12 days to go .....
Aug 09, 2026
Premier League:
Just 12 days away from the start of the new EPL season and having just written previews on all 20 teams (email to request a copy), it feels a good time to look back at why 2025-26 felt like such an odd season.
I wrote several times that I felt that the overall quality had either dropped or had seen a levelling out. It might be too early to say which and if that was a one off blip or a new trend.
I think that I watched extended highlights of all but a handful of the 380 games and saw every team live at least once, several multiple times and my thinking was that it was the lowest overall standard since Brentford came into the top flight in 2021. Arsenal aside, I would struggle to name a team better this season than last, possibly Manchester United, but from a low point and with caveats.
10 points separated the team in 6th from the one placed 14th ( in the three previous seasons that gap had been 21-17-22 points), likewise, there were 10 points between 7th and 16th ( 23-21-23 last three seasons)
EPL teams kind of thrived in Europe and were a penalty shoot out away from winning all three competitions. That is perhaps easier to explain, as there are no easy games in the Premier League, perhaps even fewer than ever and clubs have built deep squads to do battle week after week and it stands them in good stead in Europe, especially in the two weaker competitions. However, after filling 5 of the top 8 places in the Champions League league table, with the 6th entrant finishing 12th. Only Arsenal made it to the last four and Chelsea (8-2 on aggregate to PSG), Manchester City (5-1 Real Madrid), Newcastle (8-3 Barcelona) and Tottenham (7-5 Atletico Madrid) were all largely battered at the Round 16 stage and Liverpool ( 4-0 PSG) similarly in the quarter finals. Did they all just run into better teams, with the stronger offensive players (the global superstar attacking players rarely make it to the EPL in their prime), or did that intense EPL schedule ultimately come at a cost and will it do so again?
We are looking towards the most open and competitive Premier League in recent years and I am expecting things to close up even further with nine teams in Europe and it is an incredibly exciting prospect, but it might well come at a cost at the business end of the Champions League, perhaps doubly so after the exertions of a World Cup played in gruelling conditions.
Good luck!
We don't just sell football betting tips, as you can see there is an extensive analysis behind our asian handicap selections. Subscribing to our sports betting advice service need not break the bank. Learn more by visiting our subscriptions page.
Country:
Sport:
Competition: