January 21 – Premier League attendances remained close to capacity on match day 22, underlining the competition’s continued pull midway through the season, even as the January schedule stretches squads and supporters alike.
Across the ten fixtures played at home venues, a combined 451,235 fans passed through the turnstiles from a total available capacity of 462,790. That left just 11,555 seats unfilled, translating to an average stadium utilisation of 97.19%.
Manchester United and Nottingham Forest led the way in terms of raw occupancy. Old Trafford welcomed 74,004 supporters for United’s latest outing, filling 99.59% of its available capacity, while the City Ground matched that with a 99.61% showing – leaving only 121 seats cold despite their place hovering above the relegation zone.
Liverpool, Chelsea and Aston Villa also pushed beyond the 98% mark, continuing a familiar pattern at the league’s major venues that never seems to drop much below the pace set.
Tottenham Hotspur, hurt by the club’s awful home form, had more than 2,000 empty seats as they lost 0-2 at home to a struggling West Ham side. The pressure is on for Spurs boss Thomas Frank, particularly after being pictured holding a cup stamped with the Arsenal logo last week.
Wolves, as per usual, recorded the lowest occupancy of the round at 92.82%, with just under 2,300 seats empty, while Brighton and Leeds United both sat below that 96% mark.
Looking at the season as a whole, the picture remains consistently strong. After 22 matchdays, Premier League stadiums have hosted a total of 9.15 million supporters from a combined capacity of 9.35 million. Only 196,882 seats have gone unused across the campaign so far, producing an overall average fill rate of 97.61%.
The numbers show little fluctuation from week to week. Of the 22 rounds played, only two have dipped below 96% capacity, while several – including matchdays 18 and 19 – pushed well beyond 98%. Matchday 13 remains the season’s high-water mark to date, with 98.49% of seats filled across the league.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1769001467labto1769001467ofdlr1769001467owedi1769001467sni@g1769001467niwe.1769001467yrrah1769001467