Match Week 12 Preview

Re-Start

Feels like it’s been a while since we’ve had EPL Soccer! We’re 11 matches in and will play TEN MATCHES between now and January 4. Reminds CS of another Re-Start - Frasier.

Dr Frasier Winslow Crane (Kelsey Grammer) was a character on the hit show CHEERS in the 1980s who then moved from “Boston” to “Seattle” to begin a new career as a radio psychologist - the new show Frasier. The original Frasier show ran from 1993-2004 and was Re-Started in 2023 when Frasier returned to Boston in season 1. Season 2 is now out and can be seen on Paramount+.

That’s THREE hit shows as the same character for Crane (Grammer) - not too shabby - and I thought he was OLD in the 1980s!

“Hey baby, I hear the blues a-callin’, Tossed salad and scrambled eggs…..”

In Today’s CleanSheet:

• Headlines 📌

• Current Situation📈📉

• Hot Topic 🔥🔥🔥- Championship, League 1 & League 2 Check In

• Off Island 🏝️ - Conspiracy Theory or Shithousery

• Best Bets 💰

Headlines 📌

• CS Match(es) of the Week. Man City -200 v Tottenham +450 SAT 1130a - Who’s going to play for City? Will we get Good Spurs or Bad Spurs? Seems hard to think City would lose a FIFTH in a row but Spurs have given Pep’s City side a solid run over the last several years. City and Spurs sit one and two in shots taken this season. Expect goals and action.

• 7.2.1 Weekend. 7 Saturday, 2 Sunday, 1 Monday.

• Sticking Around. Pep Guardiola is signing an extension that should keep him with Man City through next season.

• Amorim Takes Control. Ruben Amorim will coach his first match at United, on the road at Ipswich Town this weekend, and while there are signs of improvement with United even before he officially took over there are extremely high expectations from United and their supporters - both because Amorim has been successful everywhere he has gone and because its United. In fact, he has been called “the second special one”, in reference to Jose Mourinho calling himself “the special one” when he started at Chelsea.

• BC.GAME. Last week we had our first Gaffer sacked, Erik ten Hag at Man United. This week we had a first, Leicester City’s primary shirt sponsor BC.Game filed for bankruptcy. Unsure what that means in terms of Financial Fair Play but it there does seem to be a lot more to be figured out. A court in the Caribbean nation Curacao declared them bankrupt. A spokesperson for the company came out with a statement.

What 2 Look 4 👀- Match Week 12

Big Home Dogs 🐶🐶🐶

• Southampton +900 v Liverpool -360 SUN 8a - Last time out of the International Break Liverpool suffered their only defeat of the season home to Forest. Don’t expect Slott and team to come out of this break flat. The Saints have been struggling and look like the side that sits bottom of the table. If Saints were to score early and put pressure on into the 2H this one could get interesting but there is a reason this is our longest odds of the weekend.

• Leicester City +475 v Chelsea -190 SAT 630a - The Blues really got things rolling and look like a contender for the title but that stalled a little heading into the break with just 1 win and 3 draws in their last 5 matches. LCFC had a major setback during the international break when dynamic winger Fatawu injured his ACL and will miss the rest of the season. They will also be missing 3 additional players due to injury and suspension. If Vardy plays, he can be the wild card, but this will be uphill sledding for the Foxes.

• Ipswich Town +380 v Man United -160 SUN 1030a - Hard to win games when you don’t score, and that has been an issue for United, yet they did start to show signs of finding the net before the break. United may also benefit from the “new manager bounce” that teams often get. The Tractor Boys got a great win heading into the break at Tottenham, but as we’ve talked about that may have more to do with Spurs than the Spurs opponent.

Solid Home Favorites 🏘️🏘️🏘️🏘️🏘️

• Arsenal -300 v Forest +800 SAT 9a - While both sides are tied in the table, one side feels great about their start to the season and the other is concerned their chances are fading. That puts a lot of pressure on the Gunners as they host the Tree’s at the Emirates. Forest have taken the second most points on the road so far this season and that may be because of their defensive duo in Milenkovic and Murillo who will be needed in top form if the Tree’s think they will come away with points.

• Newcastle -210 v West Ham +525 MON 2p - The Magpies have been solid defensively this year, but goals have been light, yet they are riding high after back-to-back wins against Arsenal and Forest. On the other side of the momentum spectrum are the Hammers. They have not scored in two matches, sit well below expectations in the table and may be considering a change at manager.

• Man City -200 v Tottenham +450 SAT 1130a - See Above.

• Aston Villa -165 v Palace +425 SAT 9a - The Villains needed the break while Palace has needed a break since the kick of the season. Villa have lost 4 matches in a row and haven’t won in 6. Goal scoring has been the issue and the defense has been rotating players due to injury. Palace won at Villa a couple weeks ago in the Carabao Cup and have seemed to at least take a couple steps forward after a very rough start.

