⚽ Premier League 2025/2026 Discussion Thread ⚽

[skarais]

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That is correct, people do not realize what they are doing at this point, they think that this will be something that will change a lot but in reality it didn't change at all. City will end up getting better near the end of the season when everyone else gets worse. That's what happened last season as well, we have seen City drop to as low as third, and Arsenal vs Liverpool became the talk for many people, in the end the other two lost and City ended up getting the title again.

Consistency is the key, and just because they lost some games, doesn't mean that City can't figure out a way to replace Rodri and get the win. I believe we are going to end up with a lot better results for them when they are given the chance. Of course this isn't really something that will take a long time, we just need to focus on what kind of recovery they will have and how. Pep is a master coach, he knows what to do and I bet that he will figure out a way that will shock the world.

I know you are right, some people just don't want Manchester City to defend their title again this season and they think this is an opportunity for other teams including Liverpool and others. But still, Manchester City have proven to us that they are able to fix the problem of less consistent performance in the first half of the season and they also experienced this last season.

Manchester City and Liverpool currently have a 5 point gap in the standings and I don't think this is an impossible gap to overcome. Manchester City just needs to improve their performance and wait for Liverpool's mistakes, this will increase the pressure on Liverpool.

[red4slash]

Plenty of teams changed, but obviously United was the least expected one, that's the thing about United, even when they are bad, people do not really consider talking about other teams, look at how many teams in the world that are 13th and getting as much media attention as United, so that means they are expected to do better when the yare making this much money.

When I say unexpected I actually feel that in the end it's not Manchester United who are unexpected because the performance remains the same as before even if it's worse for now but in this case I don't say it's unexpected because in the end it's just like usual for them.

Instead, when I say unexpected for now I am more focused on Nottingham Forrest at the start of this season because indeed for now they are an unexpected club for me because seeing the performance they have is very contrary to what they showed last season.

Although this condition may only be temporary for them, it is still difficult to predict that a club with a lack of resources like them can ultimately be better than a club that is richer in terms of finance and squad owned.

[KTChampions]

What caught my eye most was the difference in points scored by clubs in 3rd to 5th place. 24 and 19 points is a huge difference over such a distance, and even if Arsenal, for example, formally retains its 4th place, the real distance to 1st place and, in general, to participation in the title race is now much greater.
Plus, of course, the rise of Nottingham and Chelsea is attracting attention. Are Nottingham embarking on a quest for a third Champions League title? 

Honestly, this season it seems like only two teams will compete closely for the championship title, because in terms of points, the team ranked 3rd and ranked 1st are already very far apart and it might take a surprise to be able to stick close. Liverpool is so strong this season, they continue to develop rapidly under Arne slot, it seems like they will make a lot of new history this season. The instability of Manchester City's performance opens up a great opportunity for Liverpool to continue to be consistent in collecting 3 points in order to maintain their position as the leader of the standings for a long time.

Arsenal experienced a less than satisfactory fate by losing many points so that this season it seems like it will be quite difficult for them to compete for the championship title. Although the season is still long, we have seen the performance of each team in achieving their targets this season. Nottingham Forest seems like it will be quite difficult to maintain their good performance, even though they are currently ranked 5th, but I am sure there are many big obstacles that will be obstacles for them in maintaining their good performance.

Yep, that's true. Bookmakers estimate Liverpool's chances at 2.25 and City's at 3.25, meaning the combined probability of one of the pair becoming champions is 75%. They also leave Arsenal with certain chances, but apparently only out of respect 
The only thing that can break the "logical development of events" is injuries. As we have seen in the last two years, the game calendar is overloaded and players get serious injuries in huge numbers. This can knock any top club out of the race.

[Zaguru12]

Yep, that's true. Bookmakers estimate Liverpool's chances at 2.25 and City's at 3.25, meaning the combined probability of one of the pair becoming champions is 75%. They also leave Arsenal with certain chances, but apparently only out of respect 
The only thing that can break the "logical development of events" is injuries. As we have seen in the last two years, the game calendar is overloaded and players get serious injuries in huge numbers. This can knock any top club out of the race.

Funny how Arsenal had the best chance of clinching the league after been close in two occasions, they were better positioned than even both Manchester City and Liverpool, if I could remember due to Liverpool inability to even make signings they were positioned as distance third, right now they are the front runners. Logical this point gap of 9 points is huge, but the league is just starting with most of the top matches still yet to be played so the title might still have new contenders aside this two.

But realistically now it is between this two, you don’t open up gap wide like this so early at the start of the season, in the last couple of years it is very hard to cover up so for Arsenal to even try to cover up it will be hard. But just as you have said injuries now determine the season of the club, Liverpool currently enjoying the top is to me the advantage of them having almost all squad players injury free and that’s why there title charge hasn’t intrigue me that much because I don’t think they will recover if they suffer same fate like the other title contenders

[Ryu_Ar1]

In my opinion, Man City's performance in the 11 matches they have played so far cannot be said to have decreased drastically because they are still in 2nd place and maybe sooner or later they will soon catch up with Liverpool, besides the performance of Man City and Arsenal, there are Chelsea and Notthingham Forest who have caught my attention at this time because they have made rapid progress even though they have only played 11 matches so far and there is also Tottenham Hotspur who have actually experienced a drastic decline this season, last season they were in 2nd place now they are in 10th place.

Because in fact even though there is a series of defeats that Manchester City got in this case but that does not mean making them decline drastically in terms of performance and the situation that occurs in the competition.

They are still in second place now and the opportunity to win the trophy is still very much there even though the gap is a little widened but it is not something that cannot be pursued by them so that the series of defeats that occurred did not necessarily link them to a significant decline in performance because I still think this is still within a reasonable threshold.

But honestly I expected something deeper than this even though it was difficult because I was quite happy to see them displaced from the championship position because honestly I wanted to see a new club replace them in winning the trophy this season even though it was still very difficult but I still expected it because I had seen them lift the trophy too often in the last 4 seasons.

[baeva]

In my opinion, Man City's performance in the 11 matches they have played so far cannot be said to have decreased drastically because they are still in 2nd place and maybe sooner or later they will soon catch up with Liverpool, besides the performance of Man City and Arsenal, there are Chelsea and Notthingham Forest who have caught my attention at this time because they have made rapid progress even though they have only played 11 matches so far and there is also Tottenham Hotspur who have actually experienced a drastic decline this season, last season they were in 2nd place now they are in 10th place.

That is correct, people do not realize what they are doing at this point, they think that this will be something that will change a lot but in reality it didn't change at all. City will end up getting better near the end of the season when everyone else gets worse. That's what happened last season as well, we have seen City drop to as low as third, and Arsenal vs Liverpool became the talk for many people, in the end the other two lost and City ended up getting the title again.

Consistency is the key, and just because they lost some games, doesn't mean that City can't figure out a way to replace Rodri and get the win. I believe we are going to end up with a lot better results for them when they are given the chance. Of course this isn't really something that will take a long time, we just need to focus on what kind of recovery they will have and how. Pep is a master coach, he knows what to do and I bet that he will figure out a way that will shock the world.

In general, it can be seen that they are missing a player, but to be so much that they are losing 4 matches in a row - I highly doubt it, the reason is more likely to be something else, or maybe there is no reason at all, because with any team it happens sometimes. I think they have already replaced him adequately and we will see a good performance from them in the next match after such a big break

[Issa56]

Manchester City and Liverpool currently have a 5 point gap in the standings and I don't think this is an impossible gap to overcome. Manchester City just needs to improve their performance and wait for Liverpool's mistakes, this will increase the pressure on Liverpool.

People are already losing confidence in Manchester City with the way their performance has dropped, and most people are thinking it’s going to be difficult for Manchester city to bounce back due to injury problem which they are facing, but I will say it’s still early, Manchester City can’t continue performing poorly, and the gap between Manchester City, and Liverpool is still close, it’s not that much that we will think Manchester city won’t be able to cover up, just that Guardiola will have to fix the current problem Manchester City is having early.

[BITCOIN4X]

~Snip

Because in fact even though there is a series of defeats that Manchester City got in this case but that does not mean making them decline drastically in terms of performance and the situation that occurs in the competition.

They are still in second place now and the opportunity to win the trophy is still very much there even though the gap is a little widened but it is not something that cannot be pursued by them so that the series of defeats that occurred did not necessarily link them to a significant decline in performance because I still think this is still within a reasonable threshold.

But honestly I expected something deeper than this even though it was difficult because I was quite happy to see them displaced from the championship position because honestly I wanted to see a new club replace them in winning the trophy this season even though it was still very difficult but I still expected it because I had seen them lift the trophy too often in the last 4 seasons.

Pep Guardiola wants to create history in the Premier League and he may want to be remembered as the only coach capable of doing it. If this season Manchester City manages to defend the title, then they will be the only team to have managed to do so 5 consecutive seasons in history, which is clearly very difficult for any team in the Premier League to achieve.

