24/25 Match Week 12 Recap

Some amazing, historic stadiums around the EPL with great atmospheres. Hard to beat this one though. Especially for those not from the USA who follow the CS. If you plan a trip to the US in the fall, add a game here to your list.

Thanks to CSer Matt for sharing this picture for FREE!

In Today’s CleanSheet:

• Headlines 📌

• Current Situation📈📉

• Hot Topic 🔥🔥🔥- TBD

• Off Island 🏝️ - Europe Leagues are Back This Week

• Best Bets 💰

Headlines 📌

• CS Match of the Week. Man City 0-4 Tottenham.

  • History Made. Man City lost its fifth straight match in all competitions, FOURTH in the PL. The last time a defending champion had that run, Chelsea in 1956.

  • History Made II. Pep lost 5 in a row for the first time ever in his coaching career.

  • Good Spurs. So much of the talk has been what’s wrong with City, and CS will make a list below, but Spurs played great, so we start there.

    • The team that lost to relegation contender Ipswich Town at home went on the road to the champs and dominated.

    • James Maddison I. 12’ and Maddison puts Spurs up.

    • James Maddison II. 19’ and Maddison with the brace (2 goals).

    • Pedro Porro in the 2H. 52’ and the route is on.

    • Brennan Johnson is not letting up. 90+2’ to slam the door.

• What’s Up With City. All the pundits and shows led their coverage with what is going on with City. Almost no talk of how good Spurs can be. And, while there can be some real shite takes out there (talking about you Howard and Renney) here is CS’s take:

  • The combo-platter of: target on the back, motivation, injuries and playing in a league where anyone can beat anyone has finally caught up to City too. But the biggest issue this club has: they have not found the young guys to supplement the older guys. They are lacking youth and energy to an “experienced but aging” team who looks tired and uninspired.

• Everton on the Defensive. In their first 4 matches Everton allowed 13 goals, 3.25 goals per match. In their last 8 matches Everton allowed 4 goals, .5 goals per match. Yet they only have 2 wins.

• Home Favorites Falter. Heading into the weekend there were 5 big home favorites, 4 of them did not win - Newcastle, City and Fulham lost while Villa drew. Only Arsenal won as a big home favorite.

• Cooper SACKED. LCFC has fired their manager, Steve Cooper, after just 12 matches. While the Foxes sit above the relegation zone it was clear management, and supporters did not like the approach and direction Cooper was taking the club in. They decided to move asap which may mean they have a replacement in mind already. The stretch between now and Christmas will be key for clubs positioning heading into the transfer window.

  • CS Take: He was not the right fit for LCFC and the move this fast was needed. He did not have the confidence of the Players, and that lack of confidence is what got him sacked.

Current Situation 📈📉

• A log jam around the relegation line, but not at the top. Feels like it’s gonna be a 6 team battle.

• Teams like Forest, Villa, Newcastle and Fulham just can’t seem to string together enough wins to make them contenders for Europe, yet.

• 8-point lead for Liverpool, the last time they held that large of a lead at 12 weeks they went on to win the PL title, 1029/20.

CleanSheets Counter & Goal Tracker

Hot Topic 🔥🔥🔥

Don’t You - Forget About Me

The iconic song from Simple Minds comes to mind this week. Not just because Anna Kendrick has a new movie out on Netflix - Woman of the Hour. Most people don’t know the name of the band, but it seems depending on your age you know it from 1 or both of 2 movies - The Breakfast Club and/or Pitch Perfect (via The Breakfast Club).

So, knowing that each of us is a brain, and an athlete, and a basket case, and a princess, and a criminal - we can all appreciate this goal from someone you may have forgotten still plays soccer. Harry Kane for Bayern Munich. Click this link and check out the current goal of the year across all competitions (watch all the angles), and if you think there is a better one, let CS know.

Off Island 🏝️

Champions, Europa League Match 5 of 8 with EUFA Conference League on match 4 of 8.

(all matches on Paramount+ cst)

• Liverpool host Real Madrid (Spain) Wednesday, 2pm. Heavyweight matchup at Anfield, no Vini for RM.

• Man City host Feyenoord (Dutch) Tuesday, 2pm. City backed into a corner.

• Aston Villa host Juventus (Italy) Wednesday, 2pm. Great matchup.

• Arsenal travel to Sporting (Portugal) Tuesday, 2pm. Could be a big match for top 8 spot.

Europa League kicks off Thursday.

• Spurs host Roma (Italy) Thursday, 2pm. A return to London for Claudio Ranieri as the new coach of Roma.

• Man United host Bode/Glimt (Norway) Thursday, 2pm. New United manager Amorim now coaches in the Europa League while his former club, Sporting, sits second in the Champions League table.

EUFA Conference League kicks off Thursday with match 4 of 8.

• Chelsea travel to Heidenheim (Germany) Thursday, 1145am. Both sides currently in the top 8.

Best Bets 💰

Not even 1/3 of way through season yet. Two steps forward, one step back.