⚽️MAN CITY vs ARSENAL (Feat. Robbie Earle)
Two of the three contenders for the Premier League title go to war in Manchester.
Der Klassiker in Germany, Le Classique in France—both will take a back seat this weekend to a battle at the top of the Premier League. With 10 games to go, Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester City are collectively separated by just one point. This is The Run-In™, the winning time, and Mikel Arteta’s young Arsenal side must prove they belong in this rarefied air. There’s no better place to do it than at the Etihad Stadium, where the Gunners have not won since January 2015, and where they could strike a hammer blow this Sunday against mighty Man City, the treble winners and Premier League three-peaters.
It will be a true chess match, more than likely decided by the smallest of margins, and it was a joy to talk it over on this week’s show with Robbie Earle. A former Premier League pro with Wimbledon throughout the 1990s, he’s been a studio panelist for NBC’s coverage of England’s top division for a decade now. We got into the tactical trickery that will be on show this Sunday, what yet another title could mean for Pep Guardiola’s legacy—including whether he’s threatening to eclipse Sir Alex Ferguson—and whether this could be the moment where Arteta's Arsenal announce they're for real. Plus, Robbie shares a few stories from his days in a wild Wimbledon dressing room with Vinnie Jones and the Crazy Gang:
You can also check it out on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and Acast.
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THE HEADLINES
➡️Todd Boehly will be replaced as Chelsea chairman in 2027, The Daily Mail’s Mike Keegan reports, with owners Clearlake Capital seeking a new figurehead.
➡️Vinicius Jr. grew emotional during a press conference for Brazil this week after fielding a number of questions about the racism he’s faced in the Spanish game. “I’m sorry,” he said, “I just want to play football.”
➡️The Premier League has instructed ball boys and girls to stop throwing the ball directly to players, Sam Dean reports in The Telegraph, on the basis it offers the home team an advantage. Instead, they’ll place the balls on cones for the players to retrieve themselves.
➡️Check out this clip of Xabi Alonso coaching Grimaldo on ball-striking at training. And you wonder why Bayer Leverkusen are where they are…
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SATURDAY
NEWCASTLE vs WEST HAM (8:30am ET, 12:30am GMT)
The hosts have endured a hugely disappointing season marred by injury and indifferent form. They’re mired in 10th, but the Magpies are still just four points off their guests here in seventh. European football isn’t out of the question for Eddie Howe’s side, then, but they need to start picking up results, and they may feel St. James’ Park is the place to do it. West Ham are recovering from some injuries of their own, however, with Lucas Paquetá back to feed Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus. David Moyes’ boys are a difficult proposition, particularly when they allow the other team to have the ball and counterattack with a vengeance.
TOTTENHAM vs LUTON TOWN (11am ET, 3pm GMT)
FOREST vs CRYSTAL PALACE is also a spicy one in this window, but Spurs and Luton could provide a fun stylistic clash.
Tottenham want to keep the ball and play beautiful, while the Town will bring physicality and direct play that could give Ange Postecoglu’s outfit real problems. That’s not to say Luton don’t have their ball-players, mind you—Ross Barkley ought to have played his way into England’s EURO 2024 squad at this point—but they’re most likely to damage Spurs from set pieces. Many of Luton’s threats to run in behind the high Tottenham back line are facing injury concerns, but all the ingredients are there for some Premier League unpredictability.
In the event that Son Heung-min smashes them with a hat trick, however, you can flip over to watch Forest try to dig themselves out of the relegation zone following their points deduction for financial improprieties.
BAYERN MUNICH vs BORUSSIA DORTMUND (1:30pm ET, 4:30pm GMT)
Der Klassiker is no title-decider this year: Dortmund are scrapping for fourth, fully 20 points off league leaders Bayer Leverkusen, and Bayern are 10 points off the top themselves. These two still don’t like each other, though, and it could be fun. Jamal Musiala is in imperious form for the home team and is worth the price of admission on his own—or you could always catch ASTON VILLA vs WOLVES, which kicks off a half hour earlier.
BRENTFORD vs MAN UNITED (4pm ET, 8pm GMT)
This is another multi-option window with FIORENTINA hosting MILAN 15 minutes earlier, but I just get the feeling this one could be spicy. It’s the late game, and Brentford are in desperate need of a result: they’re bottom of the form table, taking one point from the last 18 available, slipping towards the drop zone, though Forest’s points deduction was a big boost for Thomas Frank. His team are certainly better than what they’ve shown so far this season, and while United ought to be firm favorites here, I can sense an Ivan Toney thunderbolt incoming.
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THE KITMAN
Nike and Adidas have been doing battle for years now, but we got perhaps the most literal expression of that style war when FRANCE met GERMANY during the international break. (Maybe I should go easy with the war talk with these nations involved.) Adidas have a long and famous relationship with the German National Team, but last week we learned die Mannschaft will turn their back on their compatriots and go with Nike from 2027. Adidas is still making German kits for now, though, and they were cookin’ with this one.
Nike absolutely returned fire to be fair, rolling out prehaps the bluest Les Bleus kit on record. But I’d say their white alternates are even fresher:
The cockerels on both are top, but check out the pinstripe shorts here on the aways. If you peer closely, you’ll also see that the pinstripes on the shirt transition from blue to red. Beauty.
And the pièce de résistance? This jacket. Holy cockerel.
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SUNDAY
LIVERPOOL vs BRIGHTON (9am ET, 2pm GMT)
The Reds will be looking to capitalize on the fact that their two title rivals will be thrashing at each other later in the day. One or both of Man City and Arsenal will be dropping points, so Jürgen Klopp’s side just need to pick up their three and continue on about their business. On the face of it, that should be fairly straightforward: Liverpool are a frightening proposition going forward and Brighton are always liable to ship four or five. The Seagulls can score a few goals of their own, but it’ll be a tall task to outscore Liverpool at Anfield.
MAN CITY vs ARSENAL (11:30am ET, 4:30pm GMT)
For the full preview of this one, check out the conversation with Robbie Earle up top!
MARSEILLE vs PSG (2:45pm ET, 7:45pm GMT)
Le Classique doesn’t have massive stakes in terms of the Ligue 1 table—PSG is running away with things again—but there’s always the chance of fireworks with this one, and the Vélodrome is a proper venue for any match.
REAL MADRID vs ATHLETIC CLUB (3pm ET, 8pm GMT)
One of these teams is looking to shore up a position at the top of the table, the other in the Top Four. Madrid are eight points clear of Barcelona and looking to keep it that way, while the Basques from Bilbao are in an almighty scrap for a ticket to the Champions League next season. Real will sleep comfortably ahead of this one at the Santiago Bernabeu, but a loss here might just open up the title race again. Who said Barcelona’s season was dead?⚽︎