⚽ Premier League 2025/2026 Discussion Thread ⚽

[Tmoonz]

I am not surprised by that result; Arsenal played much more aggressively with the revenge they had, which made them play much more determinedly, and in terms of overall quality, Arsenal is better compared to Aston Villa. That has to be acknowledged, so I think Arsenal's big win is natural.

Aston Villa has indeed made surprises this season; they were unbeaten in their last 11 matches before facing Arsenal, but it should be remembered that the Premier League always presents fierce competition, and now Aston Villa is experiencing that.

In this season, Arsenal doing much better than last three seasons because they are having strong title chance, and they are not giving any space to have any challenge against them, in upcoming rounds, this is going to be a big advantage for winning with good score, their attack and defense both are well-balanced.

At the top, now two teams are having good control while Manchester City is going to Stadium of Light for their 19th round game, this will give them chance to cut the difference of points and have good space from Aston Villa while Liverpool hosting Leeds United, this is also important game for them after having few good results in last weeks, this will allow them to have chance of staying with Aston Villa for third spot.

To me I just think Arsenal just get to realize that Aston Villa was among the teams that deprived them the league title last season so they got to be more serious this time, because if they had mistakenly drop a single point in that game then we could have given up on them total because Pep Guardiola would do everything possible to climb the league table and if they do I won't be easy to bring them down so this winning from them somehow boost up our confidence and our hope of winning the league still stand, but the only thing I will be of them is to keep consistent.

[Accardo]

Crystal Palace is playing nice today against Fulham, leading them 1:0 in the first half, now in the second half, no much changes, it appears to be a game that'll end in 1:0 but fulham is currently pressing hard on Palace, yet they've been a little bit unlucky.

[TastyChillySauce00]

I thought Liverpool would come out aggressive in this match to capitalize on Chelsea and Manchester United dropping points but what am seeing is awful!!

Maybe credit should go to Leeds United for the tight game and not giving Liverpool to create goal scoring chances, otherwise this game looks like it will be low scoring!

Yeah i see. Some players look like lose their confidence. Their build up is so slow. It's also surprising me how they're not even dangerous when it comes from the corner. It seems they have no clue what to do. Wirtz did so many misplace passes, while all of their central midfielders are totally underperform.
I think some subs need to be made asap. It's to help team get even more confidence in moving upfront as they're so terrible in this game.

[Humblevirus]

There are 3 hours to go for the Sunderland - Manchester City match.

The gap with the leader has risen to 5 points for Guardiola's team. The pressure is on them now. Do you expect any point loss from Manchester City tonight?

Honestly I don't. It might not be easy on the other hand. Because Sunderland are one of the 2 teams with no home losses in the league now. They wouldn't give up easily just as they didn't against Arsenal here before.

Honestly, the match between Manchester City and Sunderland will not really be an easy match for Manchester City based on their current form and gameplay. It is their home game, and Sunderland have been proving how strong they are, especially in their home games. This shows that even today, the same thing may happen, as it always happens in their home games: either they win the match or they are able to draw.So, with that, if Manchester City really want to get full points in this match, they need to put in more effort. If not, the result they may not expect could be what ends the game. Despite this, the match between Sunderland and Manchester City is going to be as interesting as a match between two big teams.

[uche6215]

Sunderland has been on a very good run of form and has been one of the the wonders of the premier League this season. City knows this and should not see Sunderland as a small team, Sunderland has been able to hold their own against the big sides this season I believe that Sunderland will give a very good account of themselves in this game. But city knows what is at stake in this game so City should just dig deep and get the  needed victory and get all three points and put the pressure on Arsenal.

[Slow death]

Crystal Palace is playing nice today against Fulham, leading them 1:0 in the first half, now in the second half, no much changes, it appears to be a game that'll end in 1:0 but fulham is currently pressing hard on Palace, yet they've been a little bit unlucky.

Crystal Palace's defense gave way, Fulham scored the equalizing goal, and the game ended. With this draw, the positions of both teams didn't change much; they are close to each other.


I don't want to be too pessimistic, but it seems to me that the next coach to be fired could be the Liverpool coach, this result:



It's a terrible result, because the game wasn't against a strong opponent; on the contrary, it was against an accessible opponent that we could have beaten and gained 3 points, bringing us closer to Aston Villa. But we lost points in a game that we honestly dominated, and the players had no idea how to score. Even Leeds scored a goal, but it was disallowed. Liverpool isn't doing well, and the signings from the last transfer window weren't much help.

[Stavri]

I am not surprised by that result; Arsenal played much more aggressively with the revenge they had, which made them play much more determinedly, and in terms of overall quality, Arsenal is better compared to Aston Villa. That has to be acknowledged, so I think Arsenal's big win is natural.

