⚽ Premier League 2025/2026 Discussion Thread ⚽

[beerlover]

No club can do well without having a better coach. The 70% success of a club relies on the coach. Even if a club has better players, with no good coach to manage them, they will hardly achieve anything. But even if a club has average players, with a good coach who is tactically sound, the club can reach a successful level.

For example, just look at Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest. Currently, their players are average, but they are performing better than Manchester United or Tottenham, who have better players than them. In fact, a good coach can transform average players into great players who are well recognized. On the other hand, even if the players are good, without a good manager, their performance will surely decline.

As you said, let’s look at Chelsea's performance currently compared to when Pochettino was their manager. It is the same set of players who were there under Pochettino that are still there under Enzo Maresca, but their performances under Enzo Maresca are great.

Bournemouth could be considered a good example of that too, they do not have the money to be a top ranking team, they never had that kind of money, but they are fifth right now with the talent they could afford. That's basically what coach has managed, and that is what makes a coach better than the rest.

You can't expect him to win the title, not every "success" is a big success, in fact Bournment finishing fifth this season, could be a bigger success than Liverpool winning the whole thing, compared to what they are spending overall. In the end, we need to remember that United is getting slightly bit better, but they really need not just coaching but also players too, no matter how much coach means something, if players are not willing to play hard, then they will lose.

[Adiljutt156]

If you didn't watch the Tottenham - Liverpool game, you missed too much.    It was an unbelievable game first of all. Despite seeing no goal like in the first 20 minutes, we watched 9 goals in total. A huge 6-3 win by Arne Slot's students... I don't know how more I'm going to praise Salah this season. But he is just incredible with his goal contribution in every way. 2 goals and 2 assists here. 18 goals and 15 assists in 24 games when it comes to the whole season so far.

At the age of 32, Salah is still cooking and having one of his most productive seasons.    I hope Liverpool extends with him for a couple of more years.

Lastly, Manchester United got a horrible loss, I agree. However it is too early to go harsh on Amorim. He hasn't even made signings according to his choices. He needs time to have his system working too.

You are right. That was match of Premier League and Liverpool football team was dominant in this match because that team did 6 goals in this match which is excellent effort as and Tottenham Hotspur football team could do only 3 goals in this match and the defense system of that team was very weak and that is the reason Liverpool team became successful to do 6 goals in this match and 2 players of that team did 2,2 goals in this match and which was excellent for that team . First person was L. Díaz and he did first at 23 minutes of the match and after he did his 2nd goal at 85 minutes of the match. The second person who did 2 goals in this match that was M. Salah and he did first goal at 54 minutes of the match and after he did 2nd goal at 61 minutes of the match and made match one sided .

[TastyChillySauce00]

Pep Guardiola is preparing fans for the fact that Man City might not qualify for the Champions League next season.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cd0ey4mjydko
As much as I appreciate his honesty, he should focus on lifting the team's morale up rather than allow himself to discuss the worst possible outcomes which makes him sound defeated and without much hope.

I'm still appreciating him caused by he's talking about the fact. City is in a very critical situations in all of competitions. I'm sure he has been boosting morale of his players since his team got lose streak, but it's not enough. I see nothing improved from his team. It means he needs to overhaul his current club.

Up and down is a common thing in the football. Pep has won various trophies with his current squad, and it's time to regen to happen.

Man City's next three games will be against teams from the bottom seven of the league table, so they must score at least 6-7 points to avoid dropping too far down and still have hopes of finishing in the top 4.
Their next game is against Everton today at 12:30 UK time.

Everton is gonna be City's next opponent very soon, but i have no faith they to take three points at home. We have seen how Everon draw against Arsenal and Chelsea, though they always being attacked by their opponents, but they have big wall of china.

It's hard to believe in them to take three points from Everton's game.

[joniboini]

As much as I appreciate his honesty, he should focus on lifting the team's morale up rather than allow himself to discuss the worst possible outcomes which makes him sound defeated and without much hope.

