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25/26 Match Week 24 Recap
Russia, Comebacks & Just 19 Teams Can Win the World Cup
nick lochner
February 03, 2026
In Today’s CleanSheet:
Results 🏟️
Current Situation📈📉
Quick Kicks ⚽
Hot Topic 🔥🔥🔥- Physicality & Set Pieces
Off Island 🏝️ - Russia
World Cup Corner 🌎🍵🏪
Best Bets 💰
Results 🏟️
A Tale of Two Halves
 | All United in the 1H. Still all United sitting at 2-0 at 83’ mark. FFC with a penalty, 2-1. FFC with the touch at 90+1’, 2-2 Then at 90+3’ and United make it 3 in a row. United have turned the corner - and what a DRAMATIC way to do it. |
 | Unlike United, Chelsea found itself down 0-2 after a terrible Blue’s 1H. The match completely turned around when Joao Pedro scored at 57’, 1-2. Cucurella then scored at 70’ to make it 2-2. Chelsea were completely dominating play and the Stamford Bridge crowd were full throttle, then Enzo Fernandez put the finishing touches on the comeback at 90+2’. |
 | All City in the 1H at Hotspur stadium taking a 2-0 HT lead. All Spurs in the 2H with some amazing effort and acrobatics around the goal. Spurs Solanke score at 53’ and 70’, one with just pure strength and another with great flexibility on a scorpion kick, to take points from City. |
But, Ya Gotta Score.
 🟥Red Card Impacted Match | All Villa - but, ya gotta score.  |
 🟥Red Card Impacted Match | Forest with a quick goal at 5’, but a Neco Williams Red Card turned the match at 45’. It’s why you shouldn’t purposely stop a goal with your hand. Yes he saved the goal, but it resulted in a penalty and he was sent off. Forest with a full 2H of 10-men. Well done by Forest to keep it at 1-1. |
Domination
 | Newcastle took the lead in the 1H. Ekitike scored twice for Liverpool before half. All Liverpool from there. |
 | The Black Cat’s do what they do at the Stadium of Light. |
 | Big weekend for Gunners as they pick up points on second and third. |
LATE DRAMA
 | Pretty even match that looked like BHA had all three points. But, at 90+7’ Beto got a point for Everton. |
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 24 27.9 25/26 Season Average (G/MW)
| Clean Sheets 4 Match Week 24 5.2 25/26 Season Average (G/MW)
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Quick Kicks ⚽
Michael Carrick
This is Carrick’s second crack at Managing United and this time he is off to a 3-win streak and there is just an energy in the players and fans that we have not seen in a while at Old Trafford.
 | The 44-year-old played 524 matches as a player, 316 for United. His playing career ended in 2018 and then stepped in as an assistant coach for United. He then stepped in to manage one match for United in 2021 when Ole Gunner Solskjaer was fired. Carrick then left when United hired Ralf Rangnick. He took the Middlesborough (Championship Level) managers job from 2022-2025. In his return to United, he has now beaten Man City, Arsenal and Fulham to remain unbeaten. |
Goals
After a MW that saw 16 goals, we have not had back to back 33 goal MWs.
There have had 11 30+ goal MWs out of 24.
669 goals scored this season, that is 56 fewer goals from last seasons 725 goals.
Hot Topic 🔥🔥🔥
Physicality and Set Pieces
The beautiful flowing game of soccer is meant to be constant movement, probing, and flow. Unlike American Football, soccer is not meant to stop and start.
However, in the EPL, there is concern by purists that the game is getting bogged down.
Here is some data to support that.
Basically, free flowing open play is way down while set pieces (corners, free kicks, throw ins, penalties) have taken over. In fact, league leaders Arsenal are getting some slack for their reliance on scoring from set pieces.
Gunners have 46 goals, 21 from set pieces 46%. The league average is 30%.
Traditionally, the EPL has a 20% set piece goal scoring average.
And it seems most teams are using throw ins launched into the box as an attacking plan. Even as they have the throw in specialist have to jog over to the location of the throw in from wherever they happen to be, slowing the game down.
Recently, Anthony Gordan (Newcastle Striker), was asked the difference between the EPL and the Champions League.
Something to watch as the season goes along and teams adjust their approaches.
Off Island 🏝️
Russia
Russia - you may notice - Russia is not in the World Cup field. Not because they were beaten on the pitch but because they have been suspended from playing due to political decisions.
Bummer for the players that politicians caused the situation.
That may change in the future as FIFA President Infantino says the Russia ban should be lifted. Here are some highlights.
On lifting the ban. “We have to. Definitely.”
And, the ban “has not achieved anything” and only “created more frustration and hatred.”
Letting Russians play would help “having girls and boys from Russia play in Europe would help.”
He also opposes banning Israel, calling it “a defeat.”
Then he got right to the point - “never ban any country… because of the acts of their political leaders.”
🌎🍵🏪CS World Cup Corner 🌎🍵🏪
World Cup Countdown 128 Days
Starting to think about who you will be betting to win the World Cup? Make sure to include this interesting stat - NO team has ever won the World Cup when their manager is of a different nationality.
That is something fans of the US, Canada and England are hoping will change this tournament.
USA  Argentinian | Canada  Jesse Marsch - American | England  Thomas Tuchel - German |
19 Manager has SAME nationality.
23 Manager has a DIFFERENT nationality.
6 Are yet to be determined.
These are the 19 teams, based on this stat, that are in play for the title.
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Best Bets 💰
Season - Down $669
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Match Week 24 Results
UP $100
W ($100) - Man United to Win v FFC -173. $173
W ($20) - Sunderland to Win v Burnley -139. $28
L ($20) - Man United, Sunderland, Forest to Win +426. $20
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