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

[igebotz]

The Man City fans aren't even calling for anything.  They keep supporting the club and the manager.  But the midweek fixtures at home need more people in the stadium tho.  Lol.  It's the people who aren't City supporters who are saying that Guardiola's days at the club are numbered 'for sure'. 

That's prolly what they wanna see happen.  But no..  Again, not happening.  Not with Ferran Soriano and Txiki calling the shots.  And the oilers love Guardiola.  They'll try to keep him in the club for as long as it takes.

You are right; every rival fan is using current results to milk and feed Pep's sacking agenda. We've been waiting for this opportunity to openly demand his resignation or sacking, but it's a waste of time. 

 If Ferran and Txiki could keep Pep for a lifetime deal, they would gladly do so. He has control over them.

[tokeweed]

^  Yeah but it's so rare in football.  Those ones like Alex Ferguson are a dime a dozen.  There's not many of them around.  A part of me wants to see Guardiola stay for more than 10 years in the EPL, but another part of me want to see Man City with a new manager just to give the club a new look.  Remember Pellegrini..?  I actually liked how the club played when he was calling the shots.  More direct football.  With Guardiola, his style of football tends to become stale after a while. 

Anyway early kick off with Aston Villa vs Man City.  I'm liking Aston Villa and BTTS combo at 5.01. 

[JollyGood]

These are the games taking place on Saturday 21st December:

Aston Villa vs Manchester City
Brentford vs Nottingham Forest
Ipswich Town vs Newcastle United
West Ham United vs Brighton and Hove Albion
Crystal Palace vs Arsenal

Who agrees with my selections below?  

WIN: Aston Villa,
DRAW: Brentford, Ipswich Town, West Ham United, Crystal Palace

I honestly cannot see how Aston Villa will miss out on the opportunity to heap further misery on Manchester City and Guardiola. Arsenal have a difficult game at Crystal Palace but three points for them will mean Liverpool and Chelsea will feel pressure. Brighton are playing so badly recently I expect West Ham United to win.

[CryptopreneurBrainboss]

If Maresca hopes Chilwell will be sold in January then that is probably the best way forward for the club and the player. At 27 years old Chilwell has a big future ahead of him but he needs to stay injury-free for his new club as he seems to be injury prone.

Don't know if I'm the only fan that isn't okay with the exclusion being given to chilwell, he was one of my favourite Chelsea player before the whole injury problem made him to lose form. I want to supported the manager because every decision that he has made has being spot on. But he need to give chewill a chance. Him getting featured in our next game is going to prove my point right. At a time he was our best player in the squad and helping out with assists and goals. He should be kept as a backup to Cucurella and not sold.

WIN: Aston Villa,
DRAW: Brentford, Ipswich Town, West Ham United, Crystal Palace

I honestly cannot see how Aston Villa will miss out on the opportunity to heap further misery on Manchester City and Guardiola.

That's just it right there, City poor form and results will continue hunting them as Emery boys won't be taking it easy on them.

Wins: Aston villa, Newcastle, Arsenal
Draws: Brentford/Nottingham, WestHam/Brighton.

[igebotz]

^  Yeah but it's so rare in football.  Those ones like Alex Ferguson are a dime a dozen.  There's not many of them around.  A part of me wants to see Guardiola stay for more than 10 years in the EPL, but another part of me want to see Man City with a new manager just to give the club a new look.  Remember Pellegrini..?  I actually liked how the club played when he was calling the shots.  More direct football.  With Guardiola, his style of football tends to become stale after a while.  

Anyway early kick off with Aston Villa vs Man City.  I'm liking Aston Villa and BTTS combo at 5.01.  

Yeah Pellegrini laid the groundwork for the winning mentality that the fans and Pep are enjoying today, but the club betrayed his trust. Pep was leaving Bayern, Pellegrini had just won the league, but the club felt he was too old to lead the club for a long term, he was too good to be fired, but they had no choice, paid him out of contract to get Pep.

When you stay for an extended period of time, everything becomes boring, managers become overly comfortable, and everything begin to fall out of order.

I am afraid but Aston Villa has been poor against big teams this season, I'm going to take the opposite bet- City & BTS

[tokeweed]

^  It was always about Guardiola's arrival.  They had to do Pellegrini dirty to snag him asap or another club might get him.  Man United was interested in him and there were words swirling around that Alex Ferguson visited Guardiola and ask him to join United before Ferguson retired.  But Guardiola was on sabbatical and said no.

These are the games taking place on Saturday 21st December:

Aston Villa vs Manchester City
Brentford vs Nottingham Forest
Ipswich Town vs Newcastle United
West Ham United vs Brighton and Hove Albion
Crystal Palace vs Arsenal

Who agrees with my selections below?  

WIN: Aston Villa,
DRAW: Brentford, Ipswich Town, West Ham United, Crystal Palace

I honestly cannot see how Aston Villa will miss out on the opportunity to heap further misery on Manchester City and Guardiola. Arsenal have a difficult game at Crystal Palace but three points for them will mean Liverpool and Chelsea will feel pressure. Brighton are playing so badly recently I expect West Ham United to win.

I totally agree on the Aston Villa to win pick and to the Brentford vs Nottingham Forest one to end in a draw.  The latter match could end with something like 2 - 2..?  Draw and over 3.5 goals combo is lined at 10.00.    Could be a total fail or a really good bet.

As for the rest, I didn't really look into them but I think Brighton, Newcastle and Arsenal win.

[JollyGood]

Chilwell was a good player, his form at Leicester City was good therefore Chelsea purchased him but he has been very unfortunate with injuries. His situation was completely different to that of Sterling. If Chilwell stayed as a back up player then it would not do Chelsea any harm but in the end the decision is with the manager Maresca who has had to be ruthless from the beginning by making unpopular decisions that turned out to be correct later on. Let us see what happens in the next transfer window.

Don't know if I'm the only fan that isn't okay with the exclusion being given to chilwell, he was one of my favourite Chelsea player before the whole injury problem made him to lose form. I want to supported the manager because every decision that he has made has being spot on. But he need to give chewill a chance. Him getting featured in our next game is going to prove my point right. At a time he was our best player in the squad and helping out with assists and goals. He should be kept as a backup to Cucurella and not sold.

Just a reminder of the games taking place on Saturday 21st December:

Aston Villa vs Manchester City
Brentford vs Nottingham Forest
Ipswich Town vs Newcastle United
West Ham United vs Brighton and Hove Albion
Crystal Palace vs Arsenal

Aston Villa vs Manchester City is a midday kick-off game that will add immense pressure on Guardiola and his team if they lose again. Things are not looking good for Manchester City, I expect Aston Villa to win.

[CryptopreneurBrainboss]

Aston Villa vs Manchester City is a midday kick-off game that will add immense pressure on Guardiola and his team if they lose again. Things are not looking good for Manchester City, I expect Aston Villa to win.

I know I already made my prediction known and gave the win to Aston villa but I did that without looking at Aston villa form. My concentration was just on that of man city poor form but Aston villa aren't exepted as they're also on a poor form.

They're coming from a back to back lost against Leipzig in the champions league and nothingham in the premier league, I hope it doesn't affect their performance today and spoils our bets. Emery should be winning Pep but I just hope they both don't settle for a draw. Aston villa being at home ground should give them some momentum, I don't see them losing so I'm going to stand on my ground of them getting the win although a draw is also possible.

What do you think, a draw not possible? Straight win only for Villa?

[tokeweed]

Aston Villa won at home 2 - 1 which was totally expected.  As for Aston Villa's 'poor form', mmm dunno about that.  'Form' in football gets tricky when you pile all the matches as just one long chain of W's and L's.  But really, we should be filtering it by league and if the match is at home or if it's away.  So with that, if we filter it to show us just Aston Villa's EPL matches and only at home, we'll see that they are having good form in the EPL and at home with just one loss. 

...  But away they're on a 4 game losing streak.  Prolly good to bet against them next week vs Newcastle and away.    Everybody will prolly start rooting got them because of their City win.

[JollyGood]

RESULT:

Aston Villa 2-1 Manchester City

I was certain Aston Villa would win. In the end they made it nervous after conceding a late goal but they controlled most of the game and deserved to win.

We do not know what is happening behind the scenes at Manchester City but there has to be a problem between some of the senior players and Guardiola because no team can have a W1 D2 L9 record in the previous twelve games and blame it on just one player missing (Rodri).

Manchester City are in big trouble not only because of their recent defeats but also because of the manner they are outplayed against smaller teams. Teams are no longer scared to face Manchester City and there is nothing Guardiola or his squad can do about it.

