Sports

How Many Long Balls Every Premier League Club Has Faced in 25/26

Published

8 months ago

October 28, 2025

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Whether fans, players and managers are pleased about it or not, long gone are the days of possession-based football in the Premier League. A large chunk of teams in England’s top flight are reverting to the old-fashioned tactic of playing long-ball football and using towering strikers as a means of platforming attacks in abundance.

It’s definitely not a welcomed tactic by Liverpool manager Arne Slot, whose side are running the risk of spiralling out of control as the Anfield outfit – despite spending chunks of money on the likes of Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz – losing has become commonplace.

“I’ve looked at how many long balls we already had to defend – 178 in seven games and then United came, and we had to defend 59,” the Dutch tactician said in his press conference, blaming his side’s shortcomings on the “playing styles we face.”

“It is definitely that teams have a certain playing style against us; it is a very good strategy to play. We have not found an answer yet.”

In an attempt to aggravate the Reds chief, the long balls have flowed since – and Brentford, in their 3-2 win over the reigning champions, played their highest percentage of long passes all season. But which sides, of all 20 which are plying their trade in the Premier League, have adopted the frowned-upon tactic the most? Using figures provided by the folks over at Sky Sports, we’ve taken a closer look.

20-11

Since the start of the campaign, Premier League newbies Burnley – managed by Scott Parker – have struggled to adapt to life in the England top flight. Teams that have faced them so far, including the likes of Manchester City and Aston Villa, have found it easy to run them, negating the need to go long.

As a result, the Clarets have faced the lowest number of long balls (360). Unai Emery’s Aston Villa and West Ham United, who have endured a change in manager in recent times, follow in 19th and 18th. They, respectively, have faced 390 and 393 long balls against opponents – perhaps showcasing how porous they are through the middle.

The Hammers are looking like early relegation candidates with just one victory from their opening nine matches – and clubs have been allowed to slice through their midfield like a hot knife through butter, thus facing just 393 long balls in the opening stages of 2025/26.

Looking to settle for top four credentials come May 2026, Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea have faced 412 long balls from opponents thus far; Nottingham Forest, who are nearing the bottom of the 20-team Premier League table, have been subject to 421 and a Thomas Frank-less Brentford have had to deal with 424.

Leeds United, like Burnley, are still coming to terms with playing top flight football. They’ve accrued 11 points in nine outings thus far and teams are not using the returning phenomenon of long ball football against Daniel Farke’s men. Currently in 15th, they’ve faced 430 long balls. As have Fulham.

Concluding the category are Tottenham Hotspur – the reigning champions of the Europa League – and David Moyes’ Everton, having faced a respective 435 and 443 long balls since the campaign got underway in August.

Most Long Balls Faced in the 2025/26 Premier League – 20th-11th
Rank	Club	Long Balls Faced
20.	Burnley	360
19.	Aston Villa	390
18.	West Ham United	393
17.	Chelsea	412
16.	Nottingham Forest	421
15.	Brentford	424
14.	Leeds United	430
13.	Fulham	430
12.	Tottenham Hotspur	435
11.	Everton	443

10-1

Kickstarting the top ten, we have Oliver Glasner-led Crystal Palace. Their 19-match unbeaten streak only came to an end recently when Everton reigned triumphant on Hill Dickinson Stadium, and so it’s safe to say that 2025/26 is going rather swimmingly following their success in the FA Cup, beating Manchester City in the final.

Of the three sides that got promoted from the Championship last term, Sunderland are flying the highest under the guidance of Regis Le Bris – and the statistics perhaps highlight that, as teams are reverting to the long-ball strategy far less compared to Burnley and Leeds. All in all, they’ve faced 448 long balls.

Manchester United have seldom been a team that have found their immense success by playing sexy football. The days of Ryan Giggs flying up the flank saw them dominate in transition and hit teams on the counter; they are now using long balls to the best of their ability, with Ruben Amorim’s side attempting the most long balls thus far.

