There are just a couple of weeks to go before the end of the Premier League’s 2016/17 season. With 2 weeks left, Chelsea are currently sitting top of the table, while Swansea City, Middlesbrough and Sunderland find themselves in the relegation zone.
But what’s at stake and what are they fighting for? Find out what it’s all about in OddsMonkey’s Guide to the Premier League.
What is the Premier League?
The Premier League (also known as the EPL) is England’s most popular football league. The season stretches from the end of August to the middle of May.
Founded on the 27th May 1992, the FA Premier League is the principal competition in English football. In its inaugural season, twenty-two clubs competed for the title. Currently, there are 20 clubs in the Premier League.
The Premier League: 2016/17 season
2016/17 marked the 25th season of the Premier League. Burnley, Hull City and Middlesbrough were welcomed, replacing Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Norwich. Last year’s surprise Premier League champions were Leicester City, who’ve done a great job this season, too. The season is due to end on the 21st May 2017.
| # | Team | Played | Win | Draw | Lose | GF | GA | GD | Points |
| 1 | Chelsea | 35 | 27 | 3 | 5 | 75 | 29 | +46 | 84 |
| 2 | Tottenham Hotspur | 35 | 23 | 8 | 4 | 71 | 23 | +48 | 77 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 36 | 20 | 10 | 6 | 71 | 42 | +29 | 70 |
| 4 | Man City | 35 | 20 | 9 | 6 | 70 | 37 | +33 | 69 |
| 5 | Arsenal | 35 | 20 | 6 | 9 | 68 | 42 | +26 | 66 |
| 6 | Man Utd | 35 | 17 | 14 | 4 | 51 | 27 | +24 | 65 |
| 7 | Everton | 36 | 16 | 10 | 10 | 60 | 41 | +19 | 58 |
| 8 | West Brom | 35 | 12 | 9 | 14 | 41 | 45 | -4 | 45 |
| 9 | Leicester City | 35 | 12 | 7 | 16 | 45 | 54 | -9 | 43 |
| 10 | Southampton | 35 | 11 | 9 | 15 | 39 | 46 | -7 | 42 |
| 11 | Bournemouth | 36 | 11 | 9 | 16 | 52 | 65 | -13 | 42 |
| 12 | West Ham | 36 | 11 | 9 | 16 | 45 | 59 | -14 | 42 |
| 13 | Stoke City | 36 | 10 | 11 | 15 | 39 | 52 | -13 | 41 |
| 14 | Burnley FC | 36 | 11 | 7 | 18 | 37 | 51 | -14 | 40 |
| 15 | Watford | 35 | 11 | 7 | 17 | 37 | 58 | -21 | 40 |
| 16 | Crystal Palace | 36 | 11 | 5 | 20 | 46 | 61 | -15 | 38 |
| 17 | Swansea City | 36 | 10 | 5 | 21 | 41 | 69 | -28 | 35 |
| 18 | Hull City | 36 | 9 | 7 | 20 | 36 | 69 | -33 | 34 |
| 19 | Middlesbrough | 36 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 26 | 48 | -22 | 28 |
| 20 | Sunderland | 35 | 6 | 6 | 23 | 28 | 60 | -32 | 24 |
(Last updated May 11th 2017)
Top scorers
| Player | Club | Goals | |
| 1 | Romelu Lukaku | Everton | 24 |
| 2 | Harry Kane | Tottenham | 21 |
| 3 | Diego Costa | Chelsea | 20 |
| 4 | Alexis Sanchez | Arsenal | 19 |
| 5 | Sergio Aguero | Man City | 18 |
| 6 | Dele Alli | Tottenham | 17 |
| Zlatan Imbrahimovic | Man Utd | 17 | |
| 8 | Eden Hazard | Chelsea | 15 |
| Joshua King | Bournemouth | 15 |
| Jermain Defoe | Sunderland | 15 |
How the league works
Every club plays against each other twice: once at home and once away. During the course of a season, each club will play a total of 38 games. The Premier League uses a points scoring system:
- 3 points are awarded to a team for a win
- 1 point is awarded to a team for a draw
- 0 points are awarded for a loss
The club that earns the most points over the course of a season wins the league and title of Premier League champions. It’s kind of a big deal, you know…
In the event of a tie, things like ‘goal difference’ and ‘goals scored’ come in as the deciding factors. If these all produce the same outcome, the clubs involved are considered to have finished in the same position.
In the event of a tie for the title, relegation or for qualification to other competitions, a play-off match – held at a neutral venue – would take place. There will always be a ‘winner’ and a ‘loser’ in this case.
Winners
At the end of the season, the top 4 clubs automatically qualify for the Champions League. The club ranking in 5th position qualifies for the Europa League. It’s also possible for clubs ranking in 6th and 7th position to qualify for the Europa League. In this instance, qualification is dependent on things like which clubs have previously qualified by other means, such as winning the FA Cup.
Losers
Unfortunately, the clubs in the bottom 3 positions are relegated into the English Football League (EFL). Simultaneously, the top 2 ranking clubs in the EFL gain automatic promotion to the Premier League.
The footy season’s a great time to put on a couple of cheeky accumulator bets. See how OddsMonkey could help you turn these into real money. Click the button below to find out more about one of our accumulator tools.
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