But I understand, the Premier League must be very boring when only Manchester City has won the title in 5 consecutive seasons. This season Liverpool has the opportunity to win the title, but I still question whether they will be able to appear consistent until the end of the season or will they let Manchester City lead the standings again before the season is over.

[Ryu_Ar1]

Because in fact even though there is a series of defeats that Manchester City got in this case but that does not mean making them decline drastically in terms of performance and the situation that occurs in the competition.

They are still in second place now and the opportunity to win the trophy is still very much there even though the gap is a little widened but it is not something that cannot be pursued by them so that the series of defeats that occurred did not necessarily link them to a significant decline in performance because I still think this is still within a reasonable threshold.

But honestly I expected something deeper than this even though it was difficult because I was quite happy to see them displaced from the championship position because honestly I wanted to see a new club replace them in winning the trophy this season even though it was still very difficult but I still expected it because I had seen them lift the trophy too often in the last 4 seasons.

Pep Guardiola wants to create history in the Premier League and he may want to be remembered as the only coach capable of doing it. If this season Manchester City manages to defend the title, then they will be the only team to have managed to do so 5 consecutive seasons in history, which is clearly very difficult for any team in the Premier League to achieve.

But I understand, the Premier League must be very boring when only Manchester City has won the title in 5 consecutive seasons. This season Liverpool has the opportunity to win the title, but I still question whether they will be able to appear consistent until the end of the season or will they let Manchester City lead the standings again before the season is over.

That is what Pep really wants because now for 4 consecutive seasons alone it has become a record in itself for the EPL, especially adding this season which will definitely make pressure and coaches become high for the EPL but on the other hand this will also increase a good competition among coaches so that if in the end they want to become the best coach in the EPL then at least Pep is the benchmark for now because in the current era Pep is a real representative for great coaches.

Talking about games in one season, actually the EPL is not boring because this is the best competition, but when talking about who ultimately lifts the trophy, it's a bit monotonous for me because in the last 7 seasons, only Klopp has been able to replace Pep, and that's only once in a season. The rest of 2020 Pep is unbeaten since he was at Manchester City.

[mamesso]

~Snip~

Pep Guardiola wants to create history in the Premier League and he may want to be remembered as the only coach capable of doing it. If this season Manchester City manages to defend the title, then they will be the only team to have managed to do so 5 consecutive seasons in history, which is clearly very difficult for any team in the Premier League to achieve.

He has done it after successfully leading Man City to win the EPL trophy for four consecutive seasons, he has established himself as the only coach who has managed to dominate the EPL for four seasons, in my opinion this record is very difficult for other coaches to catch up. This season he began to have difficulty maintaining Man City performance due to several key players being injured, this condition was made worse by Liverpool increasing performance since being handled by Arne Slot. I am very skeptical that he can retain the title for five consecutive seasons, as you can see now, Man City performance is very bad in the last four games in all competitions.

[tusandii]

~Snip~

Pep Guardiola wants to create history in the Premier League and he may want to be remembered as the only coach capable of doing it. If this season Manchester City manages to defend the title, then they will be the only team to have managed to do so 5 consecutive seasons in history, which is clearly very difficult for any team in the Premier League to achieve.

He has done it after successfully leading Man City to win the EPL trophy for four consecutive seasons, he has established himself as the only coach who has managed to dominate the EPL for four seasons, in my opinion this record is very difficult for other coaches to catch up. This season he began to have difficulty maintaining Man City performance due to several key players being injured, this condition was made worse by Liverpool increasing performance since being handled by Arne Slot. I am very skeptical that he can retain the title for five consecutive seasons, as you can see now, Man City performance is very bad in the last four games in all competitions.

With Liverpool's performance this season I think optimistically Liverpool will repeat the 2019-20 season where they broke Manchester City's dominance which had previously won the title for 2 consecutive seasons if at that time Liverpool had not won the EPL title maybe now Man City has recorded 7 EPL titles without a break, compared to Arsenal actually Liverpool is more convincing to be a competitor for Man City in the title hunt, it seems this season will be Liverpool's successful season again.

[joniboini]

compared to Arsenal actually Liverpool is more convincing to be a competitor for Man City in the title hunt, it seems this season will be Liverpool's successful season again.

I heard some pundits believe they're lucky because no key players are injured for long. If they miss Van Dijk or Konate for 5 games, for example, there's a high chance that the tune on the media will change. I can see that tbh, so it's too soon to conclude who will win the league or finish third. To be fair it applies to any team. Injury to key players will impact their performance, the problem is to differentiate that with a tactical failure from a manager. If it is the latter it will be harder to fix imo.

