Don’t look now, but the halfway point of the 2024-25 season is just three weeks away as the Premier League kicks into high gear for the busy festive period.
Case in point: a frantic few days of midweek fixtures.
MORE — Newcastle 3-3 Liverpool | Arsenal 2-0 Man United | Man City 3-0 Forest
No real surprises at the top of the table (unless you count Manchester City winning), though leaders Liverpool did drop points in a 3-3 thriller with Newcastle. That brings Arsenal, Man City and… Chelsea(?!) two points closer in the title race.
Here are 10 quick thoughts about Week 14 from our writer— Joe Prince-Wright, Andy Edwards, and Nick Mendola…
10 things we learned from Week 13 of the 2024-25 Premier League season
Set pieces crucial as Arsenal build momentum
- Player ratings
- Jurrien Timber pleased with Arsenal “momentum”
- Mikel Arteta’s post-game reaction
- Ruben Amorim’s post-game reaction
Arsenal are absolutely incredible from set pieces and those small details have got them back in the title race. No team has scored more set piece goals than Arsenal since the start of last season. Rice and Saka whip in delicious corners and the patience Arsenal have to set it up and then execute with towering players crashing the net is the perfect storm. Every time they had a corner against United the whole stadium expected a goal. That is how good they are at this and mentally opponents are flummoxed and expecting to concede at least one from a set piece against Arsenal. The fear factor is back when you play against Arsenal and they have momentum ahead of a hectic period of games. This is the perfect time to prove they are properly back in the title race. — JPW
Slot, Howe compose midfield masterpiece of entertainment
Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe pushed the right buttons in his 18 on Wednesday, dropping Joelinton into a pure midfield role alongside Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes. All three were wonderful, and Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak were up for reaping the rewards of their industry after some off performances. The problem for Newcastle is that Liverpool eventually adjusted and got right back in it. Alexis Mac Allister and Curtis Jones had strong games but Ryan Gravenberch wasn’t at his best. Slot made a triple sub in the 67th minute with his team down 2-1. One of the moves was Trent Alexander-Arnold into the game for Joe Gomez, and the England star set up both of Salah’s goals in short order. This could’ve gone 5-4 either way, but a 3-3 result is just (though Newcastle fans will be spend their walks home talking about the 3v1 that was stopped by the final whistle). Good entertainment, and Howe needed a performance like this. — NM
Too late for Man City to get back in title race…
Manchester City 3-0 Nottingham Forest
It all depends on when Liverpool experience their inevitable wobble this season. They are far from perfect with an imbalanced squad of their own, and and at some point this season they’re going to give up a bunch of goals on the counter in a very short time. The gap is now 9 points with 24 games left to play after the Reds drew Newcastle 1-1 on Wednesday, which means there’s still time to close the gap but they need to start making headway soon. Liverpool have potentially tricky fixtures against Everton (on Saturday) and Tottenham at the same time City play their own local derby and make a trip to Aston Villa. City can still achieve a points total greater than Liverpool’s current pace (95 points); but they can only drop two points the rest of the season. Pep was probably right that City are out, and keep in mind that Arsenal are right on the leaders’ heels yet again. — AE
… but what about Chelsea?
Yes, Southampton had 10 players out (most of them key players) through injury and suspension. Yes, Southampton basically gave Chelsea two goals and had Stephens sent off after a moment of madness in the first half. But Chelsea made seven changes to the team which beat Aston Villa at the weekend and you couldn’t tell. That is scary from Enzo Maresca’s side. Their squad depth is incredible and even if there is a slight drop off from their regular starters, they proved they can rotate their team to play against opponents lower down the Premier League table and still be devastating in attack and win with ease. Nobody is really talking about Chelsea being in the title race and it may be slightly premature. But that is the direction things are heading in for Chelsea. — JPW
Injuries, busy schedule exposing Spurs’s lack of depth
From player 1-11, Tottenham are anywhere from 4th- to 6th-best in the Premier League. Tottenham are still pretty alright in spots 12-15, but once you go beyond that, there just aren’t any more players you can trust to positively impact the game for 30 minutes, let alone 90. When everything goes according to plan and they play to their full potential, they really wow you with a five-star performance and make you think they’ve finally turned the corner under Ange Postecoglou. And then reality hits. Spurs’ reality is nothing but injuries (4th center back Ben Davies was the latest to go down), to the point that not getting blown out is really the best they can hope for. Postecoglou has done a good job of adjusting his tactics to keep Spurs in every game and the players are digging deep, but the squad lack a true difference maker to go and win it on most days. And that’s probably still true even when everyone is fit and available. Is Harry Kane ready to come home? No, seriously. — AE
Villa buzz early to end slump, add to Bees away day struggles
Brentford has one point from seven Premier League away matches following this 3-1 loss, and on Wednesday they were essentially done by halftime. Thomas Frank’s men have scored just five goals away from the Gtech Community Stadium, conceding 14, and those numbers are stunning in comparison to their PL best 6W-1D home record (with a gaudy +10 goal differential). Villa took advantage of those traveling blues early, pasting the lilac-clad Bees thrice in 13 first-half minutes. Ollie Watkins was at the heart of it all, and will look to continue strong play as Villa hope to build a big winning streak following their long unbeaten slide. — NM
Alex Iwobi sparking Fulham’s red-hot form
These are heady times for Fulham, led once again by another star performance from Alex Iwobi, who has 4 goals and 2 assists in his last 6 PL appearances after scoring twice against the Seagulls. He thrives at the hard press and quick counter game that Fulham play, especially when the opposing goalkeeper leaves his goal open and passes the ball right to Iwobi. But it’s one of those plays you have to be in the right place at the right time to make, and Iwobi is there in large part because he’s a willing defender. He’s a fine enough attacking player, but he’s in the team for his work rate and intelligence first and foremost. Richarlison had his best season (13 goals) at Everton during Silva’s only full campaign (2018-19) for many of the same reasons. — AE
Wolves look eerily similar to Everton of recent seasons
To be slightly pedantic, Everton technically didn’t actually score three goals in the game, themselves, but they all count exactly the same. Craig Dawson did his part with a pair of unlucky own goals in the second half, but the Toffees should have been 4-0 up by that point anyway. Everton were so thoroughly un-Everton-like in possession and attack that Wolves fans should be very worried about what the rest of the season holds, and O’Neil about his job. Wolves’ 36 goals conceded (2.6 per game) are six worse than any other side in the Premier League (last-place Southampton). — AE
Van Nistelrooy on high, Lopetegui on watch
Basically, West Ham (14th - 15 points) are right where Leicester were two weeks ago, barely a dozen games into the new manager’s tenure and wondering if it’s still too early to make a change. The results have been tolerable, but the performances not so much — 13th in expected goals (1.34 per game), 16th in expected goals against (1.82). West Ham finished 9th last season and decided it wasn’t good enough (and it was just time to move on) from David Moyes; the Hammers finished 6th, 7th and 9th in three of Moyes’ last four seasons. Lopetegui was hired with Moyes’ mark as the baseline, not something to strive for. — AE
You have to score goals and win at home to stay in the Premier League
Ipswich ranked bottom of the PL in expected goals (12.3 on the season) coming into matchweek 14, which checks out considering they were one of the four lowest scoring teams (13 goals in 13 games) and have scored multiple goals in a game just three times. To make matters worse, Palace also happen to be one of the three sides with fewer goals (12). This was one that they had to win, because they could. The Tractor Boys also rank joint-bottom in points won at home, and are the only side in the PL without a home win this season (now winless in 7). If you can’t score goals and you can’t grind out wins at home, you’re not going to last long in the Premier League. — AE