It sounds like he's calling people out when he said qualifying for the Champions League is a huge success instead of wallowing in defeat though. He also said City needs to find the solutions to their problems if they want to qualify for the Champions League. While I do believe he's been under pressure recently judging from his past interview, he knows how to manage the dressing room. The next transfer window is a big opportunity for him to find new players. That's the issue he stated many times. Let's see if he can fix that or change his tactics to improve the results in the league.

[SmartCharpa]

Ten Hag did waste a alot of money, in trying to get the players  he wanted, while some of these players failed to cone close to expectations. The players fees are often leading to criticism when they can perform well or are far from their best. Although, we hope Ruben Amorim can make good use of the resources given to him.

Ten Hags was allowed to recruit the players he needed, but he was unable to find any that would be able to help improve the team's performance. Of all the players Ten Hags brought to the squad, I am only happy with Ugarte, and aside from Zirkzee, no player irritates me. What a waste of money. I was even wondering about what Ten Hags was hoping to do when he was eager to bring Frank De Jong from Barcelona, a player who is known to suffer injuries. Manchester United will get better if the board agrees that Amorim should get the players he needs.

Pep Guardiola is preparing fans for the fact that Man City might not qualify for the Champions League next season.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cd0ey4mjydko
As much as I appreciate his honesty, he should focus on lifting the team's morale up rather than allow himself to discuss the worst possible outcomes which makes him sound defeated and without much hope.

Man City's next three games will be against teams from the bottom seven of the league table, so they must score at least 6-7 points to avoid dropping too far down and still have hopes of finishing in the top 4.
Their next game is against Everton today at 12:30 UK time.

Perhaps Guardiola has given up on finishing in the top four because of the team punishment issue; if Manchester City's points are taken away, the team could get relegated. If that isn't the case, though, I don't see why Guardiola would say that they might not make it to the Champions League next season as they can only play the weakest teams from the bottom of the league in their next three games. Manchester City should be able to defeat every team they play against in those three games, and they will still sign more players in January to improve their performance.

[Lida93]

Absolutely true, Manchester city who are supposed to be the main contenders are unstable at the moment and seems not be ready to compete anytime soon thereby giving room for another suitable contender but I don't see any other team that would be able to match Liverpool in terms of competing for the title because arsenal tried against Manchester city twice and failed and Chelsea do not really look ready rather they seem like a team that only wants to secure a champions League spot, so it all depends on Liverpool's consistency if they want to win the EPL.

Man City's performance has declined and is currently 12 points behind Liverpool, 15 points if Liverpool has played the same match as Man City and that is quite a distance so Man City's chances of catching up are very difficult and impossible if Liverpool continues to consistently win Liverpool's position is quite safe from Man City but that does not mean it is safe from other teams I see Chelsea will be Liverpool's competitor I think Chelsea not only wants to occupy the Champions League zone, they must also be determined to conquer the Premier League again like before so I think Liverpool should not be too confident because their gap is not too far.

Manchester city closing up in points with Liverpool shouldn't be said to be anything impossible but if you say it's gonna be difficult I agree with you. If Liverpool got unlucky and had it's key player's to injury before the ending of the season it can give Manchester city a chance to brace up in points with them or other opponents like Arsenal and Chelsea can take advantage of such opportunity too.
Today Manchester city will be playing Everton at home, a game which ordinarily City ought to take all 3 points in good fate but their current bad form and serial loss makes the game look like a hard one for them. If Everton would give a good performance then they can take all points just as Aston villa did by winning 2:1 in game City was already leading by a goal. Question is, can Everton have their own share of 3 points from Manchester city in today's match?

[Inwestour]

Perhaps Guardiola has given up on finishing in the top four because of the team punishment issue; if Manchester City's points are taken away, the team could get relegated. If that isn't the case, though, I don't see why Guardiola would say that they might not make it to the Champions League next season as they can only play the weakest teams from the bottom of the league in their next three games. Manchester City should be able to defeat every team they play against in those three games, and they will still sign more players in January to improve their performance.

