Analytics & Stats
Salah’s Benchings Under Arne Slot Mirror His Entire Klopp Unused-Sub Record
Three benchings under Slot match Salah’s unused substitute tally under Klopp and escalated tensions.
Mohamed Salah was an unused substitute for the full 90 minutes for the third time under Arne Slot in Wednesday’s 2–0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain. That solitary statistic has come to symbolise a fracturing relationship that began earlier in the season when a spell out of the starting XI first triggered questions over his future.
After being benched for three straight games, two of which did not end in a cameo appearance, Salah went public with a vicious attack on Slot from which neither man has recovered. The contrast with his record under Jürgen Klopp is stark: across 349 appearances with Klopp he was an unused substitute on just three occasions, a figure he has already matched in only 87 outings for Slot.
The raw numbers underline the shift. Under Jürgen Klopp: Appearances 349, Starts 317, Substitute 32, Unused Substitute 3. Under Arne Slot: Appearances 87, Starts 80, Substitute 7, Unused Substitute 3.
All three Klopp-era benchings came in 2019–20, a season disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic in which Salah still managed 23 goals and 13 assists as Liverpool won the Premier League title. The first unused appearance came at Crystal Palace in November 2019, a fitness-related decision after an ankle issue. Klopp said: “Yesterday was the first session where everything was fine, but it was a bit late then, to be honest,”.
A few weeks later he was left out for the Merseyside derby as Klopp rotated. “We think the game will be really intense and for this you need kind of fresh legs and we try to bring them in,” he explained before a 5–2 victory inspired by fringe stars like Divock Origi, Xherdan Shaqiri and Adam Lallana. A final benching against Everton in June 2020 was again explained as injury-related, with Klopp arguing “the right thing to do” was to protect his unfit superstar.
Slot’s decisions have been defended on similar grounds. When he first benched Salah against West Ham United in November 2025 he insisted: “Four games in 10 days with only 14, 15 outfield players available for us, then you have to decide once in a while to make a certain lineup and you try to pick the best lineup for every single game.” He pointed to squad “balance” against Sunderland and acknowledged: “It’s never an easy decision because we all know what a great player he is,” adding, “But it is also up to me to pick the team that I think we need today. That’s why I made the decision.”
Those selections culminated in the public fallout that helped precipitate Salah’s eventual departure this summer. Slot has accepted the role of the perceived “bad guy” in that process.
Analytics & Stats
Ten Years in Numbers: Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City Record
Pep Guardiola finished ten years at Manchester City with 423 wins from 593 matches and 20 trophies..
Pep Guardiola brought his decade-long Manchester City tenure to a close as the 2025/26 season ended. He managed 593 matches, winning 423 for a 71% win rate, drawing 77 and losing 93. The final defeat was a home loss to Aston Villa.
His reign began on Aug. 8, 2016, with a 2–1 victory against Sunderland. Sergio Agüero scored after four minutes and a Paddy McNair own goal three minutes from time sealed the first win. Guardiola’s 593rd match also overtook a long-standing club appearance record, surpassing Les McDowall’s 592 matches as manager from 1950–1963.
Across competitions Guardiola’s record reads: Premier League 380 played, 269 wins (71%); Champions League 107 played, 66 wins (62%); FA Cup 54 played, 46 wins (85%); Carabao/EFL Cup 39 played, 33 wins (85%); UEFA Super Cup 1 played, 1 win (100%); Club World Cup 6 played, 5 wins (83%); Community Shield 6 played, 3 wins (50%). The totals match the 593 games and 423 wins.
In the Premier League Guardiola’s City finished third in 2016–17, then made history in 2017–18 by winning 32 of 38 matches and becoming the first side to reach 100 points. City again won 32 matches in 2018–19, finishing on 98 points. The last two seasons under Guardiola were the club’s weakest in Premier League points during his tenure, with 71 points in 2024–25 and 77 in 2025–26.
City scored 1,462 goals and conceded 557 during the decade. Jermain Defoe was the first opposition scorer faced and Ollie Watkins the last. Sergio Agüero became City’s all-time top scorer during the period, surpassing Eric Brook’s long-standing record in 2017 and finishing on 260 goals. Erling Haaland is the highest scorer under Guardiola with 162 goals in four seasons.
Manchester City’s historic trophy haul changed markedly. Four pre-2016 league titles grew by six under Guardiola. The club had five FA Cups before 2016; Guardiola added three. He more than doubled the Carabao Cup total with five further wins. European success arrived once with the 2022–23 Champions League. In total Guardiola won 20 trophies in 10 years compared with 18 in the rest of the club’s prior history.
Analytics & Stats
Opta Forecasts Final-Day Relegation Scenarios for 2025/26
Opta projects West Ham as favorites for relegation while Tottenham still hold finalday control today
The Premier League reaches its final round this weekend with one relegation place still undecided. Burnley and Wolves are already confirmed as relegated, leaving a single spot to settle between Tottenham and West Ham.
Tottenham have one match remaining to salvage what the draft describes as an utterly disastrous campaign. Their destiny remains in their own hands going into Sunday’s finale, though form this season offers little comfort. West Ham still hope to overturn their London rivals and avoid the drop.
The Opta supercomputer provides clear projections. It predicts Tottenham will finish on 39.73 points with a 14.09% chance of relegation. West Ham are projected to reach 37.78 points and face an 85.91% probability of relegation. Burnley and Wolves, both already relegated, have projected points of 22.42 and 20.31 respectively, each with a 100% relegation chance.
With Burnley and Wolves long gone, just one relegation spot remains. West Ham are occupying that position and must win on the final day while also relying on Tottenham losing. The Irons sit two points behind Spurs, but Tottenham’s superior goal difference means West Ham know three points will only be enough if Tottenham are beaten. The unlikelihood of West Ham winning and Spurs losing is reflected in Opta’s projections. As per the supercomputer, Nuno Espírito Santo’s side have an 85.91% chance of being relegated when they host Leeds United on the final day of the season.
Opta’s match outcome probabilities show Tottenham versus Everton as: Home Win 50.4%, Draw 22.8%, Away Win 26.8%. For West Ham against Leeds: Home Win 51.5%, Draw 23.8%, Away Win 24.7%.
West Ham are not yet mathematically out of the fight. Tottenham host Everton in search of only their third home win of the Premier League season. On their own patch, Spurs have won twice, drawn six times and lost 10 matches, the joint-worst home record in the division, tied with Burnley.
Analytics & Stats
Opta Model Keeps Arsenal on Top as City Narrow Title Gap to Two Points
Opta predicts Arsenal to finish on 83.50 points (85.68%). Man City projected 80.43 (14.32%). End May
Opta’s supercomputer predicts a tight finish to the Premier League season with Arsenal remaining the favourite and Manchester City closing the gap.
City’s 3–0 win over Crystal Palace on Wednesday reduced the deficit to two points, with both title contenders having two league games remaining. Opta projects Arsenal to finish on about 83.50 points and awards them an 85.68% chance of securing the title. The forecast notes Arsenal face Burnley and Crystal Palace to close their campaign.
Manchester City are predicted to end on roughly 80.43 points and carry a 14.32% probability of overtaking Arsenal. Opta highlights City’s recent wins against Brentford and Crystal Palace but also points to the costly draw at Everton as influential in the projection. City’s final fixtures against Bournemouth and Aston Villa are listed as challenging.
Below the top two, Opta forecasts Manchester United to finish third on 68.13 points and to have already secured Champions League qualification. The model credits United’s resurgence under Michael Carrick and projects their best placing since 2022–23. Liverpool are tipped for fourth with about 62.33 points and a 97.03% chance of Champions League football next season.
Aston Villa are forecast fifth on 61.07 points with an 87.18% chance of that finish, although a Europa League triumph would also guarantee Champions League entry. Bournemouth and Brighton are predicted to occupy sixth and seventh with roughly 57.46 and 56.11 points respectively; Bournemouth’s 17-game unbeaten run is noted despite the model favoring them for sixth.
Opta places Chelsea and Everton around the mid-50s point totals, with Chelsea projected to finish ninth on about 52 points. The model underlines Chelsea’s lack of a league victory since March 4 and contrasts that with last summer’s Club World Cup and the club’s fourth-place position on Christmas Day.
At the bottom, Opta frames a relegation fight centred on Tottenham and West Ham. Spurs drew 1–1 with Leeds while West Ham lost 1–0 to Arsenal. Roberto De Zerbi’s men retain a two-point buffer, and the model gives Spurs a narrow edge to avoid relegation by that margin.
