Subscriber RandoEFC+ Posted February 9, 2021 Author Subscriber Share Posted February 9, 2021 Got some catching up to do here, starting with the results from last weekend: Quite a few changes this time, with many of them mirroring results from earlier in the season. Saturday started with Newcastle taking three points from Goodison Park, two more than they managed last season. Everton take a 1 point hit here having drawn this fixture last season and now hover just above the breakeven point. Crystal Palace followed Newcastle in improving their draw from last season to a win at home to Wolves, returning to a neutral differential score while Santo's men slip into the bottom three on -9. Man City repeated their win over Sheffield United at the Etihad from last season to leave both sides where they started the weekend. The West Brom vs Fulham fixture was compared to last season's Watford-Norwich clash which ended in a home win. A draw this time therefore sees West Brom take a two point hit while Scott Parker's side pick up their 9th profitable result of the season compared to Norwich's relegation campaign. The only problem for them is that seven of these boosts have only been by a single point. Nonetheless, they remain competitive in the increasingly separate top five of the differential standings. The blockbuster tie between Arsenal and Man Utd on Saturday evening ended in a goalless draw, meaning that Arsenal lose 2 points and Man Utd gain 1 compared to last season's home win, cancelling out the profits and losses made in the reverse fixture earlier this season. Saturday concluded with Aston Villa taking their sixth 3-point swing of the season, victory at Southampton allowing them to boost their differential score to +13 and close in on West Ham in the process. The three point hit for Hassenhuttl's side sees them slip to a differential of -7. Sunday kicked off with Chelsea repeating last season's win over Burnley in only the second fixture so far this weekend to repeat last season's outcome. Victory for Leeds at Leicester marks a three-point improvement over Bournemouth's defeat at the King Power last season and inflicts 3 points of damage on The Foxes, in complete symmetry to the reverse fixture at Elland Road earlier this season. Notably, this result sees Leeds move into positive double figures and overtake their opponents in the process. The gameweek ended without further fireworks as Liverpool's victory at West Ham and Brighton's conquest of Tottenham on home turf mark repeat results from 2019-20 and leave all four sides' differential scores unchanged. Here's what it means for the projected table: Liverpool and Man City retain their status quo with Klopp's men still forecast to hang onto the title for now. Leicester and Man Utd are now tied in a league of their own in 3rd place, 11 points behind those above them and 8 points clear of the Europa League places. The race for the minor European places sees very little action this week with mid-table seeing a few fairly insignificant swaps, notably Aston Villa taking a position from Southampton after the two went head to head this weekend, and Leeds now projected to finish nearly 10 points clear of the drop zone. Newcastle's profit this week sees Sheffield United slip back into the bottom three, while Fulham have now managed to climb to the 30-point mark for the first time and off the bottom spot they inherited from Norwich. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber RandoEFC+ Posted February 9, 2021 Author Subscriber Share Posted February 9, 2021 On to last week's midweek fixtures and some pretty massive results for both tables: Tuesday began with Sheffield United defeating West Brom at home in a vital relegation clash, the improvement on last season's draw with Watford marking a third significant profit for the Blades in fairly quick succession and puts them on their best differential score since before Christmas. They also move off the bottom for the first time since early in the season due partially to results elsewhere. Another one-point hit for West Brom increases the urgency with which the appointment of Allardyce needs to be felt sooner rather than later. Wolves secured a much-needed three point profit with victory over nine man Arsenal, the damage inflicted on the Gunners here seeing them chopped back down to a neutral differential. Man Utd bagged a two-point profit in emphatic fashion, putting nine goals past Southampton in a fixture they only drew at Old Trafford last season. Saints drop to a differential score of -8 now with some of their early season heroics becoming a distant memory. Victory for Crystal Palace at Newcastle sees them take a three-point profit as well on Tuesday night, reversing the damage done to them by Steve Bruce's side at Selhurst Park earlier in the campaign. Palace move into the green once again while Newcastle's net damages for the season move into double figures. Wednesday began with Man City's victory at Turf Moor, matching last season's result. Guardiola's side are seeing very little profit despite their good form but only need to keep breaking even while their main rivals falter. The other early kick off saw Leicester win at Craven