⚽ Premier League 2025/2026 Discussion Thread ⚽

[Olatundespo]

To be honest, United doesn't go too low, but they do not get better neither, they end up losing and then winning and keeping their position at the moment. They are still 13th and they were at that level for a while, so I am not really expecting them to be all that different. My best guess would be 10th, and worst would be 15th, that's where they will finish, I bet that they won't finish 9th, and I bet that they won't finish 16th, that much is obvious from how they are playing.

Obviously not everyone thinks the same and I am sure that there are a lot of people who think differently, but I am pretty sure that we are going to end up like this without a doubt. Everyone talks about how bad they are, but nobody realizes Spurs are just one point and place above, they are not doing that good neither, this season has been a bit different for that reason.

Manchester United have lost 4 of their last 5 games and tied once in the last round with Liverpool, in fact they can go even lower, but where to go, only the relegation zone and if this happens then Amorim will be fired immediately. I even think that even without this, the management of Manchester United is already thinking about how suitable Amorim is for their team as a coach, because the results are very bad.

Manchester United are in good spirits after a draw with top-placed Liverpool, but the fans are fed up with coach ruben amorim. Their performance has not improved much over the years. Most of the criticism is to be blamed on the coach. The team management is divided on whether the coach is actually responsible for the team's poor state. United performance has been very poor for several years and amorim has taken charge of the team. More than a year has passed but the team has not been able to make any noticeable improvement. Amorim is trying to motivate the team even criticizing the team as a strategy and focusing on training. Manchester United will take on Arsenal in the FA Cup next Sunday and they will play against Southampton in the next match. Fans are waiting for how well Coach amorim team can perform in the upcoming matches.


bbc sports

[EL MOHA]

Yes if it was some other club Manchester United would have won the match on the Anfield because the challenge was much for Liverpool but they prevail. Arsenal is playing their semi-finals today with Newcastle United on the EFL league, the semi finals fixture is Liverpool to play with Tottenham Hotspur but Liverpool match is tomorrow being 8 January and after meeting the first time they will all meet again while those that was playing at home will be the away team, is very interesting, so actually Arsenal or Liverpool will win the cup because Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur is not a contender.

What’s if it was some other team they will have won like all the other clubs haven’t been to this ground this season and lost, if I can remember the only team to have beaten Liverpool all season is Nottingham Forest and they did at Anfield, Nottingham Forest on the other are just six points behind Liverpool which tells you how good they are this season and how good you need to be to defeat Liverpool. For me Manchester United would’ve won that game not because Liverpool were bad that day but because Manchester United stepped up their game. You can clearly see that if they can continue to play better like they did against Liverpool and Manchester City they would have been in a better position but they still just lack consistency from their game.

As for the EFL semi final i will personally not jump into conclusion that it will be a Liverpool vs Arsenal final because the other two contenders aren’t just push overs. For me the club I will easily rule out is Tottenham due to their poor performance but as for Newcastle they currently one of the most in form teams in the league and with the away Arsenal are playing this days I personally think they stand a better chance to go to the final

[Oluwa-btc]

Manchester United are in good spirits after a draw with top-placed Liverpool, but the fans are fed up with coach ruben amorim. Their performance has not improved much over the years. Most of the criticism is to be blamed on the coach. The team management is divided on whether the coach is actually responsible for the team's poor state. United performance has been very poor for several years and amorim has taken charge of the team. More than a year has passed but the team has not been able to make any noticeable improvement. Amorim is trying to motivate the team even criticizing the team as a strategy and focusing on training. Manchester United will take on Arsenal in the FA Cup next Sunday and they will play against Southampton in the next match. Fans are waiting for how well Coach amorim team can perform in the upcoming matches.


bbc sports

For Real? They should have bloody won the game against Liverpool if Harry Maguire had just sent that ball into the next. O that's a fat lie there my man, only fans who are dump in the head will blame and fault Ruben Amorim honestly. How many managers been sacked and criticized over the years? And you still blame Ruben Amorim? I doubt you're even a Manchester United fan and even of you're one, it's a big shame you don't know nothing about Man United.  They wad able to salvage a point against Liverpool so I'm not so worried about the next game facing Arsenal on God.

[Palakka]

If the opponent was not Liverpool, maybe MU would have won the game. The players really showed something different at Anfield, they played very disciplined and their attacks were very effective. This is the kind of game that the board of directors expects from Amorim, hopefully he can make MU perform better in the next match.

