WE ARE BACK. 

So, where have we been? Firstly, we were migrating from Mailchimp (our previous email software), to beehiiv. If you know anyone that writes a newsletter tell them about beehiiv. The platform is great. Secondly, we are bringing another writer on board - and we think you'll like his banter and horrible footie takes. Don't fret, we're back, and we'll be in your inbox every Friday going forward.

Make sure you put us back in your contacts and move this to your primary inbox. 

Let's get straight into it.

ICYM (In Case You Missed It)

Leicester vs Spurs: Oh, the drama. Leicester had three points in the bag until substitute Steven Bergwijn scored two stoppage time goals in the 95th and 97th minutes to take the three points back to London instead. 

Arsenal vs Liverpool: Arsenal finished the second leg of the Carabao Cup Semi-final as they did the first––a man down. After only arriving back from Cameroon and the African Cup of Nations Finals hours earlier, Thomas Partey saw two yellow cards within three minutes as Liverpool marched on to the League Cup final. Diogo Jota’s brace was enough to see the yellow Reds through. 

AFCON: It's been the tournament of Underdogs so far in Cameroon. The reigning champions Algeria finished last in their group, as Equatorial Guinea and the Ivory Coast went through. Malawi, Comoros, and Gambia were other surprise qualifiers to the knockouts. Vincent Aboubakar is the top scorer with 5 goals. 

Relegation Battle Heating Up

⚽️  Watford (+110) vs Norwich (+265)

Friday 3 PM ET 

Two relegation fighters square up for what will be an enthralling ninety minutes on Friday. Watford are the current benchmark of safety, with Norwich just a single point behind. In what looks like a surefire four-team race to what will be potentially a historically low points finish, expect a dogfight between these two. File this in the “must watch” category. The other relegation duet, Burnley and Newcastle, play Arsenal and Leeds this weekend, respectively.

Top 4 Clash 

⚽️  Man United (-115) vs West Ham (+300)

Saturday 10 AM ET 

Former title contenders Manchester United meet a thriving West Ham United on Saturday. Now, the push for top four is well and truly on, and Man U could leapfrog West Ham with a win. Can Ragnick’s gang of misfits seize the day? Or will the former Reds manager spoil the party? United could really use the win to boost morale. Cristiano Ronaldo was so furious after being subbed on Wednesday he nearly threw Donny Van De Beek's custom seat warmer eight rows into the stands. 

Zlatan Derby 

⚽️  A.C Milan (+160) vs Juventus (+170)\

Sunday 2:45 PM ET

It has been a strange season for Juventus - despite their bad start, they are only 1 point behind the top 4. They are 7 points behind 2nd place A.C Milan, and recently lost their star player Federico Chiesa to a season ending ACL injury. Milan are coming off a 2-1 loss at home to Spezia. This should be a feisty affair on Sunday - and we know Zlatan loves big games. 

What Else Is Happening?

Here’s a weird one: As first reported by The Athletic, unusual betting activity on an Arsenal player to receive a yellow card was detected earlier this season. It’s currently unknown which game or event this report is referring to, but “bookmakers flagged to the FA an unusual amount of money placed on the Arsenal player being shown a yellow card during a Premier League game this season,” according to The Athletic. I’m betting Xhaka was involved. We’ll cover this story more as it comes in. 

Dan and Billy's Betting Picks

Dan: I'm putting the house down on Watford to beat Norwich today at +110. It's going to be a crazy game, but I think the home factor will be too much for little Norwich. I also love Zlatan to score against Juventus at +105. He might be 100 years old, but he still knows where the back of the net is. 

Billy: I think Leeds are going to rip Newcastle to shreds this weekend (-110). They’re coming off a massive 3-1 win over West Ham and are starting to look like Leeds again. As for Watford Norwich, I like goals galore here (O 2.5, -110). Watford have kept ONE clean sheet in the Premier League all season, and that was all the way back in August. Likewise, Norwich haven’t kept a clean sheet in the Premier League since October. Watford won the reverse fixture 3-1, but both have decent attacks and terrible defences. I expect a back and forth game in a match both will be desperate to win. 

Goal Of The Week 

15-year-old Brazilian wonder kid Endrick scored a bicycle kick from outside the box In Brazil's famous 'Copinha'. Pretty much all Brazilian superstars shone in this tournament before making their debuts for their respective first teams. Remember the name.

Red Card Of The Week 

Marcelo was never great at defending, and his declining recovery speed was on full display against Elche this week. Lucky for him, Real Madrid still beat Elche 2-1 to progress in the Copa Del Rey.

It just feels right to be back in your inboxes. Cheers.