Maresca leaves Chelsea ahead of Man City showdown

Summary

The Athletic FC Podcast

Episode: Maresca Leaves Chelsea Ahead of Man City Showdown

Date: January 2, 2026
Host: Matt (The Athletic)
Guests: David Ornstein, Simon Johnson, Mark Critchley, Beren Cross

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Episode Overview

This episode focuses on Chelsea’s surprise parting with head coach Enzo Maresca, the club’s turbulent managerial situation under new ownership, and the immediate challenges facing both Chelsea and their interim setup as they face Manchester City in the Premier League. The panel—comprised of The Athletic’s top football reporters—breaks down the circumstances around Maresca’s exit, the likely appointment of Liam Rosenior from Strasbourg, and what it all means for Chelsea’s wider project. The episode also previews key Premier League fixtures of the weekend, with special attention to Man City vs Chelsea, and the Leeds vs Man Utd rivalry.

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Key Discussion Points

1. The Enzo Maresca Saga at Chelsea

• Initial Signs of Tension:

  • Maresca's news conference comments during his first season hinted at unrest with Stamford Bridge hierarchy, despite on-field success (Conference League win, Champions League qualification, Club World Cup).
  • Publicly requested a new centre-half after Levi Colwill’s injury, but was rebuffed by the club.
    (04:30 – 05:30, David Ornstein)

• Agent and Career Maneuvering:

  • Maresca hires super-agent Jorge Mendes, fueling speculation about his ambitions—recently linked to Manchester City as Pep Guardiola’s possible successor.
    (06:20, David Ornstein)

• Breakdown with Chelsea Management:

  • Maresca’s contract required him to alert Chelsea of other clubs’ interest; he informed them of City links both in October and December.
  • Increasing strain over adherence to medical protocols—club structure now dictates return-to-play decisions over the manager's input, prompting Maresca to complain publicly.
  • Unclear if departure was a sacking, resignation, or mutual parting. Severance terms and next steps for Maresca unknown at broadcast time. (07:00 – 09:13, David Ornstein)

• Notable Quote:

  “The long and short of it is that Chelsea are now looking for their fourth permanent manager since the new ownership took over... There’s so much more to this story than I’ve already gone through.” (08:53 – 09:13, David Ornstein)

2. Inside the Chelsea Meltdown

• Press Conference Red Flags:

  • Simon Johnson identifies Maresca’s departure from usual caution in his Everton post-match comments as a key moment:

    “It came as a surprise to pretty much everyone, including people close to Maresca, that he said this.... You don’t say things like that, unless there’s signs you’re not happy.” (09:32 – 10:07, Simon Johnson)

• Chelsea’s Intended Patience and Collapse:

  • The club hoped to continue with a two-year review cycle but found the situation “untenable.”
  • Maresca’s refusal to fulfill post-match media duties broke internal codes of professionalism.
  • Ultimately, both parties agreed a split was best given downward momentum and internal discord.

• Fan and Club Reactions:

  • Supporters likely to vocalize displeasure at the Etihad; growing impatience towards new ownership model and lower expectation managers.
  • “Chelsea fans want success now, that’s what they’re used to. When the previous owner sacked a manager, it usually ended in a trophy.”
    (22:20, Simon Johnson)

3. The Looming Arrival of Liam Rosenior

• Candidate Profile:

  • Rosenior, Strasbourg head coach (another BlueCo club), is the clear front-runner due to close collaboration between Chelsea and Strasbourg’s football operations.
  • The appointment is expected imminently, but interim management will oversee City match.
  • “Chelsea believe experience comes through playing games, not necessarily your age, and so their path looks pretty much set in stone.”
    (13:00 – 15:08, David Ornstein)

• Notable Quote:

  “There was a feeling long before we came to this that [Rosenior] would be a Chelsea head coach one day. It appears that it’s going to come sooner rather than later.” (12:10 – 12:25, David Ornstein)

• Club Structure Unchanged:

  • Sporting directors and medical protocol “independent of head coach.”
  • Tactical style, youth-focused recruitment to continue, regardless of fan sentiment.

4. Managing Chelsea: A Poisoned Chalice?

• Critchley on Club Culture:

  • “The contradiction for the manager is between needing short-term results and fitting into a long-term executive led strategy. I think it’s an incredibly difficult club to manage.”
    (15:50 – 17:40, Mark Critchley)

  • Chelsea’s structure now minimizes the “elite-level” coach’s influence; players are seen as the true primary drivers of success.

  • “Any manager that goes into Chelsea has to try and understand and accept that when they walk through the door.”
    (17:15, Mark Critchley)

5. Preview: Manchester City vs Chelsea

• Interim Chaos:

  • U-21 coach Callum MacFarlane handles interim duties—his first senior game, against City at the Etihad.
  • Critchley: “It’s as close to a gimme as you can get for City... but this City side is just chaotic enough to keep it interesting.”
    (24:11 – 25:46, Mark Critchley)

• Fan Atmosphere:

  • Anticipate significant “noise” from the Chelsea away end, expressing dissatisfaction with the club’s trajectory and lack of ambition.
  • Simon Johnson: “One of the reasons for success after sackings in the past was the club would hire another finished article manager. With all due respect to Rosenior, he does not have the CV of past Chelsea hires.”
    (22:20 – 22:52, Simon Johnson)

• City’s Advantage:

  • Man City heavy favourites; recent Chelsea results against City have been poor, not winning at the Etihad since the 2021 Champions League final.
  • Pep Guardiola “has a bit of a history coming up against relative novices in the dugout... you'd expect City to take advantage.”
    (24:26 – 25:46, Critchley and Simon Johnson)

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Other Notable Premier League Previews

Leeds vs Manchester United (29:49 – 35:41)

• Leeds’ Revival:
  • Beren Cross on Daniel Farke’s turnaround—six games unbeaten after a poor run, significant player performances highlighted.
• Man United’s Woes:
  • Critchley: United’s place is “annoying and embarrassing” for fans, with huge errors in recent fixtures despite being sixth in the table.