[shinratensei_]

Manchester City and Liverpool currently have a 5 point gap in the standings and I don't think this is an impossible gap to overcome. Manchester City just needs to improve their performance and wait for Liverpool's mistakes, this will increase the pressure on Liverpool.

People are already losing confidence in Manchester City with the way their performance has dropped, and most people are thinking it’s going to be difficult for Manchester city to bounce back due to injury problem which they are facing, but I will say it’s still early, Manchester City can’t continue performing poorly, and the gap between Manchester City, and Liverpool is still close, it’s not that much that we will think Manchester city won’t be able to cover up, just that Guardiola will have to fix the current problem Manchester City is having early.

It's the same story as last season. City went down, then people doubted them to win a trophy. They took a lead at the end of last season. But's kinda wierd to think about that consider they're still at the top 3.

I suggest you not underestimate City. They are not as good las season, but they can still win the trophy. We're still 27 weeks away from the end of EPL, and how can you come into such conclusion so easily? We're still having mid and late season. I think they can once again repeat their magic.

If their top players are available, they will come back. But, Rodri is confirmed missing this season. So, they must have found a good replacement for him.

Once City found a proper replacement for Rodri, and i'm sure they will comeback. They urgently need a new DM now.

[blue Snow]

Talking about games in one season, actually the EPL is not boring because this is the best competition, but when talking about who ultimately lifts the trophy, it's a bit monotonous for me because in the last 7 seasons, only Klopp has been able to replace Pep, and that's only once in a season. The rest of 2020 Pep is unbeaten since he was at Manchester City.

If the Premier League still has Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho, I think both guys also become worthy opponents for Pep, (besides Jurgen Klopp, of course). But every coach has his prime time, like the coach above, Pep also has time to decrease his performance, maybe he's starting to feel saturation. He started in 2016, more than 8 years old he managed Manchester City which I think with his young age as coach still wants to enjoy a new challenge to another club.

He ever said if one day he will leave Manchester City, probably not in the near future until his contract over in summer 2025. So, Manchester City must think to find another credible coach like pep from today.

[legendbtc]

compared to Arsenal actually Liverpool is more convincing to be a competitor for Man City in the title hunt, it seems this season will be Liverpool's successful season again.

I know Arsenal's goal is to compete for the championship. However, after the first 11 rounds, Arsenal can no longer maintain their strength. Arsenal failed to show any character in the game. They can only blame themselves for that. Arsenal are nine points behind Liverpool in the standings.

I heard some pundits believe they're lucky because no key players are injured for long. If they miss Van Dijk or Konate for 5 games, for example, there's a high chance that the tune on the media will change. I can see that tbh, so it's too soon to conclude who will win the league or finish third. To be fair it applies to any team. Injury to key players will impact their performance, the problem is to differentiate that with a tactical failure from a manager. If it is the latter it will be harder to fix imo.

Luckily as you said Liverpool's key players are not injured. Liverpool have taken early control of the Premier League title race.  In the Premier League championship race, Liverpool will likely be Man City's rival this season. I think the absence of Rodri will cause many difficulties for Man City. Liverpool should seize this opportunity and create some safety in the table, as Man City will be back on track quickly.

[bitLeap]

People are already losing confidence in Manchester City with the way their performance has dropped, and most people are thinking it’s going to be difficult for Manchester city to bounce back due to injury problem which they are facing, but I will say it’s still early, Manchester City can’t continue performing poorly, and the gap between Manchester City, and Liverpool is still close, it’s not that much that we will think Manchester city won’t be able to cover up, just that Guardiola will have to fix the current problem Manchester City is having early.

I suggest you not underestimate City. They are not as good las season, but they can still win the trophy. We're still 27 weeks away from the end of EPL, and how can you come into such conclusion so easily? We're still having mid and late season. I think they can once again repeat their magic.

Underestimating a club as big as Man City is certainly a big mistake, even though this season they have performed a little badly but we don't see anything worse happening. Pep Guardiola is not an easy coach to conquer, especially with the Premier League season still long Man City can return to their best performance quickly. Man City players just need to work harder.

[MainIbem]

Talking about games in one season, actually the EPL is not boring because this is the best competition, but when talking about who ultimately lifts the trophy, it's a bit monotonous for me because in the last 7 seasons, only Klopp has been able to replace Pep, and that's only once in a season. The rest of 2020 Pep is unbeaten since he was at Manchester City.

