Whale.io 🐳 | ⚽ English Premier League Season: 2025/2026

[CLS63]

The Brentford-Chelsea match should be declared as the most boring match of the day. Because there were no goals in it. But I must admit that Brentford were really dangerous. Chelsea are lucky about not losing this match despite playing horrible.

Today there is a Manchester derby and I'm looking forward to watching it. Earlier Amorim managed to defeat Guardiola once again after doing it with Sporting. I still think Manchester City won't lose this time but it wouldn't be easy anyway.

[JollyGood]

RESULTS:

Brentford 0-0 Chelsea
Fulham 3-2 Liverpool
Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Southampton
Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City

Fulham beat Liverpool but it does change the outcome of the would-be Premier League champions. Liverpool will be lifting the Premier League trophy well before the end of the end of the season. Chelsea once again drop points at the same time as Manchester City dropped them too.

The Manchester derby was not a memorable game but what cannot be doubted is that Manchester United are making progress whereas Manchester City are a shadow of the team they were last season. Chelsea failed to take advantage.

[igebotz]

I like Maresca. He was inexperienced as a manager yet took on the job at Chelsea and had to deal with big egos within the dressing room as well as the media pressure associated with the club. He has done very well.

I don't think he's done enough; we're just lucky because Manchester City is terrible this season.  Last season, Poch achieved 60+ points; this season, we're still below that mark with only a few games remaining.  If Manchester City were in fine form, plus the way Nottingham Forest has played this season, I believe Enzo Mascara would be battling for the Europa League spot and not the CL.

As for Arsenal, I am not sure if Everton should have been given a penalty but once again Moyes deserves credit for managing the team and Arteta should accept he got his tactics wrong.

Arteta is known for making silly excuses when decisions didn't go his way.

[tokeweed]

The same was said about Pep Guardiola back in the day.    That he's a noob, he isn't ready to manager a huge club like Barca and overall he just isn't a manager good enough to take on the reigns of the great Barcelona...  Not saying that Kompany will surely be doing it like Guardiola.  But saying that he doesn't have a chance or he's def out if the conversation?  Lol.  I mean we're just guys from the outside looking in.  What do we really know?

If Txiki and Soriano pull the trigger on Kompany and get him on, they prolly know something we don't.

We're only onlookers who've seen Kompany manage two teams in three years, but my concern is not his success, but how his teams play; I've seen Bayern play a few times in the CL this season, as well as some league games, and they don't even play any special type of football, just some counter-attacking football.  Still young and plenty of time to grow, but I believe we could see another Lampard- Chelsea situation at Manchester City.

Uh not really sure about 'how his teams' play as some people I've talked to irl are saying that they're playing mostly alright considering the fact that he's a noob as a manager.

Defense is solid, transitioning to attacking is 'fluid' so they say and overall has been a positive impact in Bayern Munich as a leader and a team motivator.  And as for experience, he's still gonna be in there for the next couple of years.  If he gets a couple more good results in the Bundesliga, then maybe he'll get the Man City job if Guardiola leaves.

Arteta was another one who was seen to be like a Lampard - Chelsea situation.

[igebotz]

Uh not really sure about 'how his teams' play as some people I've talked to irl are saying that they're playing mostly alright considering the fact that he's a noob as a manager.

Defense is solid, transitioning to attacking is 'fluid' so they say and overall has been a positive impact in Bayern Munich as a leader and a team motivator.  And as for experience, he's still gonna be in there for the next couple of years.  If he gets a couple more good results in the Bundesliga, then maybe he'll get the Man City job if Guardiola leaves.

Arteta was another one who was seen to be like a Lampard - Chelsea situation.

Solid defense? That was one of the two problems Tuchel had at Bayern- the attack was flawless, scored the highest number of goals but conceeded 40+  to kill the GD.

The second problem was Bayer - the season they had no manager in the world was ever going to stop them from winning the title, won 28 games from total 34. If they had maintained the same level of performance this season and won the league, Kompany would have been sacked too.

I will be surprised if Kompany doesn't end up like Lampard and Gerrard. Seen some potential though.

[JollyGood]

This is the only game taking place this evening:

Leicester City vs Newcastle United

Newcastle United have momentum, they won the Carabao Cup and are chasing a Champions League spot. If they win this evening they will move in to an automatic Champions League qualification spot and with push Manchester City down to 6th place. Leicester City will be unable to avoid relegation therefore will play for pride but Newcastle United desperately need the points.

