⚽ Premier League 2025/2026 Discussion Thread ⚽

[Distraction]

Bournemouth's fall in the league is a really interesting one. They weren't this bad last season. They actually started this one quite nicely also. But everything went good only until the 9th week. Since then they couldn't even get a single win!

They lost 5 times in those 9 matches. While things are upside down for them I see a good opportunity for Chelsea to win tomorrow night. Their form is also bad lately so they had better not mess this up.


By the way have you heard Semenyo is close to signing for Manchester City in January? They are preparing to pay for his £65m release clause.



Source: ESPN

[marcous]

Bournemouth's fall in the league is a really interesting one. They weren't this bad last season. They actually started this one quite nicely also. But everything went good only until the 9th week. Since then they couldn't even get a single win!

They lost 5 times in those 9 matches. While things are upside down for them I see a good opportunity for Chelsea to win tomorrow night. Their form is also bad lately so they had better not mess this up.

Both teams are equally bad, and both had good starts to the season but have ended up with disappointing results in recent weeks. I'd probably avoid them in the betting book, or if I had the extra money, both teams to score would seem much better, but I haven't checked the odds for that option yet.

By the way have you heard Semenyo is close to signing for Manchester City in January? They are preparing to pay for his £65m release clause.



Source: ESPN

Yes, this rumor has been circulating for a few weeks now. I'm sure Semenyo will end up at the Etihad, because why would he stay at Bournemouth, and the offer of playing in the UCL is quite tempting.

[Alex077]

You are right about Crystal Palace losing their momentum which is why thy have been struggling for a while now. I'm actually disappointed in them not being able to get a goal against Tottenham who haven been generous with conceding goals...

This was one game where Crystal Palace played all the game, created the most chances, had more shots on target but couldn’t find a goal, not even a disallowed one but Tottenham found ways to make the net.
Richarlison was greatly unlucky in this fixture, scoring 2 goals only to have both of them disallowed by VAR, that was really disappointing for him...

Although they won, but I am not actually happy with their overall performance. Could you tell me what is happening to Tottenham, Man? Last season, they barely finished above the relegation zone. They finished in the 17th position last season, and in this season they are currently in the 11th position. Things really do not look good for them. A club that is used to finishing towards the top of the table, mostly in the top six, is now finishing towards the relegation zone. Losing against teams like Nottingham Forest and Fulham. The downfall has been crazy for Tottenham.

[kawetsriyanto]

The Aston Villa against Arsenal match is going to be difficult and an interesting game to watch. Arsenal are a little unbalanced because they are only two points ahead of Manchester City. They will be playing every match with desperation because they're afraid of losing the top position.

Agree. It will be difficult to predict which team to win the match since both Arsenal and Aston Villa are strong teams and they are in good performance. However, Arsenal surely has a stronger squad, they also have the advantage to play at home. Also, it is a crucial point to win because winning the match will be the only way to stay in the top of EPL table. If they fail, Man City will overtake Arsenal position. So, considering this matter, I'm very sure Arsenal will win the match because they have a bigger motivation to win it.

Aston Villa are in red hot form with straight wins without even a draw. I think they'll love to maintain their unbeaten streak but I don't think they'll succeed in getting the three points with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. As for Arsenal I'm fully hoping they'll do whatever it takes to get the three points at their home ground to break Aston Villa unbeaten run.

Indeed, Aston Villa performed very well. They always win the match recently. But I'm also very sure that Arsenal will have a bigger chance to win the match because of some reasons I've explained above. Arsenal has no chance, they must win the match. If the fail, it may ruin the mentality of the whole players because of the failure of winning the trophy in the previous season. The same scenario repeats, it may down the players' spirit.

[MorganaX]

So do you think they will just relax to watch these big teams score them without attacking back, the guys are doing everything possible to prove that they can go home with the title and to whichever team that thinks they are being team, should come out to fight for the competition.

Against Chelsea Aston Villa wasn't performing well in the first half it was the advantage hdt Chelsea should have utilized to score up to 3 goals, Arsenal may have the same advantage when they play against Aston Villa if they can take advantage of the opportunity they will have in the first or second half when Aston Villa is not fully out who knows if they can get up to 3 goals before Aston Villa starts attacking them. Aston Villa is not going to watch any team defeat them easily but based on their last performance they have little issues attacking very well in the first half.