I doubt Guardiola has accepted that City can stay outside the top 4, the crisis at City has dragged on for too long, I hope it ends soon. Guardiola has spoken about City not being able to defend their title because Liverpool are too far ahead, but I don't think he has resigned himself to staying outside the top 4. Today will be a good test for their attack against a solid Everton defence, it's time for City to start winning.

[reagansimms]

Perhaps Guardiola has given up on finishing in the top four because of the team punishment issue; if Manchester City's points are taken away, the team could get relegated. If that isn't the case, though, I don't see why Guardiola would say that they might not make it to the Champions League next season as they can only play the weakest teams from the bottom of the league in their next three games. Manchester City should be able to defeat every team they play against in those three games, and they will still sign more players in January to improve their performance.

I doubt Guardiola has accepted that City can stay outside the top 4, the crisis at City has dragged on for too long, I hope it ends soon. Guardiola has spoken about City not being able to defend their title because Liverpool are too far ahead, but I don't think he has resigned himself to staying outside the top 4. Today will be a good test for their attack against a solid Everton defence, it's time for City to start winning.

Guardiola is not the type of coach who gives up easily, he still has the ability to bring Manchester City to compete in the top four, moreover he will also use the January transfer market to overcome all the problems that occur in his team. It should be underlined that the competition is only half way through the season, there are still so many more matches that can be used to collect as many points as possible. I am still very optimistic that Guardian can bring Manchester City to finish in the Champions League zone, but I am not sure he can retain the EPL title because Liverpool's current performance is still unmatched.

[JeffBrad12]

Perhaps Guardiola has given up on finishing in the top four because of the team punishment issue; if Manchester City's points are taken away, the team could get relegated. If that isn't the case, though, I don't see why Guardiola would say that they might not make it to the Champions League next season as they can only play the weakest teams from the bottom of the league in their next three games. Manchester City should be able to defeat every team they play against in those three games, and they will still sign more players in January to improve their performance.

I doubt Guardiola has accepted that City can stay outside the top 4, the crisis at City has dragged on for too long, I hope it ends soon. Guardiola has spoken about City not being able to defend their title because Liverpool are too far ahead, but I don't think he has resigned himself to staying outside the top 4. Today will be a good test for their attack against a solid Everton defence, it's time for City to start winning.

I hope so, but Pep is someone who understand his team better than us. Are we still doubting his competence in measuring his own club? I think we don't. In fact, City lacks of depth in any of their positions. They get bigger pressure to play in the intensive-long schedule, which is affecting their performance.

It's hard for them to get out from this kind situation.  They have bring more players to increase the depth of their squad. It can also provide quality backup once their key players injured.

Everton's defense is one of best defense in PL. If they able to break it, they can bounce back again. The game has started, but their tempo is pretty slow atm. It seems we will see narrow score to happen.

[GxSTxV]

I doubt Guardiola has accepted that City can stay outside the top 4, the crisis at City has dragged on for too long, I hope it ends soon. Guardiola has spoken about City not being able to defend their title because Liverpool are too far ahead, but I don't think he has resigned himself to staying outside the top 4. Today will be a good test for their attack against a solid Everton defence, it's time for City to start winning.

Manchester City managed to break the defensive deadlock of Everton before the first 15 minutes of the game, well, finally. Guardiola seemed very stressed and overthinking in the very beginning of the match, but the good thing is his reaction after the first goal which is a great sign for me that he is satisfied about his players’ performance, as much as it’s is satisfying for me that Manchester City is playing full attack without any pressure from the opponent.

Honestly, Everton gameplay is very boring, even though it is a strategy that can beat many strong teams to make them tired and break their hopes then score against them.
However, City is different today or at least how it looks in these first minutes.
Perhaps they will come back finally to the competition and join the top 4 in standings.

[Juse14]

Unexpectedly, City continued to experience a series of defeats that made them even more depressed. Initially they led the standings drastically, their position continued to decline every week. With only 27 points, Man City is now perched in 7th place in the standings, and there is a possibility that their position will be shifted again by Newcastle or Fulham, because the points difference between the three teams is very small.

And for the next match in the near future, Man City will face Everton, and let's see what Man City can do when facing the bottom team.? Because this match should be an opportunity for Man City to return to victory.

Meanwhile, regarding Liverpool, they are indeed very superior and quite dominant for this season, but the draws they got in two consecutive matches have narrowed the points difference, and I hope Chelsea and Arsenal can take advantage of this momentum to further reduce the points difference

12 games, only 1 win and 9 losses...

Guardiola is completely right to be worried.    Just think about it. You have one of the best squads ever in Manchester City history. There are many stars available to bring success to you. But you just can't find a way out of this horrible form on one hand. Being desperate makes him more vulnerable. I really like Guardiola honestly. This is why I think he will come back from this situation and that comeback will be a great one.

But will it happen as of the Everton game? It is hard to tell. Even if they win at Etihad tomorrow, it is too difficult to believe in him to start a winning streak. They need to win a few games in a row to be more convincing.

Pep Guardiola is really in a very tense situation, maybe for now it is difficult to find a way out to be able to fix the team, because Pep can only maximize the existing players, but I hope that after the transfer market opens, Pep can find a way out, by making significant changes to be able to improve their position in the standings. However, with a series of bad results obtained by Pep and the team, there is something to worry about, whether Pep will stay at Manchester City or end in the middle of this season.

And now the match between Everton is underway, now the match has entered the second half, and for the time being the score is still 1-1. I hope Man City can score the winning goal, or at least hold Everton to a draw, a draw is better than having to experience another defeat

[blomen]

Manchester City - Everton

Early in the match, City scored a goal but conceded an unfortunate equalizer about 20 minutes later. Despite dominating the rest of the game, they couldn't score again, resulting in a 1-1 draw. A frustrating outcome for City fans. Drawing against 15th-place Everton is disappointing.

Savinho, Foden, and Bernardo Silva created plenty of chances, but Haaland struggled, missing opportunities, including a penalty. This could have been a winnable game. City's points buffer is depleting, and further drops may see them fall out of the top 10.

For Everton, this was a solid result against a faltering City. Their 0.62 xG yielding a goal justified the draw.

[coinlocket$]

Woah.
Once more time.
Manchester City today lost points again.
They were unable to beat everton, the game ended 1-1 even with extra "punishment" training days during Xmas.

Their situation however is not terrible, they may have lost the possibility of winning the league at this point but they are still in race for an easy top 4.

[X-ray]

Manchester City - Everton

Early in the match, City scored a goal but conceded an unfortunate equalizer about 20 minutes later. Despite dominating the rest of the game, they couldn't score again, resulting in a 1-1 draw. A frustrating outcome for City fans. Drawing against 15th-place Everton is disappointing.

Savinho, Foden, and Bernardo Silva created plenty of chances, but Haaland struggled, missing opportunities, including a penalty. This could have been a winnable game. City's points buffer is depleting, and further drops may see them fall out of the top 10.

For Everton, this was a solid result against a faltering City. Their 0.62 xG yielding a goal justified the draw.

Lewis pure liability for City in any games. I don't like the way he played, and let Everton's player to be freely. They have to put him for sale in the winter transfer season. I don't see future for him in this squad. They have to cash in him asap.

It's hard to express how disappoint i'm see how Haaland did bottle job to his penalty, and i can't believe he failed to executed it. He's in his downfall now.

As for Everton, fair result, but they can't always get draw. They will miss too many points if they keep do perform like that. They have to farm points from bottom table club in the coming weeks.

[KingsDen]

Woah.
Once more time.
Manchester City today lost points again.
They were unable to beat everton, the game ended 1-1 even with extra "punishment" training days during Xmas.

Their situation however is not terrible, they may have lost the possibility of winning the league at this point but they are still in race for an easy top 4.

• They have lost the chances of winning the title since
• Nothing is easy for them to make top 4.
• Punishment of extra training is not the solution to their woes.
• We can conclude that it's a bad season for Manchester City.