Liverpool, Arsenal, and More – Rapid Fire Analysis

• Liverpool’s Set-Piece Woes (37:30):
  • Set-piece coach sacked after 12th goal conceded from such scenarios.
  • Critchley: Liverpool “not the dynamic attacking force we’re used to,” Fulham could cause an upset.
• Arsenal Selection Dilemma (42:19):
  • Jesus vs Jocherez for the striker’s spot.
  • Critchley: “Arsenal stronger for having both options, but Jesus is more proven.”
• Bournemouth’s Plunge (41:05):
  • Once flying high, now winless since October and slipping toward the drop zone.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• David Ornstein (Chelsea background):

  “You can trace this back to maybe the first season of Enzo Maresca’s reign at Chelsea... whether you like it or not, I don’t think [comments] went down well with the hierarchy at Stamford Bridge.”
  (04:30)

• Mark Critchley (Managerial contradiction):

  “I think there's an inherent contradiction... the manager's position at the club is about short-term justification and results, but the long-term strategy is controlled by the executive.” (16:30)

• Simon Johnson (Fan unrest):

  “One of the biggest stories will be the noise from the away end. Chelsea fans want success now, that's what they're used to.” (22:20)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Chelsea-Maresca Fallout Begin: 04:30 (David Ornstein deep dive)
• Press conference red flags: 09:32 (Simon Johnson on Maresca’s comments)
• Rosenior & Chelsea’s Structure: 11:44 – 15:08 (David Ornstein, succession plan)
• “Poisoned Chalice” of Chelsea job: 15:35 (Mark Critchley analysis)
• Man City vs Chelsea Preview: 20:45 – 26:00
• Leeds vs Manchester United: 29:49 – 35:41
• Liverpool’s struggles, Arsenal’s options: Starts at 37:30
• Premier League rapid-fire previews: From 44:12

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Conclusion

This episode delivers a revealing look into the breakdown of Chelsea’s Maresca era, the club’s managerial merry-go-round, and the tension between ambitious project-building and the Premier League’s ruthless reality. Key Chelsea voices reveal both structural and personal catalysts for change, while sound tactical previews and sharp humor keep the discussion lively. Listeners come away understanding not just the facts, but the wider implications for Chelsea and their rivals heading into a chaotic footballing weekend.

Transcript

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[Matt]

The Athletic FC welcome to the preview from the Athletic fc. It's the show where we get you up to speed with the new year Premier League action. We'd always planned to preview Chelsea's trip to Manchester City on Sunday, but events at Stamford Bridge over the last 24 hours have made that even more pertinent. We'll get to the game eventually, but a Chelsea statement released on New Year's Day has pushed matters on the field down the running order. Joining me to discuss Mareska and more, we have our football correspondent, David Ornstein. Hello, David.

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Morning.

[Matt]

Our Chelsea man Simon Johnson's on board too. How are you doing, Simon?

[Simon Johnson]

Hi again, Matt.

[Matt]

Yeah, it's been hours since we last spoke. We've also got preview stalwart Mark Critchley on board. Hello, Critch.

[Critchley]

Hey, guys. Happy New Year.

[Matt]

Yeah, happy New Year, Happy transfer window opening, happy sacking season, etc. Well, we are halfway through the campaign now and Act 2 began in suitably dramatic fashion.

[Critchley]

Chelsea have confirmed they've parted company with.

[Matt]

Their head coach, Enzo Maresca. So it was due to be Pep versus Mini Pep, Pep versus the Pep successor derby. Manchester City hosting Chelsea in a rerun of the 2021 Champions League final, which incidentally, is the last time Chelsea beat the citizens. But before we get to the Just in case you skipped the intro and turned off your phone on New Year's Day, Enzo Maresca has left Chelsea. So then, David, two weeks on from your reporting that City were considering Maresca as a possible Pep successor, he's parted company with Chelsea. How did we get here?

[David Ornstein]

Well, where to begin, Matt? I think you can trace this back to maybe the first season of Enzo Maresca's reign at Chelsea because there were some comments in news conferences that, that whether you like it or not, I don't think went down too well with the hierarchy at Stamford Bridge. People have described it as sort of going off script. There were some signs perhaps in the earlier days. However, it was a successful season with the Conference League triumph, with qualification for this season's Champions League, with the club World cup success. And many I speak to around football think, understandably, perhaps that that emboldened Enzo Maresca to be a bit more forthright in his comments and his Conduct as Chelsea head coach going forward. We saw him quite publicly say that he wanted to sign another centre half after Levi Colwell suffered his serious injury. And the club came back quite strongly saying that that wasn't on the agenda. As we went from summer into autumn, there was the hiring of George Mendez, the so called super agent by Maresca. Many interpreted that legitimately as wanting to add assistance to further your career. But in what way? A new contract, a move to another club, who knows? That was Enzo Maresca's decision. And then yep, I reported that Enzo Maresca is high among the candidates that Manchester City are considering if and when there is a managerial change. Obviously there's no vacancy at the moment because Pep Guardiola is under contract until 2027, but there is a feeling within the game, I would say more than ever that this could well be his last season, but we don't know that for sure. And they are right Manchester City to be doing their due diligence. Fast forward to 13 December and Enzo Maresca comes into his news conference after beating Everton, which followed a winless run. I think of four games, including a bruising defeat from the jaws of victory away at Atalanta in the Champions League and talks about it being the worst 48 hours preceding the Everton game of his Chelsea career to date. And that many people didn't support him. Us, but he didn't elaborate. We didn't know why this was. Well, we're now led to believe that it related in large part to disagreements over the adherence to medical protocols in terms of return to play from injury, selections, substitutions and making sure that he was following medical advice on how long he should be using players and so on. It all then unravels with his departure, some saying he resigned, others saying it was a sacking, more saying it was mutual and we don't know the exact ins and outs just yet. Maybe that will develop in the coming days and also the severance terms of his departure, how soon he can get back into work, etc. We don't know exactly right now. And in and amongst all of that shock to some people, but maybe not to others. We reported and revealed on the Athletic that Mareska had informed Chelsea twice in late October and then again in mid December that he had been in discussions with people associated to Manchester City about his potential candidacy if and when a vacancy arises at the Etihad. Now, that requirement to inform his employers of any approaches from other clubs and conversations with them was per his contract. He was obliged to do that. His version of events and that of his camp is that he told Chelsea about any approaches, but he was happy under contract until the summer of 2029. I believe with an option to extend by 12 months that he was even open to signing a new and improved contract. Chelsea's version will be that he shouldn't be having that dialogue and the timings of it correlate to a drop in results and that it wasn't helpful and it contributes to leading us to this point. The long and short of it is that Chelsea are now looking for their fourth permanent manager since the new ownership took over. We expect it to be Liam Racinha. He's the clear favourite at this point. But there's so much more to this story than I've already gone through.

[Matt]

Simon, you and I were at the Bournemouth game. Enzo Maresca looked okay to me there when he was hopping around on the touchline like his shoes were on fire. Was it at that point when he ducked out of his post match duties that you suspected that the writing was on the wall? Or do you go back to the Everton game and the innocuous question about Mal Gusto that kind of kicked all this off publicly?

[Simon Johnson]

Yeah, I wish I could take credit for the Malo Gusto question. I foolishly I was about Cole Palmer that day. I don't know why he scored. No, I would say I'd go back to the Everton press conference is the major red flag. Clearly Maresca wanted to put out there that all was not well. It came as a surprise to pretty much everyone, including from what I'm led to believe, people quite close to Mareska that he said this and you don't say things like that, pointing fingers at perhaps issues between yourself and people at the club unless there's clearly signs that you're not happy. And bear in mind that Mareska has done his utmost to say very little in every single press conference. It just made the fact that he came out and said that in an answer to such an innocuous question even more of a wow, what's going on here? Now Chelsea's plan, even up to sort of the Bournemouth game, was to stick to the two year review, not just of Maresca, but of just things in general that's going on at the club. But that the hope was that they could move on and put it behind them, but it just became untenable. It was seen that him not doing the press conference was a sign of not being professional. I think Mareska himself, you speak to people close to him that he wants to Go away and consider his options. I just think we got to a point, Matt, where for both parties it kind of made sense to part ways. Even though Chelsea had hoped to see it out for the rest of the season. I think we just got to a point where it was best for everyone concerned to go their separate ways, especially as Chelsea still have ambitions in the forest competitions they're in and the downward momentum they're on under Maresca, with all the backdrop that David has just explained at great length, it just led, I think, the club also to think, well, is this actually going to get better or could it get worse?

[Matt]

Before we let you go then, David, you mentioned Liam Rossinha. He's clearly the front runner. It's not going to be a difficult negotiation with his current club. How quickly would you expect him to be in post if indeed he is going to be Maresca's successor?

[David Ornstein]

Yeah, just to be clear for our listeners, Liam Racinha is the head coach of Strasbourg. They are part of the Blue Co group that owns Chelsea. And so essentially Chelsea's owners appointed Liam Racinha to Strasbourg. They have a sporting director there in David Weir, who's very close to the Chelsea sporting directors, which are Paulwyn Stanley, Lawrence Stewart, Joe Shields, Sam Jewell. And so the collaboration is tight. They know Rocinha inside out. He knows them really well, increasingly so I think they've spent a lot of time together, there's a lot of dialogue between them. There's been movement of players too. And crucially, Chelsea, with this appointment, believe that firstly, it will be done within a matter of days and secondly, it will be somebody who will fit directly into their style of play and their structure and setup. That points to Liam Rosinha, who they have a very high opinion of. There was a feeling long before we came to this that Rocinha will be a Chelsea head coach one day. It appears that it's going to come sooner rather than later. He has a been the only candidate in this process, but it has been a small number, a handful. He's within that. It'll be very interesting to see how Bluco and Strasbourg look to backfill him and replace him if and when he departs. And yeah, that is the current expectation. The timings look like they won't work out for the Manchester City match on Sunday, so that looks like it will be an interim coaching setup and then, yeah, very soon we would expect it to be Rocinha. And crucial here from Chelsea's perspective is that nothing is going to change whether people like it or not around their sporting structure in terms of the personnel, the hierarchy, Bluco, Todd Boehly, right at the top of ownership and down through the sporting directors and so on. Furthermore, that extends to the medical setup which we've talked about before, independent of the head coach and making decisions for the good, they believe, of the players and their health, essentially. Don't forget the summer that they just went through. They didn't really have a break with the club World cup straight into the season, so they did have to manage things differently. I know there was a lot of anger when, say, Cole Palmer came off the pitch in the last two games, directed at Maresca. And the word you seem to be getting from Maresca's end is that it wasn't his responsibility to be taking those players off. It was the guidelines from above. Yet he was getting the criticism. So that maybe points towards some of the tensions as well. But then the style of play, play also is going to continue as it has been so far. The recruitment of young players, again, there's been a lot of conjecture should they be signing more experienced players. But Chelsea believe experience comes through playing games, not necessarily your age, and so their path looks pretty much set in stone. I'm sure there can always be tweaks, and that's why they want and need a head coach that can, in their view, seamlessly slot into it. And it's where Liam Rosenheur comes to the fore. So, yeah, that is the direction of travel. No confirmation at this point in time, but it will become a lot clearer in the days ahead. As Simon says, they want to be challenging for these trophies. They've got big ambitions at Stamford Bridge, and many people listening to this, Chelsea fans might be dissatisfied with what's been happening, all the change on and off the pitch, but from what we can see, it would appear here to stay.

