Premier League Matchday 27 Preview: Baptism of fire for new boys Tudor and Pereira | OneFootball

What happened in Matchday 26?

Matchday 26 will be remembered for two slightly questionable managerial casualties. The most high profile was Thomas Frank being given his marching orders from Tottenham after they lost 2-1 at home to Newcastle.

There's no denying that Spurs have had a disastrous Premier League season, but Frank was dealt a very bad hand with injuries, and unless Tottenham had plans to appoint a top class manager (spoiler: they didn't, but more on that later) then they might have been better off sticking with what they had. Only time will tell.

The defeat for Spurs leaves them 16th in the table, five points above the drop zone and just two points above the other team to sack their manager, Nottingham Forest, who ended Sean Dyche's brief reign after a goalless draw at home to Wolves, despite Forest registering 35 shots at goal.

The other significant part of Matchday 26 was Manchester City reducing the gap at the top of the table to four points after they comfortably beat Fulham 3-0 before Arsenal could manage only a 1-1 draw at Brentford 24 hours later.

Because of the Gunners being in the EFL Cup final next month, their Premier League game due to be staged that matchday - away to Wolves - was played in midweek and it didn't go well for Mikel Arteta's men. They went 2-0 up early in the second half, but they failed to see out the win, conceding a stoppage time equaliser to draw 2-2, and although they went five points clear at the top of the table they have now played one more game than Man City.

Aston Villa and Liverpool both recorded 1-0 wins, over Brighton and Sunderland respectively, to enhance their top four finish hopes and qualify for next season's Champions League, although like last season the Premier League is almost certainly going to be awarded an extra qualifying spot, so a top five finish will get you into Europe's premier club competition.

Also firmly remaining in the hunt to finish inside the top four are Manchester United and Chelsea, but both suffered disappointing draws in the last matchday, United drawing 1-1 with relegation-haunted West Ham, and the Blues throwing away a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with Leeds.

Elsewhere, Burnley's slim chances of avoiding the drop were given a boost when they produced a remarkable win at Crystal Palace. Trailing 2-0 heading towards half time the Clarets scored three goals in seven minutes to lead, and eventually win, 3-2. Finally, the mid-table clash between Everton and Bournemouth resulted in the Cherries taking all three points.

Who are the favourites to win the Premier League title?

It's all change in the Premier League Winner market, not in terms of market order but in term of odds. Two weeks ago Arsenal were 2/13 favourites, but following four dropped points against Brentford and Wolves combined they're now just 4/7 to win the title with Manchester City now as short at 6/4.

Pep Guardiola's men are now just five points behind the Gunners, but crucially they have a game in hand, and given that they still have to play Arsenal, then should they win all of their 12 remaining games, City will be champions. In other words, it's in their hands, but the same is true of the Gunners.

It's shaping up to be a fascinating title race between the two market leaders, and although Aston Villa are only eight points adrift of the Gunners with a game in hand, they are relatively unfancied at 66/1, the same price as Manchester United.

2025/26 Premier League Winner: Betfair Sportsbook odds

Who are the favourites to be relegated to the Championship?

Despite picking up a point against Nottm Forest and an excellent point against Arsenal on Wednesday night, there are no odds offered for Wolves in the Premier League Relegation market simply because they're so far adrift it's virtually impossible for them to avoid the drop from the situation they're currently in.

It's a similar story for Burnley, though they are at least close to being in touch with the teams above them thanks to their 3-2 win at Crystal Palace, but they're still un-backable at 1/500 to go down.

West Ham occupy the final relegation place but they're now just three points behind the team immediately above them, Nottingham Forest, and it's those two teams that come next in the relegation market at 4/7 and 11/4 respectively.

The very realistic possibility of Tottenham being relegated is reflected in their current odds of 15/2 to go down. Spurs dropped to 16th in the table after their home defeat to Newcastle last week, and although they are still five points ahead of West Ham in 18th they will need to find some sort of form in the remaining 12 games of the season.

Leeds are one place and one point above Tottenham and can be backed at 11/1 to be relegated.

2025/26 Premier League Relegation: Betfair Sportsbook odds

- Wolves (no offers)- Burnley 1/500- West Ham 4/7- Nottm Forest 11/4- Tottenham 15/2- Leeds 11/1- BAR 20/1

What are the Matchday 27 fixtures?