I think most of us who bet on that match would have lost money and I'm sure of it, because most of us would have preferred to bet on Liverpool given the poor performance of Manchester United, but what was seen in that match actually very surprising to us where Liverpool actually faced great difficulties to beat the Red Devils,  I even think that Liverpool in that match almost lost if Maguire could maximise the chances he got towards the end of the match, just like you, I also hope that they can continue to maintain their performance and also an impressive game like against Liverpool, because if they can show a solid game like that in the next match then I am quite sure that they can win.

[len01]

If the opponent was not Liverpool, maybe MU would have won the game. The players really showed something different at Anfield, they played very disciplined and their attacks were very effective. This is the kind of game that the board of directors expects from Amorim, hopefully he can make MU perform better in the next match.

I think most of us who bet on that match would have lost money and I'm sure of it, because most of us would have preferred to bet on Liverpool given the poor performance of Manchester United, but what was seen in that match actually very surprising to us where Liverpool actually faced great difficulties to beat the Red Devils,  I even think that Liverpool in that match almost lost if Maguire could maximise the chances he got towards the end of the match, just like you, I also hope that they can continue to maintain their performance and also an impressive game like against Liverpool, because if they can show a solid game like that in the next match then I am quite sure that they can win.

But I am one of the bettors who do not believe in Liverpool's victory when facing Man United. And in the previous thread I expressed my doubts and concerns about the match. Because my thinking says a draw can happen when both teams know each other's weaknesses. So a draw should not be a painful surprise for bettors. Everyone must have the same hope to see MU return to its glory days. But unfortunately all of that requires a very long process and requires several seasons depending on how Amorim manages the Man United squad.

[Pokapoka124]

Nottingham Forest and EPL

We actually need no more evidence to understand that Nottingham Forest did not come to joke this season. Most times I asked myself question to why small teams like Nottingham Forest will be getting it right this season while big teams like Manchester United will be struggling. I personally believe that this is about building for the future. When Nottingham Forest gained promotion to the English Premier League, the match 23 signings and we laughed at them because the assignments were not popular kind of superstars. Little did we know that they were building a formidable team, and today I can tell you that with the rate Nottingham Forest is playing, they will definitely make top four this season because they are not in any European competition that will give them much distraction. They are exerting same energy Leicester city exerted years back.

Yes, you are absolutely right. Nottingham Forest's performance so far this season has been nothing short of brilliant. However why they are undinaiable in in good form, it's unlikely that we will witness another surprise Premier League title win like Leicester City's incredible triumph in the 2015/2016 season.

The current Premier League landscape remains very competitive with dominant teams like Liverpool, Arsenal all performing at their highest level, these teams possess depth, world class players and resources that makes it challenging for Nottingham forest to replicate Leicester City's onetime success in the Premier League. In as much as Nottingham forest's current form is very impressive, I think their main focus should be trying to secure a strong finish this season, potentially qualifying for an European competition next season and continue to build on their recent success.

[tygeade]

To be honest, United doesn't go too low, but they do not get better neither, they end up losing and then winning and keeping their position at the moment. They are still 13th and they were at that level for a while, so I am not really expecting them to be all that different. My best guess would be 10th, and worst would be 15th, that's where they will finish, I bet that they won't finish 9th, and I bet that they won't finish 16th, that much is obvious from how they are playing.

Obviously not everyone thinks the same and I am sure that there are a lot of people who think differently, but I am pretty sure that we are going to end up like this without a doubt. Everyone talks about how bad they are, but nobody realizes Spurs are just one point and place above, they are not doing that good neither, this season has been a bit different for that reason.

Manchester United have lost 4 of their last 5 games and tied once in the last round with Liverpool, in fact they can go even lower, but where to go, only the relegation zone and if this happens then Amorim will be fired immediately. I even think that even without this, the management of Manchester United is already thinking about how suitable Amorim is for their team as a coach, because the results are very bad.

When I check they have 1 win and 1 tie with 3 losses in the last 5 games, meaning they got 4 points out of 5 games, out of possible 15 points. I agree that 4/15 isn't good and they need to do better, but some of those games were games they could have won, and if they won just one more game, they would have been 7 points in 5 games and I think for a team that is looking for a midtable finish (that is what they will probably do) then that is not bad at all.

I can see how they are going to end up with a result that will be probably better in the near future and I think we are going to see them do as fine as it gets, so it is not really that shocking at all. I expect at least 7 maybe even 10 points out of their next 5 league games, they are good enough to pull that off.

[RockBell]

I think most of us who bet on that match would have lost money and I'm sure of it, because most of us would have preferred to bet on Liverpool given the poor performance of Manchester United, but what was seen in that match actually very surprising to us where Liverpool actually faced great difficulties to beat the Red Devils,  I even think that Liverpool in that match almost lost if Maguire could maximise the chances he got towards the end of the match, just like you, I also hope that they can continue to maintain their performance and also an impressive game like against Liverpool, because if they can show a solid game like that in the next match then I am quite sure that they can win.

Everyone believed that there is no way that Manchester United would have been able to draw Liverpool and behold they were able to actually win so there is going to be a lot of pressure on Manchester United and 90 % of bets will go for Liverpool because they are doing better than Manchester United so there was much trust given to Liverpool but at the end of the day look at what happened Manchester United was able to draw them.

Liverpool did not take them seriously if not they would have been able to win them, because we all know the existing conditions of Manchester United so they have been struggling ever since and imagine out of five games Manchester United have only one draw, that is the worst have seen they have been unable to win any game how they are able to draw Liverpool is what is still surprising me, am not that surprised because anything can always happen but did not expect it from a club like Liverpool to be drawing a club like Manchester United.

[hahay]

If the opponent was not Liverpool, maybe MU would have won the game. The players really showed something different at Anfield, they played very disciplined and their attacks were very effective. This is the kind of game that the board of directors expects from Amorim, hopefully he can make MU perform better in the next match.

I think most of us who bet on that match would have lost money and I'm sure of it, because most of us would have preferred to bet on Liverpool given the poor performance of Manchester United, but what was seen in that match actually very surprising to us where Liverpool actually faced great difficulties to beat the Red Devils,  I even think that Liverpool in that match almost lost if Maguire could maximise the chances he got towards the end of the match, just like you, I also hope that they can continue to maintain their performance and also an impressive game like against Liverpool, because if they can show a solid game like that in the next match then I am quite sure that they can win.

If we think about the chance that Maguire had in injury time, obviously, it was a golden opportunity that would have made Maguire a hero by beating Liverpool at Anfield. But yes, it's unfortunate that Maguire was in that position because if another player was in that position and not Maguire, then I'm sure another player would have been able to maximize that golden opportunity to turn it into a goal and seal the victory for Manchester United. But even so, even though I also lost the bet because I chose Liverpool -1.5, but by watching Manchester United play and Onana's few saves, then I personally admit that Manchester United have a good effort and deserve to get points.

[Odusko]

Happening right now is Newcastle United leading Asernal in a fiercely contending Battle and at the moment, Newcastle United is leading Arsenal with 1 goal, this is a chance that Newcastle players are ready to protect to walk away with the available points for this game, and from the look of things now that we heading to the half time it likely that Asernal may bear the loses in this match, since time and chances are becoming smaller for Asernal to make an equalizing goals scores in this match.

[CLS63]

Manchester City have finally started to win in the league. Together with the impressive win against West Ham the win streak is 2 matches now. By the way I liked their game in the last match. There was some good progress. Guardiola was complaining about injuries and underlining the need of signing new players. But clearly they can actually win under the circumstances. I think there was some psychological issues among the players before and we will see if it is really solved on the upcoming days.

By the way Nottingham Forest really impress me this season. I wonder what they will do against Liverpool next week.

[sokani]

The Belgian midfielder played an important role in the last match Manchester City played and Manchester City won by a big margin. His injury problems as well as his lack of form combined have led Manchester City to underperform in several matches. With this same team and if De Bruyne's performance remains unchanged, they will do well in the upcoming matches. Manchester City will continue to do well as long as De Bruyne and the rest of the 10 players play, but when the players try to play other strategies without this player, their chances of doing well will decrease.

Kelvin Debruyne's injury problems is not responsible for Manchester City's poor run of form because last season when he was injured, he missed many games and they did well without him. Manchester City poor performance is mainly due to the absence of Rodri and also because they've been selling key players without any replacement. KD has been crucial in city's success but I think his days at the club is coming to an end. His reoccurring injuries is a major concern and City may decide to path ways with him this season or next.

[pawel7777]

I guess I have no choice but to admit I was wrong regarding Manchester United. I predicted it will be a walk in a park for Liverpool and an easy 3 points, but Amorim's team played really well on Sunday. I would even risk saying they've been slightly better than Liverpool, at least in creating goal-scoring chances. They could've even won it if Maguire didn't wasted a brilliant chance at the end of the game. A draw is a fair result.