[Matt]

All right, David, it is January, so you are going to be the busiest person in sports journalism for a month. So we'll let you go there. Appreciate your time today and we'll catch up with you soon.

[David Ornstein]

A pleasure. Thanks for having me, guys.

[Matt]

Right, Chris, you've been sat there patiently listening to David and Simon. Must be nice for you, this, you know, Manchester United reporter looking at another club and going, wow, that looks pretty chaotic. What's your take on this whole Chelsea situation?

[Critchley]

I think that's been a kind of staple of the past 20 years of Premier League history, is that even if things are going terribly at United, at some point, it's usually worse at Chelsea. They feel like they're Yin and yang in that sense, that there's usually chaos erupting at one club or the other at some point. And it's Chelsea this week, it could be United next. Given the nature of this, I feel that the last time that I was on this podcast was pre the Everton game and you asked me about Chelsea and we were talking about the defeat against Atalanta, we were talking about the rotation policy, but also I think the previous time I'd been on was a couple of weeks before we were talking about them being title contenders and Enzo Maresca was winning manager of the month. And so for things to have fallen apart as dramatically in such a short space of time, I think is even beyond precedent that's been set at Stamford Bridge in the past. If you look at the job Marescu's done, sure there are things that you could pick up on and say that he could have been better at. I think they've lost 15 points from winning positions this season, which is the most of any team in the league. But it's hard not to separate the job that he's done from the club that he works at. It's the fourth permanent manager that's going to have left Chelsea since Todd Boehly and Clearlake came. And I sometimes feel from the outside that there's almost an inherent contradiction between the manager's position at the club who's going to need short term results and is going to need to be able to justify their role and have success on the pitch. And then also at the same time, this longer term strategy that's carried out at executive level, that's about player trading, that's been quite successful at that, I think as well, and is not, I wouldn't say manipulated, but has found ways through the rules to really sign some of the best young players and best young talents in the world. It hasn't quite come together on the pitch at the same time, though. And then at the same time you have these suggestions of control over selection, as David mentioned there, about having to factor in medical advice and that perhaps impinging on the coach's ability to choose and select players that he wants. I think it's an incredibly difficult club to manage. It basically has been, again, like I'm saying, for the last 20 years. It was during the Abramovich era. That hasn't changed under Todd Boehly and Clearlake. And I don't see that it's going to change even after this, even if with this change of manager. I mean, I think it's actually an interesting question to ask how much importance do Chelsea place in the manager you now look at Liam Rossinha, who has done a good job in Strasbourg, is obviously coming through from the same multi club model. They know the coach didn't rate him, but it's not the type of elite level name that we usually expect. And so I think that's an interesting element to it as well is perhaps the way that Chelsea operate suggests that they're looking at players as being the drivers of success on the field rather than a coach. And that's something that any manager that goes into Chelsea I think perhaps has to try and understand and accept when they walk through the door.

[Matt]

Yeah, it's fascinating. Lest we forget, there is a game of football involving Chelsea going on on Sunday. We'll take a little break and come.

[Critchley]

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[Simon Johnson]

Yeah, it was the first games in senior management. Yeah. You'd pick something else, wouldn't you? To be honest, his first press conferences, you'd pick something else as well. I do have great sympathy for him when he addresses the press at one o' clock on Friday afternoon, because it is a very difficult position for him to be in, to inevitably have to answer questions that perhaps should be answered by other people. All he can do, of course, I think the biggest thing he has to do is just try and ease the dressing room. I think he will have taken, I'm sure, sessions with certain players at various times. He is highly rated within the club. But there's a big task on here. You've got a group of players, inevitably whenever a manager goes, you're going to have some that. That are very upset, some indifferent and some perhaps sort of thinking, oh, this could be my chance to play more of a role. I think it's key to get everyone together. I think perhaps Manchester City helps in that regard, in that you certainly can't be having a sulk about the situation when you go to the Etihad. And yes, they may have had a disappointing result last night, but you'd expect City to come out desperate to make amends and close the gap on Arsenal. Chelsea's record against Manchester City, as has already been mentioned, is pretty appalling since that Champions League win against them in the final in 2021. I've attended quite a few of these games that Yeti had Most memorably the 6 nil drubbing under Mauricio Sarri. I think there's a target for starters for Callum McFarlane to avoid. But I think one of the biggest stories, and arguably the biggest story from this game, is going to be the noise coming from the away end. I do suspect Chelsea fans will vote with their voice on what's been going on. And yes, whilst Mareski's behavior will lead to some to sort of think, well, he had it coming and he sort of masterminded his own downfall to a degree. There are inevitably, and have been for some time questions about how Chelsea is being run, whether they are the same club that can challenge for the major trophies as they were under the previous ownership, whether this is a club that's trying to get to the elite level or is Sort of always talking about we'll be good in a year or two's time. It'll all come together. Chelsea fans want success now, that's what they're used to. And you only have to go through the history books to see that when the previous owner, Roman Abomic sector manager, usually ended in a trophy. But one of the reasons for that was because Chelsea would then go and hire another finished article as a head coach. And with all due respect to Liam Xena, he does not have the CV of the kind of managers Chelsea used to hire in the past. But yeah, this is, this is not just a huge game for Chelsea, it's a huge month for Chelsea. Nine games in full competitions. The best thing they can do is move on as quickly as possible and the first win can't come soon enough.

