It’s not just that underdogs are winning more often — it’s how they’re doing it. This season, the so-called smaller clubs have found cracks in the elite’s armour and are sprinting through them. Whether it’s long throws, goalkeeper boots, or well-timed press traps, the big clubs are being punished for the mistakes they once got away with. The result: a tactical uprising by sides who always had spirit, now backed by structure.
The unexpected weapons
Take the long throw-in. What used to be a quirky tactic for mid-table teams is now a full-weaponised tool. Across the opening match-weeks of 2025-26, Premier League sides averaged 3.03 long throws per game, the highest rate ever recorded.
When a throw can drum a defence into a scramble in seconds, it exposes the big sides’ reliance on structure over instinct. I’m seeing teams like Brentford and Bournemouth lean into that, forcing aerial chaos and scoring from secondary scraps. It’s low glamour, high impact.
Another overlooked shift: goal-kicks and build-up are getting blitzed. More goal-kicks land in the opposition’s half than ever before — teams accepting the risk of losing possession in exchange for immediate pressure. That forces elite teams to think on the fly, rather than execute a textbook build-up.
Underdogs buying time, big clubs paying for hubris
Big clubs used to crash games through brute force when they needed to. Now, they’re getting caught in moments of transition and turnover. The mid-block of a big side still exists — but these challengers are attacking that block, not from the front, from the flanks and from set-pieces.
Clubs like Bournemouth (with their fast counters) and even some of the newly structured mid-table sides are approaching games like chess matches: set-piece strategy (long throws), shift build-ups (goal-kick transitions), and press triggers when the big clubs try to breathe. Big clubs, by contrast, still preach possession, structure, and control — and those three are being hunted.
It’s as much about mindset as mechanics. These challengers believe they can win. And that alone changes how they press, pass and defend. Meanwhile, some of the elites act like they’re managing games instead of winning them — and management isn’t enough anymore.
What this means for the season ahead
If you’re a big club, you’re on notice. The variables you once monopolised — pace, power, depth, finishing — are evaporating when opponents get tactically savvy. The underdogs don’t need to dominate; they need to disrupt.
For the rest of the league, this is an invitation. Understand vulnerabilities, exploit patterns, and don’t wait to be invited. And the season is starting to read like one long invitation card. Every time a giant drops points, the space widens. Assume someone will take it.
The brave clubs that are building around identity, adaptable tactics and grit aren’t just making noise — they’re rewriting expectation. It won’t all work (no revolution ever does), but it will last longer than a quick good run.
Watch for the teams who don’t just surprise once, but surprise again. That’s where the story changes from “underdog” to “contender.”
The Clutch:
Tactical cleverness, not cash, is giving the league its new favourites — and the giants are waking up too late.