EPL Relegation Watch (2025-26 Season)

26,047 Views | 283 Replies | Last: 27 days ago by GIF Reactor
HoustonAg15
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to jessexy • 9:39a, 5/6/26
AG
You grow up in Houston by chance? I chose spurs in college, historic club but definitely wouldn't be accused of a bandwagon American fan.

I grew up in CS scrimmaging a hot spurs from Houston who turned into mostly Texans red and white players. My dad claims them beating my CS rec team is why I chose Tottenham but I vaguely remember it.
Reply Quote
CrockerAg98
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
9:59a, 5/6/26
AG
What are the odds of total chaos between West Ham, Spurs, and Leeds, along with Arsenal choking and losing the league to City, only to have the court case against City return a verdict and drop them down with a 200 point deduction?

Arsenal wins, Spurs, Leeds, West Ham all stay up, max exodus from City players.

Who has an account on polymarket?
Reply Quote
6
HoustonAg15
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to CrockerAg98 • 10:00a, 5/6/26
AG
Chaos, love it
Reply Quote
deadbq03
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
10:07a, 5/6/26
AG
I'm a simple man. I just really wanted to see Forest drop but also win Europa League so there's a Championship team in Champions League. Is that too much to ask?
Reply Quote
2
wangus12
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to Idiot Savant • 11:00a, 5/6/26
AG
Idiot Savant said:
A month ago, I thought Leeds would rescue Tottenham from relegation, and then Leeds beat Man U. Spurs got their improbable win this weekend vs Villa, and it's a race to the finish.

Arsenal should be punished for their complacency down the stretch, but not this week. Go gunners this weekend, and I hope Pep & City make them cry in the end.

How is it any different from City drawing Forest, Spurs, West Ham and now Everton in their last 10 matches? Should they not be punished for their complacency?
Reply Quote
1
deadbq03
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
12:22p, 5/6/26
AG
I agree the perception of Arsenal slipping/bottling is a bit overblown. On one hand, it is true that City have 4 more points in the last 10. But you're right that City drawing against the likes of those is really unforgivable when you're trying to make a real title push. And a 4 pt gain in 10 matches isn't anywhere near enough of a trend to claim that City making up a 5 pt deficit in the next 3 games is somehow a just result. As a neutral I think it'd be pretty funny, but with the exception of a true bottle job down the stretch, Arsenal deserve this title.

More on point to this thread though is urgency, and the last 10 form ranking/points of our relegation candidates are:

#7 Forest - 16 pts
#8 Leeds - 14 pts
#11 West Ham - 13 pts
#18 Spurs - 8 pts

One of these things is not like the others…
Reply Quote
2
3 edits
Idiot Savant
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to wangus12 • 1:26p, 5/6/26
AG
City's "complacency" had them catching Arsenal, who should have the title in hand. If your point is City should have 2-8 more points over their last 10 and a comfortable lead, well taken. Points have certainly been left on the pitch, thus high drama at the top and bottom!
Reply Quote
Aston94
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
1:48p, 5/6/26
AG
I mean if we are just going off how teams finish let's go ahead and give the title to Manchester United. Most points in the EPL since Carrick took over.
Reply Quote
4
Showstopper
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to Aston94 • 2:37p, 5/6/26
AG
This is the way.
Reply Quote
Aston94
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
8:45a, 5/9/26
AG


Current Standings
Team. Matches Played. Points.
14. Leeds United 35 43
15. Crystal Palace 34 43
16. Nottingham Forest 35 42
17. Spurs 35 37
18. West Ham 35 36
19. Burnley 35 20
20. Wolves 35 17


Key Relegation Matches this weekend:
Sunday:
Crystal Palace v Everton (8am, Selhurst Park, Peacock)-added Palace this week only because they are technically below Leeds in standings, who have a better chance of being relegated. Palace have a game in hand, and only need a point or two in order to secure safety. A win over mid table Everton at home would do the trick.