[Matt]

Might not come on Sunday though. Critch for as glum as Pep Guardiola looked after his team dropped points against Sunderland. I mean if you can say drawing at Sunderland is dropping points this season, he's got to be rubbing his hands together at this. Right? Okay. He might not know much about Callum McFarlane's coaching style and tactical setup, but this feels like as close to a gimme as you can get, doesn't it?

[Critchley]

I feel like Callum McFarlane is going to be a brilliant pull quiz answer at some point in the next five or six years.

[Simon Johnson]

He's going to be in there with Bruno Salsa Mark who he had a brilliant one game mastermind in a nil nil draw against Liverpool. Mighty Ed. Anyway, carry on.

[Critchley]

Bruno Soa had a bit of a profile given he played at Brighton as well. I mean, I don't know too much about Calum MacFarlane's background but it's pick a name out of a hat time if you don't know Chelsea intimately. And I remember Pep obviously. Didn't he manage against Ryan Mason in the League cup final in 2021? I think when he played he'd managed maybe two games in charge of Tottenham. So he has a bit of history of coming up against relative novices in the dugout on a caretaker basis. I think you're right. Look, you'd expect City to take advantage of the turmoil at Chelsea, but then you would have expected the same. You would have expected him to get a result at the stadium like last night. And even given Sunderland's record at the stadium like the season unbeaten, that's not to be downplayed. I think they'll look at that as something of a missed opportunity. The four points back now, I think The City team this season have been a little bit more chaotic and a little bit more unpredictable in the past, and for that reason they've been better to watch than City teams in the past as well. I think they perhaps come out on the better side of results and that chaos in the last few weeks and that's helped them really put the pressure on Arsenal and breathe down their necks. Maybe it's to be expected that they tail off a bit because they're just not that same controlling, dominant, consistent team that we've expected that dominated the league for so many years. But they're not coming up against a team like that in Chelsea. And so absolutely they'll fancy themselves.

[Matt]

They sure will. Sunday, 5:30 for that one at the Etihad. Simon will be there reporting for the Athletic. We'll let you go now though, Si. It's been a busy start to the new year for you. Enjoy the game on Sunday if you can.

[Simon Johnson]

Looking forward to it, mate. Speak soon.

[Matt]

This is the Athletic FC podcast, proudly sponsored by Betfair. This is the part of the show where, with the help of our partners, Betfair, we show you how you can play in a different league this season. James Mackey's back with us. James. Man City Chelsea the focus for us. Normally I'd ask you, which way do you see this one going? I think I can hazard a guess.

[David Ornstein]

Yeah. You're absolutely spot on, Matt. The Betfair Sportswalk has the home side Manchester city as the 47 favourites to take all three. And you can see why. Being unbeaten in their last eight Premier League games against Chelsea, winning six and drawing two. And that's their joint longest run without defeat against the Blues in their league history. City are also unbeaten in their last nine in all competitions. I actually thought it was a good point away to Sunderland on New Year's Day. As for Chelsea, well, they'll be without a permanent manager for this one after the sacking of Maresca on New Year's Day. And they're as big as 72 to win this game, having now won on just three of their last 16 visits to the Etihad. And in the Premier League, they're without a win in their last three games, the draw coming back to 13 to 5. And the last time these two teams did play out of Stalemaize was back in February 2024 at the Etihad. So everything's suggesting that it would be a comfortable Manchester City win according to the odds map.

[Matt]

All right, bet builder wise, we're going for the three peat this Week Erling Haaland features heavily.

[David Ornstein]

Yes, he doesn't. It's a little bit of a Technically we're going for two out of two because one of the legs in the bet builder was void. So we went on to Ollie Watkins to score any time and he did so late on it didn't look likely, did it? But he did so late on a 16 to 16 to 5 so we're two out of two. Let's try and make it the hat trick this week. The three legs in the bet builder for this game starting with, as you said, City's main man Erling Haaland who's actually blanked in his last two games but that only means he's due one for me. I think they're awaken a beast here against Chelsea. He's 13 to 5, scored two or more goals in the game and haaland has scored 11 goals in eight Premier League home games for Manchester City this season, netting twice in five different games. The last player to score two plus goals in more different home games in a season was Erling haaland. He was six in the 2022-23 season. So he has previous with this leg of the bet. So that's going in there at 13 to 5 for him to score two or more goals in the game. Secondly, I can't go past City to get the job done here at 4 7. They love playing against Chelsea and like I mentioned, I think he was a good point away to Sunderland on New Year's Day and they can get back to winning ways here against a managerless Chelsea side. And finally to round out the bet going for Joao Pedro to have a shot on target around even money. He has three shots on target and he's lost two starts and two goals in those games as well. I think he'll come back into the starting lineup for this game and can get a shot on target. So Overall Matt, those three selections come together for around a 6 to 1 bet builder and the beauty of the goal scorer and shot on target markets mentioned is they have say sub attached to them meaning if those legs haven't won and those players come off, the player that replaced them carries on that leg of the bet. So a really nice tool for punters take advantage of this situation.

[Matt]

Tremendous stuff. James, appreciate your time as ever. We'll catch up with you again soon.

[David Ornstein]

Thanks Matt.

[Matt]

This is the Athletic FC podcast proudly sponsored by Betfair also on Sunday and very much worthy of having more respect put on its name than that. The United's of Leeds and Manchester meet at Elland Road this the first of six games on Sunday. Joining us to discuss it and everything else ahead of this weekend in the Premier League is the Athletics Leeds correspondent Baron Cross. Berran, you were at Anfield on where the Whites extended their unbeaten run to six games having lost four on the spin prior to that. What about this ridiculous turnaround from Dan the Man? He is the personification of the call an ambulance but not for me meme all about changing his formation. It's been pretty extraordinary to watch.

[Baron Cross]

Yeah, it's. It's scarcely believable to be honest. The fact it keeps on going. You know, last night was a, was a new level in the, in the tests that they had to overcome. You know, going away to a, a pre season title contender and then coming away with yet another point. So it's 10 points from the last six games now and I think everybody thought the faka was toast to be honest. There was probably some debate to be had sort of about when he might go but I think nobody really gave him any later than the Brentford game. So it's quite extraordinary the fact that away at City they moved to this 5, 3, 2 system and since then we've seen various variations. They have gone to a back four at times which has really helped them especially in the Liverpool home game at Elland Road Road. So the versatility has been there. It's not a case of 5, 3, 2 and everything else be damned and just keep steamrolling teams. There has been some really impressive in game management from FAQA which is something that many of us felt we haven't seen. Which is quite a strange thing to say about a manager who delivered a 100 point title last season in the championship. But they had far and away the best squad in the championship. And rightly or wrongly, Farker didn't really get a lot of credit because it was felt again, rightly or wrongly that, that any manager should have been able to pretty much get leads up last season. So coming into this season was the real test. And it was felt that before the City game they'd lost six out of seven and a few of those had been particularly insipid. And it just felt that maybe Farker was running out of time and run out of ideas and wasn't quite showing the tactical invention that many of us felt Leeds needed to kind of get them out of that rut. And you know, nobody really could have seen what's come since. And as you say, unbeaten in six, even won that second half at City 21 as well. And if it hadn't been for us late Phil Foden goal would have, would have got a really good point there as well. So seven points clear of the drop, 21 from the first half of the season is phenomenal. I mean nobody is counting any chickens yet but if you, if you could have been offered this as a first half of the season everybody in white would have snatched your hand off. Yeah.

[Matt]

And obviously Dominic Calvert. Lewin's been been pretty key to that Red hot particularly Ellen Road. I wonder if there's anybody else who's particularly caught your eye in the last last few weeks from a Leeds perspective who's helped towards this upward trajectory.

[Baron Cross]

I think it's hard to pick people out. The entire team has really put a shift in over this run and everybody has played their, their small part in it. Ethan Ampadou is, is a bit more topical as we speak because last night picked up his fifth yellow card. So he'll be missing from Sunday's game which is. Is really quite a serious loss and it's going to be interesting to see how Leeds can recover from that. So he is really growing in maturity sort of week by week. You can see, you could see him directing and sort of almost checking on his teammates last night. You know he's only 24, 25 himself. So he has really made steps forward to the extent that if he continues on his current trajectory he could well get a very, very impressive move maybe the season after next perhaps depending on how he and Leeds do over the next couple of years. So he is, he's really impressed beyond that Mecca when he stayed fit has been very, very impressive in that, in that front two with Calvin when it's like I said when fitness has allowed and then the back five unit given how few goals they've conceded for a newly promoted team. Hugely impressive. Bijol was coming to that sort of three center backs in the middle and has been aerially dominant and Strike's been fantastic as well alongside him. And unfortunately Joe Rod on has been brilliant for two years really but injured his ankle in the Sunderland draw recently so he'll be missing from Sunday as well.

[Matt]

Manchester United wise then Critch Karlanke asking the question on the Athletic are they annoying or embarrassing? Is it a bit of both? How much mitigation should we give to the fact that Bruno Fernandes is not there at the moment for what happened against Wolves?

[Critchley]

I think annoying. As a matter of perspective, I don't know if Baron or many Leeds fans are finding United's form at the minute. Annoying in that respect and embarrassing. I guess I can see that more. I think that sort of depends. Look, you look at the league table, they're still sixth, which is around where a lot of was predicted that they would finish this season. So Reuben Ammon can point to that. They're far better than 15th where they finished last season. I think they're seven points above that, but they are only five points to 14. And you know, if you want to talk about embarrassing, it isn't really just that result against Wolves the other night. It's. It's the defeat to ten man Everton before. It's the draw with West Ham. You know, if you take those three games and throw Bournemouth in there as well, which was a better performance I think against a better team, but that's three points from 12 that they've taken at Old Trafford. And I think the frustration is that huge opportunities have been missed. If you look at a team like Aston Villa who've separated themselves from this bloated middle that we've had in the Premier League this season and have almost cemented themselves a European place, United would have looked at the fixtures that they had over the past. Well, since the November international break, really I would have thought that that was an opportunity for them to do the same. They haven't taken it. And now they're going into a game this weekend against Leeds, which I'm sure for Leeds United and for you, Manchester United is always one of the biggest pictures that you could possibly look to in the season. And going to Elland Road is going to be. It's going to be ugly, it's going to be horrible. It's going to be perhaps the biggest tester character that this United side will face all season. I would say I don't think it's far off that, to be honest. You mentioned Bruno Fernandes. Of course he's been a huge miss and I think everybody expected that. But. And it's not just him at the minute, they're also missing Brumo and Ahmed at afcon, obviously Masraoui as well. De Ligtah Maguire injured. Kobbie Mainoo's injured. I don't know if you could call him much of a miss because he doesn't get a game anyway. But that is all mitigation, if you like, for the result the other night. But then at the same time you would say, well, what about that Everton game? What about that West Ham game? Amorin had these players available then and still wasn't getting the results. And I think that is the biggest point of frustration for Manchester United fans at the moment.

[Baron Cross]

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This is the Athletic FC podcast proudly sponsored by Betfair there right, Liverpool sack their set piece coach this week after conceding their 12th goal of the season from such a situation against Wolves. Farewell Aaron Briggs. We hardly knew ye or we didn't know you at all. In my case the Briggsless Reds head Thames side to take on Fulham Baron. I feel like Liverpool should be perfectly placed to to take advantage of the the various calamities at Chelsea and Manchester United and get a get a proper grip on fourth place. But you saw them in be unable to see off Leeds. Is there a mini revival stalled?

[Baron Cross]

Yeah, I mean very much. I mean evidently I don't want to Liverpool every week, but I've watched them twice in quite quick succession quite recently in their games against Leeds and on Thursday night, they were really, really poor. I mean, beyond Ekitike, I just don't see where the goals are coming from. I mean, Wirt has been a complete failure up to now and clearly has got a lot more time to kind of prove himself. But up to now it hasn't worked at all. Szoboszlai came back into the team last night and maybe offered a little bit of spark here and there, but ultimately Ekatike was the only one that offered any kind of invention. Vibrancy in the attack, the ability to go past the man, to change speed quickly, to go inside or go outside, to get a shot off at the goalkeeper unexpectedly. But everywhere else it just felt really, really flat. And Anfield was certainly letting them know that as well.

[Matt]

Good motivation here for Fulham, actually. Critic, isn't it? They go within three points of Liverpool. If they could win this game and they've won three of their last. Potentially nothing to fear for Marco Silver et al.

[Critchley]

I don't think so. It's that bloated middle that I was talking about as well. It feels like even if you are Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea and you're in and around those European places, you don't have to look too far over your shoulder to see other teams coming up behind who with a couple of poor results, you can find yourself in the lower half of the table. And the flip side for that for a team like Fulham is that, I mean, I think we've been looking at Fulham all season and saying that they're in a bit of a false position and they've improved of late and now it's like snakes and ladders. You can climb up in a matter of games and you find yourself in the top half. So I think there's an opportunity there. I'd agree with Baron. I think that Liverpool, you know, there's been some talk of them improving of late. I think they've beaten in the last eight games now and it's not as disastrous as that run of nine defeats in 12 was back at the end of November. But last night's result, you know, as much as Leeds are in great form, I think is a bit of a reality check. Liverpool are have pared things back recently. They've focused on being a bit more solid and on the defensive foundations of the game. And I think that's what's led to an improvement in results, which is clear. But the balance is still off and it's not that same dynamic, really threatening Liverpool attacking force that we're Used to seeing that's been compromised, perhaps that's been necessary in order to stabilize those results. But it doesn't feel like a long term solution. And in that respect I feel like those results recently, they almost sometimes haven't actually matched Liverpool's performances. And I think Marco Silva's side be looking, you know, got a decent result at palace last night, perhaps deserve to win the game. I don't think they've got too much to fear going into this one.

[Matt]

In the Saturday tee time slot we have Bournemouth against Arsenal. Arsenal laying down a marker at the end of the year with that thumping win over Aston Villa. Very Christmassy it was too with Gabriel and Jesus on the score sheet. They face a Bournemouth side who haven't won since October and they'll have Antoine Semeno presumably doing all he can to knock, not get injured. Baron Gabriel returns. Arsenal are a different side. That's my basic analysis. Would you agree?

[Baron Cross]

Yeah, I mean their defense is truly phenomenal, isn't it? And Gabriel is arguably the best defender in the league in terms of his effectiveness in both boxes. Yeah, like you say, the result against Aston Villa was incredible and well timed really. I think there were just those small whispers of doubt creeping in. Maybe more from the outside rather than the inside. I think everybody looking for a narrative, aren't they? Especially with the bigger teams in the league. But a quiet response against Vill really kind of putting the gap between them both and yeah, going away to Bournemouth. So strange Bournemouth season, you know, when in those opening weeks of the campaign they were flying, they were in the top four, top five, very much the story of the season. And the Sliders has been quite poignant really. And I do wonder, you know, obviously from a Leeds perspective looking up the table, Bournemouth is certainly one of those teams where if they don't arrest the slide and if they don't properly recruit in January, especially with Semenya going, the wheels could really come off there quite quickly. Especially if Forest and West Ham get their act together as well. And we know that Iriola of course is a disciple of Bielsa's and having seen what Bielsa's leads were capable of in a negative sense towards the latter days of his tenure. You know, if those legs really go in that Bournemouth system and they can't keep up the man to man marking, it could be quite explosive their second half of the season and maybe not in the right way.

[Matt]

Yeah, nine point buffer at the moment between they and third bottom West Ham. But no wins since October. Just back on Arsenal briefly Crit, I guess Jesus or Joker as is the big selection dilemma for Mikel Arteta. But he'll be please to have it right. He's got two fit forwards to choose from for the first time in a long time.