One thing I noticed about this Aston Villa of a team is that, if you can score them early if you may have the chance to and they suddenly bounce back to perform better, I believe you will not have the chance to do it again. So this was the mistake that was made by Chelsea, when they had the chance to invest that first half they didn't take the advantage for it till that second half, although they managed to score 1 but it was not enough though. So in same way, if Arsenal can take advantage of this, I believe they will get the win over Villa, but I know it will not be an easy one for them.

[impulse709]

So do you think they will just relax to watch these big teams score them without attacking back, the guys are doing everything possible to prove that they can go home with the title and to whichever team that thinks they are being team, should come out to fight for the competition.

Against Chelsea Aston Villa wasn't performing well in the first half it was the advantage hdt Chelsea should have utilized to score up to 3 goals, Arsenal may have the same advantage when they play against Aston Villa if they can take advantage of the opportunity they will have in the first or second half when Aston Villa is not fully out who knows if they can get up to 3 goals before Aston Villa starts attacking them. Aston Villa is not going to watch any team defeat them easily but based on their last performance they have little issues attacking very well in the first half.

One thing I noticed about this Aston Villa of a team is that, if you can score them early if you may have the chance to and they suddenly bounce back to perform better, I believe you will not have the chance to do it again. So this was the mistake that was made by Chelsea, when they had the chance to invest that first half they didn't take the advantage for it till that second half, although they managed to score 1 but it was not enough though. So in same way, if Arsenal can take advantage of this, I believe they will get the win over Villa, but I know it will not be an easy one for them.

I concur with the point of Aston Villa and how they deal with large teams. They are not the kind of side that will sit back and become easy targets to domination by the opponents. This was evident in the Chelsea game when Villa was unable to perform first half, yet the censuring team was unable to leverage on the situation. After Villa regained their composure and became more confident in the second half they became more structured and dangerous such that it was very hard to overpower them again by Chelsea. Villa appear most susceptible at the beginning of the games and as long as the teams fail to score within the time frame, then the later they have fewer opportunities to do so. This can be emulated by Arsenal by being aggressive at the start and efficient but it will by no means be an easy game since Villa will be fighting to establish themselves in the game.

[ancafe]

One thing I noticed about this Aston Villa of a team is that, if you can score them early if you may have the chance to and they suddenly bounce back to perform better, I believe you will not have the chance to do it again. So this was the mistake that was made by Chelsea, when they had the chance to invest that first half they didn't take the advantage for it till that second half, although they managed to score 1 but it was not enough though. So in same way, if Arsenal can take advantage of this, I believe they will get the win over Villa, but I know it will not be an easy one for them.

Aston Villa are in a favorable situation because there's no high demand, so the pressure is much easier on them, especially if this team isn't as ambitious about results as it is about trophies. This doesn't mean Aston Villa aren't competing for the title, but rather that there's not as much pressure as Arsenal or Manchester City, and they realize that performing better and finishing in the top three would be much more effective. Arsenal are under pressure right now because they have to perform at their best to win every game, and a draw or loss would put them in a much more difficult situation. Aston Villa can take advantage of this situation, as the pressure on Arsenal will be slightly greater forcing them to play cautiously to avoid a negative result.

[rezakurnia66]

Guardiola has made changes in his transfer plans as you might have heard. He doesn't want the team to splurge on a player anymore. He just wants efficiency with transfers.

This is why we didn't see Manchester City spending a huge amount on a player last summer. Their biggest spending was on Reijnders which cost €55m. The rest were around €30m. 

Cherki has also been signed for a ridiculous amount thanks to Lyon's poor condition then. Now he shines here and has a great future I sense.

Rayan Cherki top signing by Manchester City at the early season spent not too expensive price 36 million euro but he can adapt well and playing consistent, Cherki played 13 matches in premier league scoring 2 goal but he has made 7 assists and always become the most influence players when Haaland get stuck for scoring goals.

Pep Guardiola always smart when signing new players and several new recruitment for this season I vote for Rayan Cherki, the second position is Tijani Reijnders keep play well as crucial central midfielder and active not only as holding but also become attacking midfielder by scoring goals at crucial games.

