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25/26 Match Week 18 Recap & 19 Preview
Up the Villa, Quick Turnaround & Sunshine on the Leith
nick lochner
December 30, 2025
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Swanston Golf Club
Check out the Off Island 🏝️section for more on the Edinburgh Derby.
In Today’s CleanSheet:
Results 🏟️
Current Situation📈📉
What 2 Look 4 👀
Hot Topic 🔥🔥🔥- CS Quick Hits
Off Island 🏝️ - Edinburgh Derby
Best Bets 💰
Results 🏟️
Biggest Surprise Based on Odds to Win 🎁🎁
 📽️ See CS Video Links Below 🧨 | +330. Match of the weekend. Joao Pedro gave the Blues the lead at 37’ as Chelsea led 1-0 at HT and really dominated the 1H. The 2H was a different story as Villa got more into the flow of the game. Ollie Watkins came off the bench to score at 63’ and then again at 84’ to give Villa the lead. All the opportunities Chelsea had in the 1H were not there in the 2H and Villa takes all three points. That was Chelsea’s third loss at Stamford Bridge this season, they had just 2 all of last season. That’s 11 straight wins for Villa, tied for their longest streak in club history. |
 📽️ See CS Video Links Below 🧨 | +222. Great win for Thomas Frank and Spurs in South London, and much needed. Palace had been riding high, but a 1-4 loss at Leeds and now a 0-1 loss at home has them falling in the table. Spurs turned their tough stretch around, deserving all three points. While Palace had a lot of chances late, so did Spurs. Archie Gray put the North Londoners up at 42’ and that goal stood - his first goal for the Spurs at the age of 19. |
 | +212. Just the eighth 0-0 draw of the season. Very even match. Both sides had opportunities. Burnley continue to struggle to get that final pass/touch/finish to score. Everton had good chances but just couldn’t finish consistently. |
 | +207. Great point for Leeds at Sunderland. The Black Cats had been finding the home magic at the Stadium of Light and it seemed like more of that when they took a 1H lead 1-0 at 28’. Yet the Whites came out aggressively in the 2H and scored at 47’. Leeds deserved the point, and maybe more as they controlled much more of the match than Sunderland. |
 📽️ See CS Video Links Below 🧨 | +147. Win is a win for United. Newcastle had a lot of chances but United was stout on the back end and a goal by Dorgu at 24’ was enough. The road struggles continue for Newcastle who have now lost back-to-back 0-1 matches and who have 2W 5L 3D on the season. |
 | +140. Even match where FFC found a late goal when Raul Jimenez found the net at 85’ and the Cottagers get a big three points. Meanwhile, West Ham continue to struggle. in their last 15 matches they have just 2 wins. |
 | +128. All Bee’s. Two 1H goals and two 2H goals. Kevin Schade with the hat trick. The fourth bee’s goal was an own goal. Bournemouth did close the gap to 1-3 on a Semenyo goal at 75’. The Cherries are struggling having not won in 9 matches and there are rumors that their leading goal scorer, Semenyo, will be moving in the transfer window. |
 | -159. The Tree’s played great. No goals in the 1H. City went up on a Reijnders goal at 48’ but Tree’s answered on a Hutchinson goal at 54’. City started to put the pressure on late and scored on a Cherki goal at 83’. |
 | -308. Another Gunner’s tight win. Odergaard scored at 14’ to put Arsenal up that held at HT. An own goal at 52’ made it 2-0 but BHA found the net at 64’ and Arsenal had to hang on for the win. |
 | -424. Wolves played well and had many chances, but it was Liverpool’s finishing at the end of the 1H made the difference. A 2-0 HT lead was cut to 2-1 on a Bueno goal for Wolves yet Liverpool held on for all three points. |
CS TOP 3 VIDEO LINKS on X - 📽️📽️📽️
Dorgu with a GREAT winning goal on Boxing Day for United. WATCH (30s).
Archie Gray with his first goal for Spurs, and he celebrated like a 19 year old. WATCH (80s X).
Ollie Watkins came on at 58’ and scored a brace to take down Chelsea. WATCH (90s X).
Current Situation 📈📉
Standings
Current Table (Arrows represent a team that moved up or down 2+ spots or into/out of Europe/Relegation) 
| Season Clean Sheets by Team  |
Goals & Clean Sheets
How does the current 25/26 season compare to EPL averages for goals and clean sheets.
Goals 33 Match Week 18 27.9 25/26 Season Average (G/MW)
| Clean Sheets 5 Match Week 18 5.2 25/26 Season Average (G/MW)
|
Scorers & More Stats
Multi Goal Scorers 2 Goals
3 Goals
4+ Goals
| Season Goal Leaders 22 Own Goals (See Below)* 19 Erling Haaland - City 11 Igor Thiago - Brentford 9 Antoine Semenyo - B’mouth 8 Hugo Ekitike - Liverpool 8 Dominic Calvert-Lewin - Leeds 7 Denny Welbeck - BHA 7 Woltemade - New 7 Jean-Philippe Mateta - Palace 7 Richarlison - Spurs 7 Phil Foden - Man City 7 Morgan Rogers - Villa | Tackles 67 Joao Palhinha - Spurs 54 Neco Williams - Forest 53 Tyrick Mitchell - Palace 50 Florentino - Burnley 50 Kenny Tete - FFC 48 Elliot Anderson - Forest 47 Mats Wieffer - BHA 45 James Garner - Everton 44 Adrien Truffert - B’mouth 43 Joao Gomes - Wolves 43 Jurrien Timber - Arsenal |
4 Own Goals Allowed
3 Own Goals Allowed
| 2 Own Goals Allowed
| 1 Own Goal Allowed
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What 2 Look 4 👀- Match Week 19
6.0.4 Match Week. 6 Tuesday, 0 Wednesday, 4 Thursday.
All the games this week are a rematch of MW14 (December 6, 7, 8), but at the other clubs home pitch.
Tuesday
19 Burnley +400 v 14 Newcastle +925 TUE 130p - First matchup Newcastle won 2-1 at St James’ Park. Can Newcastle find an away goal against a leaky Burnley side, or will the Clarets find back-to-back clean sheets.
10 Forest +112 v 10 Everton +260 TUE 130p - First matchup Everton 3-0. Sean Dyche gets to host his former team in Nottingham. Everton have 2L 1D and no wins since the last time they’ve played, Forest have 1W 2L.
18 West Ham +218 v 7 BHA +118 TUE 130p - First matchup 1-1 draw.
4 Chelsea -174 v 4 Bournemouth +455 TUE 130p - First matchup 0-0 draw. The Blues need to find the Stamford Bridge magic, they are leaving a lot of opportunities out on the pitch. The Cherries have really struggled and fallen to 15th in the table.
8 Man United -288 v 8 Wolves +683 TUE 215p - First matchup 4-1 United trouncing. Wolves have just 2 points on the season, and 10 goals. This should be an in control United side at Old Trafford, but United have not controlled matches from start to finish this season.
3 Arsenal -238 v 3 Villa +658 TUE 215p - First matchup a Villa stunner scoring at 90+5’ to win 2-1. What a great matchup.
Wednesday
No Games.
Thursday
17 Liverpool -1911 v 17 Leeds +473 THUR 1130a - First matchup at 3-3 draw where all goals were scored in the 2H including Leeds at 90+6’. The Red’s are not playing at their best but finding ways to win. The Whites have had a couple GREAT performances the last two weeks.
5 Palace +110 v 5 Fulham +247 THUR 1130a - LONDON DERBY (South v West) - First matchup a 1-2 road win for Palace. Palace is struggling and FFC will be a tough side to score on.
2 Sunderland +558 v 2 City -231 THUR 2p - First matchup 3-0 City. Can the Black Cats get some Stadium of Light magic again this season.
11 Brentford +125 v 11 Tottenham +207 THUR 2p - LONDON DERBY (West v North) - First matchup 2-0 Spurs. Bee’s find the net at home, Spurs will need to score.
Hot Topic 🔥🔥🔥
CS Quick Hits
Archie Gray, Spurs, scores his first senior goal at 19yrs 291 days, 4 days older than Deli Alli who scored for spurs in January 2016.
Calvert Lewan scores in his 6thg straight match for Leeds
The logjam at the middle of the table is more than usual half way through the season - a win can jump you 5 spots in the table.
Don’t look now, but Liverpool are back in the top 4.
At some point Chelsea needs to move from “buy lots of players and sell them for a profit” to “find your best side and develop some consistency”.
