I've decided to try this as a Saturday morning post to act as a weekend preview/open thread for the upcoming slate of games.
Last Weekend
City beat United 1-0 in the much-hyped Manchester Derby With The Title On The Line ™ in a game that was rather dull to watch. United managed a mere 5 attempts at goal, which resulted 0 shots on goal. City had 15 and 3, respectively. I was in the beer garden taking in a lovely late Spring evening, otherwise I would have been annoyed I even bothered to leave the house. City and United are now tied at the top of the table with 83 points apiece, but City are ahead because of their superior goal differential (+61 v +53).
In other news, Fulham beat Liverpool for the first time in the league thanks to a Skrtel own-goal. Everton drew with Stoke 1-1. Spurs beat Bolton 4-1 and Chelsea lost to Newcastle in a game which saw Cisse score an absolutely amazing goal to seal the 2-0 win.
httpv://youtu.be/llLqKcsXy18
Looking Forward
All of the Premiership Teams have 2 matches left. In the title race, ManCity will most likely clinch the title by winning their last two games (assuming ManUtd can't make up the 8 goal difference). United's best hope is that City drop points against Newcastle, who are currently in 5th and fighting for the final Champions League place.
City (1st) - @ Newcastle (5th), v. QPR (17th)
United (2nd) - v. Swansea (12th), @ Sunderland (11th)
Arsenal (66 pts), Spurs (65), Newcastle (65), and Chelsea (61) are currently 3rd-6th and fighting or the last two Champions League spots for next season. Chelsea can also get it by beating Munich in the CL Final this year.
At the other end, Wolves have already guaranteed their relegation with a mere 24 points from 36 played. Currently joining them are Bolton (34 points) and Blackburn (31). Just above them are QPR (34 points, better GD), Wigan (37) and Villa (37).
Upcoming Matches
Saturday
- Newcastle @ ManCity
Sunday
- Villa @ Spurs*
- Fulham @ Sunderland*
- Wolves @ Everton*
- ManUtd @ Swansea
Tuesday
- Liverpool @ Chelsea
*WGOM Derby
FA Cup Final
As a tune up for their Tuesday clash, Liverpool and Chelsea will compete in the FA Cup final at Wembley today (1:15 PM Central kickoff). This is the 30th time the teams have met in the last 7 years, according to the Football Weekly podcast. Chelsea have won the FA Cup 3 times lately (06-07, 08-09, and 09-10) and Liverpool last won in 05-06.
Prediction Contest
Monday night's MDWTTONL™ was a big 5 point swing for a lot of players. With United in 1st and City in 2nd, a lot of people had 7 points from just those two teams (3 each for correct position, plus a bonus for the correct champion). Now with City in 1st and United in 2nd, those same people have only 2 points (1 point for being +/- 1 position). In the process, only HomerDome was the only contestant to gain 5 points after the match.
| Place | Player | Points | Place Last Week | Points Last Week | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Homer Dome | 21 | 7 | 12 | 9 |
| 2 | The Dread Pirate | 17 | 3 | 16 | 1 |
| 3 | MagUidhir | 16 | 1 | 20 | -4 |
| 4 | Freealonzo | 12 | 6 | 13 | -1 |
| 5 | AMR | 12 | 4 | 15 | -3 |
| 6 | Buffalo | 11 | 8 | 11 | 0 |
| 7 | Spookymilk | 10 | 5 | 14 | -4 |
| 8 | Daneeka's Ghost | 9 | 2 | 16 | -7 |
| 9 | davidwatts | 8 | 10 | 7 | 1 |
| 10 | DK | 4 | 9 | 10 | -6 |
Posting News
As I said above, I'm thinking this should be a Saturday morning post for the weekend's games. Let me know what you think about that. Also, I think a name change is in order, since Monday's MLS Mayhem (yes, it's coming back after the EPL is over) will no longer be an accurate name. To keep the alliteration going, I'm thinking "Sporadic Soccer Stories" or "Football Features Few and Far Between". Suggestions/comments?
Football Features Few and Far Flung?
Sporadic Saturday Soccer Stories?
This Norwich City - Arsenal game is nutso. Arsenal went up 1-0 inside 2 minutes. Then Norwich led 2-1 at the half. RVP scored twice to give Arsenal a 3-2 lead, but NC just equalized with 5 minutes to go.
The Canaries have kept hope alive! Fair enough as they went to the Lane and beat Spurs 1-2.
I just got up from my nap and I missed most of the 1st half of the FA Cup Final. Chelsea lead 1-0.
Goal Drogba. 2-0 Chelsea
Goal Carroll. 2-1 now. I must say, I did not see that coming. L'pool have been woeful so far.
This is the sort of final where you hope both teams find a way to lose.
Definitely. Though I will say in the last ten minutes or so, it's been a bit more exciting.
I would love to see Spurs end up in 4th and then relegated to Europa by a Chelsea Champions League title. That would be icing on a very satisfying Chelsea season (o.k. satisfying last 1/4 of a season).
Goal! Clint Dempsey. Fulham 1 -0 Sunderland
Sunderland tie the game at 1-1, only for Fulham to retake the lead in less than a minute.