Last season's Premier League was squeezed in two different ways. Thirteen of the 20 teams finished between 40 and 60 points, the most in a Premier League campaign since 2003-04, while Ipswich and Burnley both ended second-bottom with 22 points, the fewest ever taken by a side in that position.
The gap between the top four and bottom three fell from 44 points in 2024-25 to 26 points, the smallest distance for 23 years. BBC Sport called it "arguably more competitive than it has been for years", and that fits the table in front of you.
The crowded middle
A 13-team band between 40 and 60 points is a messy league. It leaves a lot of clubs packed into the same stretch, with very little between mid-table comfort and a push into the European places.
Bournemouth were part of that shift, finishing on 57 points and qualifying for European competition for the first time ever. Liverpool also finished fifth with 60 points, the lowest total by a side in that position for 19 years.
The bottom end got uglier
The relegation side of the table told a different story. BBC Sport's analysis said relegation battles are now mostly a fight for the final spot in the bottom three, with the other two places gone before the last day.
That is where the harshness showed up last season. Ipswich and Burnley both finished on 22 points, and the second-bottom tally sat well below the usual 38-game-season benchmark of 31 points.
BBC Sport also noted that Sunderland and Leeds took 64 more points than the teams they replaced in the top flight. That does not settle whether the league got stronger across the board, but it does show last season's lower half was much harder to predict than the old script suggests.
The key number to carry into the new season is 22 at the bottom and 26 across the top-four-to-bottom-three gap. Both came from the same campaign, and both point to a table that was tight in the middle and unforgiving at the base.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