My eyes on Wolves Vs Manchester United match. Marcus Rashford is left out of the squad again, not even as a substitute. This is becoming serious.

[Palakka]

Woah.
Once more time.
Manchester City today lost points again.
They were unable to beat everton, the game ended 1-1 even with extra "punishment" training days during Xmas.

Their situation however is not terrible, they may have lost the possibility of winning the league at this point but they are still in race for an easy top 4.

Everton has again become a nightmare for big teams in recent weeks, after successfully holding Arsenal and chelsea to a draw, and  today their succeeded make Manchester City condition in the standings very worsening, the 1-1 draw has made Guardiola squad even more slumped and it is difficult to be able to return to being a title contender this season, so I think, the top 4 position or the UCL zone next season is a more realistic target for them to fight, although  it will not be easy with their form and condition at this time, besides that, good form from Bournemouth, Newcastle and Fulham this season is also still possible for city to get out of the UCL zone at the end of the season later.

[Egii Nna]

Manchester City - Everton

Early in the match, City scored a goal but conceded an unfortunate equalizer about 20 minutes later. Despite dominating the rest of the game, they couldn't score again, resulting in a 1-1 draw. A frustrating outcome for City fans. Drawing against 15th-place Everton is disappointing.

Savinho, Foden, and Bernardo Silva created plenty of chances, but Haaland struggled, missing opportunities, including a penalty. This could have been a winnable game. City's points buffer is depleting, and further drops may see them fall out of the top 10.

For Everton, this was a solid result against a faltering City. Their 0.62 xG yielding a goal justified the draw.

Manchester City now is going out of the box because the way their performance is going now is not something encouraging anymore; everyone is already disappointed in their performance already, so we all are waiting to see if they will be able to do something good for themselves because the way they are just losing 3 points is not making sense anymore. Please just take a look at how Haaland lost that penalty, which would have been a great chance for them to win this game. He just made them lose the opportunity of having a sure 3 points.

Talking about Everton, they will always be impressed and happy if their performance is good because no one was expecting they would make it to a draw with Manchester City, and they did, so they deserve to be happy no matter what, and I am not seeing their fault because they tried their best.

[KingsDen]

My eyes on Wolves Vs Manchester United match. Marcus Rashford is left out of the squad again, not even as a substitute. This is becoming serious.

It's a shame that every set piece against Manchester United, especially the corner kick now looks like penalty kick. When it happened last week that sun scored Manchester United from the corner kick, we thought that it is because Manchester United number one goalie was not on the post. But today Cunha of Wolves scored again directly from the corner kick. It is all over for Manchester United this season.
If Manchester United cannot win when they have 11 men on the pitch, is it when they have 10 men that they will be able to win. I pray that wolves should not disgrace them tonight. Let the go margin not be more than three

[Velvet78]

...

And now the match between Everton is underway, now the match has entered the second half, and for the time being the score is still 1-1. I hope Man City can score the winning goal, or at least hold Everton to a draw, a draw is better than having to experience another defeat

Another point loss by Manchester City. The nightmare continues... It is really unbelievable to see them having a this long bad streak honestly. They couldn't beat Everton as well today despite finding some decent chances to get ahead once again. Everton are also really good about stealing points from top teams of the Premier League though. But this still can't be an excuse for Manchester City of course. They are very bad and can't do anything about it obviously.  

Liverpool must be enjoying their results on one hand. Because Manchester City are normally the biggest threat for the title. Now they have to deal with Chelsea and Arsenal. For now I can say they have been really good at doing it. Today I expect them to beat Leicester too.  

[Woodie]

These Manchester Clubs are currently behaving like twins, one loses their game earlier and the red one follows suit and let's not talk about the Fernandez red cars because as captain on a yellow cars he should have known better... from now on I will be picking this pair to lose or draw because that's what they do best!!

As things stand, Manchester United  chasing the game with a goal down against Wolves and Utd being the traveling team this is another "L" for the team.