Midweek Premier League Matchday 21 did not just serve up routine fixtures; it delivered a festival of battles that cut right across the title race, top‑four chase, and relegation fight. Across England, 90‑minute wars of attrition unfolded under the floodlights, with emotions, tactics, and momentum all colliding in one brutally compressed round. Below is a long‑form, original blog‑style breakdown of the biggest battles of Matchday 21, written so you can publish it as a stand‑alone piece. A Midweek Built for Drama Matchday 21 of the 2025–26 Premier League season dropped between 6 and 8 January, a period when squads are stretched and every point feels heavier than usual. It was a midweek that asked harsh questions of rotations, mental strength, and tactical adaptability. The card was loaded: A relegation six‑pointer at the London Stadium between West Ham and Nottingham Forest. A high‑stakes Bournemouth v Tottenham clash with implications for Europe and survival. A looming headline title...
Liverpool manager Arne Slot is hopeful that he will have an extra squad option or two available when the Premier League leaders travel to Arsenal on Sunday.
The Reds' strong start to the season continued in midweek with a 1-0 Champions League victory over RB Leipzig, but the weekend clash against Arsenal is viewed as pivotal, both for their own potential title challenge and to determine whether the squad is ready to perform against the biggest opponents after a kinder run of games at the start of the season.Slot has had to alter his lineup recently due to a slew of injuries, including first-choice goalkeeper Alisson Becker, while centre-forward Diogo Jota went down last weekend and will miss the trip to Leipzig.
While the Portuguese attacker is not ready to return, new signing Federico Chiesa has a slim possibility of playing if he makes it to the last training sessions, while full-back Conor Bradley may potentially return.
When asked about the injured players, he replied, "They feel good, but not when it comes to playing on weekends."
"Federico may train today or tomorrow, but Diogo will not. Conor, let us try if he can join us tomorrow."
Midfielder Harvey Elliott is also currently out injured and has yet to start for Slot, making only one cameo appearance in August before being sidelined.
Meanwhile, Caoimhin Kelleher has performed admirably as Alisson's replacement, and the Irish goalkeeper will be required for at least three more games, Slot said.
"Alisson is progressing as expected, but this is not a short-term recovery. It's always difficult to judge; the greatest time to do so is near the end of recovery, which he isn't yet at. I'm not sure how much longer he'll be out, but don't anticipate him to play against Brighton in the cup or next week.
Arsenal are missing a few first-team players, including Martin Odegaard who is injured, Jurrien Timber and Bukayo Saka who are both undergoing fitness tests, and William Saliba, who is suspended.
Regardless, Slot anticipates a difficult challenge in what is seen as an early marker match for the championship this season.
"If you look at the last two seasons Arsenal were far ahead of us and above Chelsea, so you would assume playing Arsenal would be even more difficult, especially because it's also an away game, that this will be more difficult than Chelsea at home - and we all saw how difficult that was."
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