What do you think, a draw not possible? Straight win only for Villa?

RESULTS:

Aston Villa 2-1 Manchester City
Brentford 0-2 Nottingham Forest
Ipswich Town 0-4 Newcastle United
West Ham United 1-1 Brighton and Hove Albion
Crystal Palace 1-5 Arsenal

These are the results of the games with attention being paid to the games played at Aston Villa and Crystal Palace. Arsenal added to their goal difference with a thumping win but earlier in the day Manchester City lost again and now find themselves in 6th place in the Premier League table.

A special acknowledgement for Nottingham Forest has to be made as they won again today and are now sitting in 4th place (and are three points clear of 5th place Aston Villa). Nottingham Forest are just two points behind 3rd place Arsenal and are just three points behind 2nd place Chelsea and just five points behind leaders Liverpool.

Here is the Premier League table:





These are the games taking place today 22nd December 2024:

Everton vs Chelsea
Fulham vs Southampton
Leicester City vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
Manchester United vs Bournemouth
Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool

Liverpool have the chance to go further clear at the top of the table but Chelsea can also go top of the table if they win their game because Liverpool play later in the day. What a weekend of of football.

Who agrees with me? 

win: Chelsea, Fulham, Manchester United, Liverpool
draw: Leicester City,

[moderator's note: consecutive posts merged]

[CryptopreneurBrainboss]

Liverpool have the chance to go further clear at the top of the table but Chelsea can also go top of the table if they win their game because Liverpool play later in the day. What a weekend of of football.

Who agrees with me? 

win: Chelsea, Fulham, Manchester United, Liverpool

Would had gone with the same picks too if I had done this before the games ended. Never would I had thought Chelsea will be drawing to Everton, not an away match for that matter.

Man united losing to Bournemouth was kinda shocking but it's man united, they have been inconsistent so we can always expect stinkers from them.

Liverpool though was a 50/50 percent chance for me as I thought Tottenham had a chance to get something from that game but the end score has made me put some respect on Liverpool this season.  Overall it was an entertaining week of good football.

[nelson4lov]

Shocking results for today:

Man Utd 0 - 3 Bournemouth
Everton 0 - 0 Chelsea
Tottenham 3 - 6 Liverpool.

I'm not a Man Utd fan but I still feel for them. Liverpool gave them 0-3 at old Trafford as well  .

Bournemouth have now won Arsenal, Man City and Man Utd in the EPL this season. What a team!

Everton holding both Arsenal and Chelsea to 0-0 barren draws in <2 weeks says it all.
_________________

At the end of the day, happy to see Liverpool pick maximum points, increasing gap between us and Chelsea.

[JollyGood]

RESULTS:

Everton 0-0 Chelsea
Fulham 0-0 Southampton
Leicester City 0-3 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Manchester United 0-3 Bournemouth
Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool

Everton must have played very well to ensure Chelsea did not score and to hold on for a point. Liverpool won a nine goal game but Manchester United cannot find any balance as they were beaten at home by Bournemouth.

Overall it was an entertaining week of good football.

It certainly was 

[tokeweed]

Shocking results for today:

Man Utd 0 - 3 Bournemouth
Everton 0 - 0 Chelsea
Tottenham 3 - 6 Liverpool.

I'm not a Man Utd fan but I still feel for them. Liverpool gave them 0-3 at old Trafford as well  .

Bournemouth have now won Arsenal, Man City and Man Utd in the EPL this season. What a team!

Everton holding both Arsenal and Chelsea to 0-0 barren draws in <2 weeks says it all.
_________________

At the end of the day, happy to see Liverpool pick maximum points, increasing gap between us and Chelsea.

Lmfao yeah...  And it's in Old Trafford too.  Lolol.    I'm kinda disappointed with Man United's new manager as I had a good feeling that he would do well with the club.  I guess I was wrong.

And if there was a poll who would be given the sack first, if it's Guardiola or Amorim...  We can be pretty sure it's Amorim. 

But I'm rooting for the guy.  Hopefully he'll be given a nice budget for the summer transfer window.

[JollyGood]

Here are the Boxing Day fixtures 26th December 2024:

Manchester City vs Everton   
Bournemouth vs Crystal Palace
Chelsea vs Fulham
Newcastle United vs Aston Villa
Nottingham Forest vs Tottenham Hotspur
Southampton vs West Ham United
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Manchester United
Liverpool vs Leicester City

Who agrees with me?  

win: Chelsea, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, West Ham United, Liverpool
draw: Manchester City, Bournemouth, Wolverhampton Wanderers

[tokeweed]

^  I could see all your picks to win to get the W except for one...  Aston Villa.  Yeah Newcastle has had mixed results at home but check out Aston Villa's from in their away matches in the EPL.  They're on a 4 game skid.  But they're prolly not gonna let this one go without a fight for sure.  They're so close in gaining enough to be in the top 4.

As for your draws, if City ends up in a draw against Everton then that's the end of it.  Time to splash the cash for a new DM.

And I think Bournemouth wins vs Crystal Palace.  I somewhat agree on the Wolves too.  They could even win it imho.

[JollyGood]

What will happen to Guardiola and his team at the end of this game? Even though Manchester City took an early lead, they could not capitalise on it and Everton managed to get an equaliser. The game ended 1-1 at half-time. I think another defeat for Manchester City will bring even more pressure on the players and their manager Guardiola.

As for Everton, they are not intimidated and will try to soak up the pressure and will try to win the game.




RESULTS:

Manchester City 1-1 Everton   
Bournemouth 0-0 Crystal Palace
Chelsea 1-2 Fulham
Newcastle United 3-0 Aston Villa
Nottingham Forest 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Southampton 0-1 West Ham United
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 Manchester United

Liverpool will host Leicester City later this evening in a game they will try to win in order to create a bigger gap at the top of the table especially after Chelsea unexpectedly were beaten at home by Fulham.


[moderator's note: consecutive posts merged]

[Sandra_hakeem]

RESULTS:
Manchester City 1-1 Everton   

I don't really think I gave alot of interest to what everyone else played.. This match had everyone looking outta their eye sockets as if they were trying to hypnotize the referee to lose focus in the game. It left everyone in a state of confusion when the attacker equalized from the opposition team; ofcourse I thought they(city) was winning already as it was a good game and the goal came in early as well... But no, sometimes, things don't happen the way y'all want it. What even got us more confused was when halland, the supposed Golden boy lost a pen. I didn't even know who to put the blames on, but I'm sure guardiola's head boiled out of frustration for the 6th time in a row(in different competitions including draws as well). Only exception was that this was a draw, not a lose per se

Liverpool will host Leicester City later this evening in a game they will try to win in order to create a bigger gap at the top of the table especially after Chelsea unexpectedly were beaten at home by Fulham.

Boys? They're bouncing on the field like an Impala that slip away from the desperate claws of a leopard!!!! 82 minutes as at the last time I checked and I'm seeing 3:1

[CryptopreneurBrainboss]

Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 Manchester United[/b][/size]

Almost went on with my bet on man united winning but glad I didn't see it through because that's how I would had just lost my money. I don't understand Man united again, I thought they just had a new manager and things are supposed to be turning around for the good for them but what's all this results. Man united can't win a struggling wolves side that are in the relegation zone. I know my club (Chelsea) lost but it was against a stronger side (Fulham) and we conceded a last minute goal (this shouldn't be an excuse for the lost though) but just saying, United aren't supposed to be losing points like this. Kudos to wolves though, they played well and deserved the win.

[JollyGood]

What even got us more confused was when halland, the supposed Golden boy lost a pen.

Haaland has lost his touch, he is no longer a threat in front of goal and his confidence looks shattered. He needs a break, maybe then he can bounce back with his skills and confidence. Manchester City are need of fresh players and a boost, maybe Guardiola should consider his exit sooner rather than later.

I know my club (Chelsea) lost but it was against a stronger side (Fulham) and we conceded a last minute goal (this shouldn't be an excuse for the lost though) but just saying, United aren't supposed to be losing points like this. Kudos to wolves though, they played well and deserved the win.

What happened at Chelsea when they lost to Fulham. They were ready to close the gap with Liverpool and break away from Arsenal at the top of the table, this loss with hurt them especially after conceding two goals in the final 8 minutes of the game after being 1-0 up.

Manchester United were outplayed by Wolves. Amad just could not get in to the game, he always had several players pounce on him as soon as he had the ball. Congratulations to Wolves on their win. Also, special congratulations for Nottingham Forest after beating Tottenham today, they are 3rd place in the Premier League table just one point behind second place Chelsea.