EPL Table: Updated Premier League Standings, Fixtures, Title Odds After Week 31

Jose Mourinho's mighty Chelsea side took one step closer to the Premier League title after overcoming the threat of Mark Hughes' Stoke, winning 2-1 at Stamford Bridge.   

The victory leaves the Blues seven points clear at the top of the pile ahead of Arsenal and Manchester United, who have, at least for now, leapfrogged champions Manchester City, who feature on Monday night.     

The Gunners now sit in second position after mauling a faltering Liverpool, destroying the Merseyside team 4-1. 

And United's excellent recent run continued as they comfortably obtained a 3-1 win at home against a resolute Aston Villa. 

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Here are the current standings after Sunday's matches, including a look at the fixtures to come and the current title odds:

Position	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Chelsea	30	21	7	2	63	26	+37	70
2	Arsenal	31	19	6	6	62	32	+30	63
3	Manchester United	31	18	8	5	55	28	+27	62
4	Manchester City	30	18	7	5	62	28	+34	61
5	Liverpool	31	16	6	9	45	36	+9	54
6	Tottenham	31	16	6	9	50	45	+5	54
7	Southampton	31	16	5	10	42	22	+20	53
8	Swansea	31	13	7	11	37	39	-2	46
9	West Ham	31	11	9	11	41	39	+2	42
10	Stoke	31	12	6	13	35	39	-4	42
11	Everton	31	9	10	12	39	42	-3	37
12	Crystal Palace	30	9	9	12	36	41	-5	36
13	Newcastle United	31	9	8	14	33	49	-16	35
14	West Bromwich Albion	31	8	9	14	28	43	-15	33
15	Sunderland	31	5	14	12	24	44	-20	29
16	Hull	31	6	10	15	29	43	-14	28
17	Aston Villa	31	7	7	17	20	42	-22	28
18	Burnley	31	5	11	15	26	49	-23	26
19	Queens Park Rangers	31	7	4	20	35	55	-20	25
20	Leicester	30	5	7	18	29	49	-20	22

Date	Time	Home	VS.	Away
Saturday, April 11	12:45 p.m. BST/7:45 a.m. ET	Swansea City	vs.	Everton
Saturday, April 11	3 p.m. BST/10 a.m. ET	Southampton	vs.	Hull City
Saturday, April 11	3 p.m. BST/10 a.m. ET	Tottenham Hotspur	vs.	Aston Villa
Saturday, April 11	3 p.m. BST/10 a.m. ET	Sunderland	vs.	Crystal Palace
Saturday, April 11	3 p.m. BST/10 a.m. ET	West Brom	vs.	Leicester
Saturday, April 11	3 p.m. BST/10 a.m. ET	West Ham	vs.	Stoke City
Saturday, April 11	5:30 p.m. BST/12:30 p.m. ET	Burnley	vs.	Arsenal
Sunday, April 12	1:30 p.m. BST/8:30 a.m. ET	QPR	vs.	Chelsea
Sunday, April 12	4 p.m. BST/11 a.m. ET	Manchester United	vs.	Manchester City
Monday, April 13	8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET	Liverpool	vs.	Newcastle

Club	Latest Odds
Chelsea	1-25
Arsenal	16-1
Manchester City	16-1
Manchester United	40-1
Liverpool	400-1
Tottenham Hotspur	475-1

Premier League Crown Is Chelsea's To Throw Away

Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press

The current Premier League campaign has always felt like a Chelsea procession to the championship since day one, with the summer additions of Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas as the much-needed cherries on Mourinho's cake.

The Blues' lead at the top of the EPL now stands at seven points. With only 21 maximum points left for the top four to collect after Manchester City play Crystal Palace on Monday night, the job is almost done for the Stamford Bridge collective.

But Chelsea are somewhat limping to the title, with a worrying injury here and indifferent form there.  

They are not the same team who were flying through the season like a jet fighter in the early months, and it is evident Mourinho is preparing to batten down the hatches and do whatever it takes to get past the winning post.

Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press

Star striker Costa lasted just 10 minutes during his substitute appearance against Stoke, and his loss could be key in the coming weeks.

Mourinho admitted he had taken a risk by bringing on the prolific Spain international, but he alluded it is time to gamble on health in order to win the title, per BBC Sport:

"

If the result was 2-0 he wouldn't play. But I have to risk. My medical department had to risk. If the medical department decide to take four weeks, it wouldn't happen. But no way am I upset with my medical department and I am not unhappy with the will of the player to try and help the team.

From all the scans two days ago, the muscle and image was completely clean. The player trained twice at 100 percent. He did much more in training than he did in the match. The medical department do fantastic things for us. We will wait for Diego again. Next week Loic [Remy] or Didier [Drogba] will play.

"

Costa's fitness has been suspect for most of the season, but Chelsea's recent run of five points from their last three home games has coincided with the Brazilian-born player's latest troubles.

Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press

The form of Fabregas is also a huge concern, with the player posting just one assist in the EPL since late January, per WhoScored.com, in comparison to the 15 assists he recorded in the period before his current dip. 

Fabregas appeared to be loving life back in England after his strange spell back at boyhood club Barcelona, but injuries have forced the former Arsenal man onto the back foot, and it has shown in Chelsea's numbers.

However, despite the problems, Chelsea are still very much in the box-seat as the rest of their competitors chase hard. The only real question that means anything at present is whether the big guns of English football close the gap on Mourinho's team quickly enough.

Time For Arsenal To Dream?

Bogdan Maran/Associated Press

The end of the season is typically the part of the campaign most Arsenal fans despise, as their team perennially falls away into mediocrity. 

However, this is not the case for the 2015 Gunners. Arsene Wenger has added a tactical steel to his team this year, and his side now sit in second place after an exceptional run of form.

Despite crashing out of the Champions League at the first knockout hurdle, the Gunners have lost just twice in the EPL since early December, per WhoScored, and Arsenal are now the most likely club to chase down Chelsea. 

Arsenal have been accused of a lack of intestinal fortitude in the past, but the current side—anchored by the brilliant Francis Coquelin—combines both flair and function, not seen since the team left Highbury for the Emirates. 

Journalist and Gunners fan Piers Morgan looked forward to the title run-in and dared to dream his team might pull off the unthinkable:

In normal circumstances, the thought of Morgan being correct (with Arsenal becoming champions) would seem preposterous.

However, Chelsea must still play the Gunners and United in consecutive weeks, meaning a six-point swing could blow the title race wide open.

And in their final three games, the Blues must face a Liverpool team who will be battling for a European berth, with the final match against a Sunderland side, fighting for their EPL survival. Matters are not quite as simple as Mourinho would wish.    

Arsenal have performed wonders to find themselves in this situation, but the Premier League trophy is already being dressed in blue, ready to find its home in west London.   

But if Wenger and Louis van Gaal's teams continue to surf their current crest of a wave and strip the points from Mourinho's hand, the race for the prize will become one of the most exciting in recent memory.