• Fulham -155 v Wolves +400 SAT 9a - The Cottagers are off to a great start this season and have thoughts of Europe qualifications. Wolves had a terrible start but showed good results over the last three matches heading into the break. Wolves are gonna need to figure out their defense as their 27 goals allowed is BY FAR more than the second most in the league.

Toss Up 🤔🤔

• Everton +135 v Brentford +190 SAT 9a - Can the Bee’s get their first road points of the season? As discussed previously, all of Brentford’s points have come at home this season and it’s been the road defense that has let them down. The Toffee’s have just 2 wins, but in their last 7 matches they have 2 wins and 4 draws. For Everton, it’s been a lack of goals at home.

• Bournemouth +135 v BHA +185 SAT 9a - The Cherries have been excellent at home, including wins against Arsenal and City, and average on the road. BHA have also been average on the road, but it’s not for a lack of scoring goals. This is a “sneaky” great matchup and should be an entertaining game going down to the wire.

Current Situation 📈📉

Hot Topic 🔥🔥🔥

EFL CHECK IN

Quick Reminder - the PL is the top level of a 20 level English Football League structure. The top 4 are considered “professional”, 5-11 are “semi-pro” and the rest are local clubs.

Here are all the teams in the top four levels, ordered by their historical wins and the level they are currently in.

The Current Standings - and surface level insight.

The Championship (level 2)

League One (level 3)

League Two (level 4)

Off Island 🏝️

Conspiracy Theories or Worldclass Shithousery?

Sure, seems like more and more “conspiracy theories” are coming back ‘round- are we about to see the JFK files, UFO Congressional Hearings, chemtrails, moon landings, Epstein….the list goes on. Will let you search your favorite sites for the latest.

CS has our own conspiracy…..

Boys of Fall, 1985, Middleton High School headed 15 miles north for a big American football clash in the Badger Conference against Sauk Prairie. The weather was angry that night my friend, like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli. 25 mph winds, raining sideways, cold enough you couldn’t feel your hands, or the football, and a field so muddy you could only shuffle to run. As you would expect, the score was 0-0 at HT. The Away locker room was the “machine shed” that had a chalk board, a couple chairs, no heat and a bunch of towels. It was colder in the shed than in the rain.

The MHS Cardinals came out of HT with the ball and what looked like the first score of the game on a long run. That’s when the first of many penalty flags flew in the 2H against the Fighting Cardinals, HOLDING. Long story short, the SPHS Eagles scored the only TD of the game off a fumble recovery and won 6-0. As a high school kid, you were just disappointed not to win, but after the season you learn that the parents and coaching staff had a different viewpoint, some might call it Shithousery or a Conspiracy. Nuts and Bolts…..

To this day it seems clear - the SPHS Athletic Director purposely put MHS in the Shed. Also, it’s pretty clear the refs worked in town - at the hardware store, the local watering hole (The Press Box), and probably taught Phys Ed at the Middle School. Anyway, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

CURRENT Shithousery

How does this stuff still happen.

• Dateline Venezuela - World Cup Qualifier. Venezuela hosting Brazil. Match tied 1-1 and the home side down to 10-men for a straight red card after Alexander Gonzalez slapped Brazil star Vinicius. Then this happenned…..

• VIDEO - Looks like this kind of thing still happens in today’s professional soccer world.

• Article - Venezuela produce 'world class s***housery' as sprinklers go off after player is shown red for Vini Jr slap.

Best Bets 💰

Coming off a nice winning week 11, can we keep the momentum going.

Match Week 12 - Winners Only Please

Chelsea Leicester City O3.5 goals +118. $20

LCFC were shut out for the first time last time out and the over still hit. Expect both teams to score and there to be goals in this one.

Tottenham Man City O3.5 Goals -118. $24

Both sides lead the PL in shots taken this season, expect several to go in.

Newcastle to Win with a CS v West Ham O3.5 Goals +163. $20

Can the Magpies give the Hammer’s their third straight shut out? Let’s bet on it.

Arsenal Forest U1.5 goals +275. $20

Arsenal Forest to finish 0-0 +990. $10

Forest to Win at Arsenal +800. $10

Both sides with solid defenses so expecting a low scoring game and looking for the best odds to bet that - taking the under, and the big “+” odds since it seems to be trending to a tight game.

Southampton Liverpool O3.5 Goals +109. $20

Liverpool to Win 4-0 at Southampton +950. $5

The Reds are just better across the board and Slott seems to have the ear of the team to avoid a letdown coming out of the break. Instead of laying $720 to win $20 will bet on goals. Taking a flyer on the long odds as well.