On the flip side, the Red Devils have faced 452 themselves. As have rock-bottom Wolverhampton Wanderers, which may come as a bit of a surprise as there are plenty of avenues team can visit to cut through the Old Gold.

Up next, we have the table-topping Arsenal, whose defensively sound core means their competitors are often forced to go long in an attempt to find any sort of joy. Since the start of the campaign, Mikel Arteta’s side have faced 471 long balls – four fewer than Brighton & Hove Albion.

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have faced the fourth-most long balls in the division (479) and the same can be said about Newcastle United, whose formidable midfield triumvirate of Sandro Tonali, Joelinton and Bruno Guimaraes mean that teams are, instead, looking to play long ball.

Bournemouth, under the watchful eye of boss Andoni Iraola, have become one of the toughest teams to play in the English top tier. The Cherries, who are chasing to finish in the top four for the first time in their history, have faced 525 long balls so far as teams look to beat them by pumping balls to their centre-backs.

Slot – widely regarded as one of the best managers in world football – should not be surprised that Liverpool are facing a ton of long balls given they have a target on their back as the reigning champions of England. The Reds, whose majority of summer additions are yet to gel, have faced 571 long balls.

Most Long Balls Faced in the 2025/26 Premier League – 10th-1st
Rank	Club	Long Balls Faced
10.	Crystal Palace	447
9.	Sunderland	448
8.	Manchester United	452
7.	Wolverhampton Wanderers	452
6.	Arsenal	471
5.	Brighton & Hove Albion	475
4.	Manchester City	479
3.	Newcastle United	496
2.	Bournemouth	525
1.	Liverpool	571

All statistics per Opta via Sky Sports – correct as of 28/10/2025

Sports

Roy Keane Names the Two Teams That Will Contest the 2026 World Cup Final

Published

1 hour ago

July 1, 2026

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Roy Keane has given his verdict on who he expects to battle it out in the World Cup final after watching England reach the knockout rounds.

The tournament’s group stage concluded on Sunday (June 28th), and most of international football’s heavyweights advanced to the Round of 32. That included Thomas Tuchel’s Three Lions, who won Group L and met DR Congo in their first knockout game.

England came from behind to beat the Congolese 2-1 on Wednesday courtesy of a Harry Kane brace. This came a day after France proved their worth as tournament favourites with a sensational 3-0 win over Sweden.

Keane Rules England out of World Cup Final

England manager Thomas Tuchel lifts his cap during training

Keane doesn’t expect England to reach the final on July 19th but he is backing France to compete in their third consecutive final. The former Manchester United midfielder gave a glowing verdict of Didier Deschamps’ Les Bleus while speaking on ITV:

“The French attacking players are as good as any. But then we saw that with Brazil. We’ve seen it with England’s main lads turning up against Panama.”

Keane has also been impressed by Argentina, whom Lionel Messi continues to captain and help make history for. The reigning world champions face Cape Verde in the Round of 32 on Friday:

“I think Argentina and France are the teams that have the players and the good options. There’d be no surprise if they end up meeting in the final. I’d be surprised if they don’t meet in the final.”

Kylian Mbappe (France) celebrates at the World Cup

If France and Argentina were to meet in New York New Jersey Stadium later this month, it would be a repeat of the classic played out at the 2022 World Cup. Messi fired his nation to glory with a penalty shootout victory following a pulsating 3-3 draw over 120 minutes.

Kylian Mbappe is in red-hot form for the French, and he’ll be eyeing revenge for the heartbreaking defeat in Qatar. He’s battling Messi in the Golden Boot race with both sat on six goals.

Who France and Argentina Could Meet Ahead of Final

Argentina legend Lionel Messi celebrates 2022 World Cup win with fans

France eased past Sweden in the Round of 32 and booked themselves a last-16 meeting with Paraguay on Saturday (July 4th). Deschamps’ men come up against one of the tournament’s surprise packages, who saw off Germany on penalties.

