💭 Circular thought

IN-THE-INBOX: 2-MINS

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🗓️ Friday 9th May

1. Trent’s horror stat 😬

2. Europa League Final talk 🗣️

3. Three big PLAY-OFF tips 🪜 
   
   

THE BIG FACTS

Pub Ammo

🔫  The Gunners are the only ‘Big Six’ side to not make a cup final this season.

🎯 Man United have only had three players score 10+ and assist 10+ goals in all comps since the PL began. Dwight Yorke (once), Cristiano Ronaldo (once) and Bruno Fernandes (thrice).

👋 Trent Alexander-Arnold has been dribbled past more times (55) than any defender in the big five leagues this season.

🇪🇺 For the first time since 2004 when Porto beat Monaco, there will be no English, Spanish or German team in the Champions League Final.

🕟 Chelsea’s win against Liverpool this weekend was their first Premier League win in a Sunday 4:30pm since January 2022.

🚩 Arsenal have the highest percentage of goals conceded from set-pieces this season (38.7%).

🙋 Harry Kane played 694 matches and scored 441 goals before getting his hands on a first major trophy.

THE BIG TIPS

Play-off picks

THE BIG OPINION

Europa no hopers

The Europa League Final is perhaps the most absurd game of the season.

Two abysmally bad Premier League sides have catapulted them to the summit of 2nd-tier European football — and the hyperbole is off the Richter Scale.

According to Robbie Savage, Mason Mount’s 2nd half semi-final performance against a desperate Bilbao side included the best 30 minutes of his career.

One suspects he was born yesterday. Or the 2021 Champions League Final was a hologram.

Meanwhile, “serious” pundits are posing whether Spurs would have had a better season than Arsenal or Man City if they win the Europa League — despite being on 37 points, a tally that would have relegated better sides in the past.

Mate.

But, there is something at stake. A thoroughly undeserved Champions League spot – laughably but wonderfully giving life to the concept of the Magic of the Cup™️. (Just not the FA Cup)

And there are two narratives.

United are clearly improving under Amorim.

A Europa League trophy here would give them a major boost in the transfer market, despite also being a big club that supposedly can attract talent without being in Europe. A circular thought pattern that will give Gary Neville legs well into July.

Meanwhile, Spurs haven’t won a trophy since 2008, so this is a drought that well and truly needs watering.

Hard one to call but Spurs have got the better of United three times already this season and as we all know: Ange always wins things in his 2nd season.

Love him or loathe him, a Spurs win would be poetic.

THE BIG FANTASY

No more DGWs

Our team is still ~283,000th.
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There are no more blanks or double gameweeks — so it’s a straight shootout in the last three weekends.

We’re looking at Man City, Forest and Brentford for inspiration. City and Brentford have the easiest run ins left, while Forest face a dire Leicester side and are nailed on for three much-needed points.

Time to make some big calls.

Big Six picks
✅ Gibbs-White £6.4m (more of a differential than Elanga)
✅ Foden £9.4m (very risky, but has a habit of scoring when it doesn’t matter)
✅ Wissa £6.6m (cheaper & more of a differential than Mbeumo)

THE BIG QUOTE

THE SOFA SCHEDULE

SAT
12:30 Bournemouth vs Villa Sky Sports

SUN
12:00 Newcastle vs Chelsea Sky Sports
14:15  Forest vs Leicester TNT Sports
16:30 Liverpool vs Arsenal Sky Sports

If you want to receive all the tips AND regular Champions League editions, you can upgrade to The Big Six Club for just £6.99 a month.

All the best,
The Big Six