Cottage, improving by 3 points their result at Norwich last season. The Foxes return to the double figure club while Fulham are hit with a pretty devastating three point loss considering they've only won two league games all season. This is another fixture where away wins in both rounds have seen the two sides cancel out each other's 3 point profit/loss from earlier in the season. Everton's victory at Elland Road marks a three-point profit for them, having lost at Bournemouth last season, with opponents Leeds seeing their spell in the double figure profit club curtailed early. In the late kickoffs, West Ham laid down an emphatic marker at the top of the differential standings with victory at closest rivals Aston Villa. In what was always going to be a telling fixture with points up for grabs following their draw last season, it was West Ham who seized victory and improved their differential score to a scarcely believable +19 in January, whilst also inflicting a point of damage to their nearest rivals and opening up a 7-point lead. Finally, Liverpool's defeat at home to Brighton saw significant action at the other end of the differential table, a 3rd three-point hit to the defending champions seeing them drop to last place on a differential score of -19. The Seagulls enjoy a boost in the opposite direction and now sit on a score of +4. Thursday's only fixture saw Tuchel face the unenviable task of having to repeat Chelsea's victory at Tottenham from last season, but a single first half goal was enough to see off Jose Mourinho's side and prevent further damage to Chelsea's differential score of -3. There is one very clear headline this week, and that is that for the first time, Liverpool are no longer projected to retain their title, even if they return to form enough to repeat all of the results they secured last season in the games that are left. Leicester move a point clear of Manchester United while West Ham overtake Arsenal to hit a new season-high projection of 7th place, highlighting their genuine opportunity to qualify for Europe next season. There isn't much going on in the middle either this week, although it is worth highlighting that Southampton have slipped to a pretty precarious 15th place in these projections, they still remain 11 points clear of the drop-zone. Sheffield United's return to form still has them on track to finish 17th despite falling short of 40 points. Fulham's setback this week sees their foray into 19th place last just a few days and it now looks like a major uphill struggle again for them to improve upon enough of Norwich's disastrous results last season to give themselves a fighting chance of survival. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber RandoEFC+ Posted February 9, 2021 Author Subscriber Share Posted February 9, 2021 Finally bringing us back up to date: This weekend's games began with Aston Villa hosting Arsenal. The pressure was on the home side to repeat last season's victory and maintain their double figure score and they duly delivered. Arsenal remain on a neutral score as a result. Burnley and Brighton were next up, a fixture that resulted in an away win last season. This weekend's 1-1 draw sees Burnley move into a positive differential while Brighton's previous score of +4 is chopped in half. Newcastle took a vital win at home to Southampton, another repeat of last season's corresponding fixture meaning that they don't slip any further below -11, while Saints miss an opportunity to improve on their -8. West Ham dropped points for just the 4th time all season in their goalless draw at Craven Cottage, yielding them 2 points less than they took away from Norwich last season. Yet again, Fulham pick up a point where Norwich didn't last season and their differential score of +7 looks solid on face value, but it isn't enough when you take into account the Norwich campaign that you're comparing it to. Everton's late equaliser in the evening kick off at Old Trafford allowed them to repeat last season's draw and cost Man Utd the opportunity to improve to a differential of +9. Tottenham began Sunday's action by completing the league double over West Brom. As this is an improvement on their draw at home to Watford last season, Mourinho's side rise to a perhaps surprisingly high differential score of +5 while the Baggies sink to a worrying differential of -7, especially concerning when you remember that this compares to Watford's relegation season in 2019-20. The repeat of last season's goalless draw between Wolves and Leicester at Molyneux sees both sides breakeven this week. Next up was Man City's visit to Anfield, and an emphatic reversal of last season's defeat sees Man City lay down another marker in their pursuit of the title. Their differential improves to a season-high of +4 while Liverpool have now scored 22 points fewer than they achieved in the same fixtures last season. Finally, Chelsea's victory at Bramall Lane also marks a 3-point improvement for them, moving them back up to a neutral differential score for the first time under Tuchel, while Sheffield United remain hot on Liverpool's heels for the wooden spoon. Monday's only game saw Leeds pick up their sixth three-point