⚽ Premier League 2024/2025 Discussion Thread ⚽

[Oluwa-btc]

I must have talked about Everton's condition before. They have started terrible and they are a candidate to relegate from the Premier League with this performance. And next time, they are playing away against Aston Villa...

I see another loss on the horizon.    Aston Villa would absolutely defeat them while there is such a huge power gap. Emery's team are still really strong despite losing some important players. Because they didn't just stay silent with signings at the same time.

Amadou Onana, Ian Maatsen and Jaden Philogene are the ones that come to my mind right now. I would like to see Aston Villa in top 4 race once again. They are already competing in the Champions League this season. 

I see the Toffees as candidates to be relegated if they continue with Sean Dyche as head coach. He is not that guy for them ( Everton ). He did well bringing them outta the relegation zone when he was signed in as manager though, I can recall him beating Arsenal in the Premier League Competition during his first game in charge. Last season, Sean Dyche did well despite the sanctions and point deductions on Everton. David Moyes hhas been rumoured to be appointed after eleven years of leaving the club.


Aston Villa are going to have a tough season ahead but this game against Everton is not a game for them to lose. Unai Emery and his lads will definitely win this game. You need to read what's written well,  Amadou Onana, Ian Mastseen are players who joined Aston Villa this season. Qualifying for the Champions League Competition next season wouldn't be possible. I see Newcastle fighting for that spot and not even Villa.

[Stable090]

It is good to hear Palmer isn't going to be a part of the Conference League main stage. It isn't the Champions League in the end. Why would you risk your best player by far, right? 

Why will Enzo think about using the conference league when he has the main league to play? Palmer is one of the key players that Chelsea are having, and if anything can happen to him, then it’s going to be a very bad season for Chelsea, because I don’t know how they will perform in matches without Palmer. Chelsea shouldn’t even try to overuse Palmer, he should be used in necessary matches and not in the in the conference league.

He has already started with 1 goal and 4 assists in 3 matches. He is a magician.    But it is sad to see Chelsea still being consistent while he is trying his best. It would just make things easier for Palmer to leave earlier for trophies.

Palmer is a player that has been performing well for Chelsea since he joined, and his effort made Chelsea end the season at the position where they ended last season. Lots of people were thinking Palmer's performance would drop this season, but the season has just started, and he is already performing well in matches that have been played, so palmers shouldn’t be misused by Chelsea.

[Amphenomenon]

I must have talked about Everton's condition before. They have started terrible and they are a candidate to relegate from the Premier League with this performance. And next time, they are playing away against Aston Villa...

This is quite early to say this from the fact that their last three opponents were Tottenham, Brighton, Bournemouth, while the match against Bournemouth was a disappointment from the fact that they lost a 2 goals lead at almost match ending to 3 goals to 2, in the space of nine minutes though I think this is not the first time Everton as lost a game they were having huge lead at almost match ending.

I see another loss on the horizon.    Aston Villa would absolutely defeat them while there is such a huge power gap. Emery's team are still really strong despite losing some important players. Because they didn't just stay silent with signings at the same time.

Amadou Onana, Ian Maatsen and Jaden Philogene are the ones that come to my mind right now. I would like to see Aston Villa in top 4 race once again. They are already competing in the Champions League this season. 

It will be shocking seeing Everton winning or drawing this game to be frank.  Also I think Aston Villa how among the team favourites for top 4 even above Manchester United from the fact that there have been a constant improvement from the team as every seasons goes by since Unai Emery took charge and also from the quality of players they signed recently, it is expected from them to make top 4 for me.

[pawel7777]

Given we have a break in league games for the international games and there are no games to discuss this weekend, I'll ask a different question: do you guys see any potential dark horse this season, i.e. a team that people do not expect too much from, but can turn up surprising everyone e.g. by ending up in the top 4 etc?
Could Brighton be such team? So far, they recorded an easy win over Everton, a win against Man United and scored a point against Arsenal in an away game, which currently places them in the 3rd place. They also crushed Crawley Town (a League One team) 4-0 in an EFL Cup game.
Their manager, Fabian Hurzeler, got nominated for the Manager of the Month award.

[Coyster]

question: do you guys see any potential dark horse this season, i.e. a team that people do not expect too much from, but can turn up surprising everyone e.g. by ending up in the top 4 etc?

Aston Villa was that team last season and it was Newcastle in the 2022/2023 season, so maybe we could get another one this season or maybe not. Brighton have started very well, they were very disappointing last season, finishing in the bottom half of the table. Now they have a new manager, the youngest in the history of the Premier League, and just before signing for Brighton he lead St Pauli to secure promotion back to the Bundesliga in Germany.

Brighton are going to do good things this season, but they might not be able to make top four, though we'd be able to predict things easier as the season goes on, but for now my top four in order of one to fourth is: City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea.

[Docnaster]

Given we have a break in league games for the international games and there are no games to discuss this weekend, I'll ask a different question: do you guys see any potential dark horse this season, i.e. a team that people do not expect too much from, but can turn up surprising everyone e.g. by ending up in the top 4 etc?
Could Brighton be such team? So far, they recorded an easy win over Everton, a win against Man United and scored a point against Arsenal in an away game, which currently places them in the 3rd place. They also crushed Crawley Town (a League One team) 4-0 in an EFL Cup game.
Their manager, Fabian Hurzeler, got nominated for the Manager of the Month award.

Your question is a good discussion point to engage people on the thread as they give their different opinions about the subject matter. Though we've witnessed just three league games this season in the English Premier League but if there's any dark horse that is very likely to surprise us this season, I think it'll be no other team but Brighton. They're being considered as an average team in the league but they're yet to concede a defeat and to think that they've already played against big teams like Manchester United and Arsenal still were able to remain unbeaten tells that they'll be a strong team to face for any of the other 19 clubs in the league.
Fabian Hurzeler have been exceptionally impressive with his tactical approaches with the Brighton team and I believe he'll continue to improve as they play more matches.

[len01]

Given we have a break in league games for the international games and there are no games to discuss this weekend, I'll ask a different question: do you guys see any potential dark horse this season, i.e. a team that people do not expect too much from, but can turn up surprising everyone e.g. by ending up in the top 4 etc?
Could Brighton be such team? So far, they recorded an easy win over Everton, a win against Man United and scored a point against Arsenal in an away game, which currently places them in the 3rd place. They also crushed Crawley Town (a League One team) 4-0 in an EFL Cup game.
Their manager, Fabian Hurzeler, got nominated for the Manager of the Month award.

Simple answer from Brighton previous performance.

Everton vs Brighton ended 0-3, the victory was easily obtained by Brighton when Everton performance was not too strong at this time and on the one hand Everton only played 10 players after Ashley Young got a red card. For me it was easy for Brighton.

Brighton vs Man United 2-1, this victory was also not too impressive because Man United current condition is in the same problem as last season when Man United defense was getting weaker.

Arsenal vs Brighton 1-1, imagine what if Declan Rice didn't get a red card. Maybe the final result in the match would not have shared points.

In conclusion, I can't fully believe that Brighton will be the team that surprises us all. Except for waiting for the next few matches when Brighton will face Liverpool and Man City who are currently the strongest teams in the EPL. If in that match Brighton can get a draw or not lose points, I believe that Brighton has a stable consistency and will be successful at the end of the season.

[Coyster]

In conclusion, I can't fully believe that Brighton will be the team that surprises us all. Except for waiting for the next few matches when Brighton will face Liverpool and Man City who are currently the strongest teams in the EPL. If in that match Brighton can get a draw or not lose points, I believe that Brighton has a stable consistency and will be successful at the end of the season.

I don't think you get the question, it is not like the dark horse is going to go unbeaten and beat all the big teams, just a team that would surprise everyone and finish in the top four, like Aston Villa did last season and Newcastle in the season before that. Brighton have started very well, that is why people are tipping them to be that team, they have been strong in their last three games despite what you say, you cannot fault their victories based on the performances and conducts of their opponents.

[Swordsoffreedom]

In conclusion, I can't fully believe that Brighton will be the team that surprises us all. Except for waiting for the next few matches when Brighton will face Liverpool and Man City who are currently the strongest teams in the EPL. If in that match Brighton can get a draw or not lose points, I believe that Brighton has a stable consistency and will be successful at the end of the season.

I don't think you get the question, it is not like the dark horse is going to go unbeaten and beat all the big teams, just a team that would surprise everyone and finish in the top four, like Aston Villa did last season and Newcastle in the season before that. Brighton have started very well, that is why people are tipping them to be that team, they have been strong in their last three games despite what you say, you cannot fault their victories based on the performances and conducts of their opponents.