Aston Villa has indeed made surprises this season; they were unbeaten in their last 11 matches before facing Arsenal, but it should be remembered that the Premier League always presents fierce competition, and now Aston Villa is experiencing that.

Beating Aston Villa like this is very hard, even if you are Arsenal. People will understand how important this win is later. By the way Aston Villa stopped Arsenal’s 11 match unbeaten run before. Now, Arsenal stopped Aston Villa’s 8 match winning streak. It is a big win.

[Baki202]

There are 3 hours to go for the Sunderland - Manchester City match.

The gap with the leader has risen to 5 points for Guardiola's team. The pressure is on them now. Do you expect any point loss from Manchester City tonight?

Honestly I don't. It might not be easy on the other hand. Because Sunderland are one of the 2 teams with no home losses in the league now. They wouldn't give up easily just as they didn't against Arsenal here before.

Honestly, the match between Manchester City and Sunderland will not really be an easy match for Manchester City based on their current form and gameplay. It is their home game, and Sunderland have been proving how strong they are, especially in their home games. This shows that even today, the same thing may happen, as it always happens in their home games: either they win the match or they are able to draw.So, with that, if Manchester City really want to get full points in this match, they need to put in more effort. If not, the result they may not expect could be what ends the game. Despite this, the match between Sunderland and Manchester City is going to be as interesting as a match between two big teams.

And it's not going to be an easy because multiple times, Sunderland have given a lot of clubs tough time but they should not be a problem because we have played against opponents that are tough than Sunderland but they can be troublesome most at times but we are going to give them a mark this period. And this few period have not been good for Sunderland so we have what it takes to win this game and I don't know were others are getting there prediction from, there is nothing that is shaking my decision about us winning this game.

And now that we are on a serious drag with Arsenal so nobody will want to take any chances because winning now will give arsenal more leverage than us and that is something that we don't want and this is because if arsenal are not serious this season then the next thing will be for us to take over the league because that is something that we know Arsenal for but let see if they will do something different.  Because they have been trying seriously they deserve the commendation but let's see the play out in today's game.

[Jessie2121]

From the looks of things it seems Liverpool are managing to see how they can get that pressure on Leeds, as long as the game remains goalless I don't think that Leeds are going to feel any pressure coming from Liverpool. This is what the other teams need to implement in their planning against the big clubs if not in every 5 to 10 minutes they have to conceding. Leeds are currently doing their best to soak the pressure and turn it to an attack.

The first half has been under control of Liverpool. Alisson made a huge mistake at a point though which was nearly causing Leeds to score. But it didn't happen thankfully.

As long as Liverpool keep it this way there is no reason for them not to win this match. They just need to improve their finishing a little more.

Ekitiké has wasted some important chances for example.

Liverpool was completely terrible, their play pattern wasn't up to what the fans are expecting to see, imagine tomorrow we hear that Slot have been sacked because of this kind of display they have been experiencing and again, I can't remember when last Liverpool played the fast football and get a win, it is either they are managing to be the team that is dominating but if you watch closely you noticed that they are just using that fast play that they used to have in them to intimidate their opponent. This is not going to end well for Liverpool I must say because every positions in that squad or club is shaking like is their first time of playing in the epl. Leeds made the champions to play like a newly promoted side tonight, it made me ask if this is Liverpool or their B team playing Leeds UTD.

[Phoenix Anka]

I am not surprised by that result; Arsenal played much more aggressively with the revenge they had, which made them play much more determinedly, and in terms of overall quality, Arsenal is better compared to Aston Villa. That has to be acknowledged, so I think Arsenal's big win is natural.

Aston Villa has indeed made surprises this season; they were unbeaten in their last 11 matches before facing Arsenal, but it should be remembered that the Premier League always presents fierce competition, and now Aston Villa is experiencing that.

Beating Aston Villa like this is very hard, even if you are Arsenal. People will understand how important this win is later. By the way Aston Villa stopped Arsenal’s 11 match unbeaten run before. Now, Arsenal stopped Aston Villa’s 8 match winning streak. It is a big win.

Arsenal secured a fantastic victory, that's for sure. Many people knew Aston Villa were in great form and therefore saw high odds of them winning. However, the match showed that Arsenal played completely differently and magnificently in the second half. Aston Villa, on the other hand, was far from their usual form. That's why they suffered this heavy defeat. Now they will probably focus on qualifying for the Champions League and winning the Europa League. Because this loss of three points will cause them to fall behind in the championship race.