I don't think he's done enough; we're just lucky because Manchester City is terrible this season.  Last season, Poch achieved 60+ points; this season, we're still below that mark with only a few games remaining.  If Manchester City were in fine form, plus the way Nottingham Forest has played this season, I believe Enzo Mascara would be battling for the Europa League spot and not the CL.

The form of the other clubs has allowed Chelsea to hang around the 5th Champions League place. With Liverpool and Arsenal out of sight, Chelsea are just four points behind Nottingham Forest. With seven teams chasing the remaining three Champions League places, it is exciting to watch.

RESULT:

Leicester City 0-3 Newcastle United

Until I read about the unfortunate record set by Leicester City, I did not believe it. They are the first team in English football league history that have lost eight consecutive home games without scoring a goal. That record goes to show how bad things are at the club.

As for Newcastle United, they are in serious contention for a Champions League position with them sitting in 5th place by pushing Manchester City down to 6th in the Premier League table.

Here is the Premier League table:

[CryptopreneurBrainboss]

The form of the other clubs has allowed Chelsea to hang around the 5th Champions League place. With Liverpool and Arsenal out of sight, Chelsea are just four points behind Nottingham Forest. With seven teams chasing the remaining three Champions League places, it is exciting to watch.

The champion league slots has always been more entertaining to watch than the fight for the trophy for some season now and this season isn't any different. I was angry with our draw against Brentford because I was surprised with Enzo's choices of players.

I didn't get why he had to rest our best players when we aren't playing champions league football that would had been an understandable reason to rest the players. Or is he trying to say the conference league game is more important than our fight for the top 4.

He's lucky that Manchester city didn't take advantage of our point drop. They also had a hard time at Old Trafford.  Newcastle has a game at hand and they face United next, I just hope they get a had time too in that game.

[JollyGood]

The teams fighting for a Champions League position have always entertained football fans. I think it is better this season because it is inevitable an extra spot will be given to the Premier League.

Newcastle United are at home when they play against Manchester United. Keeping in mind the what is at stake, it seems clear Newcastle United should win the game. Manchester United should apply a strategy of trying win the Europa League by keeping their best players away from injuries therefore more league defeats are expected.

Maresca did not always get his tactics right but for an unproven manager in his first season in the Premier League, he has done very well.

The champion league slots has always been more entertaining to watch than the fight for the trophy for some season now and this season isn't any different. I was angry with our draw against Brentford because I was surprised with Enzo's choices of players.

I didn't get why he had to rest our best players when we aren't playing champions league football that would had been an understandable reason to rest the players. Or is he trying to say the conference league game is more important than our fight for the top 4.

He's lucky that Manchester city didn't take advantage of our point drop. They also had a hard time at Old Trafford.  Newcastle has a game at hand and they face United next, I just hope they get a had time too in that game.

[igebotz]

The form of the other clubs has allowed Chelsea to hang around the 5th Champions League place. With Liverpool and Arsenal out of sight, Chelsea are just four points behind Nottingham Forest. With seven teams chasing the remaining three Champions League places, it is exciting to watch.

At least we can both agree that Enzo Mascara success has been as a result of other clubs bad spell this season. Nothing special about him..

I didn't get why he had to rest our best players when we aren't playing champions league football that would had been an understandable reason to rest the players. Or is he trying to say the conference league game is more important than our fight for the top 4.

I was surprised too, he's not only a bad manager but also terrible at decision making and that decision is about to cost us the CL spot for next season; now we have Aston Villa, Newcastle back to the CL spots battle- we were literally more than 5 points above those clubs 3 weeks ago, now we're only 2 points from 7th place. One more defeat or draw and we're out for the race.

Benching our best players against stubborn Brentford for a Poland club in the Conference league is crazy.

[CLS63]

I guess England will be one of the countries getting the extra spot for the Champions League. This means this time they will send 5 teams there directly. The 5th place in the league was never this important before.

Newcastle still have a missing match which is against Crystal Palace home. In case of winning that they are 3 points ahead of Chelsea too. They have a serious chance for the Champions League as a result but they still have tough matches to deal with as well. Such as Aston Villa, Arsenal and Chelsea. I'm not sure about Manchester United being that tough. I think Newcastle would defeat them easier.

[igebotz]

I guess England will be one of the countries getting the extra spot for the Champions League. This means this time they will send 5 teams there directly. The 5th place in the league was never this important before.

Newcastle still have a missing match which is against Crystal Palace home. In case of winning that they are 3 points ahead of Chelsea too. They have a serious chance for the Champions League as a result but they still have tough matches to deal with as well. Such as Aston Villa, Arsenal and Chelsea. I'm not sure about Manchester United being that tough. I think Newcastle would defeat them easier.

The 5th place team becomes useless if Manchester United win the Europa league; they're the only threats right now. Remember what Manchester united did to us last season after winning the FA cup? Took our Europa spot and bounced us to the conference league..  unprovoked 

[JollyGood]

I guess England will be one of the countries getting the extra spot for the Champions League. This means this time they will send 5 teams there directly. The 5th place in the league was never this important before.

The Premier League will send a guaranteed top five teams to the Champions League next season because of the newly introduced European Performance Spot. However, that number could actually rise to seven Premier League teams competing in the Champions League next season because of the way the rules are implemented.

Newcastle still have a missing match which is against Crystal Palace home. In case of winning that they are 3 points ahead of Chelsea too. They have a serious chance for the Champions League as a result but they still have tough matches to deal with as well. Such as Aston Villa, Arsenal and Chelsea. I'm not sure about Manchester United being that tough. I think Newcastle would defeat them easier.

If Newcastle United win their game in hand, they will make the fight for Champions League qualification even more interesting 

The 5th place team becomes useless if Manchester United win the Europa league; they're the only threats right now. Remember what Manchester united did to us last season after winning the FA cup? Took our Europa spot and bounced us to the conference league..  unprovoked 

Not at all, the 5th spot is guaranteed but if Aston Villa win the Champions League and finish 5th, the team in 6th place qualify too. ESPN explained the situation:

If Aston Villa win the Champions League (they play Paris Saint-Germain in the quarterfinals) and finish fifth then six teams qualify for the Champions League -- the top four, the Champions League titleholders and the EPS, which drops to sixth place.

The maximum number of places in the Champions League could be seven: the top four, the EPS, plus Villa and Manchester United or Tottenham Hotspur as winners of the Champions League and Europa League.

[tokeweed]

Uh not really sure about 'how his teams' play as some people I've talked to irl are saying that they're playing mostly alright considering the fact that he's a noob as a manager.

Defense is solid, transitioning to attacking is 'fluid' so they say and overall has been a positive impact in Bayern Munich as a leader and a team motivator.  And as for experience, he's still gonna be in there for the next couple of years.  If he gets a couple more good results in the Bundesliga, then maybe he'll get the Man City job if Guardiola leaves.

Arteta was another one who was seen to be like a Lampard - Chelsea situation.

Solid defense? That was one of the two problems Tuchel had at Bayern- the attack was flawless, scored the highest number of goals but conceeded 40+  to kill the GD.

The second problem was Bayer - the season they had no manager in the world was ever going to stop them from winning the title, won 28 games from total 34. If they had maintained the same level of performance this season and won the league, Kompany would have been sacked too.

I will be surprised if Kompany doesn't end up like Lampard and Gerrard. Seen some potential though.

Yup, solid defense...  And we're not talking about Tuchel tho.  We're talking about Kompany's methods in Bayern Munich this season which so far has been really good.  And as far as the squad's defense goes, it's really good based on their goals conceded.  They have the lowest number of goals made against them.

And again, the same was expected of Guardiola before they say what he could really do at Barca. Another one was Arteta.  Totally low expectations and yet he turned Arsenal into title contenders.  Low expectations for Kompany too, but we just never know.

[CryptopreneurBrainboss]

The 5th place team becomes useless if Manchester United win the Europa league; they're the only threats right now. Remember what Manchester united did to us last season after winning the FA cup? Took our Europa spot and bounced us to the conference league..  unprovoked 

We don't have to bother about that because I'm confident we're retaining the 4th position. Man city aren't getting in and Nottingham that we should be worried about are playing Everton which shouldn't be an easy game for them. We need them to loss just one game and we're squared in points with them but ahead since we'll be having more goal difference. I hate the fact that Chelsea is making me look for all this possibility when we could have easily secured our position in the champions league next season. Chelsea is playing Ipswich which should be a guaranteed 3 points so what we should be looking out for is Newcastle that has a game in hand.

[JollyGood]

As mentioned earlier, the team finishing in 5th place is guaranteed a Champions League spot. If Aston Villa finish 5th in the Premier League and win the Champions League then the team finishing in 6th will qualify for the Champions League alongside Aston Villa. Also, if Manchester United win the Europa League there could be seven Premier League teams in the Champions League next season.

