Premier League game week 31: 6 key takeaways from the weekend

Game week 31 of the 2024–25 Premier League season brought major shifts across the table, at both ends. Southampton became the first team to be officially relegated, while Leicester City and Ipswich Town edged closer to the drop after more disappointing results. At the top, every team in the top four dropped points, allowing Newcastle United to climb into fifth place. The weekend ended with surprise defeats for Liverpool, Arsenal, and Nottingham Forest, shaking up the title and European qualification race.

At the end of Game week 31, the first team to be relegated from the 2024–25 Premier League season was confirmed. All five teams that started the week in the top five dropped points, including Manchester City, who drew with Manchester United in the week’s most anticipated match.

Here are six key takeaways from the weekend:

1. Manchester derby fizzles despite pre-match hype

Every Premier League season, one of the fixtures football fans most look forward to is the Manchester Derby. The first match at the Etihad had seen Manchester United make a dramatic comeback to win after trailing for almost 88 minutes. However, in the reverse fixture at Old Trafford, nothing was exciting about it.

Pep Guardiola opted to go for experience in the big match. Despite names like Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden all starting, the defending champions never looked like scoring. On the other hand, even though the home side created a few chances, nothing came close.

Chelsea, fourth and above Manchester City in the table, had dropped points. So a win would have taken Pep Guardiola’s side above them, with Newcastle just behind and ready to pounce with two games in hand. Yet, there was no urgency from his side to make sure they got the three points. Rúben Amorim will be glad it was yet another big match his team did well in compared to their results otherwise.