Premier League Table: 2016 Standings, Week 31 Fixtures After Week 30 Results
Leicester City continued their improbable run to the 2015-16 Premier League title on Monday, beating Newcastle United 1-0 thanks to a single goal from Shinji Okazaki.
With the win, the Foxes maintain their five-point lead over Tottenham Hotspur in the standings, while Arsenal now trail the leaders by 11 points, albeit with a match in hand.
Only five matches took place this week, as a number of Premier League clubs had FA Cup obligations. Here's a look at the full results from Week 30:
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| Norwich City | 0-0 | Manchester City |
| Bournemouth | 3-2 | Swansea |
| Stoke City | 1-2 | Southampton |
| Aston Villa | 0-2 | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Leicester | 1-0 | Newcastle |
The current Premier League standings:
| 1 | Leicester City | 30 | 18 | 9 | 3 | 22 | 63 |
| 2 | Tottenham Hotspur | 30 | 16 | 10 | 4 | 29 | 58 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 29 | 15 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 52 |
| 4 | Manchester City | 30 | 15 | 6 | 8 | 21 | 51 |
| 5 | West Ham United | 29 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 49 |
| 6 | Manchester United | 29 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 47 |
| 7 | Southampton | 30 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 44 |
| 8 | Liverpool | 28 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 44 |
| 9 | Stoke City | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | -4 | 43 |
| 10 | Chelsea | 29 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 40 |
| 11 | West Bromwich Albion | 29 | 10 | 9 | 10 | -6 | 39 |
| 12 | Everton | 28 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 12 | 38 |
| 13 | Bournemouth | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | -9 | 38 |
| 14 | Watford | 29 | 10 | 7 | 12 | -1 | 37 |
| 15 | Crystal Palace | 29 | 9 | 6 | 14 | -7 | 33 |
| 16 | Swansea City | 30 | 8 | 9 | 13 | -10 | 33 |
| 17 | Sunderland | 29 | 6 | 7 | 16 | -19 | 25 |
| 18 | Norwich City | 30 | 6 | 7 | 17 | -23 | 25 |
| 19 | Newcastle United | 29 | 6 | 6 | 17 | -26 | 24 |
| 20 | Aston Villa | 30 | 3 | 7 | 20 | -35 | 16 |
The fixture list for Week 31:
| Saturday, March 19 | Everton | Arsenal |
| Saturday, March 19 | Chelsea | West Ham |
| Saturday, March 19 | Crystal Palace | Leicester |
| Saturday, March 19 | Watford | Stoke |
| Saturday, March 19 | WBA | Norwich |
| Saturday, March 19 | Swansea | Aston Villa |
| Sunday, March 20 | Newcastle | Sunderland |
| Sunday, March 20 | Southampton | Liverpool |
| Sunday, March 20 | Tottenham | Bournemouth |
| Sunday, March 20 | Manchester City | Manchester United |
Recap
Leicester City survived a late rally from Newcastle to record their 18th win of the season, continuing their Cinderella run.
Okazaki opened the score after 25 minutes with a stunning overhead kick, sending the King Power Stadium into delirium. Bleacher Report UK couldn't believe it:
Leicester did everything possible to keep the tempo of the match as low as possible in the second half, and Newcastle provided few reasons to change that approach. Andros Townsend flashed his talent on a few occasions, but other than that, the Foxes seemingly had no reasons to worry.
Their lack of attacking intentions had fans and pundits on the edge of their seats, however, including former England international Gary Lineker:
The Magpies improved as time went on, and soon they were pushing for a late equaliser. But while they took control of the ball, chances were few, and the final result was never really in question.
BreatheSport couldn't help themselves once the final whistle blew:
"The Premier League title race with 8 games to go:
— BreatheSport (@BreatheSport) March 14, 2016"
1 - Leicester (63 pts)
2 - Tottenham (58 pts) pic.twitter.com/tYqs3mrshc
With Arsenal and Manchester United not playing during the weekend because of their involvement in the FA Cup, the attention shifted to Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur.
Spurs continued their fine run with a 2-0 triumph over Aston Villa, courtesy of two goals from Harry Kane. The England international has driven Tottenham's title run these past few weeks, along with young midfielder Dele Alli, who provided both assists.
Lineker thinks both have to start for England during the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament:
Manchester City didn't fare as well in Week 30, playing out a disappointing scoreless draw with Norwich City. The absence of Kevin De Bruyne continues to haunt the side as, once again, creativity was a major issue.
Striker Sergio Aguero gave it his all, but the Argentinian didn't see the service he's accustomed to, and the Canaries easily defended their goal.
Per Jack Mumford of City's official website, manager Manuel Pellegrini isn't giving up on the title just yet:
"Of course we dropped two important points. My mind is always focused now to the next game and while it is mathematically possible we must try to do it.
The only way forward is to think of the Champions League game on Tuesday and after that we play against Manchester United at home.
We will try to get the three points and at the end of the season see which side has the most points but when you have so few games to play and you are losing points it is always difficult.
"
Leicester City and Tottenham both face reasonably straightforward challenges in Week 32, taking on Crystal Palace and Bournemouth, respectively. Assuming both teams take care of business, the pressure will be on Arsenal and Manchester City, who won't have things as easy.
The Gunners visit Everton, who just knocked Chelsea out of the FA Cup and enter the clash with momentum on their side. Meanwhile, City play host to rivals Manchester United, who are still gunning for a UEFA Champions League ticket.
