Pearson rounds up the Premier League as Liverpool extend lead over City

Premier League Rundown

Liverpool drew 2-2 at home with Bournemouth to extend their unbeaten run to five games. With Man City’s defeat, they do now extend their lead over fourth place, but a win would have made their position more comfortable. Bournemouth drop to 13th in the league but with a seven-point cushion over the relegation places they should have enough to stay safe this season.

It was Chelsea who beat Man City 2-1 at home and allowed the other side’s into the top four race. The league leaders protected their seven-point lead at the top with that win but have now not kept a clean sheet in eight games. Manchester City remain in 4th but are just two points behind Liverpool with a game in hand. City’s form has slipped of late and they have failed to win in each of their last four matches.

Tottenham left it very late to come from behind and beat Swansea away from home. Trailing until the 88th minute Spurs turned the game on its head to win 3-1. That is five wins in a row now and was enough to keep them in second place, seven points behind Chelsea and five ahead of Liverpool. Swansea drop into the relegation zone and are two points behind Hull and the sides have the same goal difference. They have failed to win in their last four games and need to pick up form if they are to have a chance of survival.

Arsenal beat West Ham 3-0 at home to move back into contention for the top four places. They move into 5th place, just four points behind Man City with a game in hand. It was the sides’ first win in four games and a return to form after a difficult period. West Ham drop to 15th in the table following their fifth straight defeat. They are five points above the bottom three and need to pick up more points before the end of the season to be sure of safety.

Manchester United scored a late penalty to draw 1-1 at home to Everton, their 12th draw of the season so far. They are now level on points with Arsenal but drop to 6th on goal difference. Everton have lost just two games in the last 14, away at Liverpool and Spurs. They stay in 7th place but are now just seven points behind the top four, and have a slim chance of breaking into it.

West Brom continued their shaky form since reaching the 40 point mark with a 2-0 defeat away to Watford. They remain stranded in 8th place but will want to avoid a disappointing end to what has been an excellent season so far. Watford move into the top 10 with that win and are seven points behind West Brom.

Southampton became the first team to beat Crystal Palace in five games as the won 3-1 at Saint Mary’s. With that win they move into 9th. They, like Watford, are seven points behind West Brom but have two games in hand and may be able to make up enough points to move up the league. Despite Palace’s good run of lat, they are still only three points ahead of Swansea in 16th and not yet safe. They face a difficult run of games coming but still have one in hand over their relegation rivals.

Leicester put in a convincing 2-0 victory over bottom side Sunderland to move up to 11th, one point behind a top half place. It is now five straight wins since their change of manager at the end of February, a run of form which has propelled them up the league. Sunderland are now 10 points from an unlikely climb out of the relegation zone, and with only eight games remaining they look destined to go down.

Stoke City fell out of the top half of the table courtesy of their third straight defeat, this time away at Burnley. Burnley were themselves on a poor run of form but their first win in eight attempts has moved them towards safety. They are now in 14th place and sit seven points above Swansea.

The final game of this mid-week round was the most significant at the bottom of the league as Hull City beat Middlesbrough to move out of the drop zone. Their third straight home win moved them two points above Swansea. It is now 17 points from their last 11 games a run which has given them a chance of survival, but it is their struggles away from home which may see them still drop into the bottom three. Middlesbrough have now not won in 13 games, a run which stretches back to December. They find themselves seven points from safety, but have a game in hand over the others.

To draw that late in the game was a disappointing end to the match but Liverpool need to remain positive heading into their next match. Given their third place in the league they still just need to match their rival’s results until the end of the season to finish in the top four. The fixture list looks good until the end of the season, but they need to stop struggling against the teams lower down the league.

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