Is Conte happy at Spurs?

Happy Friday. As you might have noticed last week, we got our referral program started. We're starting it light, giving away free stickers if you get 10 referrals. The idea is if you get 10 referrals, then you get your 10 referrals to get 10 referrals, then you start collecting money off th-- Anyways, we're going to up the game in a few weeks––jerseys, tickets etc. Start spreading the love, and you'll get rewarded! 

Let's get straight into it.

ICYMI (In Case You Missed It)

ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?! Man, moment... Mbappe. What a stunner and what a time to score it. The small Spanish side nearly hung on for the point they desired, until Kylian Mbappé stole the show with the last kick of the game. You might think this tie is firmly in PSG's hands, but the opening lines for the reverse clash (RMA +150, PSG +160, D +260) in three weeks time tell us there could be fireworks...

Manchester City and Liverpool both cruised past their opponents and each have one foot in the quarter-finals. Not such smooth sailing for Bayern; RB Salzburg grabbed a hard earned draw off an assist from American starlet Brenden Aaronson, only to be canceled out by a 90' Kingsley Coman goal. 

European Champions Chelsea take on Lille next midweek, with Juventus, Manchester United, and tournament sleeper Ajax all in action as well––Ajax are currently sixth favourite to win the competition. 

Best Club In The World?

⚽️Man City (-370) vs Spurs (+1100)

Saturday 12:30 PM ET 

Kicking and screaming––Antonio Conte's always had a little pazzo in him, hasn't he. We love Antonio Conte, not for his cooky demeanor or his tailored suits, but for his ruthless guile as a manager. He's resurrected a flailing Tottenham back to top-4 challenging status after Nuno Espírito Santo put the ball in the sand. Yet, Spurs have waned in recent weeks. "It's important to win with style." Not sure that's your bag pal, but it can certainly be said of his opposite number this weekend. 

I didn't write that title because it's not true, but City don't look like they'll lose another game all season. They need a striker, do they? It doesn't matter what team Pep puts out, they win every game they play, and it doesn't look like the machine is breaking down anytime soon.

Simply, for the Premier League title race to recoup any relevance, Manchester City will have to drop points. Liverpool will be looking at this game as one that has such potential for City––though the odds say otherwise.

Can a Club Get Points Deducted?

⚽️Derby County(-115) vs Peterborough (+275)

Saturday 10 AM ET 

If Wayne Rooney manages to keep Derby County up in The Championship this season, he should consider applying to be the next Pope. Bad jokes aside, this would be one of the great achievements in the history of English football. Derby have won 9 games and drawn 12 this season. That adds up to 39 points. A closer look at the Championship table will show Derby County second to last, with 18 points. So, where did those 21 points go? Did Billy steal them? 

The answer is simple: horrific financial management. Derby lost 12 points for entering administration, and an additional 9 for breaches of financial rules. 

The club are over $90 million dollars in debt, which includes tax bills and player fees. The situation is compounded by the fact that Middlesbrough has sued the club for over 45 million pounds––alleging that Derby's overspending denied them a playoff spot a couple of seasons ago.

There might be light at the end of the tunnel as a few parties are interested in taking over the club. But the big question remains––where will Derby be playing next season? They are currently 5 points from safety and have a massive game against relegation rival Peterborough this weekend. 

Rooney has shown he is willing to fight and grind throughout his playing career and also as a manager. Will his fighting spirit be enough to keep them up?

Manchester United Crisis

Pogba, CR7, Sancho, Bruno Fernandes, Rashford, Luke Shaw, David De Gea. Not sure how you feel, but there is some incredible talent in that list. So where has it gone wrong at Manchester United? 

The latest drama at the club happened this week as German Football Insider Christian Falk tweeted that Harry Maguire and Marcus Rashford were 'irritated' that Ronaldo wants to be the leader of the dressing room. Christian is extremely well connected, but his allegations led to a war of words with Rashford.  

We would always like to believe the players, but it's pretty clear that this United squad has some sour apples in there.

Dan & Billy's Betting Picks

Dan's Picks: Knock knock. Who's there? Billy. Billy who? Billy who sucks at betting. My good friend went 0/3 last weekend, so don't even bother reading his picks. I went 2 for 3, and bought a ton of dogecoin with my winnings. 

For this weekend I like a parlay to get your Saturday morning started - Villa and Arsenal to win at +130. I also like over 2.5 goals in the Everton vs Southampton game (-120). Lastly, there's some good value at over 2.5 goals in the Wolves Leicester derby (+124). 

Billy's Picks: Dogecoin huh. For Dan's next trick, he'll be pitching an NFT! I'd like to formally announce to my ten's of readers that I will be a fading outlet going forward. Did I miss all my picks last week? Yes. But did you listen to me? Little Dan has a surprisingly big mouth, but unlike him I'll put my money where my mouth is. I'm putting my entire Straight Red salary on the line in guaranteeing a 100% hit rate this week. 

Roma (-120) and O2.5(-155). Two picks, one game. Shorten your workload. Lyon (+145). Ausburg v Freiburg o2.5(-110). Those are the picks, and once again I am not a financial advisor. Please, please gamble responsibly. 

Goal Of The Week 

What a hit from Atalanta's Ruslan Malinovsky!

Red Card Of The Week 

Since we've been talking about United drama this week, it's only natural that the red card of the week come from their latest game as well. We're giving you two looks here. Red card or no red card?

Thank you for reading today! Let's have a great weekend of footie.