Villa and United top, Liverpool bottom of ‘big six’ head-to-head table

Aston Villa and Manchester United are dominating head-to-head battles between the Premier League “big six” teams in the 2025/26 campaign.

Given the trajectory of both teams over the past 12 months, United being in the top end of this ranking is far more surprising than Villa gatecrashing the traditional “big six” and displacing Tottenham Hotspur.

The North Londoners have done nothing to deserve a spot in the exclusive list, and their continued downward spiral under Thomas Frank doesn’t help their case.

By contrast, Villa have recaptured their place in the upper echelon of the Premier League under Unai Emery’s stewardship, which has been nothing short of spectacular.

Villa have beaten four of the “big six” this season, including United. But that takes nothing away from the Red Devils’ fantastic record against the top teams.

United have claimed statement wins against Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester City so far this season, and Michael Carrick’s arrival bolstered their form against the top teams.

Victories against the Gunners and their “noisy neighbours” came under the interim stewardship of the former midfielder, sparking calls for a permanent appointment.

Carrick has made it four wins from as many games so far, but leading United to wins against Arsenal and City has undoubtedly bolstered his popularity among the club faithful.

Man Utd lead the head-to-head table with four wins to their name, although that could change if Villa win their next such fixture, having played one fewer than the Red Devils.

United’s uptick in form against the “big six” is a massive improvement compared to last season, when they had the worst record, with just one win from 10 games.

Defeat to Villa is one of three losses on United’s record so far. But they’ll take solace from the fact that City, Arsenal, and Chelsea have also fallen to the Villans this season.

Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat against Villa was only their second “big six” defeat after losing to United by an identical scoreline, but it doesn’t help that they’ve only won one of five such games so far.

Liverpool were the only “big six” side to have beaten Villa before their recent 4-1 capitulation against Arsenal.

But that was only their second such win since their 1-0 victory over the Gunners.

The Reds have suffered a massive drop in form since their title-winning campaign, when they had the best record in these games.

Their most recent result against a “big six” team was a 2-1 defeat against City.

That came after a goalless draw against Arsenal, who surprisingly have one of the worst records in these games.

The Gunners have only come out on top twice in eight games, beating United on opening day and enacting vengeance on Villa in a spectacular demolition job at the Emirates.

Despite their record in these games, the Gunners are still on course to claim the title, but City won’t rule out their chances of catching up, particularly after their latest scalp against Liverpool.

City have now won three of their seven games against “big six” teams and will fancy their chances of catching up to Arsenal at the Premier League summit with a few more important victories.

Here’s how the ‘big six’ head-to-head table stacks up so far in 2025/26.

Manchester United

Manchester City

Arsenal

Chelsea

Liverpool