If the Premier League still has Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho, I think both guys also become worthy opponents for Pep, (besides Jurgen Klopp, of course). But every coach has his prime time, like the coach above, Pep also has time to decrease his performance, maybe he's starting to feel saturation. He started in 2016, more than 8 years old he managed Manchester City which I think with his young age as coach still wants to enjoy a new challenge to another club.

He ever said if one day he will leave Manchester City, probably not in the near future until his contract over in summer 2025. So, Manchester City must think to find another credible coach like pep from today.

Pep Guardiola no doubt is one of the best in the world, infact what he's done in his coaching career he's placed him in the level of Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho, Ancelotti and the rest of them, let's not forget that he's coached against this great coaches I just mentioned and defeated them he was a headache to Mourinho while he was at Real Madrid and Pep at Barce, he even defeated Sir Alex Ferguson in a Champions league final still during his coaching days at Barcelona, even Ancelotti was not left out  cause he defeated him and further went to play against Inter Milan to win the Champions League title for Manchester City. Well Kloop is another genius in his own way but I think Pep did far more greater things than Klopp n his career and Manchester City would find it difficult to replace him when his contract expires, cause I wonder who would come to the club and handle the club like Pep Guardiola did? That's same fate Manchester United shared when Ferguson left, their glory days ended.

[Luzin]

I just read that one of the EPL referees has been temporarily dismissed. He is Coote. David Coote is accused of having violated referee discipline. He was accused of using foul language to describe former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp. In a video circulating on social media, Coote was accused of insulting Kloop. The insult occurred in 2020 when Liverpool played Burnley. Coote is a very experienced referee, he has been in charge since 2018.

Source:
1. https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/clyd2y3pnedo
2. https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c9qledpz2x0o

[Barikui1]

I just read that one of the EPL referees has been temporarily dismissed. He is Coote. David Coote is accused of having violated referee discipline. He was accused of using foul language to describe former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp. In a video circulating on social media, Coote was accused of insulting Kloop. The insult occurred in 2020 when Liverpool played Burnley. Coote is a very experienced referee, he has been in charge since 2018.

Source:
1. https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/clyd2y3pnedo
2. https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c9qledpz2x0o

It's very sad and regrettable that people that should be the one protecting the game from foul languages and discrimination are the one breaking it and using it on someone.
When I saw this post the first thing I did was to click on the link to see the referee in question, if I knows him facially, because I didn't knows him by his name, but when I did checked, I felt really disappointed because I knows him very well and he is a very talented referee.

But if truly he is guilty of the claims against him, then I think he should pay for his actions, because their is repercussions or consequence of anything we do as humans, so even though he is one of those referees I like in the English premier league, he should still be punished for what he did, because he has really messed up.

[Silence Scream]

In my opinion, Man City's performance in the 11 matches they have played so far cannot be said to have decreased drastically because they are still in 2nd place and maybe sooner or later they will soon catch up with Liverpool, besides the performance of Man City and Arsenal, there are Chelsea and Notthingham Forest who have caught my attention at this time because they have made rapid progress even though they have only played 11 matches so far and there is also Tottenham Hotspur who have actually experienced a drastic decline this season, last season they were in 2nd place now they are in 10th place.

That is correct, people do not realize what they are doing at this point, they think that this will be something that will change a lot but in reality it didn't change at all. City will end up getting better near the end of the season when everyone else gets worse. That's what happened last season as well, we have seen City drop to as low as third, and Arsenal vs Liverpool became the talk for many people, in the end the other two lost and City ended up getting the title again.

Consistency is the key, and just because they lost some games, doesn't mean that City can't figure out a way to replace Rodri and get the win. I believe we are going to end up with a lot better results for them when they are given the chance. Of course this isn't really something that will take a long time, we just need to focus on what kind of recovery they will have and how. Pep is a master coach, he knows what to do and I bet that he will figure out a way that will shock the world.

In general, it can be seen that they are missing a player, but to be so much that they are losing 4 matches in a row - I highly doubt it, the reason is more likely to be something else, or maybe there is no reason at all, because with any team it happens sometimes. I think they have already replaced him adequately and we will see a good performance from them in the next match after such a big break

It was not expected by anyone to expect back-to-back defeats from Manchester City, which has been performing so magnificently for many years. Because with its squad and quality, it was a team that was normally hard to beat. However, losing four games in a row shows that it is time for Guardiola to change something. Perhaps their opponents now understand better what they want to do, since they have been on the field with the same squad and similar tactics for years. Apart from that, the players who were brought in to replace the old main squad may not be productive enough. This may be one of the reasons.