And a very well done to Nottm Forest on their 6th straight win. They don't always impress with their style but are very effective. Thanks to the 3 points they earned by beating Wolves, they are now at 3rd place with the same number of points as Arsenal. I still don't think they will make it till the end of the season in the top 4 but who knows.

[dezoel]

Manchester United performed very impressively in their last match, although they failed to get 3 points in that match but at least a draw against Liverpool will be a better motivation for them to face the next match.
The situation faced by amorim is certainly very challenging especially with a position that is slightly above the relegation zone at this time, But I think with the poor performance and position of the team left by ten hag previously, of course whoever coaches manchester united will find it difficult to revive them at this time including amorim, so I think no matter how bad they end up at the end of the season later, it will certainly be difficult for us to see amorim fired.

They are not afraid, that's the whole point of what Amorim brought to the team. They were too frigid and rusty and they didn't had courage and confidence at all before Amorim joined and while their talent isn't that high and we all know they are bunch of bad players but Amorim made them think that they can, and that's the feeling every team needs, the feeling of "we can", and that's what United has now. How do we know this?

It doesn't matter if they are playing at relegation level team, or Liverpool, on the last minutes even Maguire was high up and trying to score and they were taking risks to get three points. That's not something old United would do, you wouldn't see them fighting until the last whistle, they would not even be this close normally to be fair, but they didn't just accepted 2-2 as a good result against Liverpool, and they desired for that goal to make them get three points, which is the whole point of how they are looking better.

[Hanadawa]

I guess I have no choice but to admit I was wrong regarding Manchester United. I predicted it will be a walk in a park for Liverpool and an easy 3 points, but Amorim's team played really well on Sunday. I would even risk saying they've been slightly better than Liverpool, at least in creating goal-scoring chances. They could've even won it if Maguire didn't wasted a brilliant chance at the end of the game. A draw is a fair result.

And a very well done to Nottm Forest on their 6th straight win. They don't always impress with their style but are very effective. Thanks to the 3 points they earned by beating Wolves, they are now at 3rd place with the same number of points as Arsenal. I still don't think they will make it till the end of the season in the top 4 but who knows.

The results of this week's matches were really beyond my expectations. The match between Liverpool and Manchester United will be an exciting match to watch but I didn't expect United to be able to hold Liverpool to a draw at Anfield. Liverpool performed impressively in their previous matches. They beat Tottenham with a score of 3-6 and they beat West Ham with a big score of 5-0. They are really in their best form to score many goals. But United were able to hold Liverpool to a draw. This result is certainly not good for Liverpool who are in their momentum. On the contrary, this result can increase Manchester United's confidence in the next match.
On the other hand, Nottingham Forest is still continuing their positive trend. I am really impressed with their performance. It seems like they will be able to finish in the top 4 of the standings at the end of the season.

[yudi09]

The results of this week's matches were really beyond my expectations. The match between Liverpool and Manchester United will be an exciting match to watch but I didn't expect United to be able to hold Liverpool to a draw at Anfield. Liverpool performed impressively in their previous matches. They beat Tottenham with a score of 3-6 and they beat West Ham with a big score of 5-0. They are really in their best form to score many goals. But United were able to hold Liverpool to a draw. This result is certainly not good for Liverpool who are in their momentum. On the contrary, this result can increase Manchester United's confidence in the next match.

Our team still has a good points difference with the competing teams. Moreover, the result against Manchester United was only a draw, not a defeat, so we also did not lose any points.
In terms of numbers, the draw against Manchester United made Liverpool fail to widen the gap in points with the second-placed team so it can be said that Liverpool should have been able to be more than 6 points from Arsenal.

On the other hand, Nottingham Forest is still continuing their positive trend. I am really impressed with their performance. It seems like they will be able to finish in the top 4 of the standings at the end of the season.

Nottingham Forest until their 20th match is still okay. Later in the 21st match Liverpool will challenge them to test how consistent they are this season.
They have been great so far, I admit. In the last match, they were also able to secure 3 points because they won 3 goals over Wolverhampton. If they are able to secure points again against Liverpool, the top four position might be secured.

[Dump3er]

Manchester City have finally started to win in the league. Together with the impressive win against West Ham the win streak is 2 matches now. By the way I liked their game in the last match. There was some good progress. Guardiola was complaining about injuries and underlining the need of signing new players. But clearly they can actually win under the circumstances. I think there was some psychological issues among the players before and we will see if it is really solved on the upcoming days.

By the way Nottingham Forest really impress me this season. I wonder what they will do against Liverpool next week.

