt like a foregone conclusion since day one. The competition for European places will no doubt be entertaining as we approach the business end of the campaign, but it lacks the stakes of a race for survival.

There’s also the very real possibility that the top end of the table won’t really be shaken up at all. Forest aside, the top seven is currently occupied by teams who have played in the Champions League within the last two years.

There’s still two months of football left to play, but it already feels like this is one of the most underwhelming seasons in Premier League history.

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