24/25 FA Cup Break & Match Week 25 Preview

In partnership with

• FA Cup Break weekend & MW25 Preview - Today

• MW 25 Recap and MW26 & MW27 Preview - Wednesday 2/19

• MW 26 & 27 Recap - Wednesday 2/26

• In between - Short Stories from the Road.

In Today’s CleanSheet:

• FA Cup 🏆

• MW 25 Preview📈📉

• LIX Best Of 🏈🏈  

• Best Bets 💰

FA Cup 🏆🏆

• The All-England tournament just held their “Round of 32” last weekend with 8 PL teams facing off against each other, 5 PL sides taking on Level 2 (Championship) teams, 3 dipping into Level 3 (League 1), and 1 into Level 4 (League 2).

• Couple surprise results as we now have our “Sweet 16” matchups.

  • Down goes Liverpool. The team dominating the Champions League, EFL Cup and the PL just lost in the FA Cup at the LAST PLACE SIDE in the Championship (Level2). Yes, the Red’s started TEN backups but it still is a big upset. Plymouth’s goal came on a penalty early in the 2H. Slot’s side are in the Carabao Cup finals but getting knocked out of the prestigious FA Cup is going to sting and is really Liverpool’s first setback of what could be a multi-cup season.

  • Burnley go into PL side Southampton and get ANOTHER shutout, this time 1-0. The Clarets signed Marcus Edwards (on loan) from Sporting (Portugal), and it was his goal at 18’ that put Burnley up for good. That’s 9 matches in a row with a clean sheet for Burnley.

  • 11 of 16. Of the 16 teams remaining in the FA Cup, 11 are PL teams and 5 from the Championship.

FA CUP Sweet 16

What 2 Look 4 👀- Match Week 25

Rescheduled Match

Chance for Liverpool to go 9 points clear before MW25 but always tough in the Derby.

• Everton +550 v Liverpool -230 WED 130p - Merseyside Derby - Always a difficult place to play for Liverpool as they walk the short mile from their home pitch over to Goodison Park for the final time as Everton will be moving into their new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock 7 miles from Anfield. David Moyes has the Toffee’s on a 3-match win streak while Liverpool is coming off 2 losses in their last 3. It must be said both Liverpool losses were outside of the PL where they had things wrapped up in the CL and played all second-string players in the FA Cup.

Winner Moves Ahead of Losers  🦘🦘

• Man City -135 v Newcastle +320 SAT 9a - Big matchup in the race for the top 4. Both sides have looked ok and also struggled. Can City put their 1-5 loss at Arsenal in the rear-view mirror quickly. Newcastle have lost 2 of 3 and face a tough stretch with City, Forest and Liverpool all next.

• Tottenham +140 v Man United +170 SUN 1030a - Two underperforming sides. Spurs injuries have been well documented, but even still they have now been knocked out of the Carabao Cup and FA Cup and sit 14th in the PL table. United have now struggled for two straight seasons and need to start stringing some wins together.

If These Teams Were Cars🚙🚙🏎️🚗🚗🏎️🏎️🚗

• BHA +140 v Chelsea +120 FRI 2p - BMW v Ferrari - REMATCH from the recent FA Cup match also at the Amex. BHA is a nice BMW 700 Series, manual transmission, with a young new driver who, when really on, can make the car fly but when off seems to stall out, and there’s been a lot of learning moments. As for Chelsea, this club is tuned like a Ferrari with some aftermarket parts. Once the mechanic can get OEM parts (original equipment) in place and the car tuned it seems like it is ready to take off. But so far there is not enough “take off” and too much “tuning”.

• Liverpool -526 v Wolves +1200 SUN 8a - Rolls-Royce v Mercedes. Luxury, quality, high priced, custom. Liverpool can continue to separate themselves from the rest. Wolves are Mercedes Benz. Great brand but it really depends on which model rolls out. For a while M-B’s were known for always being in the shop, but then again get yourself a G-class and you can go anywhere. Kind of like Wolves this year.

• Fulham +115 v Forest +240 SAT 9a - Lexus v Cadilac. The Cottagers are reliable, nothing flashy, sometimes exceed expectations and sometimes not. Seem to have become reliable. Meanwhile, Forest have returned to their previous greatness. Considered one of the better teams 50 years ago had fallen off but have found their footing again and sit near the top of the table with a fun to watch team.

• Leicester City +1000 v Arsenal -380 SAT 630a - Fiat v Volvo. Picture that little 2 door Fiat completely outmatched flying down the narrow old streets in a European city. Hit the lights right, maneuver through roundabouts, cut down back alley’s - if Jason Bourne is behind the wheel they could find their way to the finish line first but most of the time they fall short. Now they take on the Gunners who are more like a Volvo. Fast, solid, quick, impeccable craftsmanship. Will win unless Bourne shows up.

• West Ham +130 v Brentford +200 SAT 9a - Ford v Tesla. West Ham have some great outings and some not-so-great outings. They have the engine and some quality, like with the F150 but they have some clunkers too. The Bees are more like Tesla, when they are flying, they fly. Yet they only seem to be able to go a couple hundred miles and then have to sit and recharge. Their Moneyball approach is very tech like, and they are able to outkick their coverage so to speak. Lately they’ve been sitting at the charging station.

• Aston Villa -240 v Ipswich Town +650 SAT 9a - Jeep v Any Flat Bed Truck. Villa can play like a truck, go off road, have a lot of versatility but the ride might be a little bumpy. End of day even Harrison Ford (see below) loves the ride. The Tractor Boys are blue collar, dependable, but are not going to win any races.

• Southampton +425 v Bournemouth -170 SAT 9a - Rental v Porche. Southampton are just renting this PL season and then they will be back into the Championship looking to rebrand. The Cherries took their small markets team and turned themselves into an affordable sports car. They are flying high right now, but time will tell how long the car can handle the pace.

• Palace -110 v Everton +320 SAT 1130a - GMC Sierra v Chevy Silverado. Same team, different brand. Playing for position in the table.

Current Situation 📈📉

LIX Best Of 🏈🏈🏈

Whether you watched every minute of every component of the Super Bowl or didn’t even pay attention - here is CS’s Best Of…..

Category: Best Commercial

Category: Best Performance

Category: Best Pregame Production

That’s the list. Game was a blow out, half time well below average, commercials meh at best.

For more on the best halftime shows of all time - here is Clean Sheet’s list from last year.

CS All Time halftime performances

#5-15. Hard to say, but it wasn’t Usher. In no particular order - kind of.

Best Bets 💰

Match Week 25 - MBBGA

Down $4 in MW24. Keeping Big Cat and PFTC for the mojo.

Everton to Win v Liverpool +580. $10

Taking the number in a derby.

Chelsea to Win v BHA +119. $20

Back-to-back in Amex, expect Chelsea to play better.

Forest to Win at Fulham +226. $20

Forest is better and getting better odds.

West Ham to Win v Brentford +127. $100

Hammer’s benefit with the time off.