Nottingham Forest v. Newcastle (8am, City Ground, USA). Now that Forest are eliminated from Europe they can turn their attention to making sure they are safe from relegation. Like Palace and Leeds, Forest really only need a couple more points to guarantee safety. Newcastle are a good elixir for your relegation concerns, as the Magpies have only claimed one win in their last five matches (a nice 3-1 win over Brighton their last time out). Forest meanwhile have gone 4-0-1 in their last 5, a run that has pulled them to the edges of the relegation discussion.

West Ham v. Arsenal (10:30am, London Stadium, USA). Hammers fell back into the bottom three last weekend, and their reward is a massive match at home against league leading Arsenal, who will be looking to hold on to the top spot. Not a great place for the Hammers to be in. West Ham would be happy to get a point and at least keep somewhat close to Spurs. Big game in East London.

Monday
Tottenham v Leeds (2:00pm, Tottenham Stadium, USA). Massive six-pointer in North London on Monday evening as the Spurs will welcome Leeds to town. With a win, Leeds would guarantee their safety (which is essentially guaranteed already, but remaining matches against Spurs and West Ham keep them in the talk). Tottenham have claimed two wins in a row for the first time since August, while Leeds come in having claimed points in their last 5. Both teams will come in looking for a win, so should be a good one.

Enjoy the weekend.

Key weekend matches:
Reply Quote
2
HoustonAg15
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
1:03p, 5/10/26
AG
VAR controversy involving gooners again
Reply Quote
1
kb91
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
1:07p, 5/10/26
AG
Officially on the beach!
Reply Quote
1
2 edits
Mathguy64
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
1:26p, 5/10/26
AG
Yeah. Lost in the controversy of that call were the implications to NF and Leeds. They are both officially safe from relegation.
Reply Quote
Aston94
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
4:20p, 5/10/26
AG
Fight for final relegation spot is down to 2 clubs, West Ham and Tottenham.

Great results for Spurs as they have a buffer with West Ham and tomorrow will be playing a team in Leeds that has little to play for now.
Reply Quote
FILO505
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to HoustonAg15 • 4:31p, 5/10/26
AG
HoustonAg15 said:
VAR controversy involving gooners again


Absolute trash call to overturn that goal. Four other fouls in the same moment, but we have to baby keepers
Reply Quote
3
Bull Meachem
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to FILO505 • 5:57p, 5/10/26
FILO505 said:
HoustonAg15 said:
VAR controversy involving gooners again


Absolute trash call to overturn that goal. Four other fouls in the same moment, but we have to baby keepers


Bless your heart.
Reply Quote
Showstopper
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to FILO505 • 6:03p, 5/10/26
AG
I think VAR got it right in this instance. I think an arm across the keeper's chest impedes Raya's ability to contest the corner, and in particular it is impeding Raya's ability to jump up in order to contest the corner.


However, I would note that in the opening game, Gunner Lee Dixon had a dramatically different take when Saliba backed into Man United's keeper while he was jumping, pushing him out of the way from being able to play the ball. Notably he "had to be stronger" there according to Lee, although he doesn't seem to think Raya needed to be stronger even though there was less contact in that Raya at least wasn't cleared from his spot, he just wasn't able to jump as well:


The bottom line is that there needs to be more consistency in calls, and they really need to do something to prevent corners from looking like contested rebounds in the NBA where one guy is tasked with clearing out the keeper. Just my opinion.
Reply Quote
1 edit
Aston94
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
6:13p, 5/10/26
AG
I honestly don't see what the big argument is that it's not a foul. He put his arm across the keeper and prevented him from jumping.

It should have been a foul against United back when Arsenal did it, and it was a foul today.
Reply Quote
2
agsalaska
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to Aston94 • 6:49p, 5/10/26
AG
I just watched it expecting it to be a much closer call after reading the posts here. That was a clear foul.
Reply Quote
2
HoustonAg15
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
7:26p, 5/10/26
AG
There's like 6 clear fouls if you take as much time as they did reviewing to overturn that goal. No consistency all season and every call like this is in their favor. That's the issue.

