The absolutely wild Premier League table when you exclude the bottom three’s results
Manchester United have taken the fewest points of any team in the Premier League when you exclude results against this season’s long cut adrift relegated trio of clubs.
For the second season running, all three of the newly-promoted clubs have gone straight back down to the Championship – which highlights the issue of a growing chasm between the top two tiers of English football.
Nottingham Forest, Fulham and Bournemouth were all promoted together back in 2021-22 and they’ve all done well to consolidate their places in the top flight in the three seasons since.
But it’s been two years since a promoted side stayed up, giving Leeds United and Burnley their work cut out if they’re to survive at the top table next season.
“Leeds, great fanbase they have and all that stuff and their history as a football club too,” Fulham boss Marco Silva noted in a recent press conference.
“But the gap is getting bigger, the last two seasons are a good example of it, of course what’s happened, three seasons ago with us and the other two clubs that were promoted (Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest), it’s not something that happens often the three still playing in the Premier League and in the top half of the table.
“It shows that it’s very difficult to achieve it and shows it’s getting more complicated.”
Play-off winners Southampton were relegated with weeks to spare after spending almost the entire campaign rooted to the foot of the table, and it hasn’t taken Leicester City and Ipswich Town long to also confirm their second-tier fate.
There’s a sizeable gap between West Ham down in 17th and the three relegated sides. But how does the Premier League table shape up if you include the relatively easy points won against the bottom three and only look at games between the 17 clubs confirmed for next season?
It’s mostly as you were, with Liverpool enjoying a sizeable lead at the summit, Arsenal comfortably second and not much between Manchester City, Nottingham Forest, Chelsea, Newcastle United and Aston Villa.
But the main thing that sticks out is Manchester United at the foot of the table. They’ve taken just 23 points from 28 games against the top 17 this season, averaging just 0.82 points per game.
Alongside their Europa League campaign, one small crumb of comfort from the Red Devils’ dismal 2024-25 Premier League campaign is that they’ve avoided humiliation against the worst sides, having done the double over Leicester City (and beating them in both cups) and Southampton. They’ve also taken four points from Ipswich, having drawn 1-1 at Portman Road back in November.
Sixteen of the 38 points that Manchester United have picked up this season have been taken from the three already relegated sides. That’s 42%.
Take away those results and Ruben Amorim’s side would be in a world of trouble. The results suggest that Manchester United might’ve been in genuine danger of relegation this season if just one of the promoted sides had mounted a stronger campaign.
Here’s how the table shapes up in full:
1. Liverpool — 61pts, +33 GD (Played 27)
2. Arsenal — 52pts, +23 GD (Played 29)
3. Chelsea — 47pts, +11 GD (Played 28)
4. Manchester City — 46pts, +9 GD (Played 29)
5. Nottingham Forest — 45pts, +7 GD (Played 28)
6. Newcastle United — 44pts, +4 GD (Played 28)
7. Aston Villa — 43pts, -1 GD (Played 28)
8. Bournemouth — 41pts, +9 GD (Played 29)
9. Brighton — 41pts, -5 GD (Played 28)
10. Fulham — 39pts, 0 GD (Played 28)
11. Brentford — 31pts, -9 GD (Played 28)
12. Crystal Palace — 31pts, -9 GD (Played 28)
13. Everton — 31pts, -12 GD (Played 30)
14. Tottenham — 27pts, +2 GD (Played 27)
15. Wolves — 26pts, -19 GD (Played 28)
16. West Ham — 26pts, -22 GD (Played 29)
17. Manchester United — 23pts, -20 GD (Played 28)
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