Should Les Bleus win, they will face the winners of Canada vs Morocco in the quarter-finals on July 9th. A semi-final meeting against one of Portugal, Croatia, Spain, Austria, the USA, Bosnia, Belgium or Senegal then awaits.

Argentina needs to beat Cape Verde to advance to the Round of 16, where they could face Australia or Egypt on July 7th. Should Lionel Scaloni’s men win that game, they’d face either Switzerland, Algeria, Colombia or Ghana in the quarter-finals on July 11th.

There is a chance the Argentines meet England in the semi-finals or even Brazil. Other possibilities include Mexico and Norway, who face the Three Lions and Selecao in their respective Round of 16 matches.

Sports

Thomas Tuchel Went Ballistic at Djed Spence During England vs DR Congo

Published

2 hours ago

July 1, 2026

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An apoplectic Thomas Tuchel lost his head at one of his England players during the nervy 2-1 comeback win over DR Congo.

The Three Lions needed Harry Kane to come up with a brace to beat the spirited African nation, who led for 75 minutes. Brian Cipenga gave the Congolese a shock lead in the seventh minute, and Tuchel’s men were poor during the first half.

Kane’s first goal came in the 75th minute when he met Anthony Gordon’s cross with a superb header. The Bayern Munich frontman then fired home an 86th-minute winner to send his country through to the last 16 of the World Cup where they meet Mexico on Monday.

England got the job done, but there are now widespread debates over who should start at the Azteca. Judging by Tuchel’s reaction during the game, he might be about to wield the axe on one of his starters.

England 2-1 DR Congo: Tuchel Furious With Spence

Thomas Tuchel during the 2026 World Cup game between England and Ghana

With England chasing the game on the hour mark, frustration was written all over Tuchel’s face. He lost his temper at Djed Spence while shouting orders to the Tottenham Hotspur man.

Spence started the game at right-back due to the injury crisis, which has seen Tino Livramento withdraw from the squad. Reece James is unavailable due to a hamstring injury, limiting Tuchel’s options.

Tuchel opted to bring Spence off minutes after his angry outburst at the Spurs star, who is being used as a makeshift right-back. It’s raised doubts over the 25-year-old continuing in the starting lineup ahead of the trip to the Azteca to face Mexico.

You can watch the incident involving Tuchel and Spence below:

This isn’t the first time Tuchel has lost his patience with Spence, as he angrily ordered the full-back to ‘give and go’ in the 0-0 stalemate against Ghana. His decision to pick the Spurs defender in his 26-man squad caused debate before the tournament and there are now question marks over his place in the starting lineup.

England’s Right-Back Dilemma

Djed Spence (England) vs DR Congo at World Cup

England headed into the tournament with two right-backs selected as Livramento and James made Tuchel’s 26-man squad. That’s despite the pair enduring recurring injuries in recent seasons and concerns about their fitness for the World Cup.

Tuchel claimed that nobody saw James’ hamstring injury coming, which surprised many English fans who are well aware of his injury record. The Chelsea captain rarely plays more than once a week for his club, and his injury is a massive blow.

Livramento withdrew ahead of the opening 4-2 win over Croatia due to a calf injury. Instead of calling up Trent Alexander-Arnold, Tuchel turned to Trevoh Chalobah, a decision that has proven costly.

Jarell Quansah is another option for Tuchel, as the Bayer Leverkusen centre-back can play at right-back. But he, too, missed the DR Congo win due to a twisted ankle sustained in the 2-0 win against Panama last Saturday.

Tuchel has a big decision to make for the encounter with Mexico on Monday and whether to continue with Spence at right-back. He opted to use Declan Rice in the position after bringing the Spurs man off in the second half today.

Sports

Done Deal: Newcastle Agree £43m Deal to Sign Bazoumana Traore

Published

3 hours ago

July 1, 2026

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Newcastle United have agreed a £43m deal to sign Hoffenheim forward Bazoumana Traore this summer, according to Sky Sports Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg.