Liverpool clash with Newcastle and Chelsea while Forest dominate the most bitter games this season
The actions of Manchester United, Liverpool and Nottingham Forest have created some remarkably bitter games ahead of the new Premier League season.
It has felt like an especially busy summer in terms of clashes both legal and otherwise between Premier League clubs.
The result is a series of games with a fresh level of animosity and spite built in the boardroom which could bleed into the stands and onto the pitch.
10) Arsenal v Manchester United – The Proper No. 9 derby
Obviously not a new rivalry, but one imbued with a different layer to finally propel it into the modern age.
Two decades have passed since Arsenal and Manchester United were relevant players at the top end of the Premier League table simultaneously. On the six occasions either have finished runners-up since the latter last won the title in 2013, the other side has come 3rd (nine points behind), 5th, 6th, 8th (twice) and 15th.
Their meetings are almost exclusively used as an excuse for indulging in nostalgia and reminiscence, or lamenting how the game just isn’t as compelling or rough around the edges as it once was.
Trying to recall what happened between them last season is difficult but Pizzagate, Ruud van Nistelrooy versus Martin Keown, Roy Keane protecting Gary Neville from Patrick Vieira in the tunnel and Alex Ferguson pronouncing ‘Japan’ weirdly are all firmly embedded in the psyche and form a routine part of the pre-game build-up when the Gunners face the Red Devils.
As a spectacle, the only hope of salvaging something meaningful from Arsenal v Manchester United is to feed into the contemporary phenomenon of manufacturing rivalries between players. And Viktor Gyokeres versus Benjamin Sesko has been ripening all summer long for that particular picking.
The dream scenario of Gyokeres flopping for Arsenal while Sesko single-footedly drags Manchester United towards competence remains live, but really the alternative timeline in which Gyokeres delivers the title and Sesko proves to be a hilariously expensive gamble gone wrong is every bit as fun and enticing.
It certainly feels a more even battle than the Erling Haaland v Darwin Nunez feud built entirely out of laborious comparisons between two pricey centre-forwards who happened to be signed at the same time by clubs with substantial fanbases.
At least here there is enough evidence to suggest Arsenal and Manchester United would both have been happy settling for the other striker. And their opening weekend clash gets the ball rolling on unavoidable proceedings immediately.
9) Leeds v Sunderland – The Summer Spend derby
While sacking Peter Reid and flirting with financial implosion was the strongest common denominator between Leeds and Sunderland prior to this summer, promotion has pulled them closer together despite being remarkably far apart in their approach to Premier League preparation.
Leeds have recruited sensibly if slowly, focusing on defensive additions to solidify their spine and avoid having to make another panicked May phone call to Sam Allardyce.
Fees have been spent on a goalkeeper, two centre-halves, a left-back and two more defensive-minded midfielders. The free agent Lukas Nmecha has been their only attacking signing after a move for Igor Paixao proved too difficult.
Sunderland have taken a slightly different view, albeit out of necessity due to a less prepared squad and to offset sales. Only seven clubs in the entire world have spent more than the Black Cats this summer, with Habib Diarra becoming their record signing.
Trying to achieve the impossible feat of surviving in the Premier League as a promoted club already pitted Leeds and Sunderland against each other; that dichotomy in perceived ambition has stoked the flames for some.
8) Chelsea v Liverpool – The Tribunal To Determine Compensation derby
Among the many words used were ‘seething’ and ‘furious’ when Chelsea had what they felt was ‘a generational talent’ snatched from under their noses in summer 2024.
Their habitual hoarding of ludicrously prodigious teenaged wide forwards at least compensates the selling club fairly; the final amount Liverpool will pay for Ngumoha is unknown but his pre-season performances suggest it won’t be commensurate to his ability and potential.
The results of a tribunal to determine the compensation owed to Chelsea have not been disclosed but previous such hearings have only returned pay-outs of up to £10m, a valuation Ngumoha might well far exceed by the end of a season in which he only turns 17.
A clear first-team pathway at Liverpool was crucial in the forward’s decision to move to Anfield and Arne Slot has already outlined the role Ngumoha can play across four competitions of a gruelling season.
Chelsea will be keeping a keen eye, although arguably should have done so far sooner.
7) Aston Villa v Manchester United – The Selection Methodology derby, ft. Emi Martinez and maybe Ollie Watkins
“Aston Villa can confirm the club has written to the PGMOL to raise concerns over the selection process of match officials following today’s game with Manchester United at Old Trafford.
“With such high stakes surrounding today’s fixture, the club believe a more experienced referee should have been appointed. Of the 10 referees to officiate across the Premier League today, Mr. Bramall was the second least experienced.”
It was a wonderfully impotent announcement issued by an Aston Villa side who, by their own account, “acknowledge that the outcome for us will not change, but we believe that it is important to address the selection methodology to ensure that high stakes matches are treated as such”.
The PGMOL response never was revealed but could well have amounted to Howard Webb pointing out they should probably just have beaten a Manchester United side which had already lost 22 games last season by then, regardless of the referee chosen.
Unai Emery hinted that Thomas Bramall had apologised for his “huge mistake” but the consequences of Villa failing to leave Old Trafford with the single point they needed for Champions League qualification are still being felt.
Evann Guessand of Nice has been their only significant first-team signing and there has been a clear reluctance to make the same player PSR sacrifices which defined their summer of 2024.
Emi Martinez was one of those made available for transfer but Manchester United rubbed salt in that wound by only asking for him on loan.
6) Brentford v Newcastle – The Broken Promises derby
An alternative name pitch might be The Hypocrisy derby, so wonderfully has Newcastle’s entire transfer window captured the perennial insincerity at the very heart of football fandom.
Alexander Isak is a treacherous, villainous turncoat who has betrayed Newcastle, been misadvised and refused to train, play or join the club on tour after having his head turned and ear burned by supposed broken promises about being allowed to go.
Yoane Wissa just wants to leave Brentford and is being held against his will.
These contortions and contradictions are a necessary part of supporting a club but a Brentford side already pillaged by richer and bigger teams must have enjoyed any and all attempts to paint Newcastle as an innocent victim of the hierarchy this summer.
5) Newcastle v Manchester United – The Transfer Food Chain derby
The Magpies have, however, been reminded of their place in that food chain to an uproariously chastening degree.
Their best version in a generation, arguably ever, has been routinely upstaged by the worst modern iteration of Manchester United by an absurd margin.
Champions League qualification and a trophy has been outweighed by the very fact Old Trafford is crumbling and players would prefer to be part of rebuilding it rather than having to call Jason Tindall ‘Bossman’.
The semantics on Matheus Cunha can and have been debated but Newcastle were absolutely interested in Bryan Mbeumo before the player removed himself from their equation after Ruben Amorim’s admiring glances, while the moves were put on Benjamin Sesko before his public rejection of the Eddie Howe project.
Newcastle still and will always have a win in the Alan Shearer battle of 1996, but their war over signings with Manchester United incurred some really quite embarrassing casualties in 2025.
4) Manchester United v Brentford – The Refuse To Be Held For Ransom derby
The most high-profile of these disputes this summer have largely involved the same set of clubs cast in different roles: Newcastle as both victim and aggressor; Nottingham Forest as predator and prey.
Manchester United trying to pretend they were fighting the good fight against Brentford was a curious development but Sir Jim Ratcliffe has to get his kicks somewhere and if it doesn’t involve people losing jobs we should take it.
There were 44 days between Manchester United bidding £45m plus £10m in add-ons for Mbeumo and agreeing a deal at £65m plus £6m in add-ons.
The intervening weeks were filled with intermittent noise including a claim the buying club would not be held to ‘ransom’, which they eventually and inevitably were.
But even upon the conclusion of the deal, Manchester United were not done. They leaked their fury with Brentford to the usual cabal of journalists after it emerged that the Bees shamefully tried to secure the best possible deal they could for their most valuable player.
Good on little Manchester United for sticking it to big bad Brentford.
3) Newcastle v Liverpool – The £150m Valuation derby
When the signing of a potential £79m forward is only ever presented as a secondary plot point to the wider overall narrative, you know a lot of water has gathered under the bridge connecting Newcastle and Liverpool.
A wise sage once referred to their rivalry as ‘toxic’ because of 1) some results, 2) Newcastle once poaching an analyst from Liverpool, 3) Liverpool being one of many clubs to oppose their takeover, and 4) Liverpool having spent some money more than four decades ago, but this summer did mark a definitive turn in their relationship.
The Ekitike hijack could be forgiven by a club who have known nothing different in this transfer window. A target choosing to join someone else is part and parcel of the game, and losing a race to the Premier League champions who will be among the Champions League favourites can be brushed off quickly.
But the Isak saga has cast an uncomfortable cloud over Newcastle’s summer and left a sour taste. Even when handed all the cards of a three-year contract with no release clause and no need to make a book-balancing sale, the Magpies have looked thoroughly unconvincing with their hard-line stance.
They did land one shot with the loaded claim that Liverpool had ‘bottled’ their first and as yet only actual bid for Isak but there is a clear sense that even if he stays, the damage has been done.
The best-case scenario for Newcastle is that they will be without their best player for the first couple of games of the season, and perhaps on a mental level well beyond that, before he recovers something close to the form which has made him so desirable.
But bridges between player and club can be mended if not fixed completely; any club-to-club camaraderie has been torched.
2) Nottingham Forest v Spurs – The Release Clause derby
It seems like an age since the capture of Mohammed Kudus was followed up with the stunning revelation that Spurs would be signing Morgan Gibbs-White the next day.
More than a month has passed and not only have Spurs not invested that £60m elsewhere, they have also lost to a probable season-long injury the sort of player Gibbs-White would have shared the creative burden with.
Daniel Levy still struggles to understand Spurs fans and was given a public crash course in Evangelos Marinakis this summer too. But the Spurs chairman has played the role of 2013 Arsenal impeccably, understandably but clearly mistakenly believing that triggering a release clause in the contract of a player keen to join would indeed be enough to procure them.
One legal threat, renewed deal and announcement with the air of a hostage video later, all with Marinakis front and centre, Spurs were left wondering what had just happened while Forest merrily went about their business.
Then it emerged that Marinakis felt ‘it would have been a backward step’ for Gibbs-White to leave the City Ground for Spurs and suddenly sacking Nuno or waiting to poach Brennan Johnson felt remarkably tame.
1) Crystal Palace v Nottingham Forest – The Blind Trust derby
A trick has been missed. There is a chance to rectify it, even if that would require some manoeuvring and would impact a few different clubs. But it must be done.
One of the games between Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest, currently scheduled for late August and January, must be moved to March 1. The narrative must be fed.
It shouldn’t be that match at Selhurst Park on the season’s second weekend; that promises to be biblical. Palace’s first home game, their demotion from the Europa League for Forest to benefit still fresh, perhaps with the FA Cup and Community Shield paraded beforehand, played in between a pair of Conference League play-off qualifier legs, will have a glorious edge to it.
Steve Parish certainly won’t be rushing to offer out any executive boxes.
If Forest supporters aren’t already arranging chants of “decisive influence” to the ‘is there a fire drill?’ tune, or scribbling ‘Rules Are Rules’ on a crude Photoshop of Marinakis and John Textor shaking hands, then they too should have their Europa spot revoked.
And if the losing team doesn’t take the result to the Court of Arbitration for Sport it’s worth wondering what we’re all doing here.