Saturday 21 February

- Aston Villa v Leeds (15:00)- Brentford v Brighton (15:00)- Chelsea v Burnley (15:00)- West Ham v Bournemouth (17:30, live on Sky Sports)- Man City v Newcastle (20:00, live on TNT Sports)

Sunday 22 February

- Crystal Palace v Wolves (14:00, live on Sky Sports)- Nottm Forest v Liverpool (14:00, live on Sky Sports)- Sunerland v Fulham (14:00, live on Sky Sports)- Tottenham v Arsenal (16:30, live on Sky Sports)

Monday 23 February

- Everton v Manchester United (20:00, live on Sky Sports)

What is the game of the weekend?

We have some good looking 'top v bottom' clashes this weekend that will have some big implications at either end of the table, while Manchester City v Newcastle should be an exciting game on Saturday evening.

But it's the Super Sunday clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium that is undoubtedly the game of Matchday 27 as Tottenham host Arsenal in the North London derby.

It's a fascinating game for so many reasons, including Igor Tudor's first game in charge of Spurs following the sacking of Thomas Frank, Arsenal hoping to get back to winning ways after dropping points at both Brentford and Wolves, and of course, Tottenham needing a win to pull away from the relegation zone and the Gunners needing the win to reignite their title charge.

In recent seasons Arsenal have dominated this fixture with six wins and one draw from their last seven meetings, including a comprehensive 4-1 win at the Emirates earlier this season thanks to an Eberechi Eze hat-trick, who of course was a Tottenham target in the summer.

Prior to 2023, however, Spurs had an excellent record against their arch rivals on home soil - whether it be at their new or old stadium. From 2015, the Lilywhites won six and drew two of their eight Premier League home games against the Gunners with an aggregate scoreline of 15-5, so whichever way you look at it, there are positives for both teams in the last decade when it comes to head-to-head clashes.

In the Sportsbook Match Odds market Arsenal are the strong favourites to take all three points at 4/7 while Tottenham can be backed at 9/2 and the Draw at 29/10.

Below you can see the match odds in real time on the Betfair Exchange market.

English Premier League: Tottenham v Arsenal (Match Odds)

Sunday 22 February, 4.30pm

Managers to watch in Matchday 27

We have to go with the two new mangers, Igor Tudor and Vitor Pereira, in this section and not only because it's their first games in charge at their new clubs, but because both face very difficult home games.

The decision to sack Thomas Frank by Tottenham was understandable, but the subsequent appointment of Tudor makes little sense other than it means that the disgruntled Spurs fans no longer have Frank managing the team.

The Croatian has no experience of the Premier League, and despite only being 47-year-old has has been around the managerial block quite a bit, already holding positions at clubs in Croatia, Greece, Turkey, France, Italy (at four difference clubs) and now England.

He cited 'tiredness' with the club as his reason for leaving Marseille, and in his most recent role he was sacked from Juventus after guiding the Serie A giants to no victories in eight games.

So Tudor is hardly an inspiring appointment, and the fact that he has only been put in interim charge is surprising. If you're going to appoint someone for 12 games with the main aim to keep your club in the Premier League, then would Tottenham have been better off appointing someone like Sean Dyche, or even Sam Allardyce? Without any question, they are far more experienced at fighting a Premier League relegation battle than Tudor.

Not that the Nottingham Forest owner thought that about Dyche, who was sacked after his side registered 35 shots at goal but failed to find the back of the next against Wolves last time. Obviously that was Dyche's fault!

At least Pereira does have Premier League experience and in fact successfully fought a relegation battle with Wolves last season, so his appointment makes more sense.

It's going to be fascinating to see how both managers get on this weekend as both face huge tasks at home to Arsenal (Tudor) and Liverpool (Periera) respectively. Defeat for either and the same questions I'm alluding to here will quickly begin - should Spurs and Forest have stuck with what they had for the remainder of the season?

Player to watch in Matchday 27

Cole Palmer is back fit and playing a key role in Chelsea's bit to finish in the top four. He's also back among the goals so we have to strike while the iron is hot.

The brilliant attacking midfielder has scored four goals in his last two games, and on Saturday his Chelsea team are at home to second-bottom Burnley, so the Blues, and Palmer have a glorious chance to record a comprehensive victory.

Palmer has faced the Clarets twice in a Chelsea shirt, and he has three goals to his name in those matches. So back playing, back in form, at home to a team he has enjoyed recent success against, we have to put Palmer down as our player to watch this weekend, and we're backing him to score .