Barclays Premier League Table: Updated 2015 EPL Outlook After Week 31 Results
Arsenal annihilated Liverpool 4-1 at the Emirates Stadium to all but condemn the Anfield club to missing out on a place in next season's UEFA Champions League. The result adds some buoyancy to a possible late title challenge from the Gunners.
Elsewhere, Liverpool's woes were compounded by bitter rivals Manchester United grinding out a win over Aston Villa at Old Trafford. The result leaves Liverpool seven points off fourth place with just seven games to go.
At the bottom, Queens Park Rangers shook things up by shocking West Bromwich Albion at home. Rangers helped themselves to a quartet of goals at the Hawthorns.
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Speaking of survival, the result is a major boost to Rangers' hopes of staying in England's top flight. Leicester City earned a similar fillip after narrowly beating West Ham United at home. The Foxes still have a game in hand on many of the other relegation-threatened teams.
Now it's Hull City and Villa's turn to start worrying.
Here are the early results from Saturday:
| Date | Match | Score |
| Saturday, April 4 | Arsenal vs. Liverpool | 4-1 |
| Saturday, April 4 | Everton vs. Southampton | 1-0 |
| Saturday, April 4 | Leicester City vs. West Ham United | 2-1 |
| Saturday, April 4 | Manchester United vs. Aston Villa | 3-1 |
| Saturday, April 4 | Swansea City vs. Hull City | 3-1 |
| Saturday, April 4 | West Bromwich Albion vs. Queens Park Rangers | 1-4 |
| Saturday, April 4 | Chelsea vs. Stoke City | 2-1 |
Here's what the table looks like after the latest results:
| Position | Club | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goal Difference | Points |
| 1 | Chelsea | 30 | 21 | 7 | 2 | 37 | 70 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 31 | 19 | 6 | 6 | 30 | 63 |
| 3 | Manchester United | 31 | 18 | 8 | 5 | 27 | 62 |
| 4 | Manchester City | 30 | 18 | 7 | 5 | 34 | 61 |
| 5 | Liverpool | 31 | 16 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 54 |
| 6 | Southampton | 31 | 16 | 5 | 10 | 20 | 53 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur | 30 | 16 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 53 |
| 8 | Swansea City | 31 | 13 | 7 | 11 | -2 | 46 |
| 9 | West Ham United | 31 | 11 | 9 | 11 | 2 | 42 |
| 10 | Stoke City | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | -3 | 42 |
| 11 | Everton | 31 | 9 | 10 | 12 | -3 | 37 |
| 12 | Crystal Palace | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | -5 | 36 |
| 13 | Newcastle United | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | -15 | 35 |
| 14 | West Bromwich Albion | 31 | 8 | 9 | 14 | -15 | 33 |
| 15 | Hull City | 31 | 6 | 10 | 15 | -14 | 28 |
| 16 | Aston Villa | 31 | 7 | 7 | 17 | -22 | 28 |
| 17 | Sunderland | 30 | 4 | 14 | 12 | -21 | 26 |
| 18 | Queens Park Rangers | 31 | 7 | 4 | 20 | -20 | 25 |
| 19 | Burnley | 30 | 5 | 10 | 15 | -23 | 25 |
| 20 | Leicester City | 30 | 5 | 7 | 18 | -20 | 22 |
Arsenal's Late-Season Surge Gathers Momentum
The Gunners exacted sweet revenge for last season's 5-1 thumping at the hands of Liverpool at Anfield. Arsenal's payback was inspired by a phenomenal performance from their front three.
Olivier Giroud, Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil added goals to young full-back Hector Bellerin's stylish opener. The result means the Gunners have piled the pressure on Chelsea and turned the Emirates into a fortress, per Squawka Football:
Wenger believes his team have now recovered from issues that contributed to inconsistent performances earlier in the season. The Frenchman feels his squad are good enough to push for the title, per the club's official Twitter feed:
A title push may have come too late for Wenger's men. After all, leaders Chelsea still have games in hand. But there's no doubt the Gunners are the league's form team at the moment.
They've established real momentum. The squad is deep, particularly in forward areas, and there's enough goals to believe Arsenal's current winning run will continue and keep the pressure on Chelsea.
The Blues can't afford any slips.
Chelsea Ride Luck to Maintain Healthy Lead
Jose Mourinho's table-toppers relied on a calamitous gaffe from Stoke City goalkeeper Asmir Begovic to maintain their healthy lead at the league's summit. The Blues now lead by seven and still have a game in hand on the Gunners.
A scrappy affair was punctuated by two spectacular moments. The first was Charlie Adam's astonishing equaliser for the Potters, struck from roughly 65 yards.
The Sky Sports Football official Twitter feed captured an image of the strike:
Things stayed even until Begovic inexplicably rolled the ball into the path of Eden Hazard. The Belgian winger graciously teed up Loic Remy to net the winner:
Begovic's blunder could be the defining moment of this title race, the moment when Chelsea stayed just far enough in front of the chasing pack.
QPR Blow Relegation Race Wide Open
A big three points away from home was the perfect tonic for QPR. Rangers simply had too much quality in attack for a pedestrian Baggies team.
Bobby Zamora, Charlie Austin and Eduardo Vargas tore West Brom apart with a combination of power and pace, as well as devilishly clever movement. The trio helped themselves to goals before controversial midfield-battler Joey Barton capped the scoring.
The result has moved QPR just a point shy of safety, although Chris Ramsey's team have played a game more than Sunderland.
Leicester have also boosted their chances of beating the drop. Classy forward Andrej Kramaric laid on the winner for Andy King. The Foxes are still four points from safety, but every point is welcome at this stage.
Wins for Leicester and Rangers are sure to have Hull looking anxiously over their shoulders.
