Matchday 28 of the EPL season is in the books, and we’re here to review it, identify the big takeaways, and examine the markets.
Around The EPL
Wolves shocked the EPL to open Matchday 28 with a resounding 2-0 win over Aston Villa. Relegation-bound Wolves picked up only their second win of the season thanks to two second-half goals.
Bournemouth extended their unbeaten run in the EPL after Evanilson equalised against Sunderland. Burnley, however, are still deep in the relegation zone following a wild 4-3 loss to Brentford. Finding themselves 3-0 down at one stage, Burnley fought back to draw level. However, with an unlikely point within touching distance, Burnley let it slip as Mikkel Damsgaard scored the winner in injury time.
Burnley vs Brentford just produced one of the games of the season 🤯
⚽️ 9’ Burnley 0-1 Brentford
⚽️ 25’ Burnley 0-2 Brentford
⚽️ 34’ Burnley 0-3 Brentford
⚽️ 45’ Burnley 1-3 Brentford
⚽️ 47’ Burnley 2-3 Brentford
⚽️ 60’ Burnley 3-3 Brentford
❌ 78’ Burnley goal ruled out by VAR… pic.twitter.com/kgiSWmcrUP— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) February 28, 2026
Liverpool and West Ham laid on another seven goals later in the day. Hugo Ekitike continued his impressive EPL season, scoring and providing two assists as Liverpool won 5-2. Notably, all three of Liverpool’s first game goals came from corners.
Another five goals between Everton and Newcastle United continued the scoring on Matchday 28. While Newcastle came from behind twice to equalise, they couldn’t find one the third time as Everton pulled away to win 3-2.
Manchester City know what is required of them if they’re to leap Arsenal and win the EPL title. Winning out from here will do it, and they picked up the relatively easy one in beating Leeds United 1-0. Playing without Erling Haaland didn’t bother the Citizens. They dominated possession throughout the second half to put the game away after Antoine Semenyo found the net shortly before the break.
Brighton & Hove Albion made things difficult for Nottingham Forest in their 2-1 win. All three goals had been registered by the 15th minute before Brighton held on to claim all three points.
It took an Alex Iwobi stunner for Fulham to beat Tottenham 2-1, but it doesn’t matter how the goals are being conceded for Igor Tudor’s side right now. If not for other results going their way, Spurs could have ended the Matchday only one point clear of the drop.
This Alex Iwobi finish is art. 🎨 pic.twitter.com/faIxxkTX4O
— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) March 1, 2026
Benjamin Sesko has only gone and done it again for Manchester United.
Again the matchwinner as United beat Crystal Palace 2-1, Sesko propelled the Red Devils up to third on the EPL table as they now look likely to finish in the Champions League spots. It’s only getting more difficult to pass on Michael Carrick as the long-term answer as manager.
Matchday 28 went down to the wire with Arsenal closing out the weekend. It looked as though they might finish only two points clear at the top of the ladder, but Jurrien Timber made the most of a diabolical Robert Sanchez error to score the winner. With Pedro Neto sent off only five minutes later, Chelsea saw red for a ninth time this season and gave up their best chance of ending this one with a point.
3 Takeaways From Matchday 28
Villa Slipping Up
So much of the focus in the EPL right now is around Arsenal, and their potential to bottle another title push, but Aston Villa’s hopes of making the Champions League took a hit this week.
With Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea all in the mix, Villa put their cushion at third on the table in jeopardy by going down to relegation-bound Wolves. While they had plenty of opportunities in the first half, Aston Villa couldn’t capitalise.
The defeat comes as a further shock given Unai Emery’s strong form against lowly sides in the Premier League. He’s only lost two of 26 matches against teams starting the day inside the relegation zone – both are defeats to Wolves.
Morgan Rogers spoke to the pressure the players have put themselves under by gunning for a top-four finish:
“It does weigh on us, but it shouldn’t. We deserve to be here, and we should not forget that.”
With Chelsea and Manchester United to come in their next two EPL fixtures, it’s make or break for Villa in the coming weeks.
Corner Kings Do It Again
We’ve mentioned Arsenal’s reliance on set pieces as a cause for concern here in the past, but when you’re this good, it doesn’t matter.
📸 – Jurrien Timber was sitting behind the touchline to watch Arsenal's famous set piece.
This is the magic of their corners, even their own players who are subbed off want to witness it from as close as possible.
The corner kick kings. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/UpiKpGuLTC
— The Touchline | 𝐓 (@TouchlineX) February 22, 2026
For a ninth time in this EPL season, a corner gave Arsenal the lead as Bukayo Saka’s in swinger found Gabriel Magalhães on the back post before Saliba nodded the ball towards goal.
It marked their 16th goal from a corner this season – the joint-most by any side in a single campaign, alongside Oldham Athletic in 1992-93, West Brom in 2016-17, and Arsenal in 2023-24.
The win moved the Gunners back to five points clear at the top of the EPL table, keeping their lead over Manchester City, who pulled to within two points following their win over leads.
Nerves kicked in around the Emirates when Chelsea drew level. Any points dropped to Manchester City in this sort of form is dangerous. Particularly when City play Nottingham Forest as $1.35 favourites on Matchday 29. Arsenal have the best squad in the EPL. They’ve been the most consistent team in a league that has lacked it overall. However, their recent history can only make the faithful nervous when faced with the prospect of anything other than three points.
Relegation Round Up
We have to keep mentioning Tottenham’s potential to be relegated until it is no longer a possibility.
As it stands, following their 10th consecutive game without a win, Spurs are still only four points ahead of the drop. Igor Tudor hasn’t had the impact the club will have wanted with his post-match comments particularly uninspiring:
“We are lack when we attack, we are lacking of the quality to score the goal, we are lacking in the middle to run and we are lacking behind to stay there to suffer and not concede the goal. So, an amazing situation. Amazing.”
Lucky for Tudor, West Ham, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest all lost to keep the table as it was before Matchday 28.