Podcasts · The Transfer Flow Podcast

Episode 162 - Haaland Gets Man City Back in the Title Race + Who’s Getting Relegated

9 Feb 2026 · 46 min

On this episode of The Transfer Flow, Patrick and Ted break down a chaotic, high-quality clash at Anfield as Manchester City beat Liverpool in a game that felt like a season’s worth of drama packed into 90 minutes. We dig into what City got right, why Liverpool struggled to solve the press, and how a single moment of brilliance nearly changed the story again.

From there, we zoom out to the title race and ask whether City are really back, what Arsenal should be focusing on down the stretch, and why controlling games in the Premier League feels harder than ever right now. Along the way, we talk Erling Haaland’s underrated all-around impact, elite goalkeeping across the league, and why nobody ever looks comfortable anymore.

In the second half, we get into Newcastle’s worrying drop-off, Eddie Howe’s growing list of problems, and how squad depth (or the lack of it) is shaping seasons at both ends of the table. We also look at the relegation battle, West Ham’s faint hopes of a late escape, and why Forest fans should still be nervous.

We wrap things up with listener questions, including a deep dive into “hot hand” theory in football, sweet spots for shooting, and what analytics can (and can’t) tell us about form, finishing streaks, and player development.

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Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro

01:33 - Dominik Szoboszlai’s free kick

02:44 - The drama of Liverpool/Man City

04:04 - City’s first half

04:55 - Liverpool on their back foot

05:32 - The quality of players in this match

07:42 - You can’t go hard for 180 minutes every week

08:18 - Sideism for Liverpool?

08:45 - The impact of Haaland

10:53 - Gakpo and Ekitike for Liverpool

11:30 - Pep’s weirdness + Rayan Cherki

12:57 - Late game red card + Is the TItle Race on?

13:44 - City were much stronger in past seasons

14:02 - Eddie Howe and Newcastle

15:15 - Uncalled penalties

16:00 - Newcastle fan’s frustrations

17:10 - Managers need to do less, not more

18:46 - Howe overseeing transfers?

20:01 - Arsenal’s overpayment for depth to win a title

21:02 - Should Arsenal fans be concerned?

22:00 - The other end of the table + faith in Leeds?

23:20 - West Ham’s improvement

24:00 - Will West Ham save themselves?

25:20 - Paco Jemez + Comparing schedules

26:58 - Brentford are flying

27:47 - The Fulham vs Everton game

28:22 - Samuel Chukwueze

29:52 - The crazy goalkeeping in this game

31:22 - Impressive saves across the league

32:18 - Hot Hand Theory

33:45 - Sequencing

34:59 - Tracking shooting training data

36:06 - Creating better players

36:45 - Sweet Spots exist, Hot Hand isn’t provable for us

37:52 - When the streaky players fall off what do we change?

39:34 - Smaller margins across the league now

40:27 - Juventus are evil

41:24 - Will there be a goalkeeper bubble?

42:04 - TTF Conference tickets and a £25,000 talk?

#manchestercity #liverpool #premierleague #arsenal #football #epl #soccer #eplnews #manchestercity #haaland #szoboszlai #salah #wirtz #pepguardiola #newcastle #westham #relegationbattle #foryou #fyp

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