Issue 54 - World Cup Fever

Robbie Williams. Nicole Scherzinger. The Village People. Yes, of course this means the FIFA 2026 World Cup Draw is being conducted. Hopefully, this is done by the time the issue is completed. If not, there is plenty of Premier League news for us to chew on. Issue 54. Go.

Breaking Live News

England in Group L - Croatia, Ghana and Panama await Thomas Tuchel.

In 1998 Scotland went up against Brazil, Morocco and Norway in the group stage.

In 2026 Scotland will go up against Brazil, Morocco and Haiti in the group stage.

The Village People in YMC Group A

No group of death in my opinion, I guess that is what happens when there are 48 nations involved.

True Midweek Madness

Nine goals at Craven Cottage. Manchester City cruising at 5-1 up. Foot off the pedal. Premier League hopes nearly being sunk at the River Thames on Tuesday.

Erling Haaland reaches 100 Premier League goals in just 111 apperances, surely Alan Shearer’s record of 260 is there to be gobbled up - that is if the Norwegian wants to stay at the Etihad for another six or seven seasons.

Phil Foden makes it six and five but where does he fit in terms of England. A nice problem for Thomas Tuchel to have, the problem is City’s star has never quite converted that form to when he wears the badge of the Three Lions.

City have conceded six goals in two league outings, they have still managed to collect six points. Fine margins this week, not margins that are sustainable between now and the end of the season.

Feeling Rather Blue

City picking up six points in the past week, Chelsea just the one. An impressive showing against Arsenal on Sunday, did not turn up against Leeds on Wednesday. Any faint title hopes they had at the start of the month have now dissipated considerably.

A massively important win for Leeds. A stay of exection for Daniel Farke. Delaying the inevitable or finally showing his worth as a manager in the top flight? The next few weeks will answer that question.

Ten Penalties Please

Newcastle’s clash with Tottenham certainly sparked into life in the last 20 minutes or so, even more so when the Magpies were awarded a penalty with just four remaining. Rodrigo Bentancur ajudged to have bodyslammed Dan Burn in the box.

A VAR check awards a penalty, of which I do not have an issue with because by the laws of the game it is the correct call. However, I guarantee that you will not see a penalty awarded for the same act this weekend. We just want consistency. That is all we ask.

One Step Forward

Any Liverpool fan who thought they had turned the corner after Sunday’s win at West Ham will have been stuck in neutral after their 1-1 draw at home to Sunderland. Salah on the bench again, van Dijk playing at half speed.

Both players signed new contracts in the summer, FSG must be having buyers remorse on current form. Sell Salah to Saudi or the Turkish Super Lig, make some money back and move on. That would be my January plan on Merseyside.

Gunners Keep Firing

Mikel Merino continues to fill Arsenal’s centre forward role perfectly. What is his true position? Nobody really knows. Nobody really cares if he keeps chipping in with important goals such as the opener against Brentford.

The Other Games

A seven-goal thriller at The Amex overshadowed by the nine-goal thriller at Craven Cottage the night before. A big win for Aston Villa, they are flying right now. A completely different beast compared to when they could not hit a barn door at the start of the season.

Manchester United’s succesive win counter is returned back to zero. West Ham returned to the bottom three.

1-0 wins for Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest and Everton. 5th, 10th and 16th respectively before the weekend begins.

Dan The Stat Man

Manchester City have won 12 of their last 14 home matches against Sunderland in all competitions.

There have been over 2.5 goals scored in Newcastle's last 7 games (Premier League).

Aston Villa have won 8 of their last 9 matches (Premier League).

Ten Quick Tackles

A look at the main talking points as we head into the upcoming Premier League weekend schedule.

Aston Villa vs Arsenal

The Premier League programme gets underway on Saturday Lunchtime and it does so with two inform teams meeting at Villa Park. Are Unai Emery’s men in this season’s title race? They will be if they can get the better of Arsenal.

The Gunners backline has been without Gabriel these past few weeks and has hardly missed a beat. Now his deputy Cristhian Mosquera could be out for at least a month after suffering an injury against Brentford on Wednesday. Can Arsenal withstand another injury blow?

Everton vs Nottingham Forest

Jack Grealish back on the scoresheet in midweek, Everton back in the top half of the Premier League table as a consequence. David Moyes’ men have won three of their last four league outings and will look to extend that run at the expense of Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

Forest make their way to Merseyside having also recorded the exact same run of results in their last four league outings. Sean Dyche’s methods starting to pay dividends as the City Ground outfit pull clear of the bottom three, the former Everton boss would love to get one over his former employer.

Manchester City vs Sunderland

You can trust Manchester City going forward, you cannot trust Manchester City going back. A neat subplot before the visit of Sunderland and with the Black Cats are playing at present, nothing is off the table as two of the top six face off at the Etihad.

A punishing week in terms of what the fixture computer has printed out for Regis Le Bris’ men over the past week but nothing seems to be startling last season’s Championship playoff winners. Logic would point to a City win on Saturday, the Premier League is not at all logical right now.