profit of the season with a home win over Crystal Palace. Hodgson's side return to a neutral differential score having failed to emulate last season's win at Bournemouth, while Bamford and co. move back into double figures at the sharp end of the table. Here's what the projected table looks like now: Just one fixture after taking the lead in the projected table, the magnitude of Man City's win at Anfield is highlighted in their projected eight-point winning margin at the top of the table, with Liverpool now looking over their shoulders at Leicester and Manchester United. Chelsea are chipping away at the gap to the top four under new management, while West Ham's draw this time out means that positions 7 to 11 are covered by just 3 points in the battle for what's likely to be the final European qualification spot. Villa, Southampton, Leeds Palace and Brighton currently form a cluster of warm, safe mid-table obscurity, while further damage for Sheffield United makes it look increasingly like three from four in the battle for survival. Contrasting fortunes for Fulham and West Brom this weekend see them swap over at the bottom for the third week in a row but both sides are a long way from safety. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber RandoEFC+ Posted February 22, 2021 Author Subscriber Share Posted February 22, 2021 An update for last weekend's games and the midweek fixtures that followed: The first game of the weekend saw Liverpool take yet more damage as their lead at Leicester was overturned. A fifth 3-point hit of the season sees them stay bottom with a score of -25 while Leicester improve to +15 and continue to sneak up on West Ham, particularly impressive to see Leicester mixing it at the top of these standings considering their points tally was already good enough last season to qualify for Europe compared to the other teams with positive double figures. Crystal Palace and Burnley were next up with an away win repeating last season's result and leaving both teams on or near neutral territory. Man City's comfortable win over Spurs marked an improvement on last season's draw at the Emirates and sees them overtake their opponents in the differential table with a new score of +6, while Spurs take a point of damage. Finally, Brighton and Aston Villa's 0-0 draw is a repeat of last season's stalemate on the South Coast meaning neither sees a change to their differential score and Aston Villa lose 2nd place to Leicester. Sunday saw a couple of perhaps surprising repeat results, with Wolves' victory at Southampton among them in a game between two of the six sides with a significantly negative score. West Brom's creditable draw with Man Utd and the Hawthorns actually sees them lose ground as it is compared with Watford's win over Solskjaer's side last season. An extra point for Man Utd sees them improve to +8. Arsenal's home success over Leeds matches up with their victory against Bournemouth last season, while Fulham will be cursing Norwich's conquest of Goodison Park last season which means that despite a third win of the season coming over Everton, Scott Parker's men don't improve their differential score at all. West Ham went into their Monday night fixture against Sheffield United already on top of the table, and made yet more headway as they improved on last season's draw with Chris Wilder's side with an emphatic 3-0 win. Another point of damage for the Blades keeps them in the hunt for the wooden spoon. Monday's other game saw Chelsea despatch Newcastle in a repeat result from last season, meaning no change to either side's differential score. Midweek saw Burnley draw with Fulham, another single point improvement for Scott Parker's side over Norwich, who were beaten at Turf Moor last season. The loss of 2 points here saw Burnley's differential slip back below zero. Finally, Man City's win at Everton matches the corresponding fixture from last season, meaning that Ancelotti's men get away without damage to their differential score despite suffering two home defeats in a matter of days. Here's what it means for the projected table: Man City continue to close in on the title, although they do still need to go to Leicester and repeat last season's success. A win for the Foxes in this game, who are now projected to finish 2nd, would see them close the gap in the projected table to just 4 points, all else being equal. Liverpool and Man Utd are now tied for 3rd place with a healthy cushion to keep them in the top four, although this is dependent on Liverpool repeating last season's heroics in enough of their remaining fixtures to get in the ball park of their projected total of 74 points. West Ham are just about holding the chasing pack at bay in their push for the final European spot. A natural gap still exists between Wolves in 11th and Aston Villa in 12th, while the gap between Brighton in 16th and the bottom four is an absolute chasm. Some dismal points tallies are projected for Sheffield United, Newcastle, Fulham and West Brom and it will take some serious improvement from more than one of those sides to trouble the likes of Brighton and Crystal Palace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber RandoEFC+ Posted February 24, 2021 Author Subscriber Share Posted February 24, 2021 Back up to date: Another Friday evening start for the Premier League came at Molyneux, where Wolves managed to edge out Leeds in a repeat of their victory over Bournemouth last season, leaving both sides' differential scores unchanged. Saturday saw some more action from the off, as Chelsea's failure to repeat last season's victory at St. Mary's saw them take their first damage since Frank Lampard was sacked, slipping back into a negative score. The draw for Southampton improves their score from -8 to -7. West Brom's draw at Burnley marks the 7th occasion this season were they have improved on a result achieved by predecessors Watford last season. Unfortunately for them, 5 of these 7 have been single point profits, improving defeats to draws, and remain heavily outweighed by the 12 occasions that they have achieved worse results than the Hornets. The failure to repeat last season's home win sees Burnley slip by another 2 points onto a score of -3. Everton's long-awaited Anfield victory marked their 5th three-point profit of the season, all of these coming in away games. Ancelotti's side improve to a season-high score of +7 while Liverpool's downward spiral continues, Saturday marking the 11th occasion this season where they have taken either 2 or 3 points of damage by failing to win a fixture they won last season. Fulham's win at home to Sheffield United marks a significant result at the bottom of the table. A three-point improvement on Norwich's home defeat last year takes Fulham to a total profit of 11 points, while Sheffield United are hot on Liverpool's tail at the other end of the standings. Sunday began with West Ham's win over Spurs. With Mourinho's side winning at the London Stadium last season, the three-point swing here sees West Ham break the 20 point mark at the top of the standings while Spurs have lost almost all of their early season profits and sit on a differential of +1. Leicester's win at Aston Villa marked the first of a series of repeated results on Sunday afternoon and sees both high-fliers' scores remain unchanged. The same can be said of Manchester City's latest success against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium and Man Utd's home win over Newcastle. Monday's only game saw Crystal Palace retain their neutral differential score, Benteke's last minute goal allowing them to repeat last season's victory at Brighton, who miss the chance to improve their score of +2. Leeds rounded off the latest set of fixtures with their 7th three-point profit of the season compared to Bournemouth's results last season, a record matched only by West Ham. Southampton's defeat at Elland Road sees them fail to repeat last season's win on the South Coast and become the fourth team to drop to a negative differential in double figures. Here's the projected table: As the weeks go by, this should get closer and closer to the actual final standings, and the weeks are running out for anyone to take the fight to Manchester City. Further damage for Liverpool sees them slip to 4th where they were previously level on points with Manchester United. West Ham's win over Tottenham sees the two sides swap positions and now has the Hammers finishing a whopping 10 places higher than last season's 16th place. Everton's good week sees them move level with Arsenal as the sides closest to breaking into the Europa League positions. Aston Villa and Leeds now sit 4 points ahead of the bottom seven and have their sights set on breaking the top half. Profit for Fulham at the expense of Sheffield United now has them just one point from escaping the bottom three, having been dead last a matter of weeks ago. Newcastle are in serious danger still, and West Brom need to do more than continue to chip away at Watford's poorer results from last season to give themselves a fighting chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber RandoEFC+ Posted March 6, 2021 Author Subscriber Share Posted March 6, 2021 A bumper update for last weekend's fixtures and those from midweek as we enter the final third of the season: Cast your mind back to last Saturday lunchtime and West Ham were the visitors to the Etihad. It was a free hit for the differential leaders but they were unable to improve on their score of +22 as Man City emulated last season's victory over the Hammers and retained their score of +6. Next up were West Brom and Brighton, an incredible game which saw the visitors miss two penalties, opening the door for Allardyce's side to make a rare three-point profit, just their second of the season. Despite a recent improved run, this defeat and the three points of damage that came with it saw them fall back into a negative differential. Aston Villa's 1-0 win at Leeds helped them to return to 2nd place in the differential table, a three-point improvement compared to their defeat at Bournemouth during the last campaign. The three point hit taken by Leeds mean that they are one of the teams overtaken by Dean Smith's men in the differential standings. Saturday's last fixture saw no change in differentials as Newcastle and Wolves played out their 4th consecutive 1-1 