Premier League Fixture Difficulty: Which Teams Have the Easiest and Hardest Runs to the Halfway Point? | Opta Analyst – Bns Sections.

With six matchdays
till the 2025-26 Premier
League season is even midway via, we have a look at each workforce’s
run of video games up to the new yr.

We’ve all been speaking about title races, relegation fights and
European challenges for weeks now, however ought to we be?

Well, sure, as a result of soccer could be boring with out doing so, however
the reality stays there are way more factors to play for this season
than have been performed for. Anything that has been executed in the first
half of a marketing campaign might be undone in the second, in concept.

Arne Slot not too long ago mentioned – maybe extra in hope than something
given Liverpool’s
type – that you simply shouldn’t actually decide a season till the midway
level.

“I’ve mentioned many instances final season and I say this season once more as
nicely, the finest method to decide a league desk is after 38 video games. But
the subsequent neatest thing, in my view, is after 19 video games,” the Reds
boss mentioned final week.

So, with everybody having performed 13 video games in the Premier League
in 2025-26, which means six extra takes us to the 19-recreation midway
mark when judgement shall absolutely begin.

We’ve used the
Opta Power Rankings to estimate the problem of every workforce’s
subsequent six fixtures, giving us an concept of who might transfer up and down
the desk in that point. Given issues are so tight after Matchday
13, with simply 5 factors between Brighton
in fifth and Fulham in
fifteenth, it might all look very completely different after MD19.

Arsenal
are in a robust place in the Premier League – with the Opta
supercomputer judging them to have a 78.7% likelihood of successful the
title – and between now and the midway level of the season, they
are nearly in the simpler half of the league when it comes to
their subsequent six video games.

Of course, Mikel Arteta’s males do have a bonus given they
are in first place in the Opta Power Rankings, and as they’ll’t
play in opposition to themselves, they subsequently have a minimum of a barely
simpler set of opponents than everybody else.

Their subsequent six video games embrace 4 at residence, internet hosting Brentford,
backside-positioned Wolves, Brighton and Aston Villa, whereas additionally they
journey to Villa and an Everton aspect who had been simply thrashed at residence
by Newcastle. It is the eleventh-hardest set of fixtures in that point
in accordance to the Power Rankings.

Interestingly, although, final yr’s champions Liverpool seem to
have the kindest run of video games, whereas Arsenal’s closest challengers
Manchester
City have the second kindest.

Pep Guardiola’s males gained two factors on Arsenal at the weekend
following their late win in opposition to Leeds United and the Gunners’ 1-1
draw at 10-man Chelsea. They will hope to make up extra floor as
they face Fulham away and Sunderland at residence of their subsequent two,
adopted by Crystal Palace away and West Ham at residence earlier than journeys
to Nottingham Forest and Sunderland.

Everyone has been ready for Liverpool to get again into gear,
and maybe that point has come. Despite a latest prolonged wobble
that noticed them freefall from first place into the backside half, they
did win and hold a clear sheet at West Ham on Sunday, and now face
– on paper – the easiest subsequent six in the division. Arne Slot’s
aspect host Sunderland earlier than a visit to Leeds in the subsequent week. They
then welcome Brighton to Anfield and have a visit to a Tottenham
aspect who haven’t received at residence since MD1, earlier than back-to-back residence
video games over relegation-threatened pair Wolves and Leeds after
Christmas.

Manchester
United and Newcastle
United each have stable alternatives to construct on their latest
type with the third- and fourth-kindest fixtures schedules
respectively, whereas Crystal
Palace and Nottingham
Forest even have good sufficient Decembers except for each having
to face Man City.

As for the hardest subsequent six video games, Aston
Villa can have their work minimize out to proceed their latest
type. Unai Emery’s aspect have risen up to fourth place after a run
of three victories in a row, however the proven fact that two of their subsequent
six video games are in opposition to Arsenal does them no favours when it comes to
fixture problem calculations.

Villa’s different opponents in that point are Brighton, Manchester
United and Chelsea, so all however certainly one of their subsequent six video games are
in opposition to groups in the high seven.

Sunderland
have had an exceptional begin to the season, however they may actually be
examined over the subsequent few weeks. Regis Le Bris’ males come up in opposition to
Man City twice, in addition to Liverpool, Newcastle and Leeds.

Similarly to Villa, West
Ham even have 5 of their subsequent six video games in opposition to groups in the
high seven, whereas
Wolves’ points at the backside of the desk are unlikely to
enhance any time quickly given they’ve the fourth-hardest December,
going through Manchester United twice in addition to Arsenal and
Liverpool.

The struggling trio of Leeds,
Spurs
and Burnley
even have a reasonably difficult interval forward of them.

We also can lengthen it to have a look at the subsequent 10 fixtures, although
clearly issues might have modified by then, so what appears like a
difficult recreation now will not be when it comes round.

As we’re solely including an additional 4 fixtures, issues don’t transfer
round an excessive amount of, but it surely’s fascinating to see that it’s Newcastle
who’re deemed to have the easiest subsequent 10 video games. That may very well be
simply what they want as they fight to navigate home video games round
their Champions League commitments up to the finish of the league
section.

Liverpool are subsequent, regardless of the reality they journey to Arsenal in
early January, forward of Man City and Man Utd, although the latter finish
that sequence with video games in opposition to City and the Gunners.

Tottenham’s fixtures get a lot kinder on paper after New Year’s
Day, as do West Ham’s, although the reality they play one another in that
time means a minimum of certainly one of them will drop factors.

Villa nonetheless have the hardest run of matches, so in the event that they’re
nonetheless in the race for the Champions League spots after 23 video games,
you’d have to fancy them to go one higher than final season when
they simply missed out on the remaining day.

Bournemouth
and Wolves have the subsequent hardest run of 10, whereas Arsenal have the
ninth hardest.

Arteta’s males are heavy favourites to win the league at the
second, however the place they’re after 19, 23, and in the end, 38 video games
will imply much more.

We can’t wait to see the way it all performs out.

Subscribe to
our soccer
publication to obtain unique weekly content material. You ought to
additionally observe our social accounts over on X, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.