Premier League Prediction Thread 2025/2026

[moneystery]

You're right, if Arsenal is changing coaches often as Chelsea does, only God knows how many years they would remain without a trophy. You can see how confused Chelsea were this season because despite they invested heavily to strengthen their squad they still didn't achieve anything. Xabi Alonso is a good coach if Chelsea can be patient to keep him to their agreement contract, he can win them a trophy one day.

Judging from Xabi's style, it fits Chelsea's needs perfectly, as he's incredibly capable of maximizing the potential of Chelsea's young players. He's also frequently used 3-4-3 or 3-4-2-1 formations, which were the ones that helped Chelsea win trophies during their glory days. So, Xabi already has the foundations needed to become a manager who can boost Chelsea's performance-- now it's just a matter of seeing how he develops, whether he can put his experience into practice or not.

[cyberninja2]

Judging from Xabi's style, it fits Chelsea's needs perfectly, as he's incredibly capable of maximizing the potential of Chelsea's young players. He's also frequently used 3-4-3 or 3-4-2-1 formations, which were the ones that helped Chelsea win trophies during their glory days. So, Xabi already has the foundations needed to become a manager who can boost Chelsea's performance-- now it's just a matter of seeing how he develops, whether he can put his experience into practice or not.

I'm very confident that Chelsea will make many changes next season under their new coach Xabi Alonso. This coaching style suits the team's needs. They've always relied on an attacking 3-4-3 formation meaning this formation is one that Xabi often used when coaching Real Madrid or Bayern Leverkusen. Therefore, there are many similarities between Chelsea and Xabi Alonso which is why many believe Chelsea will be a team to watch out for this season.

However every coach has their own style so what you said is true but the formation left by the previous coach still has a lot to improve for Xabi considering he has experienced the fierce competition of the EPL every season. Therefore I think even though the formation is almost the same as the one left by the previous coach for Xabi there will still be some changes to navigate the next season which will be better for the Chelsea team.

[giorgione]

The reports say some of the senior players at Real Madrid weren't just happy with Xabi Alonso's reign as the club manager and decided to frustrate him out of the club. Another report said the club president didn't let Alonso to decisively take actions against the said players because they were deemed "untouchable" at the club. These are rumours, none of them came from an insider. I don't expect anything similar to happen at Chelsea. I believe the Spanish gaffer will succeed at Stamford bridge

this is a truly ridiculous thing, players who, even if they are senior, must never allow themselves to criticize the coach's work, they must remain composed in their place and must not allow themselves to go and criticize the work of professionals also because they would not be capable of doing so at all.

[Smack That Ace]

The reports say some of the senior players at Real Madrid weren't just happy with Xabi Alonso's reign as the club manager and decided to frustrate him out of the club. Another report said the club president didn't let Alonso to decisively take actions against the said players because they were deemed "untouchable" at the club. These are rumours, none of them came from an insider. I don't expect anything similar to happen at Chelsea. I believe the Spanish gaffer will succeed at Stamford bridge

this is a truly ridiculous thing, players who, even if they are senior, must never allow themselves to criticize the coach's work, they must remain composed in their place and must not allow themselves to go and criticize the work of professionals also because they would not be capable of doing so at all.

That's right. Several players did not  have a good relationship with Alonso. And perhaps Mbappe is the most prominent of them. In El clasico, we saw Mbappe disobey Alonso's instructions. He went to the dressing room with all the players. If the manager can not do well, the management will fire him. This is normal. But if the  players disobey the manager's instructions, I do not think the manager can be at fault here.

This habit of mbappe is very old. He tried to show his influence at PSG too. He did not  follow pochettino's instructions properly either. Enrique is probably  going to be the next manager of Madrid. If mbappe's behaviour does not  change, madrid's situation won't change either.

[Cossyblack]

Based on the latest news, it is said that Chelsea will only bring in 1 player to fill the CB position. They don't have any other competitions, only local competitions that they will play in, so they don't really need any fantastic transfers. Liam Rosenior & Calum McFarlane has destroyed Chelsea, I hope that with the arrival of Xabi Alonso, he will bring new spirit to the team, being in the top 5 next season seems possible.

I really like Xabi Alonso as a coach, and then he has to redeem himself after the not so successful adventure at Real Madrid, he was sent away in a bad way, and he didn't deserve it because of that powerful person in the team who decided to take him out and boycott him, this isn't fair, i hope he gets back at Chelsea.

Xabi Alonso would have succeeded at real madrid the only problem was real Madrid is used to winning trophies so they wanted a coach who can maintain their winning legacy. Xabi Alonso was the right coach but he was under pressure too much from their management because they wanted to fast results  xabi Alonso is a coach who doesn't like working under pressure that's was why real madrid management had to terminate his contract because it wasn't working as planned. Again at Bayer leverkusen xabi Alonso wasn't under pressure which was why he succeeded in winning the trophy for his team. I think xabi will do an excellent job at Chelsea if he doesn't work under too much pressure.

[changaa]

The Chelsea I know are always after quick results. Giving Xabi Alonso a long-term contract does not mean that Chelsea's management doesn't need quick results from him. They may give him a four-year contract because Alonso's name is already well recognized. Xabi is not a small coach, considering what he achieved at Bayer Leverkusen and his success there.However, if Xabi Alonso does not deliver the kind of results Chelsea expect, I don't think Chelsea will take much time to sack him. That is the truth about Chelsea. The money they would have to pay him for terminating his contract would never be Chelsea's problem. How many coaches have Chelsea had in just a few seasons? Chelsea are not like other clubs in the Premier League.That said, I have confidence in Alonso. I believe he will do well and try to give Chelsea good results. As long as Chelsea can provide him with the kind of players he needs, he will likely deliver quick results and achieve great success.

these teams must understand that there are no quick results at a low price and with little investment, certainly with xabi alonso, chelsea have the possibility of opening a cycle and going very far and becoming great again, but they must also be aware of the fact that they must always continue to invest.

[blue Snow]

Judging from Xabi's style, it fits Chelsea's needs perfectly, as he's incredibly capable of maximizing the potential of Chelsea's young players. He's also frequently used 3-4-3 or 3-4-2-1 formations, which were the ones that helped Chelsea win trophies during their glory days. So, Xabi already has the foundations needed to become a manager who can boost Chelsea's performance-- now it's just a matter of seeing how he develops, whether he can put his experience into practice or not.

The 3-4-3 or 3-4-2-1 formation is indeed a hallmark of Chelsea. However, the management must not put excessive pressure or expectations on Xabi to achieve immediate success in his first season, as the Premier League is the most competitive league. Xabi needs to work hard to improve Chelsea’s performance. The Chelsea squad has many young players, and that is not enough to compete with other teams in the title race. Chelsea must sign top-tier stars to collaborate with the young players, thereby making it easier for Xabi to implement his tactics. And more importantly, the management must fully support Xabi and give him time to build the team.

[babo]

Xabi Alonso would have succeeded at real madrid the only problem was real Madrid is used to winning trophies so they wanted a coach who can maintain their winning legacy. Xabi Alonso was the right coach but he was under pressure too much from their management because they wanted to fast results  xabi Alonso is a coach who doesn't like working under pressure that's was why real madrid management had to terminate his contract because it wasn't working as planned. Again at Bayer leverkusen xabi Alonso wasn't under pressure which was why he succeeded in winning the trophy for his team. I think xabi will do an excellent job at Chelsea if he doesn't work under too much pressure.

Xabi Alonso wasn't a bad coach, his problem was that he messed up some spoiled players.
This is honestly not a nice thing to see, not only for the coach but also for the club itself, in this case Real Madrid.
In the past in Italy, Inter also spoiled their players too much, in fact they were rubbish in that period (Ronaldo's period)

[aipercoin]

With Abramovich, Chelsea had truly become a formidable force. Jose Mourinho had been an influential manager there, launching many star players onto the world stage. Seeing Chelsea's current situation, I'm sure the Russian businessman is saddened. The Premier League legend he created is slowly crumbling.

Chelsea is a team that mainly for the reason you are indicating is unable to maintain the guidance of a coach who is able to give an imprint to this team and is unable to do their job well, this is necessary for them to do this to have the possibility of having continuity in their work, otherwise they will not be able to move forward.

[Livingleged]

You're right, if Arsenal is changing coaches often as Chelsea does, only God knows how many years they would remain without a trophy. You can see how confused Chelsea were this season because despite they invested heavily to strengthen their squad they still didn't achieve anything. Xabi Alonso is a good coach if Chelsea can be patient to keep him to their agreement contract, he can win them a trophy one day.

I agree with you that changing  coach  often  doesn't  help both the team and the player because  as the player struggle to adapt  to every coach  that steps into the club  style another  one comes  in, and if the management  keep sacking  them it will just create  mixup  or confusing, that's when you see a player  that is wordclass  struggling  to put up his best performance.
About Chelsea  spending  huge amount  in the last summer break to sign players was a good idea but not well executed. They got players that were not upto the level they needed in fact it will be fine to say Chelsea  literally  sold better players  than the once they bought, Noni was better that all the wingers they bought  last season.

Xabi Alonso is a good coach  I hope to see him smile  at Chelsea  but it's not going  to be easy every  other EPL team are stepping  up and creating  a team that can potentially  win the title. But Chelsea management  can still sack him if it doesn't  work out in the first half of the season.

[wakier]

The reports say some of the senior players at Real Madrid weren't just happy with Xabi Alonso's reign as the club manager and decided to frustrate him out of the club. Another report said the club president didn't let Alonso to decisively take actions against the said players because they were deemed "untouchable" at the club. These are rumours, none of them came from an insider. I don't expect anything similar to happen at Chelsea. I believe the Spanish gaffer will succeed at Stamford bridge

this is a truly ridiculous thing, players who, even if they are senior, must never allow themselves to criticize the coach's work, they must remain composed in their place and must not allow themselves to go and criticize the work of professionals also because they would not be capable of doing so at all.

Sometimes a club success comes from the comfort of the players. If the players feel uncomfortable with the coach coaching system, the club game will be less than optimal, so the chemistry between the players and the coach will feel lacking. Indeed, if the coach and players do not have chemistry, the only way the coach must give in. At Chelsea, it seems Xabi Alonso has freedom because it seems that Chelsea players do not have high egos like Real Madrid players and I am also sure Xabi will make Chelsea performance better.

[Promocodeudo]

Xabi Alonso would have succeeded at real madrid the only problem was real Madrid is used to winning trophies so they wanted a coach who can maintain their winning legacy. Xabi Alonso was the right coach but he was under pressure too much from their management because they wanted to fast results  xabi Alonso is a coach who doesn't like working under pressure that's was why real madrid management had to terminate his contract because it wasn't working as planned. Again at Bayer leverkusen xabi Alonso wasn't under pressure which was why he succeeded in winning the trophy for his team. I think xabi will do an excellent job at Chelsea if he doesn't work under too much pressure.

Yea you're right but not only that, the players also contributed in frustrating his efforts, but let's be honest a club that have such quality players that spend the huge amount every season will want to win trophy every season, so I will say that any manager going to RealMadrid would've to prepare for the pressure that'll come if he performs bellow expectations, if he doesn't like to work under pressure as you claimed, he would've turn down the offer when RealMadrid approached him for the job, because RealMadrid is not a club that have such patience, they pressure will always be there for any manager, just as you said, they are trophy hunters and wouldn't want to go trophyless in a season but the reality now is that they have gone two season without trophy.

[9ja Amaka]

With Abramovich, Chelsea had truly become a formidable force. Jose Mourinho had been an influential manager there, launching many star players onto the world stage. Seeing Chelsea's current situation, I'm sure the Russian businessman is saddened. The Premier League legend he created is slowly crumbling.

Abramovich really improved Chelsea and made them a force to be reckoned with during his time as Chelsea owner, but I think that era is over now and this new owners are not as ambitious as Abramovich. Chelsea has now become an ordinary club and no longer feared, like they use to be in the time of Mourinho and Abramovich. I think the problem is from.the owners and they really need to get it right very soon, before Chelsea decline futher.

[Luzin]

You're right, if Arsenal is changing coaches often as Chelsea does, only God knows how many years they would remain without a trophy. You can see how confused Chelsea were this season because despite they invested heavily to strengthen their squad they still didn't achieve anything. Xabi Alonso is a good coach if Chelsea can be patient to keep him to their agreement contract, he can win them a trophy one day.

Only a fool would want Arteta to leave Arsenal and bring in a new coach. Just look at Arteta's patience up until today. EPL Champion and UCL Finalist know 2026, this is quite good. I agree that a change should be made if this year Arsenal fails to win the EPL again; firing Arteta I consider very rational. Furthermore, Arteta must stay with Arsenal and buy some other players who can support his strategy. He has created a cohesive team; bringing in a new coach would create a new adaptation with a new coaching style. That condition could force Arsenal to have to adapt again.

[Showlove01]

The reports say some of the senior players at Real Madrid weren't just happy with Xabi Alonso's reign as the club manager and decided to frustrate him out of the club. Another report said the club president didn't let Alonso to decisively take actions against the said players because they were deemed "untouchable" at the club. These are rumours, none of them came from an insider. I don't expect anything similar to happen at Chelsea. I believe the Spanish gaffer will succeed at Stamford bridge

this is a truly ridiculous thing, players who, even if they are senior, must never allow themselves to criticize the coach's work, they must remain composed in their place and must not allow themselves to go and criticize the work of professionals also because they would not be capable of doing so at all.

Sometimes a club success comes from the comfort of the players. If the players feel uncomfortable with the coach coaching system, the club game will be less than optimal, so the chemistry between the players and the coach will feel lacking. Indeed, if the coach and players do not have chemistry, the only way the coach must give in. At Chelsea, it seems Xabi Alonso has freedom because it seems that Chelsea players do not have high egos like Real Madrid players and I am also sure Xabi will make Chelsea performance better.

The thing is, there are teams a player or a coach will go regardless of how good they are they won't do better in that place and sometimes the performance may not be totally bad but it won't be what the people are expecting so in this case if the player or Coach has tried and it is not working they should leave and I think that is the best but there are some team they will go, they will do great from the first day till when something is not working like before an example of this is Michael Carrick.

[bitzizzix]

You're right, if Arsenal is changing coaches often as Chelsea does, only God knows how many years they would remain without a trophy. You can see how confused Chelsea were this season because despite they invested heavily to strengthen their squad they still didn't achieve anything. Xabi Alonso is a good coach if Chelsea can be patient to keep him to their agreement contract, he can win them a trophy one day.

Only a fool would want Arteta to leave Arsenal and bring in a new coach. Just look at Arteta's patience up until today. EPL Champion and UCL Finalist know 2026, this is quite good. I agree that a change should be made if this year Arsenal fails to win the EPL again; firing Arteta I consider very rational. Furthermore, Arteta must stay with Arsenal and buy some other players who can support his strategy. He has created a cohesive team; bringing in a new coach would create a new adaptation with a new coaching style. That condition could force Arsenal to have to adapt again.

You're right, and if anyone says Arsenal should replace Mikel Arteta, that's nonsense and ignores Arsenal's development and growth under Mikel Arteta.
Mikel Arteta's hard work, patience, and dedication truly deserve to be called a great coach, because ultimately, Mikel Arteta was able to lead Arsenal to the Premier League title and reach the Champions League final, a truly remarkable achievement. If Arsenal stays with Mikel Arteta, I'm sure they will be a great team and a formidable opponent next season.