Premier League draw. Fulham's draw at Crystal Palace kicked off Sunday's action and marked the 10th occasion this season where they've made a single point profit by drawing a fixture that their predecessors Norwich lost last season. This also meant that Crystal Palace slipped from their neutral score down to -2. Arsenal bagged the first three-point swing of the day at Leicester, their 3-1 win a reversal of last season's result, causing the Foxes to lose ground on West Ham and drop to a still mightily impressive score of +12. Tottenham completed the double over Burnley with a thumping 4-0 success, matching last season's home win over Dyche's men and leaving both sides' scores unchanged. Chelsea's goalless draw with Manchester United saw them gain a further point to improve to -1 with Solskjaer's side falling from +8 to +6 after failing to emulate last season's win at Stamford Bridge. Sunday's final game saw Liverpool temporarily stave off the threat of falling below a score of -30 with victory over Sheffield United matching their success from last season at Brammall Lane. Goodison Park was the site of Monday's only game and Everton moved to a season-high score of +9 with victory over Southampton marking a two-point profit compared to last season's draw. The Saints remain stranded in the bottom four as one of the only sides with a double-figured differential at the wrong end of the table. The football carried on into midweek with Man City's late flurry of goals seeing off Wolves. City take a three-point profit of Santo's men for the second time this season, improving them to a score of +9 in their imperious pursuit of another title. Further damage to the visitors see them slip to -9, dangerously close to that exclusive group of sides who have dropped 10 or more points compared to last season's equivalent fixtures. Wednesday saw Burnley drop 2 points despite a reasonably positive home draw with Leicester, a fixture that they won last season, meaning that they slip further in the wrong direction a differential of -5. Leicester gained a point to mitigate some of the damage done at home to Arsenal at the weekend. A rare win for Sheffield United over Aston Villa yielded them no profit, a repeat of last season's result marking a missed opportunity for Villa to make some ground up on leaders West Ham. Man Utd's second draw since the last update sees them drop another two points at Selhurst Park, their differential score halved from +8 to +4 in the space of a few days. The point improvement for Crystal Palace keeps them close to a neutral score. Finally, Thursday saw a trio of 1-0 away wins, starting with Everton at West Brom. The Toffees make no further improvement having won at Watford last season, but it marks another missed opportunity for West Brom to make some improvements on their predecessors' relegation campaign. Chelsea are the latest team to come away from Anfield with 3 points of profit, having been one of many sides who were beaten by last season's champions on their previous visit. The result sees Tuchel take his side back above a zero differential while the less said about Liverpool's title defence, the better. Fulham picked up a worse result than Norwich did last season for just the fifth time in the home defeat to Tottenham. The improvement for Mourinho's side, who drew at Carrow Road last season, improves their differential score to +3. Here's what it means for the projected table: Man City improve to an unassailable 90 points following this week's results, with Man Utd's dip in form leaving Leicester as favourites to end as best of the rest provided that they can match their results from last season in their remaining fixtures. Chelsea come through clashes with Man Utd and Liverpool with 4 points of profit, simultaneously inflicting damage on the two sides that are now their closest rivals in the fight for a top four place. Wolves, Aston Villa and Burnley appear to be rooted in mid-table, leaving Tottenham, West Ham, Arsenal and Everton in a Battle Royale over the last two European spots while the Crystal Palace-Brighton group will be relieved by the poor form of the current bottom four, their points tallies hovering perilously over the 40 point mark as it stands. In the relegation battle, Fulham have the most scope to improve enough results to haul themselves up to the dizzying heights of 17th, the bar set by Norwich last season probably the easiest to improve upon. Sheffield United's form and the high standard they set themselves last season means that in likelihood, the only way is down for them, while West Brom can actually survive as it stands simply by matching Watford's points tally from last season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Gonzo Posted March 6, 2021 Share Posted March 6, 2021 This thread now makes me feel extra shit because I know that projected 4th place is pretty much impossible. I think we’re in for our worst league finish in... all of our lifetimes. Looks extra shit comparing it to how we did last season and knowing this projection doesn’t account for us being terrible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Stan Posted March 6, 2021 Administrator Share Posted March 6, 2021 Just now, Dr. Gonzo said: I think we’re in for our worst league finish in... all of our lifetimes. Looks extra shit comparing it to how we did last season and knowing this projection doesn’t account for us being terrible You think you'll finish lower than 8th? (on the basis that I think 8th is your lowest finish?