⚽ Premier League 2025/2026 Discussion Thread ⚽

[laijsica]

Arsenal are closing the gap between them and a Liverpool. Do you think Arsenal are contenders for the title this season?

For the last four or five seasons, Arsenal always play and win games like they are contending for the Premier League title but when they have successfully given their fans hope that they are going to win, they end up bottling the league and finishing second place. It’s a shame that with the brilliance of Mikel Arteta, Arsenal has not won a single trophy since he became manager of the club.

Arsenal has been brilliant recently, winning their matches and getting maximum points but I'll not be in a hurry to consider them as title contender based on their past history. Amongst the big teams they're the only team close to Liverpool but they used to screw up when they're in crucial position, so it's not going to be any different this time around. They are going to give Liverpool a hot chase and at the time when you begin to think they might actually have a shot, they'll start slipping and dash their fans hope.

Arsenal are second in the table with 39 points from 19 games after winning their third consecutive match and this will have a positive impact on their upcoming matches. Coach Arteta is optimistic that his team will continue to fight to win the next matches and have the possibility of overtaking Liverpool. Arsenal have been showing their great performance after beating Brentford 3-1 in yesterday's match and are only 6 points behind Liverpool. Gabriel Jesus scored a goal and he showed his team's great performance. Gabriel Martinelli and Mikel Marinor also managed to score a goal after the break. Despite the team's key players not being able to take the field due to the virus infection, they still gave the fans a good game. Forward Kai Havertz was unable to play due to illness and midfielder Declan Rice came on in the second half with a concussion. However, the days ahead are going to be challenging for Liverpool if Arsenal play to their potential.

[Spaceman1000$]

Arsenal are closing the gap between them and a Liverpool. Do you think Arsenal are contenders for the title this season?

For the last four or five seasons, Arsenal always play and win games like they are contending for the Premier League title but when they have successfully given their fans hope that they are going to win, they end up bottling the league and finishing second place. It’s a shame that with the brilliance of Mikel Arteta, Arsenal has not won a single trophy since he became manager of the club.

Looking at the current result, Liverpool is topping the league with a six point difference, which for me I think Arsenal is closing in on them, the point difference was larger than this some weeks back, so consider Arsenal as contenders for now.

Mikel Arteta has been consistent with his title contending for last 3 seasons, one would have thought that, at this point in time that Manchester City are not in the title race anymore, Arsenal would have been the leading club because they have the potentials, although it's looking like they've decided to pick up the pace this time around, I just hope they are consistent about it, just the way Liverpool has been consistent this season.

[tusandii]

Arsenal's match today is very important to win and seize the runner-up position which is currently occupied by Nottingham Forest who has collected 1 point more, Arsenal must win to continue to be close to Liverpool this is Arsenal's opportunity because Chelsea has lost points in 2 matches so he must make the most of it.
I think many are favoring Arsenal in this match to bet their money including myself.

You bet on under 3.5 goals?
I think it is very risky because this is a tough match because Arsenal really needs a win as you said but on the other hand Brentford also has a good match at home so it is possible for many goals to be scored in this match.
If it is not possible I think betting on Arsenal to win only with odds @1.42 is quite feasible because the winning percentage is quite large.

Under 3.5 for the score created by Arsenal only so I think it's not too risky because the betting odds are also not too big and sure enough Arsenal won by scoring 3 goals in the match and indeed my bet almost lost if Arsenal added 1 more goal, Arsenal is now back right below Liverpool in the runner-up position Arsenal must maintain its consistency in order to maintain that position until the end, I don't think Arsenal will can overtake Liverpool because they currently have a 6 point difference.

[KTChampions]

Are people seriously getting excited about Liverpool Vs Man United this Sunday?
United is still a big brand with a rich history, but you're only as good as your recent performance and, currently, Man United are below-average.

The team's stats under Amorim's lead are far from satisfying. 8 Premier League games total: 2 wins, 1 draw and 5 losses. That's an average of 0.9 points per game. They've lost 3 games in a row.

It's going to be a walk in the park for Liverpool and the bookies know it. The odds for Liverpool winning are x1.24, while for United it's x9.50.

So easy bet on United? 
As for the interest, this is the central game of the round (or can you name a more important one?) - the leader against a major club that is trying to get out of the crisis and for which losing further is simply unacceptable. I don't think it will be a cakewalk for Liverpool, I think the bookies are overvaluing them in this match.

[Farma]

Arsenal's match today is very important to win and seize the runner-up position which is currently occupied by Nottingham Forest who has collected 1 point more, Arsenal must win to continue to be close to Liverpool this is Arsenal's opportunity because Chelsea has lost points in 2 matches so he must make the most of it.
I think many are favoring Arsenal in this match to bet their money including myself.

You bet on under 3.5 goals?
I think it is very risky because this is a tough match because Arsenal really needs a win as you said but on the other hand Brentford also has a good match at home so it is possible for many goals to be scored in this match.
If it is not possible I think betting on Arsenal to win only with odds @1.42 is quite feasible because the winning percentage is quite large.

Under 3.5 for the score created by Arsenal only so I think it's not too risky because the betting odds are also not too big and sure enough Arsenal won by scoring 3 goals in the match and indeed my bet almost lost if Arsenal added 1 more goal, Arsenal is now back right below Liverpool in the runner-up position Arsenal must maintain its consistency in order to maintain that position until the end, I don't think Arsenal will can overtake Liverpool because they currently have a 6 point difference.

Congratulations for your victory, fortunately Arsenal did not score another goal but as I said that betting is quite risky because a strong team like Arsenal can do anything in a match that is difficult to predict and it was proven when 2 goals were scored in very close time in the 50th and 53rd minutes.

This is an important victory for Arsenal, now they are on a positive track to compete fiercely in the Premier League title race this season even though they are far behind Liverpool but I still believe that if Arsenal can maintain their consistency they will be able to compete fiercely in the final weeks of the season and even have a chance to win it.

[Nanga Parbat]

Arsenal are closing the gap between them and a Liverpool. Do you think Arsenal are contenders for the title this season?

For the last four or five seasons, Arsenal always play and win games like they are contending for the Premier League title but when they have successfully given their fans hope that they are going to win, they end up bottling the league and finishing second place. It’s a shame that with the brilliance of Mikel Arteta, Arsenal has not won a single trophy since he became manager of the club.

Arsenal has been brilliant recently, winning their matches and getting maximum points but I'll not be in a hurry to consider them as title contender based on their past history. Amongst the big teams they're the only team close to Liverpool but they used to screw up when they're in crucial position, so it's not going to be any different this time around. They are going to give Liverpool a hot chase and at the time when you begin to think they might actually have a shot, they'll start slipping and dash their fans hope.

Arsenal are second in the table with 39 points from 19 games after winning their third consecutive match and this will have a positive impact on their upcoming matches. Coach Arteta is optimistic that his team will continue to fight to win the next matches and have the possibility of overtaking Liverpool. Arsenal have been showing their great performance after beating Brentford 3-1 in yesterday's match and are only 6 points behind Liverpool. Gabriel Jesus scored a goal and he showed his team's great performance. Gabriel Martinelli and Mikel Marinor also managed to score a goal after the break. Despite the team's key players not being able to take the field due to the virus infection, they still gave the fans a good game. Forward Kai Havertz was unable to play due to illness and midfielder Declan Rice came on in the second half with a concussion. However, the days ahead are going to be challenging for Liverpool if Arsenal play to their potential.

That point Ms difference between these two teams is only 6 and Arsenal full strength football team need 2 wins to be at equal level. Arsenal team will play next match against  Brighton full strength team and Arsenal team will try to win this match one sided . Brighton team has 10th position on the table and that's why there are more chances of win of Arsenal team. Arsenal team won the match against Brentford football team and that was one sided match in which Arsenal team did 3 goals.Arsenal full strength team should improve more to get first position because no more mistake will be bearable because fans have great expectations from them and they should try to improve their game . Liverpool also try to win next matches,So that is not an easy task for Arsenal to get first position on the table.

