The 2017–18 Premier League was the 26th season of the Premier League, the top English professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992, and the 119th season of top-flight English football overall. The season started on 11 August 2017 and concluded on 13 May 2018. Fixtures for the 2017–18 season were announced on 14 June 2017. Chelsea were the defending champions, while Newcastle United, Brighton & Hove Albion and Huddersfield Town entered as the promoted teams from the 2016–17 EFL Championship.
Manchester City won their third Premier League title, and fifth English top-flight title overall, with five games to spare. The team broke numerous Premier League records over the course of the season, including: most points (100), most wins (32), most away wins (16), most goals (106), most consecutive league wins (18), highest goal difference (+79), fewest minutes behind in matches (153 minutes) and biggest winning points margin (19). All three promoted clubs avoided relegation for the first time since the 2011–12 campaign, and for only the third time in Premier League history.
An independent commission later found that Manchester City breached Premier League financial rules during this season, along with breaches dating back to 2009.
Overview Sleeve sponsorship From this season on, club strips could feature sleeve sponsorship, whereby sponsors' logos would appear on the left sleeve of the strip in lieu of the Premier League patch.
Deception by simulation From this season on, a three-man panel consisting of a former player, a former manager and a former match official would independently review video evidence on the Monday after games. Any player whom the three-man panel unanimously decided had caused an opponent to be sent off or had won a penalty as a result of deceiving the referee by simulation would be charged by the Football Association with "Successful Deception of a Match Official" which carried a penalty of suspension for two matches. Everton striker Oumar Niasse became the first Premier League player to be punished under the new rule.
Summary Manchester City were confirmed as Premier League champions following Manchester United's 0–1 defeat at home to West Bromwich Albion in the 33rd round of the league. Manchester City had started the Premier League season with an away win over Brighton & Hove Albion in August. After a draw against Everton, Manchester City won eighteen games in a row. During this time they secured first position and held it for the remainder of the season. On 7 April, Manchester City hosted Manchester United in the local derby, in which a win would have secured their position as champions. United came back from 2–0 down at half-time to win 3–2 and deny their rivals the title; however, the following week they lost to bottom club West Bromwich Albion, a result which, coupled with Manchester City's victory over Tottenham Hotspur, ensured an unassailable lead with five games left.
During the campaign Manchester City broke and set several new club and English football records. They established national records in consecutive away (11) and overall (20) victories in all competitions; set a new English record for consecutive league wins (18); equalled the Premier League record for consecutive away league wins (11) and set club records by achieving 28 consecutive games unbeaten in all competitions; 30 consecutive games unbeaten in the league; 20 consecutive home wins in all competitions; and winning 14 away games in a season. They won their fifth English league title, and completed their second league and League Cup double in four years.
Defending champions Chelsea started the season badly, losing their opening game to Burnley 2–3; the first time the holders were defeated at home in their first match. A win at one of the title favourites, Tottenham, in their second game seemed to get their defence back on track, but results in September, including losing 0–1 to Manchester City, left them six points behind the leaders in fourth place. They failed to show the consistency of the previous season, and finished in fifth place, leading to Antonio Conte's dismissal as manager a year after leading them to the title.
Manchester United started the season strongly winning their first three games without conceding a goal and led the table until mid-September. They finished in 2nd, their highest finish and points total (81) since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Liverpool finished fourth for a second consecutive season, buoyed by the signing of Mohamed Salah; his 32 goals broke a Premier League record for most goals scored in a 38-game season, beating the 31 achieved by Cristiano Ronaldo, Alan Shearer and Luis Suarez.
Arsenal had a poor season, finishing sixth overall. Long-serving manager Arsène Wenger announced his departure from the club on 20 April 2018. Their final home game was an emphatic 5–0 defeat of Burnley which guaranteed qualification to the group stage of the Europa League.
Despite the defeat, Burnley finished in seventh place, their best finish in English football since 1973–74. This meant they would be entered into the second qualifying round of the Europa League, their first competitive European football campaign in 50 years. Their strong finish led to manager Sean Dyche and defender James Tarkowski being nominated for the Premier League Manager of the Season and Premier League Player of the Season awards respectively.
Stoke City were the first team to be relegated to the EFL Championship when they lost 1–2 to Crystal Palace in their penultimate game. Although Stoke were only three points from safety with one game remaining, fellow strugglers Swansea and Southampton still had to play each other, meaning that Stoke would be unable to catch both of those teams and finish fourth from bottom. The game between Swansea and Southampton ended in a 1–0 away win for Southampton, which also meant that despite a five-game unbeaten run, West Bromwich Albion became the second team to be relegated to the Championship on 8 May 2018. Following their 1–2 defeat at the hands of Stoke on the final matchday, Swansea City were also relegated. This meant that for the first time since the 2011–12 campaign all three promoted teams, Newcastle United, Brighton & Hove Albion and Huddersfield Town, survived relegation.
Teams Twenty teams competed in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from the Championship. The promoted teams were Newcastle United, Brighton & Hove Albion and Huddersfield Town, returning to the top flight after an absence of one, thirty-four and forty-five years respectively. This was also both Brighton & Hove Albion and Huddersfield Town's first season in the Premier League. They replaced Hull City, Middlesbrough (both teams relegated to the Championship after a season's presence) and Sunderland (relegated after ten years in the top flight).
Stadiums and locations
Note: Table lists in alphabetical order. Source: Team Location Stadium Capacity Arsenal London Emirates Stadium Bournemouth Bournemouth Vitality Stadium Brighton & Hove Albion Falmer Falmer Stadium Burnley Burnley Turf Moor Chelsea London Stamford Bridge Crystal Palace London Selhurst Park Everton Liverpool Goodison Park Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Kirklees Stadium Leicester City Leicester King Power Stadium Liverpool Liverpool Anfield Manchester City Manchester City of Manchester Stadium Manchester United Greater Manchester Old Trafford Newcastle United Newcastle upon Tyne St James' Park Southampton Southampton St Mary's Stadium Stoke City Stoke-on-Trent Bet365 Stadium Swansea City Swansea Liberty Stadium Tottenham Hotspur London Wembley Stadium Watford Watford Vicarage Road West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich The Hawthorns West Ham United London London Stadium
Personnel and kits Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor (chest) Shirt sponsor (left sleeve) Arsenal Puma Emirates n/a Bournemouth Umbro M88 Mansion Group Brighton & Hove Albion Bruno Nike American Express JD Burnley Puma Dafabet Golf Clash Chelsea Nike Yokohama Tyres Alliance Tyres Crystal Palace Macron ManBetX Dongqiudi Everton Umbro SportPesa Angry Birds Huddersfield Town Puma OPE Sports PURE Legal Leicester City Puma King Power Siam Commercial Bank Liverpool New Balance Standard Chartered Western Union Manchester City Nike Etihad Airways Nexen Tire Manchester United Adidas Chevrolet n/a Newcastle United Puma Fun88 MRF Tyres Southampton Under Armour Virgin Media Virgin Media Stoke City Macron bet365 Top Eleven Swansea City Joma Letou Barracuda Networks Tottenham Hotspur Nike AIA n/a Watford Adidas FxPro 138.com West Bromwich Albion Darren Moore (caretaker) Adidas Palm 12BET West Ham United Umbro Betway MRF Tyres Additionally, referee kits were made by Nike, sponsored by EA Sports, and Nike had a new match ball, the Ordem V Premier League.
Managerial changes Team Outgoing manager Manner ofdeparture Date of vacancyPosition in table Incoming manager Date ofappointment Watford Mutual consent 21 May 2017 Pre-season 27 May 2017 Crystal Palace Resigned 23 May 2017 26 June 2017 Southampton Sacked 14 June 2017 23 June 2017 Crystal Palace 11 September 2017 19th 12 September 2017 Leicester City 17 October 2017 18th 25 October 2017 Everton 23 October 2017 30 November 2017 West Ham United 6 November 2017 7 November 2017 West Bromwich Albion 20 November 2017 17th 29 November 2017 Swansea City 20 December 2017 20th 28 December 2017 Stoke City 6 January 2018 18th 15 January 2018 Watford 21 January 2018 10th 21 January 2018 Southampton 12 March 2018 17th 14 March 2018 West Bromwich Albion Mutual consent 2 April 2018 20th Darren Moore (caretaker) 2 April 2018
League table
Results
Season statistics
Scoring
Top scorers
Rank Player Club Goals 1 Mohamed Salah Liverpool 32 2 Harry Kane Tottenham Hotspur 30 3 Sergio Agüero Manchester City 21 4 Jamie Vardy Leicester City 20 5 Raheem Sterling Manchester City 18 6 Romelu Lukaku Manchester United 16 7 Roberto Firmino Liverpool 15 8 Alexandre Lacazette Arsenal 14 9 Gabriel Jesus Manchester City 13 10 Eden Hazard Chelsea 12 Riyad Mahrez Leicester City Glenn Murray Brighton & Hove Albion Son Heung-min Tottenham Hotspur
Hat-tricks
Player For Against Result Date Ref Manchester City Watford 6–0 (A) Chelsea Stoke City 4–0 (A) Bournemouth Huddersfield Town 4–0 (H) 18 November 2017 Everton West Ham United 4–0 (H) 29 November 2017 Tottenham Hotspur Burnley 3–0 (A) 23 December 2017 Southampton 5–2 (H) 26 December 2017 Manchester City Newcastle United 3–1 (H) Arsenal Everton 5–1 (H) 4 Manchester City Leicester City 5–1 (H) 4 Liverpool Watford 5–0 (H)
Notes 4 Player scored 4 goals(H) – Home team(A) – Away team
Clean sheets
Rank Player Club Cleansheets 1 David de Gea Manchester United 18 2 Ederson Manchester City 16 3 Thibaut Courtois Chelsea 15 Hugo Lloris Tottenham Hotspur 5 Petr Čech Arsenal 11 Nick Pope Burnley 7 Ben Foster West Bromwich Albion 10 Loris Karius Liverpool Jonas Lössl Huddersfield Town Jordan Pickford Everton Mathew Ryan Brighton & Hove Albion
Discipline
Player
Most yellow cards: 11 Oriol Romeu (Southampton)
Most red cards: 2 Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City) Jonjo Shelvey (Newcastle United)
Club
Most yellow cards: 73 West Bromwich Albion West Ham United
Most red cards: 5 Leicester City
Awards Monthly awards