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Gonzo Posted March 6, 2021 Share Posted March 6, 2021 1 minute ago, Stan said: You think you'll finish lower than 8th? (on the basis that I think 8th is your lowest finish?) Yeah, we’re abysmal right now tbh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber RandoEFC+ Posted March 16, 2021 Author Subscriber Share Posted March 16, 2021 An update for last weekend's fixtures plus the extra midweek fixture: A relatively uneventful set of fixtures this time around, Burnley's draw with Arsenal at Turf Moor matching last season's result and leaving both teams' differential scores unchanged. A rare win for Southampton at Brammall Lane is also a repeat result from last season and therefore sees them stay on -11. The only change that happened on Saturday was Wolves' failure to repeat last season's success at Villa Park, a goalless draw seeing them drop another 2 points making it five teams in negative double figures now. Aston Villa improve by a point and edge slightly closer to leaders West Ham. Saturday's final game saw Leicester leave it late to secure another victory down at Brighton and retain their score of +13 and costing Potter's side the chance to move to a neutral differential with a draw. Sunday began with a rare bit of profit for Newcastle, their point at The Hawthorns an improvement on their defeat at Watford last season. West Brom drop 2 further points to a differential of -7 and have a long way to go to even match Watford's relegation points tally from 2019-20. Fulham became the first team to secure a three-point profit this weekend with victory at Anfield, improving their differential to +14 to move into the top three. Liverpool take further damage to their differential score and the loss of a whopping 34 points - over a point per game - compared to last season highlights the extreme contrast between their last two campaigns. Manchester City missed the chance to improve their differential score to positive double figures in the Manchester derby, as visitors United were able to repeat last season's success at the Etihad leaving both teams unchanged. Tottenham rounded off Sunday's action with a comfortable win over Crystal Palace, matching the three points they picked up from this fixture last season. Monday saw yet another repeat result in the early evening as Chelsea repeated their home victory over Everton. West Ham faced a difficult test at home to Leeds but held onto their table-topping differential of +22, a 2-0 win matching their result against Bournemouth last season. The final fixture of the gameweek came on Wednesday, where Manchester City beat Southampton at home in yet another result that matches the 2019-20 campaign. Here's what it means for the projected table: Not many changes here. Man City maintain their 15-point lead over the chasing pack, while Man Utd keep Leicester in sight by matching last season's Manchester derby win. Another -3 for Liverpool sees them slip out of the top four to Chelsea's benefit. Tottenham, West Ham, Arsenal and Everton form a queue looking to gain a place at the expense of Klopp's side. Aston Villa move back into the top half after making profit while simultaneously inflicting damage upon rivals Wolves. The lower mid-table remains pretty static, with the other story of the weekend seeing Newcastle slip into the relegation zone despite making a 1 point profit this week, having been outdone by Fulham and their 3 point gain this time around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber RandoEFC+ Posted March 16, 2021 Author Subscriber Share Posted March 16, 2021 Update for the most recent fixtures: Friday's only game saw Newcastle rescue a draw against Aston Villa, repeating last season's result and preventing Bruce's side from taking further damage. Aston Villa miss out on a victory that would have seen them go within 3 points of West Ham in the differential standings. Saturday got underway with another repeat result, Tuchel's Chelsea missing the opportunity to improve upon last season's draw at Bournemouth when they visited Leeds. West Brom take no damage in their defeat at Selhurst Park as Crystal Palace beat Watford in the corresponding fixture from last season, but another week passes by without Allardyce's side making the profits they need to avoid relegation. The first shift in fortunes came at Goodison Park, where Burnley secured a full 3-point profit with their victory at Everton. The Clarets move back within touching distance of a neutral differential score while Everton are knocked back to +6 having previously had their sights on moving into a double-figured positive score. Like the Toffees, Fulham were sat on a season-high score going into this weekend, but take a three-point hit to arrest their momentum with the finishing straight in sight. A lifetime ago, Man City went to Carrow Road and were beaten by Norwich, a feat that Scott Parker's side couldn't emulate. Victory for the league leaders sees them move to +12, their defeated opponents one of the teams to fall below them in the differential table. Brighton went a long way to eliminating any remaining threat of a late slip into the relegation conversation with victory at Southampton in Sunday's first game, an improvement on last year's draw moving them into a positive differential. Southampton take another point of damage and now sit on -12. Leicester's comfortable 5-0 win over Sheffield United is a repeat of last season's home win for The Foxes, keeping them on track to finish in the top 4 positions of both the Premier League and the differential table while the clock is ticking on Sheffield United's survival push. Arsenal's success in the North London derby marks an improvement on last year's draw at the Emirates and sees them pull clear of rivals Spurs in the differential standings, Arteta's side now on a season-high score of +5. Sunday's final fixture saw West Ham take damage for just the fifth time this season, and for the second time against Manchester United. The Hammers see their gap at the top of the standings dented by failing to come away from Old Trafford with the point they secured last time. Man Utd improved by 2 points and now sit level with Everton on +6. Monday's only fixture saw Liverpool prevent further damage to their differential score and keep hopes of a recovery in their bid to finish in the top four alive with victory at Wolves. Nuno Espirito Santo's men stay on -11 as they become one of the first sides to see their season fizzle out into mid-table obscurity. Here's what it means for the projected table: Another three-point profit for Man City sees their buffer at the top reach nearly 20 points. Their only remaining opportunity for profit is Newcastle away, where they drew last season, so 95 points is the ceiling for them this season. Leicester and Man Utd are now in a battle for 2nd place, with Chelsea still within sight of both, marking the importance of the 2 points Man Utd gained this weekend. Damage for Spurs, West Ham and Everton this week is good news for Liverpool and Arsenal, the latter moving back into the European spots after this week's games. The last spot in the top half changes hands again, this time Dyche's Burnley sneaking into 10th place after their profitable weekend. Sat on 40 points, Southampton will be glad that they only have two victories to emulate in their last nine games. Fulham slip back into the bottom three having been unable to emulate Norwich's heroics from last season when Man City came to town. Despite their disastrous season, Sheffield United are projected to finish just 4 points from safety. The problem for them is that they need to not just match, but improve upon, the 16 points they gained from their remaining 9 fixtures last season in order to drag themselves out of the mire. West Brom are currently nowhere near showing the required form to secure another season in the top flight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber RandoEFC+ Posted March 27, 2021 Author Subscriber Share Posted March 27, 2021 A small update for the four games that took place last weekend: Friday's game between Fulham and Leeds was one of those odd ones which was compared to the totally irrelevant Norwich vs Bournemouth fixture from last season. Unfortunately for Fulham, this was one of those rare occasions where Norwich actually managed to pick up three points last season, so Parker's side take a three point hit and lose their double-figured positive differential. Leeds' win scores them a big +3 and moves them up to joint 3rd in the differential table, level with Leicester. Onto Saturday, Brighton continued their solid run of form by sweeping Newcastle aside 3-0, securing 2 points of profit having drawn this game last season and consolidating their slim positive differential. Another -1 for Newcastle does nothing to help them in their fight against relegation. Sunday saw West Ham blow a three-goal lead at home to Arsenal, but the draw still marked a 1 point improvement on last season's loss to the Gunners. Arsenal dropping 2 points in the process does Moyes and his side no harm in their hunt for a European qualification place. Sunday's second fixture saw the only repeated result of the weekend with Tottenham taking all three points home from Villa Park for the second year in a row. What does it mean for the projected table? The focus is on the minor European spots with West Ham's improvement against Arsenal seeing them climb back into joint 6th place. Spurs' victory at Aston Villa keeps them a nose ahead of their local rivals. Profits for Leeds and Brighton dispel any remaining fears of a late slide into a relegation battle, if there were any remaining. Further hits for Newcastle and Fulham this weekend inflict further damage upon both sides in the relegation battle that has looked like a four-way fight for many months. Sheffield United and West Brom are among those to have had the best weekend of anyone despite not playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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