half sides but bottom two cut adrift in 2025
The Premier League is seeing increased competitiveness at the bottom of the table, with teams finishing with higher point totals than in previous decades. However, a trend has emerged where two teams are consistently left behind in the relegation zone.
Why it matters
This shift in league dynamics impacts financial distribution and the long-term viability of promoted clubs.
0 Teams in the bottom half of the Premier League in 2025-26 finished with more points than they had in years, meaning that judging them simply by their position in the table is perhaps a little harsh.
Everton may have been underwhelmed with their 13th-place finish but it was the most points a team in that position had finished with since the Toffees themselves in 1999-2000.
The points of the four places below them were all the highest they have been in the Premier League for 23 years and West Ham can consider themselves unlucky to have gone down with the highest points total for an 18th-placed side since 2010-11.
One place where the Premier League has become less competitive - because it has become more fiercely-contested overall - is at the very bottom.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in