Matchday 35 of the EPL season is in the books, and we’re here to review it, identify the big takeaways, and examine the markets.
Leeds United kicked off Matchday 35 of the EPL season by taking a significant stride towards safety. Goals from Anton Stach, Noah Okafor and Dominic Calvert-Lewin translated into a 3-1 win over Burnley.
West Ham, on the other hand, are back in the drop zone and $1.12 to go down on the back of their 3-0 loss to Brentford. The win lifts Brentford to sixth on the EPL table and makes Champions League football a genuine possibility for Keith Andrews’ side. Meanwhile, Eddie Howe and Newcastle ended their four-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion at St James’ Park.
Wolverhampton Wanderers don’t have anything to play for at the moment, but can be spoilers. They put a decent dent in Southampton’s hopes of qualifying for Europe with a 1-1 draw. Dan Ballard saw red, which allowed Wolves to fire off 20 shots – their most of the Premier League season.
DAN BALLARD HAS BEEN SENT OFF FOR A HAIR PULL❌
IT’S GETTING RIDICULOUS AT THIS POINT https://t.co/UXrVfU7qwf
— The 44 ⚽️ (@The_Forty_Four) May 2, 2026
Bakayo Saka returned, and Arsenal looked a lot more like themselves in beating Fulham 3-0. The Gunners pulled six points clear at the top and generated 2.39 non-penalty expected goals – their third-highest mark of the season – to keep the pressure on Manchester City.
Bournemouth did the same to Crystal Palace as Andoni Iraola’s side ran riot in the 3-0 win. While the three goals are the highlight, Bournemouth keeping Palace from taking a shot in the first half is their most notable achievement in this one.
Manchester United and Liverpool fired off 31 shots between them, but the Red Devils had the last laugh as Kobbie Mainoo fired home the 3-2 winner in the 77th minute.
🏴🤌 This angle of 𝗞𝗢𝗕𝗕𝗜𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗢𝗢 (𝟮𝟭)’s WINNING GOAL… pic.twitter.com/z71Bqwn18F
— Rising Stars XI (@RisingStarXI) May 3, 2026
Roberto De Zerbi said Tottenham could win their five remaining games to avoid relegation. Their 2-0 win over Aston Villa made it 2/2 and lifted them out of the relegation zone for at least a week.
Nottingham Forest also put some distance between themselves and the drop with an emphatic 3-1 win over a hapless Chelsea side. But the big result came last, though. It took a Jeremy Doku goal in the 97th minute for Manchester City to salvage a point against Everton. The draw now leaves City five points behind Arsenal at the top of the EPL table.
3 Takeaways From Matchday 35
Slot & Carrick
How much pressure Arne Slot is under is relatively unknown. However, there is no doubt that a pocket of Liverpool fans are questioning his role at the club, and that pocket will have grown in numbers following their 3-2 loss to Manchester United.
As if the result wasn’t bad enough, the underlying numbers are another concern. United played with only 37% possession but generated 2.34 expected goals to Liverpool’s 0.88. Slot’s side controlled the ball, but did very little with it across the 90 minutes.
Meanwhile, Michael Carrick has now won eight of his nine home EPL games as Manchester United manager. He’s only the sixth manager to achieve the feat.
What Carrick has achieved is incredible. He should be strongly considered as the long-term manager beyond this season. While concerns over his ability to navigate Premier League and Champions League football are fair, he’s not had the opportunity to prove himself either way yet. With the feeling he has brought to the club and the results that have followed, Carrick should be the man on the sideline to start next season.
Tottenham Lift
Aston Villa made Tottenham look good in the first half on Matchday 35, but Tottenham did plenty to make themselves look good, too. Most importantly, it finally looked as though they cared. That the reality of relegation had set in, and the realisation of what was required to avoid it.
Tackles, clearances and, of course, goals to Conor Gallagher and Richarlison triggered outbursts of emotion.
“I’m happy for this type of performance more than three points. OK, we have one point more than West Ham but the most important thing was to play a great game, to believe more and more in ourselves and in our qualities and then we have to keep the focus and improve.” – Roberto De Zerbi
The victory marks the first time Spurs have won back-to-back games since Matchdays 1 and 2.
Now 17th on the EPL table after picking up seven points in three games, Tottenham are ahead of West Ham and $4.50 to be relegated. Another win over Leeds United as $1.80 favourites would bring some real confidence to a group that has been playing without it for far too long.
Relegation: West Ham – $1.12, Tottenham – $4.50, Leeds $151
The Title Race
Saka is back, and Arsenal have found some momentum to finish the Premier League season.
Bukayo Saka’s emphatic return 😤@Arsenal pic.twitter.com/ox2aIU4KVI
— Premier League (@premierleague) May 2, 2026
The Gunners spent 200 days at the top of the EPL table and played out periods as significant favourites to win the title. However, they could never escape the possibility of blowing their lead at the top, and succumbed to the pressure. Still, there is renewed hope with only three games remaining.
City has a game in hand but is five points behind the Gunners following their 3-3 draw with Everton. They have a tough draw to finish, too: Brentford, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Aston Villa.
While City won’t go down without a fight, points on the board are more important and Arsenal should get it done from here as $1.20 favourites. We’ve said that before, though…