[LUCKMCFLY]

It's gonna be a real test for Arteta and his team. If they must remain at the top of the table, they must prove it tomorrow against Aston Villa, the team that gave them there last defeat. At least, Arsenal are playing at the Emirates stadium, it should be a good booster for them as they pursue to retain there position as leaders for now. Of course, Manchester city will win, and if they fail to collect all 3 points from villa, then it's done, they are down.

We remember 3 seasons past, that Aston Villa won Arsenal home and away, and made then loose out from winning the trophy that season, maybe it might repeat this season, who knows. But Arteta and his boys can as well stop it if they fight hard to. It's a tough match and we can't really predict the end, but we need to wait to see the results.

What a Great match! It was a Phenomenal rout , I think Dibu shouldn't have come off the field like that it's not worth Fighting over the fans, It looked Really bad I'm surprised this is Still happening at such beautiful PL Football Events , AV needs to Recover from this Somehow.

[SquallLeonhart]

Three danger zone teams frustrated Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United as these failed to end deadlock and having draws, terrible performance from Liverpool and Manchester United today after having draw against Liverpool now Leeds United is having their undefeated streak at 6.

While Frustrated Liverpool leaking their wounds because they are still not at their level which they need to be having better end of their season, now after few days three frustrated clubs are having another challenging matches. Liverpool visiting Fulham with Chelsea is having challenge of Manchester City and Manchester United going to visit Elland Road where Leeds United will be facing them for their 20th round match.

[Stavri]

Beating Aston Villa like this is very hard, even if you are Arsenal. People will understand how important this win is later. By the way Aston Villa stopped Arsenal’s 11 match unbeaten run before. Now, Arsenal stopped Aston Villa’s 8 match winning streak. It is a big win.

Arsenal secured a fantastic victory, that's for sure. Many people knew Aston Villa were in great form and therefore saw high odds of them winning. However, the match showed that Arsenal played completely differently and magnificently in the second half. Aston Villa, on the other hand, was far from their usual form. That's why they suffered this heavy defeat. Now they will probably focus on qualifying for the Champions League and winning the Europa League. Because this loss of three points will cause them to fall behind in the championship race.

Yeah. Aston Villa missed 3 big chances in the first half so Arsenal scored and won in the second half. But still it is amazing that Aston Villa competes with Manchester City and Arsenal with their budget. The chemistry with Unai Emery is perfect. Nobody expected Aston Villa to be at this level in the league.

[Phoenix Anka]

Beating Aston Villa like this is very hard, even if you are Arsenal. People will understand how important this win is later. By the way Aston Villa stopped Arsenal’s 11 match unbeaten run before. Now, Arsenal stopped Aston Villa’s 8 match winning streak. It is a big win.

Arsenal secured a fantastic victory, that's for sure. Many people knew Aston Villa were in great form and therefore saw high odds of them winning. However, the match showed that Arsenal played completely differently and magnificently in the second half. Aston Villa, on the other hand, was far from their usual form. That's why they suffered this heavy defeat. Now they will probably focus on qualifying for the Champions League and winning the Europa League. Because this loss of three points will cause them to fall behind in the championship race.

Yeah. Aston Villa missed 3 big chances in the first half so Arsenal scored and won in the second half. But still it is amazing that Aston Villa competes with Manchester City and Arsenal with their budget. The chemistry with Unai Emery is perfect. Nobody expected Aston Villa to be at this level in the league.

Unai Emery has definitely proven himself, and what he did with Aston Villa showed everyone that he is a top-level manager. I'm sure many big teams will put him at the top of their transfer list if they need a manager. I think teams like Real Madrid will be among them. The Spanish manager currently has the capacity to manage any team in the world. He also really understands the players' playing styles and makes excellent substitutions. I think that's one of his defining characteristics. He can change the formation very well according to the flow of the game. The Arsenal match was a bad one, but before that, there were some truly magnificent games.

[Jaycoinz]

Beating Aston Villa like this is very hard, even if you are Arsenal. People will understand how important this win is later. By the way Aston Villa stopped Arsenal’s 11 match unbeaten run before. Now, Arsenal stopped Aston Villa’s 8 match winning streak. It is a big win.

Arsenal secured a fantastic victory, that's for sure. Many people knew Aston Villa were in great form and therefore saw high odds of them winning. However, the match showed that Arsenal played completely differently and magnificently in the second half. Aston Villa, on the other hand, was far from their usual form. That's why they suffered this heavy defeat. Now they will probably focus on qualifying for the Champions League and winning the Europa League. Because this loss of three points will cause them to fall behind in the championship race.

Yeah. Aston Villa missed 3 big chances in the first half so Arsenal scored and won in the second half. But still it is amazing that Aston Villa competes with Manchester City and Arsenal with their budget. The chemistry with Unai Emery is perfect. Nobody expected Aston Villa to be at this level in the league.

For me I was actually surprised to how arsenal actually humbled them very well and made the win look so effortlessly, if arsenal can continue like this then even the expected game that would decide the top position would actually turn out to be an easy win for them and am talking about Manchester City playing them because right now only Manchester City are the ones I feel can actually hold them off although sometimes football can be funny and they might just get to lose to some low level team that no one even expects.

[hyudien]

It seems that matches held on festive dates must be carefully considered, just look at the results this week which coincides with the new year, many surprises, strong teams that should get full points surprise us all with their results. Man Utd drew against a team they had previously beaten, Liverpool? couldn't even score a single goal, and Chelsea 2-2 against Bournemouth.  Only arsenal performed admirably with their 4-1 against Aston Villa.

And today Man City is competing, it seems that there will be another disappointing result, seen until approaching 45 minutes of this first half they still have difficulty dismantling the Sunderland defense.

[Iroh]

An hour left for Liverpool - Leeds to start. What are your thoughts on this match? Will Liverpool maintain their win streak or go back to where they started again? 

My opinion is that they will get another win to make the streak 4 matches. But both teams to score is very likely I think. Leeds have been scoring for 7 matches in the league. You know defending isn't the best thing Liverpool are at this season either so...

Well, that certainly didn't go as I had envisaged. I really thought Liverpool would try and step up and win that game against Leeds. Liverpool couldn't manage to score a goal in that game and despite having a lot of time with the ball in their possession, they couldn't do anything with it. It definitely wasn't their best performance.
Another crazy performance from United was the game between Man United and Wolves. Wolves, being at the bottom of the table ordinarily shouldn't have to be that much of a problem for United but they went on to draw that game with both sides scoring a goal. Man united just gave Wolves a point in that game.

[MK-74]

The first Premier League matches of the new year have been played, and some are still ongoing.

Crystal Palace vs Fulham match ended in a 1-1 draw. Fulham played better but couldn’t secure the win.

The new year hasn’t started well for Liverpool, they drew 0-0 at home against Leeds United. Despite dominating the match, they failed to score.

The first half of the Sunderland vs Manchester City match ended 0-0. Manchester City are dominating the game but struggling to find a goal.
Could they be starting the new year with dropped points?

The first half of the Brentford vs Tottenham match also ended 0-0.

It looks like there might not be any team picking up 3 points in the first matches of the new year.

[SuperBitMan]

Crystal Palace is playing nice today against Fulham, leading them 1:0 in the first half, now in the second half, no much changes, it appears to be a game that'll end in 1:0 but fulham is currently pressing hard on Palace, yet they've been a little bit unlucky.

Crystal Palace's defense gave way, Fulham scored the equalizing goal, and the game ended. With this draw, the positions of both teams didn't change much; they are close to each other.


I don't want to be too pessimistic, but it seems to me that the next coach to be fired could be the Liverpool coach, this result:



It's a terrible result, because the game wasn't against a strong opponent; on the contrary, it was against an accessible opponent that we could have beaten and gained 3 points, bringing us closer to Aston Villa. But we lost points in a game that we honestly dominated, and the players had no idea how to score. Even Leeds scored a goal, but it was disallowed. Liverpool isn't doing well, and the signings from the last transfer window weren't much help.

I think it is high time for them to sack the Liverpool coach his the problem of Liverpool the reason why he's still in Liverpool till now is was because of last season victory he was the coach when Liverpool lift the premier league title last season, but it was what the former coach has put in place that he used to win that trophy. His problem is that he's not good at making good friends with his players, look at the problem his having with Mohamed Salah a key player for Liverpool, I just believe after this season they will sack this coach and replace him with another one.

[Odohu]

Three danger zone teams frustrated Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United as these failed to end deadlock and having draws, terrible performance from Liverpool and Manchester United today after having draw against Liverpool now Leeds United is having their undefeated streak at 6.

While Frustrated Liverpool leaking their wounds because they are still not at their level which they need to be having better end of their season, now after few days three frustrated clubs are having another challenging matches. Liverpool visiting Fulham with Chelsea is having challenge of Manchester City and Manchester United going to visit Elland Road where Leeds United will be facing them for their 20th round match.

After watching Liverpool struggle to play Leeds today, I'm now convinced more than ever that there is nothing for Liverpool this season. They probably suffered from the holidays fatigue which is the reasonable explanation for such a poor outing by the defending champions. Leeds is a stubborn club no doubt but at Anfield, they were like fish out of water and vulnerable for Liverpool to harvest. Such a shame that Liverpool played with their high and mighty yet failed to get even one goal.