Premier League Matchday 37 review: All eyes on Spurs

Tuesday 14 May 2024 by Jonathan Victoria  Features

The penultimate official matchday of the season is complete, leaving just one more to go (plus three midweek catchup games) before we have a champion crowned.

Elsewhere, there isn’t too much to play for, so all eyes will be on Tottenham tonight as they face Manchester City in what could be the title decider.

But before that, we’re taking a look and reviewing the weekend just gone with our Matchday 37 review, assessing the good, the bad and the ugly plus giving our biggest winner and star players awards for the week.

The Good

Credit: Man City THUMP Fulham to move top! | Fulham 0-4 Manchester City | Premier League Highlights (Sky Sports Premier League, YouTube)

Let’s start with Arsenal, who saw off a weak Manchester United side, who did keep them somewhat honest, and kept their title hopes alive. All they can do at this point is win and hope Man City slips up, but that latter part is asking a lot.

City often feels inevitable at this point of the season, so a 4-0 win over Fulham felt like no surprise (although their double-goalscorer was, more on that later).

Chelsea continued their winning ways, beating Nottingham Forest 3-2 in a close battle. They have lost only once in their last 13 Premier League games, and while that loss was the 5-0 trumping to Arsenal, they have done well to propel themselves up the table and may find a place in next season's Europa League campaign, if not at least the Europa Conference League.

Aston Villa left it late to crawl back a point from Liverpool’s grasp and keep their top-four hopes in their hands. Depending on today’s result, they could have it secured before they even play their final game, but if it does come to that, a single point should be enough for them.

Crystal Palace has been a side reborn under manager Oliver Glasner after he took charge in February and may be a side to watch for next season.

The Bad

Credit: Longstaff strikes to grab draw for Magpies! | Newcastle 1-1 Brighton | Premier League Highlights (Sky Sports Premier League, YouTube)

There’s not too much to mention in the bad this week, but if I had to pick, both Newcastle and Brighton missed out on big opportunities, although the Magpies more so than the Seagulls.

The derby of the birds, which finished 1-1, has left Newcastle susceptible to losing their Europa League spot to Chelsea. A ECL place would still be theirs but to lose out on the EL would be a big shame.

As for Brighton, they’re not fighting for a European competition place, but they may find themselves falling from the top half of the table, which would be a big disappointment for them after their sixth-place finish last year.

The Ugly

The three relegation spots are all but final, with the sides who came up from the Championship last season going straight back down this year.

This is only going in the ugly for the fact that there has been no real relegation scrap this year, which is usually just as if not more exciting than the title race.

Luton aren’t technically relegated, they can finish level points with Forest, but they would need a monumental goal difference swing in their favour to achieve survival.

Vincent Kompany’s Burnley has been many people’s biggest disappointment of the season. Expectations were high for them to show some magic after what they were capable in their record-setting Championship title year, but instead, they have fallen flat and saw themselves dumped back out of the Prem with their loss to Tottenham.

As for Sheffield United, their relegation has been known for some time and may join Huddersfield for the joint-third lowest points tally in the Premier League ever with just 16 points. 

Biggest Winner

Credit: Jackson completes Chelsea comeback! 😤 | Nottingham Forest 2-3 Chelsea | Premier League Highlights (Sky Sports Premier League, YouTube)

There honestly really weren’t any big winners this matchday. Nobody majorly benefited from their result or any around them, although like mentioned before, Chelsea may thank Newcastle for their semi-slip up against Brighton which could hand them a Europa League place. So I guess for that fact, for the first time this year, Chelsea is this week's biggest winner.

Star Players

Credit: Duran double rescues point for Villa! | Aston Villa 3-3 Liverpool | Premier League Highlights (Sky Sports Premier League, YouTube)

Two players stood out for their sides, both somewhat unexpected stars but helped themselves to a tasteful brace.

Josko Gvardiol

The defender has found himself on the scoresheet more often over the last month or so and even could’ve had a hattrick this weekend if he wasn’t so humble and gave the penalty to Julian Alvarez. 

Jhon Duran

The Columbian only needed 15 minutes to score twice and rescue a result for Villa, stealing the three points from Liverpool and keeping the Villains’ top-four chances in their hands.