Off Island 🏝️
Edinburgh Derby
Maybe not full off the island, but outside of England….and Clean Sheet is a sucker for the pageantry of sport.
Enter the Edinburgh (Scotland) Derby -
Heart of Midlothian (Hearts) v Hibernian (Hibs).
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The all-time match record is 343 matches played with Hearts leading 150W 90L 103D.
Derby matches are often played on or around New Year’s Day. In 94 New Year’s matches Hibs holds the lead with 32W 30L 32D.
In 1940 the New Year’s Day match was going to be canceled due to thick fog however because it was wartime and the match was to be broadcast by the BBC, including for soldiers overseas, the War Office ordered the match to be played as to not alert the Luftwaffe (German Airforce) of bad weather conditions.
This year’s derby was played on December 27 at Hibernian, where the Hib’s beat the Hearts 3-2. Hibs went up 3-0 and had to hold on after Hearts scored their second goal at 89’.
After the match, one of the more iconic anthems in soccer was sung, Sunshine on the Leith.
Sunshine on the Leith
Scottish duo The Proclaimers released the title-track to their album Sunshine on the Leith. The song is an “Anthem of Love”.
The song first began its association with the club during the Hands-Off Hibs campaign in the 1990s, in response to a proposed takeover of the club by the Heart of Midlothian chairman Willie Mercer. The Proclaimers were actively involved in the campaign and headlined at the rally that was organized on behalf of the campaign at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh. As a result, the song has since been described as "a love song that has become a terrace anthem"
My heart was broken, my heart was broken Sorrow, sorrow, sorrow, sorrow My heart was broken, my heart was broken You saw it, You claimed it You touched it, You saved it My tears are drying, my tears are drying Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you My tears are drying, my tears are drying Your beauty and kindness Made tears clear my blindness While I'm worth my room on this Earth I will be with you While the Chief puts sunshine on Leith I'll thank Him for His work And your birth, and my birth Yeah, yeah, yeah My heart was broken, my heart was broken Sorrow, sorrow, sorrow, sorrow My heart was broken, my heart was broken You saw it, You claimed it You touched it, You saved it |
Best Bets 💰
Season - UP $44
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Match Week 18 Results
DOWN $79
L ($21) - Bournemouth v Everton over 2.5 goals -105. $21
L ($20) - Liverpool to Win v Wolves via Clean Sheet +103. $20
L ($20) - Arsenal to win v BHA via Clean Sheet +128. $20
L ($20) - Man City to Win at Forest via Clean Sheet +165. $20
L ($20) - Sunderland to Win v Leeds +164. $20
L ($20) - Palace to Win v Spurs +125. $20
W $31 - Brentford v Bournemouth over 3.5 goals +156. $20
W $30 - Villa to Win at Chelsea +300. $10
L ($10) - Sunderland, Palace to Win +479. $10
L ($10 Liverpool, West Ham, Sunderland to Win +781. $10
Match Week 19 Picks
Chelsea to Win v Bournemouth AND Over 2.5 goals -101. $40
The Blues will not lose back-to-back at Stamford Bridge, and I expect multiple goals.
Man United to Win v Wolverhampton AND Over 2.5 goals -128. $25
Feels like it’s time for United to break out.
Forest to Win v Everton +111. $20
Everton won 3-0 in Hill-Dickinson Stadium, expecting closer match and feels like the home side will get their w.
West Ham v BHA Both Teams To Score -165. $33
Both sides have been scoring in this match up, expect to see that again.
Arsenal v Villa Both Teams To Score +103. $20
Arsenal are favored, and rightly so, but Villa are coming in hot. I expect Arsenal to win but the odds are too big. I do like the match to be pretty open and both teams to score.
Liverpool v Leeds Over 3.5 goals +150. $20
There will be goals.
Sunderland v Man City +2 (bet wins if Sunderland win, draw or lose by 1) +100. $20
In 18 matches, City have won by more than 1 goals just 4 times and Sunderland keeps things close at home.
Longshots of the week
Chelsea, United, City to Win +199. $10
Haalland to score 2+ goals +200. $5
Cole Palmer to score +137. $10
Burnley v Newcastle to finish 0:0 +940. $5
Burnley v Newcastle to finish 1:2 +590. $5
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