Premier League Matchday 28 Preview: Edwards in trouble and Anton to Stach up the shots

• Review, standings and latest odds after Matchday 27

• Upcoming fixtures and TV details for Matchday 28

• Big game for Arsenal and Chelsea in pursuit of main targets

• Crucial derby for Rob Edwards and Stach fancied for shots

• For the latest Betfair football odds, click here

• Safe Sub is here for the 2025-26 season - read all about it!

What happened in Matchday 27?

There was no change at the top of the table with both Arsenal and Manchester City recording victories. The gap remains five points but Man City have a game in hand and crucially still have to host the Gunners at the Etihad, meaning the destiny of the title is in both team's hands at present.

Arsenal's win was more bad news for the team they beat, Tottenham, with the Lilywhites dropping further into relegation trouble. There was no evidence of an immediate improvement in Spurs under new boss Igor Tudor, and with the club now just four points above the drop zone, relegation is becoming a very realistic possibility. Lewis Jones goes into Tottenham's relegation troubles in more details here.

In the race for a top four finish both Liverpool and Manchester United recorded 1-0 away wins thanks to dramatic late winners, the Reds' goal coming in the 97th minute at Nottingham Forest, while United scored late on to win at Everton.

United are fourth in the table, three points clear of both Chelsea (fifth) and Liverpool (sixth), and they're just three points behind Aston Villa in third who dropped more points on home soil when drawing 1-1 at lowly Leeds. The Blues were also held to a disappointing home draw when they conceded a stoppage-time goal to second-bottom Burnley at Stamford Bridge.

At the bottom of the table Wolves lost again, this time at Crystal Palace, while West Ham drew 0-0 at Bournemouth. Wolves are now 17 points from safety and could have their relegation confirmed by the end of March should results go against them, while the Hammers have moved to within just two points of survival.

Elsewhere there were excellent away wins for Brighton and Fulham, who both won by a two-goal margin at Brentford and Sunderland respectively.

Premier League Table after Matchday 27

Teams	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	PTS	xGF	xGA	xGD	EXP	FCST
1 Arsenal	38	26	7	5	71	27	85	0	0	0
2 Man City	38	23	9	6	77	35	78	0	0	0
3 Man Utd	38	20	11	7	69	50	71	0	0	0
4 Aston Villa	38	19	8	11	56	49	65	0	0	0
5 Liverpool	38	17	9	12	63	53	60	0	0	0
6 Bournemouth	38	13	18	7	58	54	57	0	0	0
7 Sunderland	38	14	12	12	42	48	54	0	0	0
8 Brighton	38	14	11	13	52	46	53	0	0	0
9 Brentford	38	14	11	13	55	52	53	0	0	0
10 Chelsea	38	14	10	14	58	52	52	0	0	0
11 Fulham	38	15	7	16	47	51	52	0	0	0
12 Newcastle	38	14	7	17	53	55	49	0	0	0
13 Everton	38	13	10	15	47	50	49	0	0	0
14 Leeds	38	11	14	13	49	56	47	0	0	0
15 Crystal Palace	38	11	12	15	41	51	45	0	0	0
16 Nottm Forest	38	11	11	16	48	51	44	0	0	0
17 Spurs	38	10	11	17	48	57	41	0	0	0
18 West Ham	38	10	9	19	46	65	39	0	0	0
19 Burnley	38	4	10	24	38	75	22	0	0	0
20 Wolves	38	3	11	24	27	68	20	0	0	0

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Who are the favourites to win the Premier League title?

Make no bones about it, we're now into two-horse-race territory (if we weren't already) with Arsenal 1/21.50 in the Premier League Winner market and Manchester City available to back at 13/82.63.

With Aston Villa dropping to 10 points behind the Gunners their title odds have drifted to 150/1151.00 but it's impossible to see them getting back into the race with some inconsistent form of late, especially at Villa Park.

Manchester United have leap-frogged Villa in the betting order, but they're even further behind - 13 points to be precise - and despite being in really good form they make no appeal at all at 66/167.00. It's basically any price you want for the remainder.

2025/26 Premier League Winner: Betfair Sportsbook odds

- Arsenal 1/21.50
- Manchester City 13/82.63
- Man United 66/167.00
- Aston Villa 150/1151.00
- BAR 500/1501.00

Who are the favourites to be relegated to the Championship?

There's very little change in the Premier League Relegation market with Burnley, despite picking up points of late, still 1/5001.00 to go down. And as mentioned last week, with Wolves virtually certain to be relegated, the remaining relegation slot looks to be between one of four clubs.

West Ham are currently occupying the final place in the bottom three but they're one more point closer to safety after drawing with Bournemouth last week, and they are now 8/151.53 to go down.

Nottm Forest are just two points ahead of the Hammers, while Tottenham are four points above the drop zone after both clubs suffered home defeats in Matchday 27. They can be backed at 11/43.75 and11/26.50 respectively in the market. Leeds are edging ever closer to safety and are out to 12/113.00 to go down.

2025/26 Premier League Relegation: Betfair Sportsbook odds

- Wolves (no offers)
- Burnley 1/5001.00
- West Ham 8/151.53
- Nottm Forest 11/43.75
- Tottenham 11/26.50
- Leeds 12/113.00
- BAR 25/126.00

What are the Matchday 28 fixtures?

Friday 27 February

- Wolves v Aston Villa (20:00, live on Sky Sports)

Saturday 28 February

- Bournemouth v Sunderland (12:30, live on TNT Sports)
- Burnley v Brentford (15:00)
- Liverpool  v West Ham (15:00)
- Newcastle v Everton (15:00)
- Leeds v Manchester City (17:30, live on Sky Sports)

Sunday 1 March

- Brighton v Nottm Forest (14:00, live on Sky Sports)
- Fulham v Tottenham (14:00, live on Sky Sports)
- Man United v Crystal Palace (14:00, live on Sky Sports)
- Arsenal v Chelsea (16:30, live on Sky Sports)

Listen to Football...Only Bettor Saturday preview

What is the game of the weekend?

The Emirates Stadium is the venue for the game of the weekend as Arsenal host Chelsea in a match that could enhance or seriously damage both teams' chances of achieving their main target this season.

For the Gunners, their aim is to win the title, and should Man City beat Leeds on the Saturday, then nothing but a win will do for Mikel Arteta's men. Dropping points to the Blues will likely see City go favourites to win the title and Pep Guardiola's men will have matters firmly in their own hands.

But for Chelsea, they simply have to qualify for the Champions League next season and to do that their aim will be to finish in the top four, though it's extremely likely that a top five finish would also be good enough. With Liverpool and Manchester United facing home games against bottom-half teams, and Aston Villa away to rock-bottom Wolves, there's a chance that all three of those teams will have picked up three points before the Blues run out at the Emirates.

It's going to be a fascinating clash anyway, but even more so should the other results go against Arsenal and Chelsea before kick-off.

The good news for Gunners fans is that they're unbeaten in their last 10 games against the Blues in all competitions, winning seven and drawing three of those clashes, including recently winning home and away against Liam Rosenior's men in the EFL Cup semi-final.

In the Sportsbook Match Odds market Arsenal are odds-on favourites to take all three points at 3/51.60 while Chelsea can be backed at 9/25.50 and the Draw at 29/103.90.

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

Managers to watch in Matchday 28

The obvious manager to watch this weekend is Oliver Glasner, but there's a chance that he might not even be the Crystal Palace boss come Sunday should the Eagles fail to win their Europa Conference League second leg on Thursday night, so instead our eyes are on Wolves boss Rob Edwards.

We don't need to go over old ground, but some might need a little reminder. Edwards is a manager who effectively guided Luton Town to back-to-back relegations. Some will say that he was very fortunate to be given a good job with Middlesbrough in the Championship, and up in the north east he started very well, leading Boro to second in the Championship.

But Boro's decent start was starting to stifle, and as soon as Wolves came in for Edwards he jumped ship and decided to join the Premier League outfit, citing that it's a club he loves and that it's closer to home as his main reasons for making the switch.

Under Edwards, Wolves have won one game out of 17. They were eight points from safety when he joined, they are now 17 points from safety. At home to Arsenal recently Edwards bizarrely had a dig at the fans, saying his team need more support. It didn't go down well and the fans have began to turn.

The reality is, Edwards is going to be a major factor in overseeing three relegations on the spin, and assuming he doesn't get the sack, he'll still be a manager of a team in the second tier of English football. He should try putting some lottery numbers on.

But there's a chance he might get sacked, and there's a chance it could come this weekend. Wolves are at home to rivals Aston Villa in a fierce Midlands derby on Friday night. Should Wolves suffer a heavy defeat, show no fight, and go down in a whimper then it really could be curtains for Edwards. 

Player to watch in Matchday 28

There's a chance that we're a week too late to the party after Anton Stach's wonder goal last week against Aston Villa. But the Leeds midfielder is a player I've admired all season, and I would definitely put him up there as one of the signings of the season, especially if he helps Leeds remain a Premier League team.

But it's not just his ability to score long range belters that we're focussing on him this week, it's his shooting stats in recent months, they're quite special. They're not too bad for the full season, as you can see below.

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He registered three shots against Villa last weekend and in his last 11 Premier League games he's had 25 shots at goal, and that includes not playing the full 90 minutes in four of those games. Of course, Man City are going to be tough opposition on Saturday, but he's on home soil, will be urged to get forward under the lights at Elland Road, and we know he loves to shoot from distance.

He'll also be one of the first players up to take a free-kick that's within range of goal, so given that he's averaged over two shots per game in recent months there's a good chance that he can register three shots in this game at 15/82.88.

And remember, thanks to Betfair Safe Sub, if Stach is substituted then his replacement will carry your bet.

Now read our prview of Wolves v Aston Villa on Friday night