Newcastle vs Burnley

Foiled in the dying seconds on Wednesday but Newcastle will look for further home comforts when they welcome Burnley to St James’ Park on Saturday. The Magpies may have picked up seven points from the last nine on offer, they still sit in the bottom half of the table.

A sign of just how tight this division is, Burnley wish they were in Newcastle’s position right now. It’s now five successive defeats for Scott Parker’s men, they’ve also conceded an average of 2.00 goals against and as long-time readers know, that is a recipe for relegation.

Tottenham vs Brentford

Tottenham manager Thomas Frank needs a home win to placate his fans, opponents Brentford will be in no mood to roll over - especially as a large portion of the Bees will go up against the former ruler of their hive.

Brentford unlucky not to score against Arsenal in midweek when Kevin Schade, if this smooth operator has a little more fortune at the weekend, it could mean a fifth home defeat for Spurs in seven attempts under Frank.

Bournemouth vs Chelsea

At what point do we worry about Bournemouth? The “doing fine after selling their defence” phase has seemingly ended. They have only picked up a single point from the last 15 on offer. Edged at home to Everton on Tuesday, they will now prepare to welcome Chelsea on Saturday.

The Blues need to bounce back after a rather abject showing at Elland Road, if Aston Villa get something at lunchtime, then it will give Enzo Maresca’s men the chance to bunch the top four closer together. Nine points off the top, do they just focus on a top-five finish?

Leeds vs Liverpool

Leeds were clearly the better team on Wednesday at home to Chelsea, now they have to make sure that is not just a flash in the pan. With them playing the day before West Ham who sit a position below, a point or more would help them turn the screw on the Hammers.

Which leads us to Liverpool and it has got to the point where there is no point predicting what they are going to do for the simple fact that right now, nobody knows what they are going to do. They need a win, no doubt about it. Whether they will or not, I am not willing to put my neck on the line.

Brighton vs West Ham

When you score three times at home and still end up on the losing side, it is certainly a bad day at the office. Precisely what was the case for Brighton on Wednesday as they slipped out of the top six. Now though will look to return to winning ways at the expense of West Ham

The Hammers were decent enough value for the point they picked up on Thursday at Manchester United. Still not enough though to see them out of the relegation zone. Are West Ham too good to go down? No, they could quite easily go down at the end of the season.

Fulham vs Crystal Palace

When you score four times at home and still end up on the losing side, it is certainly a bad day at the office. Precisely what was the case for Fulham as they shipped a quintet of goals to Manchester City. Too little too late when it comes to turning on the attacking charm, they need to be on the front foot from the off on Sunday.

Especially as they play host to a Crystal Palace side who moved back into fifth after their narrow win at Burnley on Wednesday. Rumours are that Jean-Philippe Mateta wants away in January. Steve Parish should give the forward whatever wage he wants.

Wolves vs Manchester United

No bounce for Rob Edwards as Wolves manager, still the Molineux outfit are searching for the first league win of the season. If you extend their current form until the end of the campaign, this team is on course to earn SIX points. The absolute worst of all time.

Can they find joy against Manchester United on Monday night. If there was ever a time for Matheus Cunha to score his first league goal for his new club, then it would surely be when up against his old club. 11/4 if you fancy backing it with a bookmaker.

Predictive Power

They are the main takeaways but what are the main outputs from my AI predictive model?

Four results right last time out. My AI assistant looking for a new job if he’s not careful

What do you think the scores will be this midweek. Can you beat AI? Let me know in the comments below.

The Filter Five

Five sprints up the touchline to keep you warm

Hearts Not Beating

Remember all that talk of Hearts winning the Scottish Premiership. An eight point gap has turned into a NO point gap before their trip to Celtic this weekend. The Hoops have a game in hand, they also have a new manager on the touchline. A pivotal fixture in the race for the title.

One Normal Day

Remember when Morecambe went through that incredibly protracted takeover a few months ago. Gurpreet Singh Rehal was one of the key figures behind the takeover deal.

Rehal is alleged to have recruited, purchased weapons and provided finance for Babbar Khalsa and Babbar Akali Lehar, militant groups respectively proscribed and sanctioned under UK law.

Yeah, not what you need when you are trying to get youself out of the Vanarama National League relegation zone.

To The Whistle

Blackburn supporters will be extra frustrated after their 1-1 draw with Ipswich in midweek. Not only did they concede an injury time equaliser at Ewood Park but this was also the rescheduled clash of the ‘rain game’ earlier in the season.

Blackburn believed that they should have been given all three points. Ipswich’s goal just a few days ago arguably proving why the game should have been restaged. Every minute counts.

The Second Round

Tin foil FA Cups will be spotted up and down the country this weekend as the FA Cup is back in the limelight. Fourty clubs left in the hat, twenty of those will make it through to the holy grail of the Third Round where the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool await.

The draw for the Third Round is on TNT - pretty shameful that its behind a paywall but that’s modern football for you.

Fantasy Stuff

FPL deadline is 11:00 Saturday Morning (UK time) Do not take any team advice from me.

Admin

Right, that’s the end of issue 54 as word continues to spread around the football world.

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