Reply Quote
1
Bull Meachem
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to HoustonAg15 • 7:32p, 5/10/26
HoustonAg15 said:
There's like 6 clear fouls if you take as much time as they did reviewing to overturn that goal. No consistency all season and every call like this is in their favor. That's the issue.



When have we seen other teams hold the keeper and get away with it?
Reply Quote
HoustonAg15
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to Bull Meachem • 7:33p, 5/10/26
AG
Literally Arsenal vs. Man U at the beginning of the season.

Not to mention the holding by Rice, Troussard (not even watching the ball) and Gabriel pulling the jersey down of the player who held Rayas arm on this play. Raya was also already going to ground looking for a foul before his arm eas even impeded. Again, it's about the lack of consistency and not whether this was the right call or not.
Reply Quote
1
2 edits
FILO505
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to HoustonAg15 • 7:34p, 5/10/26
AG
HoustonAg15 said:
Literally Arsenal vs. Man U at the beginning of the season.


Bingo
Reply Quote
2
Bull Meachem
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to HoustonAg15 • 7:39p, 5/10/26
Okay, maybe I was wrong. I still don't care. The refs and PGMOL have done us no favors for quite some time now.

And the refs never call the holding in the box. Ever. So that has been consistent.
Reply Quote
2 edits
HoustonAg15
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to Bull Meachem • 7:40p, 5/10/26
AG
Okay.
Reply Quote
AggieRob93
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
9:20p, 5/10/26
AG
Some sour grapes up in here!
Reply Quote
2
Aston94
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to HoustonAg15 • 9:25p, 5/10/26
AG
HoustonAg15 said:
Literally Arsenal vs. Man U at the beginning of the season.

Not to mention the holding by Rice, Troussard (not even watching the ball) and Gabriel pulling the jersey down of the player who held Rayas arm on this play. Raya was also already going to ground looking for a foul before his arm eas even impeded. Again, it's about the lack of consistency and not whether this was the right call or not.


I am a United fan, and very much not an Arsenal supporter, and it was a foul in the United-Arsenal game.

But because it wasn't called correctly earlier in the season is not justification for it to be incorrectly called today.

He literally kept the keeper from jumping up.
Reply Quote
2
HoustonAg15
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to Aston94 • 9:44p, 5/10/26
AG
I clearly pointed out the issue is lack of consistency with similar calls/no calls.

Isolated: yes, it's a foul. There are also at least 3 fouls of arsenal players holding west ham players being ignored.
Reply Quote
2
Showstopper
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to AggieRob93 • 9:56p, 5/10/26
AG
What do you mean? There's no sour grapes. At least, not from me. As a United fan, I prefer Arsenal over City. I'm not seeing these alleged grapes of sour.
Reply Quote
1
Bull Meachem
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to HoustonAg15 • 10:11p, 5/10/26
HoustonAg15 said:
I clearly pointed out the issue is lack of consistency with similar calls/no calls.

Isolated: yes, it's a foul. There are also at least 3 fouls of arsenal players holding west ham players being ignored.



Those other three fouls are rarely, if ever called in the EPL. That's consistency.
Reply Quote
1
Showstopper
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
7:36a, 5/11/26
AG
I think the first foul once the corner was taken was the one on the keeper. So I think that's the one that mattered.

However, overall officiating is a real mess, which is the point, the problem keeps getting worse on set pieces, and so far Howard Webb and PGMOL has done little to address problems except eat snacks and drink tea on the Overlap. The problems aren't just public relations but they act like it is. VAR consistency keeps getting worse because "clear and obvious" has become very unclear because no one knows how bad they have to screw up before they will decide it is "clear and obvious" enough to fix a call.

I mean, I think the offside calls have gotten better, and it seems like the automated system is helping quite a bit. But … the officiating is a mess overall. Every week you just sit around and hope the grenade doesn't land on you, basically.
Reply Quote
1
1 edit
deadbq03
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
8:31a, 5/11/26
AG
I used to be an ardent defender of VAR, but I'm changing my position.

Haters can hate, but one of the biggest things I've enjoyed about following Wrexham's journey is that it is giving me an education in being a fan of a lower tier club. I'm relatively new to soccer - especially at the club level. I think I watched my first club game almost exactly a decade ago and it was a slow build for a few years. My viewing of the sport nearly coincided with the rise of VAR. So for the past two seasons since Paramount took over EFL coverage - I've easily watched more non-VAR games than I've cumulatively watched before. And I've gotta say: I enjoy watching a non-VAR game a lot more (especially now that Wrexham are in Championship and the level of play is pretty good).

And not just from a flow of the game perspective (though that is huge). For me it's also about level of precision within the game… consider that VAR will call a guy offside by an inch, but stoppage time basically gets rounded to the nearest minute (and on a whim of what the ref perceives as stoppage). Fouls in the box get reviewed for pens, but the same fouls in dangerous free kick areas do not. And something that literally gets messed up every other game I watch is goal kick - corner decisions and those are not reviewable, but I've seen many wrong calls there lead to goals (and who knows how many goals were denied due to going the other way).

Point being, VAR picks and chooses certain things to scrutinize, but meanwhile there are tons of areas of the game that remain gray area judgment calls. And honestly that's the beauty of the game. I could be wrong, but in my estimation, soccer has the highest number of "wrong" results among all major sports … that is - on paper it looks like one team is utterly dominating, but they still lose or draw. Thats soccer. It's glorious and makes it entertaining… brutal at times when it happens to your team, but still glorious. It epitomizes life. Frequently things just don't go your way and life isn't fair.

So I've changed my tune and I'd like to see VAR go away. I'm not vehemently against it, but it is now a clear preference for me.

At the same time, I'd like to see the efforts currently spent on VAR shifted to after-match reviews, leading to an increase in retroactive punishments. No change to goals or actual game results, but yellows/reds given where they should've been, etc. maybe fines at the highest levels too. I think a lot of the aspects of the game we don't like could get cleaned up if punishments were given (dark arts, flopping, etc). And refs thoroughly analyzed to ensure leagues are employing the best.
Reply Quote
3
4 edits
Furlock Bones
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to Aston94 • 8:58a, 5/11/26
AG
there were multiple fouls that could/should have been pens on Arsenal players. it took 5 minutes for the ref to find a way to disallow the goal.

it was the wrong decision.
Reply Quote
2
Bull Meachem
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to deadbq03 • 9:17a, 5/11/26
VAR was meant to limit controversy but that is almost impossible unless you let it re-referee a match, which I'm against. Use it only for offsides and escalation of a yellow to a red or vice-versa and be done with it.

I love what it has done for baseball with the ABS but the rest is boring.
Reply Quote
deadbq03
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to Bull Meachem • 10:10a, 5/11/26
AG
I don't even like it for offside, unless they're going to do the MLS model. Minutia is unnecessary. The intent of the rule is to prevent cherry-picking, and nowadays most offside calls (and especially the VAR ones) involve situations where the defender is in a position where they could still have a chance to defend.

Biggest compromise I'd be willing to make is allowing coaches or captain's challenge - with a yellow card given for time wasting if they're wrong. Then you don't need a VAR ref, you just need a monitor that the ref can use if someone is bold enough to take that risk.

But also, I think the laws of the game need to acknowledge that there's so much grey area that certain outcomes need to reflect the fact that refs can and do get it wrong. For example, make a sin-bin (managed by the 4th official) for 2nd and subsequent yellows. And rework penalty kicks to make them less decisive (move the spot back - or maybe only allow a 1 step before the shot).

In a game where there's a lot of room for subjective calls, the consequences for getting those calls wrong shouldn't be so high as they are for 2nd yellows and pens.
Reply Quote
2 edits
 
×
subscribe Verify your student status
See Subscription Benefits
Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial.