All 20 Premier League clubs are reported to have satisfied Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) for the 2024–25 season, with a number of clubs using asset sales to parent companies to record revenue in their accounts.

Everton and Aston Villa are understood to have benefited from the sales of their women’s teams to parent companies, following Chelsea’s decision to do so in June 2024. Premier League rules permit the use of such sales when recording revenue, while UEFA does not allow them.

Aston Villa’s £55 million ($74.2 million) sale of their women’s team to their parent company is credited with helping the club avoid Premier League breaches. That transfer is not understood to have the same effect under UEFA’s financial regime. Unai Emery’s side are said to have broken UEFA’s squad cost rule, which restricts spending on player wages, transfers and agent fees to 70% of revenue.

Villa’s dispute with the squad cost rule has been ongoing. The club were fined £5.2 million last summer and another failure to meet UEFA requirements is expected to bring further financial punishment.

PSR regulations have become increasingly unpopular since their introduction in 2025, with the use of loopholes such as the sale of women’s teams and other club assets cited as factors that have eroded confidence in the system. As a result, Premier League officials are pursuing changes to the rules, with squad cost regulations among the areas under review.

England’s top flight will initially adopt a softer approach by restricting spending to 85% of revenue. Villa’s first breach of UEFA’s squad cost rule last summer occurred when the governing body’s limit was set at 80%. Discussions have also been held over a process known as “anchoring.” The reported accounts and the proposed reforms signal an active season of regulatory review and potential change within English top-flight governance.

There is little respite after the late drama at Anfield that added fresh urgency to the title race. The top remains tight, the European places intrigue-filled and West Ham United’s resurgence has intensified the relegation battle. Suddenly, Tottenham Hotspur are nervous.

Aston Villa arrive at Gameweek 26 having taken just four points from their previous four matches, their midfield injury list lengthening and the sense that Unai Emery’s team has been overachieving this season growing. Manchester United and Chelsea come into this round on the back of four consecutive wins, while Liverpool sit sixth and eight points adrift. Villa risk being pulled into a competitive fight for a top-five finish. Facing an indifferent Brighton & Hove Albion, who have slipped to 14th after a five-game winless run, victory feels imperative.

Crystal Palace will be buoyed by contributions from new signings Jørgen Strand Larsen and Evann Guessand in Sunday’s M23 Derby win over Brighton, but Ismaïla Sarr proved the match-winner. Oliver Glasner will likely depend on Sarr as Palace aim to avoid relegation talk. Burnley have collected the fewest points in the division over the past 12 games, so this could be a tight, low-scoring encounter.

Manchester City’s stoppage-time penalty at Anfield and that win will reassure Pep Guardiola, yet City need a vintage run to displace Arsenal at the top. Wednesday’s home game against Fulham is a key chance to respond to Arsenal’s recent wins. These sides produced a contender for game of the season at Craven Cottage earlier in the campaign; Fulham seek to avoid three successive Premier League defeats.

Wolverhampton Wanderers’ midseason upturn brought them closer to Derby County’s record-low points tally of 11, but Rob Edwards’s side still need three more to draw level. A first-half Cole Palmer hat-trick helped Chelsea at Molineux, though Wolves rallied after the restart. Nottingham Forest were dire at Elland Road and now sit just three points clear of the relegation zone after West Ham’s improvement.

Sunderland remain unbeaten at the Stadium of Light and possess the fourth-best home record; they outplayed Liverpool at Anfield earlier in the season. Liverpool have been underwhelming away from home and risk falling further behind in the Champions League race.

Brentford have emerged as one of the division’s surprise packages under Keith Andrews, sitting seventh after a 3–2 victory at Newcastle. Arsenal face a double gameweek in FPL and can rotate for the FA Cup, but both Premier League away days demand focus.

Predictions
Aston Villa 2–0 Brighton
Crystal Palace 1–0 Burnley
Man City 3–1 Fulham
Nottingham Forest 1–1 Wolves
Sunderland 2–1 Liverpool
Brentford 1–2 Arsenal

Tuesday results: Chelsea 3–1 Leeds; Everton 1–1 Bournemouth; Tottenham 0–1 Newcastle; West Ham 1–2 Manchester United.

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has publicly asked Liverpool to lift the mandatory purchase clause in Harvey Elliott’s loan agreement, warning that the 22-year-old risks spending the rest of the season on the sidelines.

Elliott has made seven appearances since joining Villa, but he has been included in just two of the last 14 Premier League matchday squads. There had been hope the loan could be ended during the winter window, but Villa declined to pay the penalty fee needed to terminate the agreement.

Emery has framed the issue as both sporting and financial. He said: “We have been fair because there are two ways: one way is a sport, the second is business,” and added, “We’ll be fair in case, because we are trying it. I spoke a few times with Harvey.”

Emery made clear he wants Elliott involved on the pitch. “Harvey, now I am opening the door to play with us, because he can help us. But it’s not only on my side. The other side is Liverpool … If they are taking off the clauses [saying Villa] have to play matches and to buy him compulsory.”

He reiterated his selection stance: “My sport decision is still there—‘You are deserving to play, we need your qualities in the field, you are going to play.’ But in this case, the clauses are still there and now it is Liverpool, they have the key. And I told him it will be fair for him for Liverpool to take off this clause.” Emery also confirmed Villa first raised the idea of scrapping the mandatory purchase clause “three months ago,” but Liverpool have not agreed.

Villa have defended their own position, mindful of contract terms even as Emery acknowledged the situation “damages” Elliott’s career. Elliott had spoken about his wish to remain at Liverpool, accepting the need to leave after struggling for minutes under Reds boss Arne Slot. Villa agreed a mandatory purchase clause that, under normal conditions, would trigger fairly easily, but the financial terms meant the arrangement has not served Elliott as planned.

Liverpool are reluctant to reverse an agreement that would bring significant profit once the appearance threshold is met, leaving the player caught between sporting decisions and the business side of the loan.