[Palakka]

Are people seriously getting excited about Liverpool Vs Man United this Sunday?
United is still a big brand with a rich history, but you're only as good as your recent performance and, currently, Man United are below-average.

The team's stats under Amorim's lead are far from satisfying. 8 Premier League games total: 2 wins, 1 draw and 5 losses. That's an average of 0.9 points per game. They've lost 3 games in a row.

It's going to be a walk in the park for Liverpool and the bookies know it. The odds for Liverpool winning are x1.24, while for United it's x9.50.

Manchester United are losing to even weaker teams, so against Liverpool they have almost no chance of winning. In fact, Amorim probably doesn't even know what to do to somehow change this situation, their results are even worse than under ten Hag. Manchester United are in 14th place and they continue to fall towards the relegation zone, Amorim was clearly expected to have a different result, and I am starting to doubt that a few transfers in the winter can help them change something.

If we compare the condition and performance of the two teams at the moment, then we can say that it will be an unbalanced match, because Liverpool have a much better chance than Manchester United in the match, but we also can not underestimate Manchester United in the match, which may surprise us although the possibility of it happening is very small .

Manchester United have won just one of their last six EPL games so far and must drop to 14th in the standings, defeats from many weak teams have shown that they are currently at their worst level, making it difficult for us to bet on their victory this season.

I found a unique image from  Amorim condition at the moment, even in the image it can be seen that his hair is starting to fall out due to thinking about Manchester United performance.  

[hahay]

Currently, Manchester United is still the team that wins the most Premier League trophies with 20 titles, in second place is Liverpool with 19 titles and in third place is Arsenal 13 titles. Thus, I personally also believe Liverpool have big ambitions to get the trophy this season, so they will not be able to relax. Indeed, based on their head to head results at least they also get draws quite often. But anyway, so far this season Liverpool have really been a very productive team and are still very strong to be at the top of the Premier League and Champion League standings. With that factor,  then I believe Liverpool will be able to win with a big score too, betting for Liverpool with handicap option -2.5, I think to be an interesting challenge.

[ILuckyGuyI]

Arsenal are closing the gap between them and a Liverpool. Do you think Arsenal are contenders for the title this season?

For the last four or five seasons, Arsenal always play and win games like they are contending for the Premier League title but when they have successfully given their fans hope that they are going to win, they end up bottling the league and finishing second place. It’s a shame that with the brilliance of Mikel Arteta, Arsenal has not won a single trophy since he became manager of the club.

Actually Arsenal aren't closing the gap with Liverpool for many weeks.    If you check their last 5 games - and maybe more - you can see that their form graph is exactly the same. 2 draws and having a 3-win streak.

But Arsenal are doing one thing good that they don't let Liverpool open the gap more at least. But even now Liverpool have a potential 9-point difference because of having a game missing. Will they manage to close in on Liverpool? It isn't impossible theoretically but with this performance Liverpool are really hard to be stopped. I'm also waiting curiously about if they will start stumbling at a point. While especially Salah is playing very extra I'm not sure if such thing would happen though. He is playing like a programmed robot. 

[shinratensei_]

Brentford are a quite interesting team honestly. Currently we see them at the 12th position however they are one of the teams with the most points collected in home games.    7W, 1D, 1L... If they weren't one of the worst away teams at the same time, they were probably going to be fighting for top 5 or so now. But here they are playing another home game which is against Arsenal. I find Arsenal's odds @1.43 quite low considering these statistics. I wouldn't take that big meaningless risk.

Instead I would prefer over 2.5 goals & BTTS @2.04.    I believe we are going to watch a really competitive game and not a boring one. Brentford score a lot in home games and Arsenal are also really good at it in away ones.

It feels really great to turn out to be right about this game.    Because the odds of my pick was a really satisfying one and it won too easily. But I must admit that I wasn't accurate about Arsenal to have difficulties after conceding first.

That was a really solid comeback by Arteta's students.    But they are still having a season with ups and downs which keeps them away from the title. You know how strong Liverpool are going on this season.

Lastly I don't like what I see at Chelsea these days. A home loss against Fulham first and after an away one against Ipswich. There is a really big downfall by them recently. They shouldn't struggle in easy fixtures. Especially the Ipswich one was more unexpected.

Arsenal often scored at the second half instead of first half. They deserved win after worked so hard to equalize the score and even made a comeback. It's expected result from them. They lead the game, dominate the possession, attacked, and defended well.

Arsenal still keeps the perfect result against Brentford since last year. However, they are still far enough to catch up Liverpool. I don't even think they have time to do that if Liverpool keep snowballing till the end of season.

As for Chelsea, they have done too many rotations in their side, and i don't like that. They could stick with their usual strategy instead of doing non sense thing like playing wingback as wingers. LOL

[beerlover]

Arsenal are closing the gap between them and a Liverpool. Do you think Arsenal are contenders for the title this season?

For the last four or five seasons, Arsenal always play and win games like they are contending for the Premier League title but when they have successfully given their fans hope that they are going to win, they end up bottling the league and finishing second place. It’s a shame that with the brilliance of Mikel Arteta, Arsenal has not won a single trophy since he became manager of the club.

Not really though? I mean Liverpool is six points ahead, with one more game they will play, so they could take that to 9 points gap. That is good enough for them to keep that gap and win the title as well. I am not saying that we are going to see it 100%, because there are still possibilities of that not happening as well, but I also believe that this could be a good possibility that we will see Liverpool win.

When you look at just last 5 games, we see both of them have three wins and two draws, so there hasn't been any "catching up" recently neither, Arsenal didn't gathered any more points than Liverpool did, they are doing same and nothing changing. This is why I believe there isn't anything changing for the long term. Arsenal is a great team and I am pretty sure that because Chelsea did alright for a while, they looked bad, but now that Chelsea got 2 losses in a row, Arsenal got back to level they deserve to and that's the most important part.

[Egii Nna]

Looking at the current result, Liverpool is topping the league with a six point difference, which for me I think Arsenal is closing in on them, the point difference was larger than this some weeks back, so consider Arsenal as contenders for now.

Mikel Arteta has been consistent with his title contending for last 3 seasons, one would have thought that, at this point in time that Manchester City are not in the title race anymore, Arsenal would have been the leading club because they have the potentials, although it's looking like they've decided to pick up the pace this time around, I just hope they are consistent about it, just the way Liverpool has been consistent this season.

It was not that good to see Manchester City out of the race this season, which I don’t think they will be able to make it back to the race this season again. Although that is the reason why Arsenal got the chance to even go close to Liverpool, which is now the only challenge that Arsenal has, but still Arsenal will have to be more consistent; if not, it will be very hard for them to still make it to the top because Liverpool's performance is still in good form, and I don’t think they will lose their form any time soon.

[Dzwaafu11]

Looking at the current result, Liverpool is topping the league with a six point difference, which for me I think Arsenal is closing in on them, the point difference was larger than this some weeks back, so consider Arsenal as contenders for now.

Mikel Arteta has been consistent with his title contending for last 3 seasons, one would have thought that, at this point in time that Manchester City are not in the title race anymore, Arsenal would have been the leading club because they have the potentials, although it's looking like they've decided to pick up the pace this time around, I just hope they are consistent about it, just the way Liverpool has been consistent this season.

It was not that good to see Manchester City out of the race this season, which I don’t think they will be able to make it back to the race this season again. Although that is the reason why Arsenal got the chance to even go close to Liverpool, which is now the only challenge that Arsenal has, but still Arsenal will have to be more consistent; if not, it will be very hard for them to still make it to the top because Liverpool's performance is still in good form, and I don’t think they will lose their form any time soon.

Manchester City are not counted among the teams that will be in a title race this season seriously because of their hard time this season. They are not in good form, and that is why they have still fallen behind. I won’t say that is the reason why Arsenal gets to the top 2 of the table; Manchester City can still be in form, and if Arsenal are in good form, they can get to the top too, so I don’t think it is really because another team is not in good form that another team will go higher. You know, it’s football. Manchester City may be in form but not as in the previous season, while Arsenal can be in a good shape and surpass them. 

[tygeade]

Manchester United have lost again, meaning they have failed to win another match. This team's poor performance continues, they are trying to improve themselves a lot but are not able to do so. In fact, many football fans thought that their team's new coach might be able to turn the team around. But I don't see much change in the situation of this group, it remains the same as before. Manchester United didn't play well against Newcastle, I agree they have the best players in their team but why do they perform so poorly?

Newcastle scored two goals in the first 20 minutes of today's match, after which Manchester United's players were unable to attack any more and they were unable to score any goals.

Nobody should blame the coach for the bad result that Manchester United keeps getting. It's obvious that the players are the cause of their poor performance this season and unless Amorim replace this players, Manchester United can never moved forward. Manchester United players are so lazy and have all lost the morale and team spirit to be able to achieve success. Players from the Erik ten Hag era should be sold to other clubs for whatever money they can get.

While I agree that Amorim isn't the only reason, or maybe not even the reason, for them to keep doing badly, I would also expect him to make them get better results if he is seen as the replacement. As mentioned before on this topic, if the results were going to be this bad, they might as well keep Erik Ten Hag, and would get Amorim before the summer starts, that way, they would change managers at the end of the season instead of middle of the season. If they believed Amorim could make a difference, and he didn't, then it is a mistake.

So yeah, in a sense, Amorim is guilty, not guilty because they are doing bad, but guilty because he didn't turn them around and made them a better team. Nobody expect him to win every single game, that would not be possible with this squad, but at least do better, average more points, that would be the best way to move forward and that is why I think we need to have some issues with Amorim not getting good results.

[Oluwa-btc]

Arsenal are closing the gap between them and a Liverpool. Do you think Arsenal are contenders for the title this season?

For the last four or five seasons, Arsenal always play and win games like they are contending for the Premier League title but when they have successfully given their fans hope that they are going to win, they end up bottling the league and finishing second place. It’s a shame that with the brilliance of Mikel Arteta, Arsenal has not won a single trophy since he became manager of the club.

I saw him saying he won community shield the other week, yes? Lol. Maybe he has won a trophy and not all the arsenal fans are aware of that victory.

I don't think so as much as I want to see them glorious at the end of the season,  they can't do it with a squad that's not consistent and at the same time not with a squad where they don't have a quality striker and also a consistent Saka. The defenders has done their roles quite well, they just need to do better in the year 2025. They'll be hoping United holds Liverpool on Sunday and that's all I want to see happening.

[Issa56]

Manchester City are not counted among the teams that will be in a title race this season seriously because of their hard time this season.

I never expected Manchester City's performance to drop this season, Manchester City's poor performance came as a shock. Manchester City is currently in 6th position, they are finding it difficult to win most of their matches. They were able to break their losing streak in their last match against Leicester City. Let’s just hope Manchester City will bounce back, but with Manchester City currently in this position, no matter how hard Manchester City plays, I don’t think they will be able to win the premier league title this season. Liverpool, which is currently in 1st position, won’t really be dropping points from the way Liverpool is playing.

Since Manchester City was able to win their last match, I just hope they will be back to their winning days. If Manchester City keeps on losing their matches, then Manchester City will struggle to end the season in the top four. Let’s just see the players which Pep Guardiola will sign just to improve the club's performance.

[Baki202]

Manchester City are not counted among the teams that will be in a title race this season seriously because of their hard time this season. They are not in good form, and that is why they have still fallen behind. I won’t say that is the reason why Arsenal gets to the top 2 of the table; Manchester City can still be in form, and if Arsenal are in good form, they can get to the top too, so I don’t think it is really because another team is not in good form that another team will go higher. You know, it’s football. Manchester City may be in form but not as in the previous season, while Arsenal can be in a good shape and surpass them. 

Manchester City performance have made us not to be able to make some kind of conversation again because how on earth are facing all this challenges and things are not getting better at all for us but we pray for an improvement very soon, and this season looks more complicated than we think and we ot been in form have affected our performances seriously, arsenal going to the top and the performance of city have affected everything and people need to start understanding football there periods that you find everything very difficult so when it happens that way we have to pray for a better season, and the cith are working towards bringing back the form they are which is vey important, and even this season we might get our self back in form and this are all part of the reason why I don't want to say much concerning the city.

