Liverpool took another step closer to their inevitable Premier League title on a day where Leicester City’s fate, which had long been decided, was sealed with their relegation to the Championship.
Manchester United lost to Wolves on a day both sides were mathematically safe from the drop – but only one side felt like celebrating after Pablo Sarabia’s stunning free-kick.
At the bottom, Southampton drew level with Derby County’s worst-ever Premier League points total, while Ipswich Town’s immediate return to the Championship is closing in after their hefty defeat at home to Arsenal.
Elsewhere, Chelsea finally got a win away from home in the Premier League, while Newcastle United were handed a reality check at Villa Park to dent their top five aspirations.
In the newest instalment of this weekly column, Mail Sport picks out five of the most interesting talking points to emerge from the Premier League’s latest round of matches.
Trent Alexander-Arnold helped fire Liverpool one step closer to sealing the Premier League
Meanwhile, Leicester’s relegation back to the Championship was confirmed on Sunday
THE KEY TO VILLA LANDING TOP FIVE SPOT
The Champions League race looks set to go to the wire but if there is one team to pay very close attention to it’s Aston Villa.
Unai Emery’s side are the most in-form team in the Premier League across the past eight games and appear to be peaking at just the right time with so little to separate Newcastle United – who they humbled with a 4-1 win this weekend – Manchester City, who they play on Tuesday night, Chelsea, and Nottingham Forest.
Villa’s thumping win this weekend saw them make it six successive home wins across all competitions in which they have scored two or more goals in all of them: Chelsea, Cardiff City, Club Brugge, Nottingham Forest, Paris Saint-Germain, and Newcastle United.
Make that their longest run of wins with two-plus goals scored since 1990 for Villa.
Victory over Newcastle also made it 16 games unbeaten at home in the Premier League this season, last losing on their own turf back in August 2024 against Arsenal.
They are now one behind their record run at home of 17 games unbeaten, set between March to December 2023, a record also set by Unai Emery.
Villa have beaten Man City, Nottingham Forest, Chelsea and Newcastle United on their own patch and have all the momentum right now, despite currently sitting seventh in the table.
Fulham and Tottenham both have to go to Villa Park while they face trips to Manchester City in midweek – an enormous game in the race for Champions League – Bournemouth, who have stuttered of late, and Manchester United, who have been a soft touch at Old Trafford and have lost 15 league matches already this season.
Aston Villa are the most in-form team in the Premier League across the past eight games
Unai Emery’s side appear to be peaking at just the right time as they push for a top five place
Emery has recruited well, has taken one of the league’s best young players in Morgan Rogers to new heights, and is still getting a tune out of Ollie Watkins, despite leaving him ‘fuming’ at not starting in the Champions League.
Chelsea and Manchester City secured crucial away wins at the weekend, while Newcastle United were the biggest losers, but where others are scrambling to the finish it is Villa that look fresher than ever.
ODEGAARD IS TOP OF THE CLASS
Once upon a time there may have been surprise to see Martin Odegaard thriving as one of a league’s best players. Not now.
Odegaard got the ball rolling for Arsenal down at Ipswich by teeing up Leandro Trossard for the first goal and further inspection of the stats shows just how proactive Odegaard is in this Arsenal midfield.
The Norwegian has completed more through balls (13) than any other Premier League player this season. Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes and Newcastle United’s Bruno Guimaraes are second and third.
Sunday’s rout at Portman Road also saw Odegaard produce 70 accurate passes into the final third in a Premier League game, only the fourth midfielder in the league since 2016-17 to do so.
The others? That would be Mesut Ozil – who managed it twice, against West Brom (75) and Swansea City (72) – Jorginho (72) against Newcastle United, and Cesc Fabregas managed 70 versus Huddersfield Town. The common denominator here is that all played for the same team.
But Odegaard’s fingerprints are across everything good this Arsenal team do when they are at their best.
Martin Odegaard has completed more through balls (13) than any other player this season
At Ipswich he had the most touches (115), completed the most passes (90) and had the most touches in the opposition box (16)
At Ipswich he had the most touches (115), completed the most passes (90), had the most touches in the opposition box (16), created the most chances (5) and won possession the most of anyone in the final third (4).
Odegaard has come in for criticism from some quarters this season but a confident Odegaard can comfortably establish himself as one of Europe’s premier central midfielders.
SOLID WEST HAM STILL LEAVE LOT TO BE DESIRED
There is no denying that West Ham have become harder to beat since Graham Potter walked through the door. The stats back that up, too.
The Hammers are conceding fewer goals per game under Potter (1.23) compared to his predecessor Julien Lopetegui (1.95); facing fewer shots on their goal under Potter (14.2) than under Lopetegui (16.6); with an Expected Goals Against (xGA) down to 1.33 under Potter compared to 1.82 with Lopetegui.
But what the weekend’s 1-1 draw to rock bottom Southampton underlined was just how anaemic this team can be going forward.
Thirteen goals from his 13 games in charge, of which three of them came in his first Premier League game in charge of the club in a 3-2 home win over Fulham.
They have scored more than one goal in just two of the following 12 games and against Southampton they managed to get just four of their 12 shots on target, mustering an Expected Goals (xG) of just 0.91.
It was no great surprise to see fans boo at the end. This is, after all, an entertainment business and Potter’s football has struggled to do just that across 13 games.
West Ham have struggled to find their form in front of goal since Graham Potter’s arrival
The former Chelsea boss has failed to find a solution to their attacking issues of late
‘In the modern Premier League, you have to do both sides of the game – we’re struggling to do that, to sustain attacks, keep the ball well to create chances. We struggled,’ Potter said.
‘The we looked was in transition, which is where the goal came from, but overall we’re disappointed.’
It spoke volumes that Niclas Fulkrug’s ruthless post match interview in which he concluded that team-mates have a ‘mindset’ problem and they don’t try to play football went down well, not negatively, with supporters.
From the outside Potter’s tenure may be going under the radar with a dreadful bottom three and an atrocious league campaign by Manchester United providing useful foil.
But those in the east end are tired of being bored week in, week out. West Ham need to fix up – fast.
FRANK SHOULD BE NEXT MAN UP
Let’s pivot to a manager doing a far more impressive job across London: Thomas Frank.
This man should be the No 1 candidate for any ‘Big Six’ Premier League job that comes up in the near future.
Should Tottenham Hotspur call time on Ange Postecoglou, Frank should be target No 1. Manchester United already took a long hard look at Frank before going for Ruben Amorim. Chelsea did likewise before settling on Enzo Maresca.
Thomas Frank has been credited with doing a superb job as Brentford manager this season
Frank continues to elevate good players into better players – just look at the development of players like Yoane Wissa (right) and Bryan Mbeumo (left) this season
Immediate change won’t be forthcoming at Liverpool or Arsenal, and probably not at Man City either, but Frank’s work with Brentford is now of such a sample size that he is impossible to ignore when that next premier job hits the open market.
Frank continues to elevate good players into better players – just look at the development of players like Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo this season – while he has shown a real tactical flexibility when required.
His sides can mix up a possession-based game with flowing attacks to a counter-attack formation that continues to catch opponents cold.
Frank is an ambitious guy, that much is obvious, but he’s also a smart one and has shown in the past he doesn’t want to show all of his cards when it comes to taking that next step.
Speaking on the Sports Agents podcast last year, Frank said: ‘I am probably at one of the best clubs in the world. End of discussion.
‘In terms of alignment, leadership, culture, everything. Why should I ever leave this place?
‘Things can happen and you can want new inspiration, maybe you find another inspiration at your club and you stay.
‘For sure, if I ever got the offer to go to a big club and I decided to go there, it would probably not make my life better. I think we all know that. Maybe it is a challenge you need to try. It is not something I am thinking about.’
Whether he takes the leap of faith to try and rub his magic off elsewhere is one thing, but there is no excuse for the Premier League to overlook him any more.
Frank should be the No 1 candidate for any ‘Big Six’ job that comes up in the near future
TOTTENHAM TRIP FEELS MUST-WIN FOR FOREST
With Newcastle United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Aston Villa all playing again before Nottingham Forest take on Brentford at the City Ground on May 1, psychologically Monday night at Tottenham feels enormous for their Champions League hopes.
Win and Nuno Espirito Santo’s side regain control of third place with every team having played 33 games. One point would take them above Chelsea and back into the top five.
But lose and they could find themselves a mountain to climb by the time they host Brentford.
Forest are 12th in the form table across their last 10 games, with Aston Villa (3rd), Newcastle (5th), Man City (6th) and Chelsea (7th) all gaining a greater foothold in the top five race.
England’s extra Champions League spot has enhanced everyone’s odds. But five teams does not into the three places available in 3rd, 4th and 5th and other teams are peaking at just the right time.
Nuno Espirito Santo knows that Nottingham Forest must beat Spurs to keep top five hopes alive
Next weekend’s FA Cup semi-final for Nottingham Forest is a landmark occasion at Wembley Stadium – but the true mark of their season would be finishing in the Champions League places for 2025-26.
Tottenham have been a soft touch of late but Forest will have no divine right to go there this evening and win.
Do so and the psychology in the top five race will swing back in their favour. Lose and the increasing sense of dread threatens to envelope Forest.
A huge night awaits in North London.
