I’m back from a journey up the pyramid of English football.
First, the Football Weekend dropped into The Den for Millwall’s match with Hull City in the Championship, a midfield-free affair in the damp cold that was salvaged by the singular atmosphere in the Lions’ South East London home.
Then it was up to Goodison Park to witness Everton’s desperately needed victory over Tottenham Hotspur, a first step away from the Premier League relegation zone. Taking it all in from the famous Gwladys Street End was a true pleasure, obstructions included, and I’ll have a story soon on that famous old ground and what leaving it behind will mean to the club and its fans.
And finally, it was over to Anfield for a night under the lights in the Champions League. Lille were tricky opponents, and their supporters were in fine voice all night long to create a classic European atmosphere. There will be a story forthcoming on that one as well!
Unfortunately, I picked up a bug with all the traveling (and the pints) so I’m going to save my voice and skip the podcast this week. Hopefully, the stories still to come will make up for it, and we’ll be back soon enough with another Friday morning match preview with a special guest!
Here are some quick ones for this coming weekend…..
MATCHES
RB LEIPZIG vs BAYER LEVERKUSEN
Sat @ 9:30am ET, 2:30pm GMT
It’s second against fifth in the Bundesliga, as Xabi Alonso’s side travel to Leipzig in need of three points to keep pace with Bayern Munich, who are +4 at the top of the table. It’s been a poor season for Leipzig, but Marco Rose has kept hold of his job and they’re still in the hunt for a Champions League place.
BOURNEMOUTH vs NOTTINGHAM FOREST
Sat @ 10am ET, 3pm GMT
It’s a tale of two upstarts. Andoni Iraola has done a fantastic job on the South Coast, and his Bournemouth side are unbeaten in 11 across all competitions. That includes a 4-1 battering of Newcastle last time out. They’re seventh, but Forest are an astonishing third. The Trees are the form team in the Premier League at the moment with 25 points from the last 30 available.
NAPOLI vs JUVENTUS
Sat @ 12pm ET, 5pm GMT
The Old Lady beat up on A.C. Milan in the Derby dell’America last weekend, but now they’ve got the league leaders at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. The Neapolitans have won six in a row as Antonio Conte chases a sensational Scudetto in his first season back in Italy.
MAN CITY vs CHELSEA
Sat @ 12:30pm ET, 5:30pm GMT
It’s the meeting of the moneybags. City just secured Omar Marmoush from Eintracht Frankfurt for £59 million, and he could make his debut—likely off the bench—against the darker-shade-of-Blues. Chelsea are holding fourth place at the moment, but City are just two points behind. In fact, they’re just six behind Arsenal in second.
TOTTENHAM vs LEICESTER CITY
Sun @ 9am ET, 2pm GMT
The hosts are at risk of dropping out of the mid-table pack and into a relegation scrap. Spurs are just eight points clear of the drop zone after losing seven of their last nine matches. If they fail against Leicester, who are almost certainly going down at this point, Ange Postecoglou could be in serious trouble.
LAZIO vs FIORENTINA
Sun @ 2:45pm ET, 7:45pm GMT
It’s fourth against sixth in Serie A, and there could be goals in this one: Lazio have conceded more this season (28) than anyone else in the top nine, despite their position in the Champions League places. Fiorentina have kept things tighter (21), but these two have combined for 70 goals scored so far. The Viola are six points behind Lazio with a game in hand, and a victory here puts them back in striking distance of the Top Four.
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READS
⚽︎ How do Manchester United, the pioneers of modern football commerce, have a cash problem? Mark Critchley digs into it for The Athletic.
⚽︎ It’s not a long read, but check out this most important stat…..
We put those Liverpool and Everton numbers to the test over the last week!
⚽︎ What will the aforementioned Omar Marmoush bring to Manchester City? The Athletic’s Ahmed Walid breaks it down.
⚽︎ Ben McAleer endeavors to answer the question of whether Antony is the worst value-for-money signing in Premier League history for The Guardian.
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GEAR
👕 Bologna and C.P. Company are out with a collab on some phenomenal outerwear (and more). The designer brand has roots in this city at the heart of Emilia-Romagna.
👕 First there was the Greenland shirt, now there’s the Greenland aways. Looks like a nice glacier from my vantage point!⚽︎