[7juju]

Arsenal are closing the gap between them and a Liverpool. Do you think Arsenal are contenders for the title this season?

For the last four or five seasons, Arsenal always play and win games like they are contending for the Premier League title but when they have successfully given their fans hope that they are going to win, they end up bottling the league and finishing second place. It’s a shame that with the brilliance of Mikel Arteta, Arsenal has not won a single trophy since he became manager of the club.

Arsenal has been brilliant recently, winning their matches and getting maximum points but I'll not be in a hurry to consider them as title contender based on their past history. Amongst the big teams they're the only team close to Liverpool but they used to screw up when they're in crucial position, so it's not going to be any different this time around. They are going to give Liverpool a hot chase and at the time when you begin to think they might actually have a shot, they'll start slipping and dash their fans hope.

Arsenal are second in the table with 39 points from 19 games after winning their third consecutive match and this will have a positive impact on their upcoming matches. Coach Arteta is optimistic that his team will continue to fight to win the next matches and have the possibility of overtaking Liverpool. Arsenal have been showing their great performance after beating Brentford 3-1 in yesterday's match and are only 6 points behind Liverpool. Gabriel Jesus scored a goal and he showed his team's great performance. Gabriel Martinelli and Mikel Marinor also managed to score a goal after the break. Despite the team's key players not being able to take the field due to the virus infection, they still gave the fans a good game. Forward Kai Havertz was unable to play due to illness and midfielder Declan Rice came on in the second half with a concussion. However, the days ahead are going to be challenging for Liverpool if Arsenal play to their potential.

Arsenal have been very good this season and have been quite unlucky with injuries fighting for the title this season, but I also think they can salvage something from there season loosing Saka to injury would really dent there season I don’t think Gabriel Jesus can cover up for him even being in a good form right now, man city have not been in the game as of yet but they have to fight. I’m not going to rule man city out of the tittle race, they are a better team than Arsenal when it comes to tittle race winning four tittles in row show how big experience they have when it comes to the Premier League, as soon as man city clicks right away they are going to make a statement in the tittle race. But I think at the end of the season Liverpool will win the title.

[ginsan]

Currently, Manchester United is still the team that wins the most Premier League trophies with 20 titles, in second place is Liverpool with 19 titles and in third place is Arsenal 13 titles. Thus, I personally also believe Liverpool have big ambitions to get the trophy this season, so they will not be able to relax. Indeed, based on their head to head results at least they also get draws quite often. But anyway, so far this season Liverpool have really been a very productive team and are still very strong to be at the top of the Premier League and Champion League standings. With that factor,  then I believe Liverpool will be able to win with a big score too, betting for Liverpool with handicap option -2.5, I think to be an interesting challenge.

Good choice my friend, I also believe Liverpool can get 3 points at home. Moreover, Manchester United's instability lately certainly makes us reluctant to choose them as the winner. Although in football there are always surprises and games that are more difficult to predict, but for now I think Manchester United is not yet able to compete strongly with Liverpool.

Liverpool's strength is stronger, Salah, Diaz, Gakpo this season have become a more deadly trio in their opponent's goal. With Manchester United's poor performance in defense, of course Diaz can take many gaps to shoot the ball and score goals. Quite a few predict that Liverpool can win with a big score but I'm sure they are not obsessed with that but their focus is only on 3 points.

[Unsoldier]

Half of the Premier League season is done, so I thought it would be fun to rank the standout players from the first half for each of the top clubs. Here's how my list turned out: 

- Liverpool: Mohamed Salah 
- Arsenal: Bukayo Saka 
- Chelsea: No debate here, Cole Palmer 
- Man City: A tough call, but I'll go with Bernardo Silva 
- Tottenham: Dejan Kulusevski 

Do you agree with my picks? Who do you think has been the standout player for the top Premier League teams in the first half of the season?