The Brighton side have had a good start to the season. However, this team will not compete for the title. Even if the Brighton team performs well, their target will be to qualify for the Champions League. And if the performance is somewhat consistent, it will be possible for Brighton to qualify for the Champions League. In the last few seasons we have seen teams like Aston Villa and Newcastle do well. It is not surprising if the Brighton team managed to occupy the fourth place in the table this season.

The Brighton team is strong this season. Brighton won against Manchester United and shared the points with Arsenal. The Brighton team has performed well in the opening three matches of the season. Brighton's players performed well against a strong team like Arsenal.

Apart from Brighton, the Newcastle team has played very well in the first three games this season. Despite sharing points with Bournemouth, Newcastle managed to beat a strong team like Tottenham.

[tusandii]

I don't think you get the question, it is not like the dark horse is going to go unbeaten and beat all the big teams, just a team that would surprise everyone and finish in the top four, like Aston Villa did last season and Newcastle in the season before that. Brighton have started very well, that is why people are tipping them to be that team, they have been strong in their last three games despite what you say, you cannot fault their victories based on the performances and conducts of their opponents.

The dark horse team is a team that is able to make it difficult for the top clubs, they give surprises with their unexpected performances, maybe Brighton has the opportunity to be the dark horse team this season, but it seems too early to see it now because the Premier League is a league with very tight competition.
Last season, Brighton also managed to occupy the top 5 positions in the middle of the season, but in the end they fell and their stability was disturbed until they finally finished in 11th place, maybe the arrival of Fabian Hurzeler as coach and Mason Greenwood will make Brighton's appearance better than before and we'll see how far their appearance will continue like this.

In the 4th match later, he will face the promoted club Ipswich, I think Brighton will win this match to get 3 full points.

[shinratensei_]

Given we have a break in league games for the international games and there are no games to discuss this weekend, I'll ask a different question: do you guys see any potential dark horse this season, i.e. a team that people do not expect too much from, but can turn up surprising everyone e.g. by ending up in the top 4 etc?
Could Brighton be such team? So far, they recorded an easy win over Everton, a win against Man United and scored a point against Arsenal in an away game, which currently places them in the 3rd place. They also crushed Crawley Town (a League One team) 4-0 in an EFL Cup game.
Their manager, Fabian Hurzeler, got nominated for the Manager of the Month award.

My choice is Aston Villa. I think Villa may be repeating their overachievement from last season. They will do it again, and I strongly believe they're the dark horse.

Brighton is apparently potential enough to become a dark horse. Their results against big clubs (Arsenal & Man.U) could support it. But they often run out of steam by mid-season. It makes me lose my confidence in putting them as a potential dark horse.

I'm still sticking with my preferred choice, which is Aston Villa.

[Velvet78]

Given we have a break in league games for the international games and there are no games to discuss this weekend, I'll ask a different question: do you guys see any potential dark horse this season, i.e. a team that people do not expect too much from, but can turn up surprising everyone e.g. by ending up in the top 4 etc?
Could Brighton be such team? So far, they recorded an easy win over Everton, a win against Man United and scored a point against Arsenal in an away game, which currently places them in the 3rd place. They also crushed Crawley Town (a League One team) 4-0 in an EFL Cup game.
Their manager, Fabian Hurzeler, got nominated for the Manager of the Month award.

A good question it is... Brighton is a good example to take. Because after De Zerbi left, people were curious about how they would manage. But now Fabian Hurzeler is doing an impressive work. No loss in 3 games and stealing 1 point from Arsenal at Emirates at the same time. If their game stays strong for the most part of the season, I absolutely see them in top four race. 

I really like their squad as well. There are good talents such as Joao Pedro, Mitoma and so on. As long as the manager is capable of using the potential here, they should be able to have a good finish at the end of the season.

[Coyster]

I'm still sticking with my preferred choice, which is Aston Villa.

It would be very difficult for Aston Villa to replicate their form of last season, they now play in the Champions League, thus more games, a game every 3 days means a tighter schedule, more fatigue and it is difficult for smaller teams to cope with it. In the 2022/2023 season, Newcastle were the dark horse, look what happened to them in 23/24 season when they played in the CL, i fear that's what's going to happen to Aston Villa this season. I might also add that they lost Douglas Luiz, who moved to Juventus, he was a very important player for them last season.

[Palakka]

I'm still sticking with my preferred choice, which is Aston Villa.

It would be very difficult for Aston Villa to replicate their form of last season, they now play in the Champions League, thus more games, a game every 3 days means a tighter schedule, more fatigue and it is difficult for smaller teams to cope with it. In the 2022/2023 season, Newcastle were the dark horse, look what happened to them in 23/24 season when they played in the CL, i fear that's what's going to happen to Aston Villa this season. I might also add that they lost Douglas Luiz, who moved to Juventus, he was a very important player for them last season.

Aston villa this season again made history after being able to qualify for the Champions League again, their performance last season with Unai Emery was indeed very extraordinary and even quite surprising for us to see them with a makeshift squad actually able to compete in the big 4 zone, this season will certainly be a very different season from what happened last season,  the tight schedule will certainly be a challenge for Aston Villa and I think they must be able to overcome that although it is unlikely that they will be able to do so considering the number of star players their has thrown away in the summer transfer market, to be honest, I think Aston Villa will still be able to compete in the Premier League but looking at their experience last season which was difficult in the Conference League, of course we can't expect much from them in the Champions League this season although Unai Emery is an experienced coach in European competitions so far.

[jaberwock]

In conclusion, I can't fully believe that Brighton will be the team that surprises us all. Except for waiting for the next few matches when Brighton will face Liverpool and Man City who are currently the strongest teams in the EPL. If in that match Brighton can get a draw or not lose points, I believe that Brighton has a stable consistency and will be successful at the end of the season.

I don't think you get the question, it is not like the dark horse is going to go unbeaten and beat all the big teams, just a team that would surprise everyone and finish in the top four, like Aston Villa did last season and Newcastle in the season before that. Brighton have started very well, that is why people are tipping them to be that team, they have been strong in their last three games despite what you say, you cannot fault their victories based on the performances and conducts of their opponents.

Leicester did it once, and ever since then a lot of people keep waiting for another team to do something that crazy. But people forget that when Leicester did that, City wasn't this dominant, and Arsenal wasn't this great ,and Liverpool didn't had a huge Klopp period ever since then.

So when you think about it, premier league is much tougher right now compared to when Leicester did it, doesn't mean that Leicester did something easy, it was still near impossible, people became millionaires when they bet on them, so it's clear that we are not going to end up seeing something similar again. Brighton is great, but a top four finish would be the only thing they can pray for, nothing else would be realistic result for them and shouldn't be expected.

[Iranus]

Given we have a break in league games for the international games and there are no games to discuss this weekend, I'll ask a different question: do you guys see any potential dark horse this season, i.e. a team that people do not expect too much from, but can turn up surprising everyone e.g. by ending up in the top 4 etc?
Could Brighton be such team? So far, they recorded an easy win over Everton, a win against Man United and scored a point against Arsenal in an away game, which currently places them in the 3rd place. They also crushed Crawley Town (a League One team) 4-0 in an EFL Cup game.
Their manager, Fabian Hurzeler, got nominated for the Manager of the Month award.

A good question it is... Brighton is a good example to take. Because after De Zerbi left, people were curious about how they would manage. But now Fabian Hurzeler is doing an impressive work. No loss in 3 games and stealing 1 point from Arsenal at Emirates at the same time. If their game stays strong for the most part of the season, I absolutely see them in top four race. 

I really like their squad as well. There are good talents such as Joao Pedro, Mitoma and so on. As long as the manager is capable of using the potential here, they should be able to have a good finish at the end of the season.

Winger Simon is just shaking the field at the #AFCON right now 

You know, Brighton always starts a season like the Dark Horses, they show promise, they start playing well against big teams. But I think I have seen this movie quite a few times already because something happens to them as time goes on, they lose their level of play, they lose their level of consistency. But I would really love to see Brighton keeping up this amazing performance because honestly, the Seagulls are a really fun team to watch. They have talented and electric wingers, a solid midfield, and strong and big defenders. They also brought in good depth, so this can really pay off well in the future.


I think another who can prove to be a dark horses this season are Brentford. The Bees started off well, and have all that it takes to be really good in the future. They also have a great coach in Thomas Frank, and recruited top quality players in the window. If they can maintain a fair bit of consistency, they can go a really long way this season. They are always very exciting to watch.

BBC took some public opinion about The Bees, i totally agree with Ian, here it is-

[Swordsoffreedom]

It is really boring when a week passes without any PL game... I hate international breaks when there are friendlies or Nations League games. I see both of them as the same thing.

Man, I feel EXACTLY the same. Weeks without Premier League feels so damn boring, it tires me. But at least the international games right now are of some enjoyment, so far the games have been really exciting. I also play in a Fantasy Premier League pool, so I am using this time to fix my team and plan forward. But I don't think anything can really fill the void of Premier League not being there.

Now just around six days where we go for the Premier League again. A lot to prove for a lot of teams because just two teams got all three wins so far. I think a lot of people will be keeping an eye on Manchester United and Chelsea because they are two of the most popular teams who had, weird starts to the league to say the least. I think Manchester United especially have a lot to show.

As for next week's games, we are going to open the week with a Southampton - Manchester United game. I wonder what your thoughts are on that one.    Manchester United have been a disgrace for 3 weeks. Even in the Fulham game I didn't like their effort despite the win. Losing to Liverpool home by such a heavy score was also really bad. If they continue to lose many points I don't expect Erik ten Hag to last more than the 1st half of the season.

Erik Ten Hag must have been in turmoil since the devastating loss to Liverpool, and he needs to show his team away. A way to sort all of these out that can take the team to the next level. He needs to address things really fast now if he can't, things might get even worse for him real soon.

[Docnaster]

I'm still sticking with my preferred choice, which is Aston Villa.

It would be very difficult for Aston Villa to replicate their form of last season, they now play in the Champions League, thus more games, a game every 3 days means a tighter schedule, more fatigue and it is difficult for smaller teams to cope with it. In the 2022/2023 season, Newcastle were the dark horse, look what happened to them in 23/24 season when they played in the CL, i fear that's what's going to happen to Aston Villa this season. I might also add that they lost Douglas Luiz, who moved to Juventus, he was a very important player for them last season.

Your analysis I think is very correct is is very similar to what I'll add now. Aston Villa despite their historic achievements of last season is still an average team and can't be measured with the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and even Manchester United when it comes to possession of quality players. Unai Emery's men managed to deliver an incredible campaign last that saw them finish in the top four of the English Premier League table this season but i think they were able to achieve that because they weren't playing in the UEFA Champions League unlike this season that they'll participate in the competition. Aston Villa might do well this season by finish in the top half of the league table but I doubt they'll near the top four this season.

[Oluwa-btc]

I'm still sticking with my preferred choice, which is Aston Villa.

It would be very difficult for Aston Villa to replicate their form of last season, they now play in the Champions League, thus more games, a game every 3 days means a tighter schedule, more fatigue and it is difficult for smaller teams to cope with it. In the 2022/2023 season, Newcastle were the dark horse, look what happened to them in 23/24 season when they played in the CL, i fear that's what's going to happen to Aston Villa this season. I might also add that they lost Douglas Luiz, who moved to Juventus, he was a very important player for them last season.

I'm also expecting Newcastle to have another great season same way they did during the first season of Eddie Howe in charge as head of the club. They went ahead to play a cup finals and also qualify for the Champions League Competition. I see them doing that too this season dame way Josep Pep Guardiola has also predicted.
As for Aston Villa, it'll take consistent to see them thriving back with the rest of the big four in the Champions League Competition. Despite the sale of Douglas Luiz, they did bring in a power horse and engine room Andrea Onana from Everton. Aston Villa will host Everton anyways come weekend in the Premier League Competition, I'm.sure this would be the third win of the season for them as they couldn't get what they wanted against Arsenal. It was great to see how Arsenal humbled em.

[_BlackStar]

Given we have a break in league games for the international games and there are no games to discuss this weekend, I'll ask a different question: do you guys see any potential dark horse this season, i.e. a team that people do not expect too much from, but can turn up surprising everyone e.g. by ending up in the top 4 etc?

Yes - they are Newcastle, Brighton and Aston Villa.
Manchester United and Chelsea are not underdogs - they are widely expected to finish in the top four and qualify for next season's Champions League. But either way - I can't possibly rule out Tottenham for a top 4 spot.

I have a favorite order and here is the list:
1. Manchester City
2. Liverpool
3. Arsenal
4. Tottenham
5. Chelsea
6. Brighton
7. Manchester United
8. Newcastle
9. Aston Villa