Matchday 18 of the EPL season is in the books, and we’re here to review it, identify the big takeaways, and examine the markets.
Around The EPL
Ruben Amorim surprised everybody by deploying a new Manchester United formation against Newcastle to kick off Matchday 18 of the EPL season. It translated into an impressive 1-0 victory in which United always looked in relative control.
Rayan Cherki put on a show to lead Manchester City to a 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest at the City Ground. Cherki scored one and laid on another to make it eight goal involvements this season. The win was enough to put City at the top of the table, if only for a moment.
It wasn’t pretty, but Arsenal picked up a nervy 2-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion to reclaim their place at the top of the EPL by the end of the day. It did take yet another own goal for Arsenal to get over the line. No team has benefited more from own goals than the Gunners (three) in the top-flight this season.
Kevin Schade scored a perfect header (left, right, header) for Brentford to thrash AFC Bournemouth, moving into the top half of the Premier League in the process.
This run from Kevin Schade 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/3Cu3qqqZGO
— Premier League (@premierleague) December 27, 2025
The goals soon dried up as Burnley and Everton played out a goalless draw. It took Fulham 85 minutes to find the only goal in their 1-0 win over West Ham. Raul Jimenez scored the decisive goal to have scored more goals against the Hammers than any other opponent.
Florian Wirtz finally got off the mark for Liverpool, scoring his first EPL goal for the club in their 2-1 win over bottom-of-the-table Wolverhampton. Wirtz’s goal came in his 17th appearance on his 21st shot to end the drought.
“I am quite sure it was a relief for him. I could see with his reaction when he scored the goal and it was the same with his teammates, they were really happy for him.” – Arne Slot
Aston Villa’s run towards title contention continued with a 2-1 victory over Chelsea, thanks to an Ollie Watkins brace.
🟣🔵🎓 Ollie Watkins: “Unai Emery is a tactical genius, let me say that!”.
“When I came on in the second half, he brought Jadon Sancho and Morgan Rogers on the wing and put Youri Tielemans in the No 10 – so we had an extra man in there”. pic.twitter.com/3Z7P7WfPyH
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 27, 2025
Dominic Calvert-Lewin is on fire, scoring in his sixth-consecutive Premier League match as Leeds United fought back to finish level with Sunderland.
Finally, Tottenham Hotspur earned a crucial 1-0 win over Crystal Palace. Archie Gray scored his first senior goal shortly before halftime as Spurs hung on to win. Although, Richarlison had two goals wiped off as Tottenham perhaps deserved to win by more against an under-manned Palace outfit.
3 Takeaways From Matchday 18
Amorim Adjusts
For all of the talk from others and Ruben Amorim himself about not wanting to sway from his preferred setup, he made the necessary adjustments for Manchester United to beat Newcastle.
Amorim sprung a surprise by starting with four at the back. Notably, Patrick Dorgu moved from his usual left-wing-back spot to an attacking right-wing role. Dorgu fittingly scored what ended up as the winner with a wonderful strike.
Patrick Dorgu on his goal: “It was a good hit, I didn't know I could do that.”
— utdreport (@utdreport) December 26, 2025
Conceding six goals in two games forced Amorim’s hand. He needed to arrest their three-game winless run at home, and did so in impressive fashion.
“In the first half, I think we showed that I felt that was the only way to create more danger – to have more opportunities was with the back four with a lot of guys inside.” – Ruben Amorim
What makes the win move impressive is it came without Bruno Fernandes. The Red Devils had lost their last five games without Fernandes despite the questions around his impact on the team from some sections of the fan base.
City & Villa Apply Pressure
Manchester City and Aston Villa are coming for Arsenal.
Pep Guardiola’s side has now won six-straight EPL games, doing so in the same season for the first time since winning their last nine games of the 2023-24 campaign. Arsenal fans won’t need reminding of what those nine wins became…
City have now won six consecutive Premier League games in the same season for the first time since winning their final nine matches of the 2023-24 campaign, a run that saw them storm to the title ahead of Arsenal.
— Jason (@SportsJO13) December 28, 2025
Aston Villa’s remarkable run of form has continued, too.
“Aston Villa finally found the net after 534 minutes without a goal, but couldn’t find the win against a 10-man Southampton with the game finishing level.” – EPL Matchday 5 Review
Unai Emrey’s side sat 18th on the table after ending their scoring drought on Matchday 5. They’ve now pulled off 11 consecutive wins to match a club record set in 1914, and have won more games (12) and accrued more points (36) than any other team in the Premier League since then.
They’re the most resilient team in the Premier League to have won more points from losing positions than any other team in the last three seasons. While it’s easy to assume that Villa will soon fall away and back in the pack, the numbers in recent years suggest they will be up for the fight for a little bit longer yet.
Cool & Calm Calvert-Lewin
Leeds United are fighting for everything to be 16th on the EPL table, seven points safe from the drop. They’ve exceeded expectations as a team so far, and much of it has come down to Dominic Calvert-Lewin playing out the best period of form in his career.
He’s now scored in six games on the bounce, netting seven goals in the process. It’s the longest scoring run by any English player in the EPL since Jamie Vardy scored in eight-straight games back in 2019.
Calvert-Lewin's goal map for Leeds this season is so satisfying 🎯 pic.twitter.com/68SrK9JkCy
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 28, 2025
While Leeds are heavy $5.75 underdogs against Liverpool on Matchday 19, Calvert-Lewin will be back himself to score at $2.80 against what has been a leaky defence this season.
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