The 5th place team becomes useless if Manchester United win the Europa league; they're the only threats right now. Remember what Manchester united did to us last season after winning the FA cup? Took our Europa spot and bounced us to the conference league..  unprovoked 

We don't have to bother about that because I'm confident we're retaining the 4th position. Man city aren't getting in and Nottingham that we should be worried about are playing Everton which shouldn't be an easy game for them. We need them to loss just one game and we're squared in points with them but ahead since we'll be having more goal difference. I hate the fact that Chelsea is making me look for all this possibility when we could have easily secured our position in the champions league next season. Chelsea is playing Ipswich which should be a guaranteed 3 points so what we should be looking out for is Newcastle that has a game in hand.

[examplens]

As mentioned earlier, the team finishing in 5th place is guaranteed a Champions League spot. If Aston Villa finish 5th in the Premier League and win the Champions League then the team finishing in 6th will qualify for the Champions League alongside Aston Villa.

Are you sure about this?
Two years ago, when Manchester City won the CL, it did not bring another place in the Premier League the following season. As far as I know, the top 4 go to the CL next season, and this year the total coefficient in European competitions enables (most likely) an additional place, so it is expected that there will be at least 5 clubs in the CL based on placement.
At the same time, if Man United or Tottenham win the EL, they also directly qualify for the CL. And that's a completely different condition.

[JollyGood]

I am certain about this.

UEFA launched the European Performance Spot in 2024. They give out two extra Champions League places to leagues that have the highest performance according their statistics (currently England and Spain): https://kassiesa.net/uefa/eps2025.html

This ESPN report about the European Performance Spot awarded for the Premier League explains much of the situation: https://www.espn.co.uk/football/story/_/id/44236625/premier-league-five-teams-2025-26-champions-league

Usually the top four teams qualify for the Champions League but this season it is the top five because of the extra spot courtesy of the European Performance Spot.

Also, if Manchester United or Tottenham Hotspur win the Europa League they will qualify for the Champions League therefore that makes six. On top of that, if Aston Villa win the Champions League the number rises to seven Premier League teams could be playing in the Champions League next season.

Are you sure about this?
Two years ago, when Manchester City won the CL, it did not bring another place in the Premier League the following season. As far as I know, the top 4 go to the CL next season, and this year the total coefficient in European competitions enables (most likely) an additional place, so it is expected that there will be at least 5 clubs in the CL based on placement.
At the same time, if Man United or Tottenham win the EL, they also directly qualify for the CL. And that's a completely different condition.

[tokeweed]

The match ups aren't really interesting this weekend except for the Bournemouth vs Fulham one...  And looking at the lines, I'm particularly liking that BTTS and over 2.5 goals combo at 1.98.  This could be 1.80 easy imho as both clubs have a high propensity to score goals.

I fancy the match goes over 3.5 but with the odds at just 2.75, no bet.  At that line, I'd rather go for the team totals for Fulham at 2.55.  

But I guess Nottingham Forest vs Everton could be interesting too with Moyes around. 

[igebotz]

The match ups aren't really interesting this weekend except for the Bournemouth vs Fulham one...  And looking at the lines, I'm particularly liking that BTTS and over 2.5 goals combo at 1.98.  This could be 1.80 easy imho as both clubs have a high propensity to score goals.

I fancy the match goes over 3.5 but with the odds at just 2.75, no bet.  At that line, I'd rather go for the team totals for Fulham at 2.55. 

But I guess Nottingham Forest vs Everton could be interesting too with Moyes around. 

I'm looking at Fulham 1.5 goal @ 2.55 ; they put 3 against Liverpool, I know football doesn't way this way but putting 2 past Bounemouth on a Monday night is possible

Your BTT + Over 2.5 is worth considering too.

[Odusko]

The match ups aren't really interesting this weekend except for the Bournemouth vs Fulham one...  And looking at the lines, I'm particularly liking that BTTS and over 2.5 goals combo at 1.98.  This could be 1.80 easy imho as both clubs have a high propensity to score goals.

I fancy the match goes over 3.5 but with the odds at just 2.75, no bet.  At that line, I'd rather go for the team totals for Fulham at 2.55. 

But I guess Nottingham Forest vs Everton could be interesting too with Moyes around. 

I'm looking at Fulham 1.5 goal @ 2.55 ; they put 3 against Liverpool, I know football doesn't way this way but putting 2 past Bounemouth on a Monday night is possible

Your BTT + Over 2.5 is worth considering too.

Let's not forget, this is football, anything can happen, for sure it will be an exciting time e but speculations on how many goals are going to be recorded in this match are quite impossible to do since both clubs can end the match with a head-on no goal for the entire 90+ minutes of the game.