[Iamgoat]

One thing I noticed about this Aston Villa of a team is that, if you can score them early if you may have the chance to and they suddenly bounce back to perform better, I believe you will not have the chance to do it again. So this was the mistake that was made by Chelsea, when they had the chance to invest that first half they didn't take the advantage for it till that second half, although they managed to score 1 but it was not enough though. So in same way, if Arsenal can take advantage of this, I believe they will get the win over Villa, but I know it will not be an easy one for them.

I like the way the Aston Villa club is operating lately, they are the kind of team which you can describe as growing into games in a way if you score them early and don't finish the job, they can quickly adjust and come back stronger and once you allow them to get settled, it will become difficult for you to get a second chance to score them some more. Chelsea had the window in the first half to make their dominance count but didn't take it and by the time they could score in second half, Aston Villa were already more organized and stronger and a single goal was never enough for them and it is why I suggested to Arsenal if they want to beat the Aston Villa guys, then they have to be ruthless with them from the beginning to the end of the game.

[MK-74]

The final matches of the year in the Premier League will be played tonight.
The biggest last match of the year will be Arsenal vs Aston Villa, because both teams are competing for the championship and there are only 3 points between them.
The result of this match will benefit Manchester City the most, as both teams are their direct rivals.
If Arsenal lose this match, they could lose the top spot and even a draw could cost them the lead, so they absolutely have to win this game.
Let’s see what the result will be and whether the standings in the Premier League will change.

[Solodoski]

Bournemouth's fall in the league is a really interesting one. They weren't this bad last season. They actually started this one quite nicely also. But everything went good only until the 9th week. Since then they couldn't even get a single win!

They lost 5 times in those 9 matches. While things are upside down for them I see a good opportunity for Chelsea to win tomorrow night. Their form is also bad lately so they had better not mess this up.

It's a glaring fact that Bournemouth has been very poor lately, but I still will not bet on Chelsea to win the match. I think Chelsea has been very unpredictable this season, and that makes it hard to bet on their game. They tend to mess up in games that we expect them to win and perform in games that we expect to be poor or even lose. Bournemouth is a team that can hurt you if you give them the chance and I will not be surprised if they win Chelsea today, although to be on the safe side, I will rather bet on goals, than for any of the team to win.

[Adbitco]

Bournemouth's fall in the league is a really interesting one. They weren't this bad last season. They actually started this one quite nicely also. But everything went good only until the 9th week. Since then they couldn't even get a single win!

They lost 5 times in those 9 matches. While things are upside down for them I see a good opportunity for Chelsea to win tomorrow night. Their form is also bad lately so they had better not mess this up.

It's very normal for teams that are not part of the top team, they are nearly a mid table team even. Bournemouth had a fantastic season not long ago and I'm not expecting them to keep up to that pace because they are not the team with that pedigree, they are an upcoming team so long as English football is concerned. There are times some few teams will perform excellently in a season but can't be able to replicate that performance the next season, they are not a top team and so, other teams comes to buy their performing players for the next season that why we see teams like this drop a season after they performed well. So personally I think I understand a little about these teams that's why I'm not surprised when teams like this perform well this season and fall shot the next season or even get relegated.

[Spack17]

The final matches of the year in the Premier League will be played tonight.

By the way the biggest disappointment of this month was not to have even multiple matches on the Boxing Day which was a few days ago. There was only Manchester United - Newcastle...

At least today we will have a lot of fun. The main event is of course Arsenal - Aston Villa. I already shared my thoughts. I expect Arteta to finish their streak but most probably it won't be easy.

Aston Villa should be one of the best teams with comebacks this year. They are always dangerous.

[yixichloro2xx]

The final matches of the year in the Premier League will be played tonight.
The biggest last match of the year will be Arsenal vs Aston Villa, because both teams are competing for the championship and there are only 3 points between them.
The result of this match will benefit Manchester City the most, as both teams are their direct rivals.
If Arsenal lose this match, they could lose the top spot and even a draw could cost them the lead, so they absolutely have to win this game.
Let’s see what the result will be and whether the standings in the Premier League will change.

It is really going to be a tough game and I am expecting a draw from this match , if they can draw Manchester City will have the opportunity to top the table. Aston villa are really trying their best, no one even expected them to play like this . But I still feel this consistency of there’s won’t last long , because they don’t have enough squad depth and injury’s might happen because the season is till long.

