Man Utd top Premier League table of final-game results, while Leeds can take comfort from their spot
- Paul Okey
- 18 May 2022
Going into the final weekend of the Premier League campaign, Planet Sport has compiled a table of all the top-flight clubs’ results from their previous season-ending fixtures.
As befits a side who have won the Premier League title 13 times, Manchester United have lost just three of their 29 final-day games, with their 20 wins giving them a points per game average of 2.28.
It puts them at the summit of a table involving all 20 current top-flight clubs, but only just.
Arsenal, on the back of an incredible run of 15 games without defeat, also average 2.28 points per game, but have a slightly inferior goal difference.
The Gunners have won their final fixture in each of the last ten Premier League campaigns and you have to go back to 2004/05, when they lost 2-1 at Birmingham City, for their last final-game defeat. Their extraordinary run is all the most impressive when you consider they lost seven of their first 13 season-concluding fixtures in the Premier League era.
Chelsea and Liverpool's positions are not surprising given they have consistently challenged for titles and top-four finishes over the last three decades.
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | PPG | ||
| 1 | Man Utd | 29 | 20 | 6 | 3 | 52 | 21 | 66 | 2.28 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 29 | 20 | 2 | 7 | 64 | 35 | 66 | 2.28 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 29 | 17 | 5 | 7 | 57 | 35 | 56 | 1.93 |
| 4 | Liverpool | 29 | 16 | 6 | 7 | 57 | 29 | 54 | 1.86 |
| 5 | Leeds | 12 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 20 | 9 | 21 | 1.75 |
| 6 | West Ham | 25 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 44 | 35 | 41 | 1.64 |
| 7 | Man City | 24 | 11 | 5 | 8 | 50 | 36 | 38 | 1.58 |
| 8 | Tottenham | 29 | 13 | 6 | 10 | 53 | 46 | 45 | 1.55 |
| 9 | Newcastle | 26 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 49 | 32 | 40 | 1.54 |
| 10 | Southampton | 22 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 32 | 30 | 28 | 1.27 |
| 11 | Crystal Pal | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 15 | 1.25 |
| 12 | Everton | 29 | 10 | 6 | 13 | 44 | 51 | 36 | 1.24 |
| 13 | Aston Villa | 26 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 24 | 38 | 29 | 1.12 |
| 14 | Norwich | 9 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 23 | 9 | 1 |
| 15 | Burnley | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 12 | 6 | 0.86 |
| 16 | Leicester | 15 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 26 | 33 | 13 | 0.86 |
| 17 | Brighton | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 3 | 0.75 |
| 18 | Watford | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 16 | 5 | 0.71 |
| 19 | Wolves | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 15 | 3 | 0.43 |
| 20 | Brentford | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
However, Leeds' fifth place is unexpected and augurs well ahead of their crucial final-day clash at Brentford.
The Elland Road side have lost their final match of the campaign just once, with the defeat coming at the hands of Chelsea in their 2003/04 relegation campaign. They have drawn six of the 12, though.
Manchester City sit down in seventh despite having won their last five final-day games by an aggregate score of 20-1. It is in stark contrast to their first 11 final-day fixtures which contained seven defeats, including an 8-1 hammering at the hands of Middlesbrough in 2008.
Pep Guardiola's side can guarantee the title on Sunday by beating Aston Villa and would be wise not to rely on Wolves doing them a favour against Liverpool. The Molineux side have lost their last five final-day fixtures and six of seven.
On this day in 2008 Middlesbrough hammered Man City 8-1 at the Riverside Stadium and Fabio Rochemback scored this absolute rocket of a free kick 🚀 pic.twitter.com/JVzhN4nOd7
— The North Project (@thenorthproject) May 11, 2021
Burnley boast a similarly woeful final-day record, having lost all five games since their return to the Premier League in 2016/17. A final-day game against a Newcastle side who have rounded off five of their last six Premier League campaigns with wins is maybe not the survival decider the Clarets faithful would have picked.
And if you want goals on the final day, Carrow Road looks the place to be.
Norwich have conceded 18 in their last six top-flight final-day games, while opponents Spurs' last six have provided 35 goals at an average of 5.8 goals per game.
