Premier League Recap: Races for Top Spot, Relegation Rage On

Written By Chris Kubala | Published at April 20, 2026

Jun 30, 2025; Orlando, Florida, USA; Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola reacts after losing to Al Hilal FC during a round of 16 match of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup at Camping World Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Heading into the month of April, Arsenal seemed to be comfortably ahead in the Premier League standings. They held a nine-point lead in the standings over Manchester City with six fixtures remaining. Man City has a fixture in hand but the lead seemed safe.

What a difference a few weeks makes when it comes to the standings table. Let’s take a look at what went down this weekend and what’s at stake as the season winds down.

Top End of the Premier League

Arsenal’s nine-point edge in the standings entering April is all but gone at this point. Arne Slot’s squad advanced to the semifinals of the Champions League but domestic play has been a different story. The Gunners dropped their fourth straight match against English squads after falling 2-1 to Manchester City Sunday. With the match even in the second half, it was Manchester City’s Erling Haaland tallying his Premier League leading 23rd goal of the year in the 65th minute for the lead. That marker stood up for the winner.

With that, Arsenal’s (70 points) edge for the top spot has been sliced to just three points with Man City (67) still holding a fixture in hand. The Gunners have a +37 goal differential while the Citizens stand at +36. Manchester United (58 points), Aston Villa (58) and Liverpool (55) round out the top five slots. If the season ended today, those five teams would qualify for next year’s Champions League.

Fighting to Avoid Relegation

While the top five teams are looking to lock in a Champions League berth, the bottom quintet are fighting to stay in the Premier League next season. The bottom three teams will be dropped down to the EFL Championship next season. Leeds picked up a big three points with their 3-0 win over Wolverhampton Saturday to move eight points clear of the drop zone. That loss by the Wolverines has just about sealed their fate as they are 15 points back of 17th-place West Ham entering Monday’s action. If West Ham earns a point in their match against Crystal Palace, it would become official.

Entering Monday, Wolverhampton, Burnley (21 points) and Tottenham Hotspur (31 points) were the three teams occupying the drop zone slots. None of those sides earned a win over the weekend. We discussed Wolverhampton’s defeat already. Burnley was hammered 4-1 by Nottingham Forest Saturday afternoon. Meanwhile, Tottenham remained winless since the calendar flipped to 2026 as they gave up the equalizer in stoppage time. That forced them to settle for a 2-2 draw with Brighton. The missing points proved costly as they could have moved past West Ham with a victory.