EPL Weekly Wrap | All the Headlines – Gameweek 31

I reckon this was the most chaotic round of the season. 

Chelsea’s wheels have well and truly come off and Liverpool look done for in the league. Then there’s Tottenham, who just lost a relegation six-pointer at home 3-0. Aston Villa had the best seat in the house for all of it, then went and did their own job on Sunday. 

Here’s a breakdown of all the Premier League news you may have missed last week.

Aston Villa had the benefit of going last this weekend. They’d already seen Manchester United draw 2-2 at Bournemouth on Friday and Liverpool lose 2-1 at Brighton on Saturday. Chelsea got battered 3-0 at Everton on Sunday morning NZT too. 

So the job was simple – beat West Ham at home.

McGinn curled one in from the edge of the box inside 15 minutes, and Ollie Watkins – dropped from the England squad earlier in the week – slid in the second after the break for his first goal in seven league games.

It’s safe to say Liverpool are falling apart now. Danny Welbeck scored twice at the Amex, and Slot was already without Mohamed Salah and Alisson before Hugo Ekitike limped off inside 10 minutes. They’ve now got league defeats this season, and are fifth on 49 points. If you’re after football tips right now, backing against Liverpool away from home has been a licence to print money.

But Chelsea might be in a worse spot – they’re now at four straight losses across all competitions. Beto scored twice and Iliman Ndiaye added a belter as Everton ran through them at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. One win in six league games, and Everton are only two points behind them now.

Man United, meanwhile, let a win slip at Bournemouth. Fernandes and Sesko both scored, but two goals conceded in the final half hour and a Maguire red card meant they left with just one point. Still, they’re third on 55 – though Villa are only one point behind on 54 now.

If you’re a Sunderland fan, it doesn’t get much better than Brobbey’s 90th-minute winner at St James’ Park. 

Anthony Gordon had put Newcastle ahead early on, courtesy of a shocking kick set up from Sunderland which handed over possession. Newcastle were comfortable for most of the first half and should’ve been further ahead.

Yet Sunderland came out after the break like a team possessed. Chemsdine Talbi scored after Ramsdale parried a corner on 57 minutes, and Brobbey slammed home a rebound right at the death. It’s now 11 consecutive league derbies unbeaten for Sunderland – a record in this fixture – and they leapfrog Newcastle.

Newcastle’s season is unravelling. Eight defeats in 11 league games, and a 7-2 thrashing in Barcelona midweek. Twelfth on 42 points.

I thought the Spurs-Forest game was going to be different. Fans had come out in force before kick-off and there was real energy after beating Atletico Madrid 3-2 midweek. Then Forest turned up and won 3-0.

Igor Jesus headed in from a corner just before half-time against the run of play. The second was worse – Gibbs-White, a player Spurs tried to sign last summer, was left unmarked inside the box to finish on 62 minutes. Taiwo Awoniyi tapped in a third with three minutes left.

No league win in 2026 for Spurs. Thirteen games without one. They’re 17th on 30 points, matching their lowest total after 31 games in club history – level with 1914-15, a season that ended in relegation. For anyone checking betting apps NZ for relegation odds, the numbers are grim.

Forest’s first league win under Vitor Pereira lifts them to 16th on 32 points. West Ham lost 2-0 at Villa and sit 18th on 29. Burnley went down 3-1 at Fulham, stuck on 20. Wolves prop up the table on 17. Four points separate Leeds in 15th and West Ham in 18th.

For NZ punters using free bets ahead of Gameweek 32, the next round kicks off the weekend of 11-12 April NZT as there’s a break now for the international window. Chelsea host Man City at 3:30am NZT on Monday 13 April, and Sunderland welcome Spurs at 1:00am the same morning.