Barclays Premier League Table: Updated 2016 EPL Review After Week 36 Results

Andros Townsend handed Newcastle United three vital points in the battle against Premier League relegation on Saturday, scoring the only goal in the win over Crystal Palace. Former Magpies star Yohan Cabaye missed a penalty that would have drawn the Eagles level.

Sunderland earned a late draw against Stoke City thanks to a last-minute penalty from Jermain Defoe, but Newcastle's win means the Magpies pass the Black Cats in the standings.

However, Newcastle have two games left this season while Sunderland have three. Fellow relegation-battlers Norwich City suffered a 1-0 loss against Arsenal.

Watford came from behind to beat Aston Villa 3-2, and West Ham United continued their push for a ticket to Europe with a routine 3-0 win over West Bromwich Albion. Everton held on to beat Bournemouth 2-1.

Here's a look at Saturday's results:

Everton	2-1	Bournemouth
Newcastle	1-0	Crystal Palace
Stoke City	1-1	Sunderland
Watford	3-2	Aston Villa
WBA	0-3	West Ham
Arsenal	1-0	Norwich

The latest Premier League standings:

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Leicester	35	22	10	3	63	33	+30	76
2	Tottenham	35	19	12	4	65	26	+39	69
3	Arsenal	36	19	10	7	59	34	+25	67
4	Manchester City	35	19	7	9	66	34	+32	64
5	West Ham	35	15	14	6	60	43	+17	59
6	Manchester United	34	17	8	9	42	30	+12	59
7	Liverpool	34	15	10	9	58	45	+13	55
8	Southampton	35	15	9	11	49	37	+12	54
9	Stoke	36	13	9	14	38	52	-14	48
10	Chelsea	34	12	11	11	53	46	+7	47
11	Everton	35	10	14	11	55	49	+6	44
12	Watford	35	12	8	15	36	42	-6	44
13	West Bromwich Albion	36	10	11	15	32	46	-14	41
14	Bournemouth	36	11	8	17	43	63	-20	41
15	Swansea	35	10	10	15	34	49	-15	40
16	Crystal Palace	36	10	9	17	36	46	-10	39
17	Newcastle United	36	8	9	19	39	64	-25	33
18	Sunderland	35	7	11	17	40	58	-18	32
19	Norwich	35	8	7	20	35	61	-26	31
20	Aston Villa	36	3	7	26	27	72	-45	16

Review

The battle to avoid the drop took centre stage on Saturday, and fans were treated to plenty of drama at both St James' Park and the Britannia Stadium.

Newcastle were far from their best against Crystal Palace, but a single moment of genius from Townsend saved the day.

The former Tottenham Hotspur star curled home a fantastic free-kick to give his team the lead, a goal that could prove incredibly valuable at the end of the season, per former England international Gary Lineker:

The visitors pushed for an equaliser and were given a lifeline when Moussa Sissoko threw his hands up in a duel and was judged to have handled the ball. The call was a controversial one, but the midfielder should have kept his arms below his head and not given the official the opportunity to blow the whistle to begin with.

Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images

Cabaye fired a tame effort on goal from the spot, however, and goalkeeper Karl Darlow made a stop that could prove just as important as Townsend's goal.

Bleacher Report UK couldn't help but remind its followers of Cabaye's past:

The win moves Newcastle to 17th place in the standings, one point above Sunderland, who earned a late draw against Stoke thanks to star forward Defoe. 

Marko Arnautovic had given the hosts the lead early in the second half, but Defoe was caught inside the box in injury time and converted the spot-kick himself.

Matt Le Tissier was almost as nervous as the player himself, appearing on Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday:

Danny Welbeck scored the only goal in Arsenal's 1-0 win over Norwich, dropping the Canaries into the relegation zone. Norwich sit two points behind Newcastle but still have three matches on their schedule.

Aston Villa added yet another low point to their disappointing season, losing 3-2 against Watford after leading for the majority of the afternoon. Aly Cissokho was red-carded after 73 minutes, but by the end of regulation, the visitors still held a 2-1 lead.

Troy Deeney scored twice in three minutes to hand the Hornets all three points, however. BreatheSport had to use this meme:

"

90' Watford 1 - 2 Aston Villa
93' Watford 3 - 2 Aston Villa

Remaining Villa fans... pic.twitter.com/0wgP0VmHTl

— BreatheSport (@BreatheSport) April 30, 2016"

Leighton Baines scored the winner for Everton, who beat Bournemouth 2-1, and Mark Noble scored a brace in West Ham's easy win over West Bromwich Albion. 

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