[JiiBs]

Xabi Alonso wasn't a bad coach, his problem was that he messed up some spoiled players.
This is honestly not a nice thing to see, not only for the coach but also for the club itself, in this case Real Madrid.
In the past in Italy, Inter also spoiled their players too much, in fact they were rubbish in that period (Ronaldo's period)

The things that happen when you’re managing a team that certain players within the team feels bigger than the manager and their isn’t much you can do about it because, the club do allow these things to persist.it would be a much different case for Chelsea as he would be managing a team that is looking for results and players that are hungry to perform. If he could manage and return Chelsea back to champions league position at the end of the season, that would be a win.

[Nightwatchmare]

I hope Chelsea exercises enough patience with Xabi Alonso if not he may suffer early sack again as in real Madrid.

With the recent success of Arsenal and how the management of each club have seen how it can be beneficial to trust the manager through a process and not just get him sacked Chelsea would likely exercise more patience with Xabi than some other coaches. I recntly learned that they were not the ones that terminated their deal with Maresca but he walked out on the job. Whatever is true Chelsea here neede to give this new manager time to prove himself and to prove a points in the Premier League where he has played and gather experience from the past years.

The current Chelsea management aren't known for trusting the process so I won't be surprised if they decide to sack Xabi Alonso less than 6 months into next season if he fails to deliver the performances they want. Thomas Tuchel after winning the UEFA Champions League in 2021 deserved to be given more time after the team starting underperforming but no, they sacked him. That said, if they can exercise patience with Alonso, I think he'll do very well.

The current Chelsea management are not patient they expect fast results from any manager they hire and if the manager is not getting the good results within a short period of time the current Chelsea management will sack the manager and hire another manager and if the manager did not also get good results in a short period of time the current Chelsea management will also sack the manager and hire another one, i think the current Chelsea management should learn how to be patient with their manager because that is how a manager can get good results, as for Xabi Alonso, he will not last in Chelsea up to 6 months if he is not winning matches, since Chelsea did not do well in the premier league they employed Xabi Alonso because they believed he can transform Chelsea next season but if he fail to impress and transform Chelsea under 3 months the current Chelsea management will sack him.

[JoyMarsha]

Xabi Alonso would have succeeded at real madrid the only problem was real Madrid is used to winning trophies so they wanted a coach who can maintain their winning legacy. Xabi Alonso was the right coach but he was under pressure too much from their management because they wanted to fast results  xabi Alonso is a coach who doesn't like working under pressure that's was why real madrid management had to terminate his contract because it wasn't working as planned. Again at Bayer leverkusen xabi Alonso wasn't under pressure which was why he succeeded in winning the trophy for his team. I think xabi will do an excellent job at Chelsea if he doesn't work under too much pressure.

There won't be any pressure on Alonso at Chelsea because he is coming to build the team, to be a formidable one as it were in its glory days. I anticipate Alonso to be given a season or two to put the Chelsea squad together, for them to fight for the Premier League and Champions League trophies. For this season, what Chelsea will do best to actualize with Alonso is appear at the top spot of the Premier League table, and participate in the Champions League next season.

[snipie]

Xabi Alonso wasn't a bad coach, his problem was that he messed up some spoiled players.
This is honestly not a nice thing to see, not only for the coach but also for the club itself, in this case Real Madrid.
In the past in Italy, Inter also spoiled their players too much, in fact they were rubbish in that period (Ronaldo's period)

The things that happen when you’re managing a team that certain players within the team feels bigger than the manager and their isn’t much you can do about it because, the club do allow these things to persist.it would be a much different case for Chelsea as he would be managing a team that is looking for results and players that are hungry to perform. If he could manage and return Chelsea back to champions league position at the end of the season, that would be a win.

Whenever a player think he is better than everyone else, that he deserves to have the highest wage, that he is a must for the club to win and progress then this player is a source of problems and the team should not hesitate to kick him out in my opinion regardless of his position and weight.
Some novice teams with a good coach and efficient tactics could beat biggest teams and win even the most prestigious trophies. Mourinho with Porto in the past, Xabi Alonso with Bayer Leverkusen recently and the list is long. Sometimes unknown teams could pick the one of the top four positions although having cheap players