The Final 2024 Games in the Premier League: What Will 2025 Bring?

The end of the calendar year is upon us and everything is set to welcome the new year. Celebrations are ready, people are in good spirits, and it is time we welcome 2025 surrounded by loved ones. For the top-tier level of English football, the coveted Premier League, the end of a calendar year is barely a halfway mark. When it is approaching, there is at least that much football left to play, and then some.

The end of 2024 sees one team dominating the league, with a few others attempting to catch up and give the fans what they always want: an exciting and competitive title race in the next 3 to 4 months. In the article ahead we are talking about the Premiership, taking one final look at the latest results and standings, and talking about the remaining three games in the old year before Arsenal and Brentford take the pitch on January 1 and open the busy January slate. You need to know about all of this if you like to place an occasional sport bet on English football.

The Latest Results

The final few days of the year have been and are packed with games, many of them delivering strong performances and amazing moments to send off this year in style. There were some nice surprises, and reprieves, as well as very dominant performances from those we expect the most. First off, Manchester City finally managed to give their fans a decisive victory. It was a road win against Leicester City, a hard-fought 2-0 to help them get back on track after the worst stretch in the last decade. Nottingham Forest also won on the road with the same score against Everton, proving again that this is their year to make a strong showing and remain in the company of the best teams in the league.

Crystal Palace played home in London against Southampton and won 2-1 in what was an above-average performance for the team. Tottenham could not hold on and home and drew 2-2 against the struggling Wolves (17th), continuing their streakiness that has marked this season. Jorgen Strand Larsen saved the points for the Wolverhampton side in the 87th minute. The Spurs are currently 11th despite scoring the second-most goals in the league. Bournemouth and Fulham clashed in London and drew 2-2 in a battle of the 6th and 8th seeds, respectively. Fulham had the win within their grasp but Fango Ouattara scored in the 89th minute to equalize.

The best team in the league, Liverpool, proved yet again they are leagues ahead of the competition. Their most recent win came in an away game against West Ham where they won 5-0. There are not enough words to describe their form this year as they will enter 2025 as the undisputed leaders in the standings with a healthy advantage in all of the crucial categories. On top of the managerial genius of their new coach Arne Slot, Mohamed Salah is dominating the league as he is currently the goal leader with 17 and assist leader with 13.

Current Standings

If we take a look at the standings, we will see that Liverpool is firmly in control with 45 points in 18 games. They are 1 game behind, meaning they could have an even larger gap between them and the rest of the pack. In 18 games, they have 14 wins, 3 draws, and still only 1 loss. They have scored 45 goals so far and allowed only 17, for the league-best +28 goal difference. Salah is playing out of his mind as he has been directly involved in 30 of their goals, and the rest of the team is doing exactly what they need to.

Below them, currently in second place with 37 points, is none other than Nottingham Forest. They have already played their final game of the season, hence the sudden jump in the standings, but it is still impressive. They have been the biggest surprise this season, winning 11, drawing 4, and losing 4 games so far. They need to score more and concede fewer, as their goal difference is only +7. If they mean to remain in the running, picking up the goalscoring will need to happen in January.

In third and fourth place, with but a single point between them, are the two London rivals, Arsenal and Chelsea. Arsenal has 36 points and Chelsea is at 35. Both are playing their matches today and will look to end their successful campaign so far with one final win to get back ahead of Forest. Even their goal difference is similar, with Arsenal having a +2 advantage. At one point of the season, for a few weeks, their scores were identical across the board. It will be fun to see if either one of them can break away and separate by at least a few points.

In the fifth place, surprisingly, is Manchester City. After struggling for most of the season, they are still in a good enough spot before the end of the year. With their most recent win being the first in a while, they can be somewhat optimistic about the busy January slate. Erling Haaland is second in scoring with 14 and is the only bright spot in the team riddled with injuries and with an increasingly frustrated Pep Guardiola on the bench. They will look to get into the top 4 by the end of the season, but it will be tough.

Upcoming December 30 Schedule

The final 3 games of the year are all rather interesting. Ipswich Town is hosting Chelsea and will have a tough time containing the third-best goalscorer of the season, Cole Palmer, who has 12 so far. The Blues are the heavy favorites so make sure to bet on them to win. Aston Villa is playing at home against Brighton in a matchup between the 9th and 10th teams, respectively. It will be a fun game for sure as both of them will aim for a strong showing to end the year with a chance to climb a few spots. Finally, the struggling Manchester United is hosting Newcastle who is a much better side right now and is the favorite despite being the visitors. United has 4 losses and 1 win in their last five and Newcastle is on a 3-game win streak. If the home team wins, they will jump to the fifth spot and end the year on a very positive note.

Arsenal will have to wait for 2025 to roll in to play their 19th match of the season. The Gunners are the obvious favorites to take all three points as Brentford is 12th and only has 1 win in their last 5 games. Their goal difference is 0 and Arsenal will want to start the year with a bang and open their January schedule with a decisive victory that will close the 9-point gap between them and Liverpool. The team has had the worst luck last two seasons as they were the runners-up behind City in 2023 and 2024. Now that City is struggling, Liverpool is playing the best football in Europe. If they mean to get over the hump and get the elusive trophy, their first since 2004, they must win all their games in January, starting with this road win on January 1.