[AprilioMP]

I think Chelsea has been very unpredictable this season, and that makes it hard to bet on their game. They tend to mess up in games that we expect them to win and perform in games that we expect to be poor or even lose. Bournemouth is a team that can hurt you if you give them the chance and I will not be surprised if they win Chelsea today, although to be on the safe side, I will rather bet on goals, than for any of the team to win.

Chelsea has a good chance of winning, and I wouldn't say they are difficult to predict because several other big teams are no different from Chelsea in terms of difficulty in making predictions.
Bournemouth is currently experiencing a downturn, although they did cause problems for other teams at the start of the season.
I hope Chelsea doesn't lose because I've already placed a bet on Chelsea to win among several other options competing at the same time. When Chelsea lost to Aston Villa a few days ago, I didn't think they played badly.

[emrecemsan]

I've also heard about that Semenyo news by the way. Manchester City would do a smart move by signing him to tell the truth.

He is a right-footed winger who has been used on both wings for nearly the same number of times. He's been quite useful at scoring goals as you've already witnessed.

They are likely to sell Savinho soon. So he can be replaced by Semenyo which would be like an upgrade!

[Qhunman]

One thing I noticed about this Aston Villa of a team is that, if you can score them early if you may have the chance to and they suddenly bounce back to perform better, I believe you will not have the chance to do it again. So this was the mistake that was made by Chelsea, when they had the chance to invest that first half they didn't take the advantage for it till that second half, although they managed to score 1 but it was not enough though. So in same way, if Arsenal can take advantage of this, I believe they will get the win over Villa, but I know it will not be an easy one for them.

The game won't be easy for Arsenal but they would find a way to defeat aston villa. Arsenal had similar mistake like Chelsea and aston villa didn't gave them that chance to equalize from behind. Arsenal will face Aston villa at Home and they wouldn't repeat similar mistake as they have learn from experience. Aston Villa winning goals are scored in the second half and it was the same winning pattern Aston Villa used to defeat both arsenal and Chelsea.

[asriloni]

Bournemouth's fall in the league is a really interesting one. They weren't this bad last season. They actually started this one quite nicely also. But everything went good only until the 9th week. Since then they couldn't even get a single win!

They lost 5 times in those 9 matches. While things are upside down for them I see a good opportunity for Chelsea to win tomorrow night. Their form is also bad lately so they had better not mess this up.

From what i understand after i saw Bournemouth's game when they get thrashed by Brentford. They have plenties of major problems that are yet being sorted out. Inconsisten defense, GK was also so shaky, and it's being completed with how fragile their midfield.

However, i don't Chelsea can pass them so easily. Let's expect they to play low-block, then it's gonna be a disaster for Chelsea, which is also underperform too.

Especially, they were struggled Chelsea in getting three points in the last game. So i expect them already learned Chelsea's pattern, then will be relying upon defensive strategy with counter attack. It's one of most effective way against Chelsea's tactical gameplan.

[Iroh]

The game won't be easy for Arsenal but they would find a way to defeat aston villa. Arsenal had similar mistake like Chelsea and aston villa didn't gave them that chance to equalize from behind. Arsenal will face Aston villa at Home and they wouldn't repeat similar mistake as they have learn from experience. Aston Villa winning goals are scored in the second half and it was the same winning pattern Aston Villa used to defeat both arsenal and Chelsea.

It's an important game for Arsenal as the game would determine if they'll retain the top spot on the table. The pressure to win would be more on Arsenal as they desperately need all the points they can get in order to get safer and further from the second and third place on the table. The game won't be easy for both sides.
Playing at home doesn't give that much of an advantage in my opinion but I hope Arsenal can take the win and retain the lead. They need to start strong and score goals in the first half. I bet they know just how important the game is and hopefully, wouldn't disappoint their supporters.

[execijutiere]

Chelsea will host Bournemouth at home. Having failed to win in two weeks, Chelsea has fallen slightly behind in the race. To maintain its claim on a top-four finish, it now needs to continue its journey with minimal losses. We could say that Bournemouth is a team that doesn't suit Chelsea. Looking at their recent encounters, draws seem to be the most likely outcome, but I think Chelsea will win at home. Bournemouth will strive to get points from this away game, but it will be difficult for them this time.
It is intriguing to see who will win in this clash between two teams that have failed to win in recent weeks. As the home team, Nottingham Forest is obviously the favourite. I don't think Nottingham Forest will lose this match because they are one step ahead. At worst, they will leave with a draw.