24/25 Match Week 36 Recap & 37 Preview

Spent the Week at Tour Stop 1 of The New WORLD FITNESS PROJECT - Great Competition!

In Today’s CleanSheet:

• Headlines 📌

• Current Situation📈📉

• Hot Topic 🔥🔥🔥- Home Pitch Advantage

• Off Island 🏝️ - Hit the Beach

• Best Bets 💰

Headlines 📌

2 Match Weeks to Go PLUS Finals in FA Cup, Europe, and Promotion race in the EFL.

• Match Week 36 Results. For all results, see Current Situation 📈📉 below, here are some key storylines.

  • Not Worst Ever. Crazy how sports work. Southampton needed one more point to avoid getting the fewest in an EPL season and becoming the worst club ever in the PL. Surly, they would need to wait a week as they were playing the 4 time in a row defending champs City who are looking to secure a CL spot for next season. Nope, City lay a dud, as the teams drew.

  • Taking Advantage. Newcastle and Villa took advantage of City’s draw as they both won, beating Chelsea and Bournemouth respectively. .

  • Limping Home. Forest are sooooo close to a CL spot, but they could not take advantage of City’s stumble as the Tree’s had a draw of their own at home to relegation side Leicester City. AND, owner Evangelos Marinakis was not happy, confronting PL manager of the year candidate Nuno Espirito Santo immediately after the result on the pitch. WATCH.

    • CS TAKE - It’s a nothing burger. Would you prefer an owner to sit in the owner box and shake hands with large donating supporters, sure. Yet, great to see an owner care about winning (although is could just be about the $ making the CL would bring). Also, too many “pundits” are overreacting.

  • BIG 6. The BIG club’s money wise and historically are Man United, City, Arsenal, LIverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea - in no particular order. TWO of those clubs sit 16 and 17 in the Table. Crazy. Even more crazy - they play each other in the Europa Conference Finals, Winner gets an automatic invite to the Champions League next season. Both United and Spurs lost this weekend.

  • Sneaky Big. Wolves have been one of the hottest clubs in Europe yet struggling BHA went on the road to Molineaux and took all three points moving them to 9 in the table and in striking distance of a Europe spot.

  • Ho Hum. Sports fans outside of European Soccer may not understand. The first and second place clubs in the league played this weekend, but since the title is settled and Champions League positions are settled (for the most part) the game took a back seat to all the other matches where Europe is on the line. Liverpool and Arsenal drew 2-2.

  • Looking Ahead. Chelsea head to Forest in MW38, will have HUGE Europe implications.

Current Situation 📈📉

CleanSheets Counter & Goal Tracker

Hot Topic 🔥🔥🔥

Home Field Advantage

There are many ways teams have configured their stadiums and fields to favor the home team.

There are simple ways - putting the visiting team on the side of the field that faces into the sun - both making it hard to see and much hotter.

There are more complex ways - The Chicago Cubs were “famous” for their grounds crew keeping the infield extremely long at Wrigley Field - the Cubs had ground ball pitchers, and the long grass slowed the ball down.

This has been a topic of discussion throughout history in the PL - grounds crews and keep the pitch at certain levels of hardness/softness/length that favors the home teams skills.

There are Next Level ways - Sunderland hosted Coventry City in the Championship Semi-Final, winner goes to the title match to play for promotion to the PL.

Key Upcoming Finals

We now know our matchups for all the key matches to determine FA CUP, Europe and Promotions.

• Championship Promotion Final - May 24, Wembley Stadium

  • Sheffield United v Sunderland

  • A crazy finish at 123’ as Sunderland score on the final kick to beat Coventry City. WATCH.

  • A Sheffield United win puts them right back in the PL. Sunderland was last in the PL in 2017.

• League One Promotion Final - May 25, Wembley Stadium

  • Stockport and Leyton Orient play Wednesday, winner goes to finals.

  • Charlton and Wycombe play Thursday, winner goes to finals.

• League TWO Promotion Final - May 26, Wembley Stadium

  • Walsall hold a 2-goal lead over Chesterfield, they play Friday, winner goes to finals.

  • Wimbledon hold a 1-goal lead over Notts County, they play Saturday, winner goes to finals.

• FA CUP Final - May 17, Wembley Stadium

  • Crystal Palace v Man City

• Europa League Final - May 21, Bilbao Spain

  • Tottenham v Man United

• UEFA Conference League Final - May 28, Poland

  • Chelsea v Real Betis

• Champions League Final - May 31, Munich, Germany

  • PSG v Inter Milan

Off Island 🏝️

FIFA Beach World Cup

Insider Paul Reporting from the Seychelles.

Brazil wins the FIFA Beach World Cup in a nailbiter over Belarus. 

Brazil took a 3-1 lead in the start of the second period (like hockey they play 3 periods). Belarus tied it up in third. With only a few minutes left Brazil scored the luckiest winner ever. A scuffed shot was about to be easily saved by the keeper when it took a wicked bounce off the sand and the ball jumped up 6 feet and spun over the keeper. WATCH 2 MIN of HIGHLIGHTS - GREAT GOALS! (FIFA website) Elation for Brazil and devastation for Belarus. Brazil had the best defense of the tournament and the quality to pull out the goals when they needed it. 

Portugal finished third over hometown favorites Senegal.  

A successful World Cup for the Seychelles.

Best Bets 💰

• MW30 - UP $138

• MW31 - UP $69

• MW32 - DOWN $246

• MW33 - UP $36

• MW34 - UP $86

• MW35 - DOWN $16

• MW36 - DOWN $160

DOWN $160.

• LOSS ($40) - Wolves to Win at BHA +170. $40

• LOSS ($20) - Man City to Win at Southampton by -2.5 goals +130. $20

• LOSS ($20) - Liverpool to Win v Arsenal +105. $20

• Loss ($20) - FFC Everton to Draw +250. $20

• WIN $34 - Villa to Win at Bournemouth +170. $20

• Loss ($20) - City, Brentford, Forest to Win +157. $20

• Loss ($10) - Wolves, Villa to Win +610. $10

• Loss ($10) - Newcastle, Liverpool to Win +322. $10

• Loss ($20) - FFC, City to Win +118 $20

• Loss ($34) - City, Forest to Win -169. $34