But I think it is still too early to call out that Manchester City is back in the game. The game against West Ham was a major change of their situation into a positive direction, but it was still not the strong old Manchester City that everyone knows. West Ham had almost twice as many shots and quite high ball possession. Now this doesn't matter too much as Guardiola wants the results to be good rather than any other statistics like ball possession, but in the long run it does have an impact in my opinion as Manchester City's indistinguishable strength came from overwhelming dominance and high efficiency. They are still not there yet again.

In the next three weeks they can confirm the positive development if they beat or at least don't lose against PSG, Chelsea and Arsenal.

[samuraijin]

I think most of us who bet on that match would have lost money and I'm sure of it, because most of us would have preferred to bet on Liverpool given the poor performance of Manchester United, but what was seen in that match actually very surprising to us where Liverpool actually faced great difficulties to beat the Red Devils,  I even think that Liverpool in that match almost lost if Maguire could maximise the chances he got towards the end of the match, just like you, I also hope that they can continue to maintain their performance and also an impressive game like against Liverpool, because if they can show a solid game like that in the next match then I am quite sure that they can win.

Everyone believed that there is no way that Manchester United would have been able to draw Liverpool and behold they were able to actually win so there is going to be a lot of pressure on Manchester United and 90 % of bets will go for Liverpool because they are doing better than Manchester United so there was much trust given to Liverpool but at the end of the day look at what happened Manchester United was able to draw them.

It's only a matter of time to see Manchester United back on track in the hands of Amorim, The philosophy has been found to lift Manchester United's game in the middle of this season, indeed no one expected them to be able to hold a draw not only you but I was also surprised to see Manchester United's game last week, actually Manchester United could have won the match and embarrassed Liverpool at home but Harry Maguire's shot soared high above the Liverpool goalpost.

[Palakka]

I think most of us who bet on that match would have lost money and I'm sure of it, because most of us would have preferred to bet on Liverpool given the poor performance of Manchester United, but what was seen in that match actually very surprising to us where Liverpool actually faced great difficulties to beat the Red Devils,  I even think that Liverpool in that match almost lost if Maguire could maximise the chances he got towards the end of the match, just like you, I also hope that they can continue to maintain their performance and also an impressive game like against Liverpool, because if they can show a solid game like that in the next match then I am quite sure that they can win.

Everyone believed that there is no way that Manchester United would have been able to draw Liverpool and behold they were able to actually win so there is going to be a lot of pressure on Manchester United and 90 % of bets will go for Liverpool because they are doing better than Manchester United so there was much trust given to Liverpool but at the end of the day look at what happened Manchester United was able to draw them.

Manchester United were able to take their chances and defend well against Liverpool and honestly we have never seen them play with such a great performance in previous matches this season, although they failed to win over Liverpool, but the draw they got in the match was a positive result and could be a good motivation and capital for their next match.

It's only a matter of time to see Manchester United back on track in the hands of Amorim, The philosophy has been found to lift Manchester United's game in the middle of this season, indeed no one expected them to be able to hold a draw not only you but I was also surprised to see Manchester United's game last week, actually Manchester United could have won the match and embarrassed Liverpool at home but Harry Maguire's shot soared high above the Liverpool goalpost.

In that match manchester united has shown an extraordinary mentality, especially with their current condition which is surprisingly able get a draw from team which very solid and impressive like liverpool this season, although in that match they showed a lot of improvement, but I hope they don't repeat the mistakes that happened previously, previously we saw them rise by beating manchester city, but after that they slumped again before finally getting 1 point at anfield, I think amorim needs to improve their current consistency to be able to win the remaining matches this season.

[iBaba]

But I am one of the bettors who do not believe in Liverpool's victory when facing Man United. And in the previous thread I expressed my doubts and concerns about the match. Because my thinking says a draw can happen when both teams know each other's weaknesses. So a draw should not be a painful surprise for bettors. Everyone must have the same hope to see MU return to its glory days. But unfortunately all of that requires a very long process and requires several seasons depending on how Amorim manages the Man United squad.

While you are not far from the truth, it didn't occur in the same vein with me. Haven't seen the level at which Liverpool have performed strongly this season, I didn't see it coming for Manchester United to draw with them. I believe that every match comes with its uniqueness based on the performance level of the team at a given time. So, I saw a better performance opportunity for Liverpool to win over Manchester United in the last match but that didn't not happen, couples with the fact that Liverpool was playing home at the Anfield stadium, I saw that as another hedge over the Red Devils. Well, for both teams, I will say well done. They both did well in their individual capacities as clubs.