However, one place where the Premier League has become less competitive – likely because it has become more fiercely-contested overall – is at the very bottom.
While it is almost expected for one side to be cut adrift long before the end of the season, nowadays two sides are getting left behind.
The average points tally of the second-bottom side in a 38-game season is 31, meaning teams that finish there have usually competed in a relegation battle for most of the season before ultimately falling short.
After the Premier League was reduced to 20 teams in 1995-96, only two 19th-placed sides failed to reach 30 points in the first 21 seasons. But in the last decade, seven of the 10 sides to finish in that position have failed to do so.
In fact, in the past two seasons promoted sides Ipswich and Burnley have both finished there with just 22 points – the fewest ever taken by a second-bottom side.