[Critchley]

Yeah, it's been rare, hasn't it? And I think Arsenal stronger for it. If you are going to say which one would I pick? I think I'm still going. Gabriel Jesus, to be honest, injury record aside, and he is not the most composed of finishes I would say either. Having covered him for a long time during his Manchester City days, it would feel like he was somebody who would get into fantastic positions beyond the end of brilliant chances and not always come away with the level of output that you would want from a player who was as good as he is at finding those positions and getting in the right areas. He never quite fulfilled it at City and injury was a huge part of that. It's been a similar story at Arsenal, but on his day I feel like he's a natural goal scorer, particularly at this level and I feel as though we yet be able to say exactly the same about Victor Jocherez in the Premier League League. He's clearly had a bit of a difficult adjustment period. There was question marks over the summer about where the output levels from a league like Portuguese League can really translate into the Premier League. I think those have just about been justified really. There's elements to his game that clearly any manager is going to like. His ability to get in behind, to attack, direct spacing behind the back line, that sort of thing. But it's just not quite come together for him, has it? I think think Arsenal is stronger for the fact that they have an all round striker alternative in Gabriel Jesus that they can bring in for Jacarez just because he hasn't quite hit the ground running.

[Matt]

All right, let's get rapid fire through the rest of the weekend's game. The football will never stop in the Premier League. It all kicks off at villa Park Saturday 12:30 Aston Villa against Forest. You fear, says this Forest fan, that Villa will be seeking vengeance after that thrashing at the Emirates. Berran, would Shaun Deitch be under pressure if he loses a fourth successive Premier League game here?

[Baron Cross]

Surely not. I mean, I know you can't put anything past Marinakis and the Nautical Forest machine, but surely not. I mean, I think, I mean I don't watch Forest every week. Matt, maybe you can tell us, but I mean I know obviously when Leeds went there that was sort of the early days of Dyesh's tenure and Forest were brilliant on that day and thoroughly deserve to win. But I think if you could, if you could hand pick, you know, one of three or four or five managers in the world to get you out of a relegation scrap, I think Dyesh is certainly the safer pair of hands. It won't be entertaining, it may not be attractive and it may be a bit nervy at times. But surely Dyche, especially with a January window now upon us, I think that's got to be the best guy to get Forest out of trouble. I mean that's a very, very tough game on Saturday and I would imagine Forest fans are not expecting much more than a loss.

[Matt]

All right, well, you sort of made me feel a bit better there, Chris. Brighton against Burnley. Brighton no wins in six. Burnley no wins since October. Is this going to be nil nil or 1?

[Simon Johnson]

1?

[Critchley]

I think it's going to be 1 nil to Brighton to be honest. I think if you without winning six games, then exactly. The fixture you want coming up is Burnley at home. Unfortunately. Not that Burnley haven't been able to. They found that they can get results recently a couple of draws, haven't they? And I just feel that between them and Wolves, Those are the 20th and 19th teams in the league this season and it's a bit of a toss up between a couple of others for who's going to finish third bottom. It's really difficult and I expect Brighton to get back to winning ways with that one.

[Matt]

Wolves v West Ham Berry Wolves have got to win a game at some point. Is this going to be it?

[Baron Cross]

It's a fascinating match to be honest, especially from a Leeds perspective because the perception is that West Ham Ham are really not. Not in a good place at the moment. And, and of course Leeds fans would would sleep a lot more soundly if West Ham somehow contrived to lose to arguably the worst team in Premier League history. I mean if they don't win that game, the reaction on the terraces at West Ham is going to be fascinating because I'm you you were speaking about any sort of element of pressure on Shaan Dyche, but maybe the pressure will go on Nuno. But again, January's upon us. It. It. It seems as if West Ham are going to really have a. Have a good swing at it with. With some expenditure this this month. But yeah, I mean what an opportunity for Wolves. I mean clearly the pressure is well off now and Rob Edwards is seeming to sort of. He's almost smiling through post match interviews on Match the day now. So I mean that is going to be a fascinating battle of two very, very poor teams.

[Matt]

Yeah, looks like it. Everton against Brentford, Critchkin and Dewsbury hall or Keane Lewis Potter? What's your favorite double barreled surname?

[Critchley]

One sounds like a National Trust stately home and one is someone with a double barrel surname. But it sounds like they could also have a double barrel first name name Keane Lewis. So I'm going to go with Keane Lewis Potter because I don't know his name genuinely confused me the first time I heard it. So that. That's that. He's my pick.

[Matt]

Baron. One word answer. Who finishes? Higher spurs or Sunderland? They meet this weekend.

[Baron Cross]

Sunderland.

[Matt]

Wow. Okay. And finally, Newcastle against Crystal Palace. The last palace player to score at St. James's park was Gary Cahill. Did you remember that Gary Cahill had a spell as a Crystal palace with player?

[Critchley]

Of course I did. One goal in 47 appearances. Who could forget? Is his ball in? It's a fine header and it's Gary Cahill.

[Simon Johnson]

Crystal palace have turned this one around.

[Critchley]

Gary Cahill.

[Simon Johnson]

An unlikely goal.

[Matt]

Just have that to hand. Very impressive. Right, look, that's where we're going to leave things for today. Loads of great games to look forward to this weekend on this ridiculously busy period for the Premier League. Thanks to Critch and to Baron and to David and to Simon and to guest producer Guy and to you for listening, of course. Enjoy the football. We'll catch up with you again soon.

[David Ornstein]

You've been listening to the Athletic FC Podcast.

[Matt]

The producer was Jay Beal.

[David Ornstein]

Executive producers are Abby Patterson and Adie Moorhead.

[Matt]

To listen to other great athletic podcasts for free including our dedicated club shows. Search for the Athletic on Apple, Spotify and all the usual places.

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