🇳🇬 Music to Marco's ears

IN-THE-INBOX: A 2-MIN READ

Wonder if anyone at INEOS was reading the newsletter last week? 🤭

Anyway… we’ve got a nine-question survey for you. We had to retire the 10th question in honour of Erik Ten Hag.

Fill it in and we’ll give you the tips FREE for a month.

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🗓️ 1st November 2024

1. Bin the Balon D’Or ⚱️

2. Five bets this week 💸

3. Evra up to his usual shenanigans 😆

(P.S. Here’s the latest P/L. You can join the Premium newsletter Club from £3.99 a month)

THE BIG FACTS

Pub Ammo

👕 Man City only have 13 fully fit outfield players.

🇭🇷 Joško Gvardiol has had the 2nd-most touches in the final third this season (Maddison is 1st).

😯 Arsenal are unbeaten in their last 14 matches against traditional ‘Big Six’ sides.

🦄 Only Ipswich (47 mins, 9 secs) have been in the lead for less time in the Premier League this season than Man United (108 mins, 5 secs)

🇫🇷 Jean-Philippe Mateta had the same number of League goals & assists (21) as Balon D’Or runner-up Vinicius Jr. last season.

🚩 Haaland has been offside only 15 times in his Premier League career. Mbappe was offside 8 times against Barcelona on Sunday.

⌚️ There were five games last weekend where the result was affected by a 90th minute goal – the most in history.

THE BIG TIPS

Youri luck

THE BIG DEAL

Music to Marco’s ears

Fulham are surely the most under the radar team in the Premier League right now?

They're in their third consecutive Premier League season and have the chance to leapfrog West London rivals Brentford (and also Spurs) into 8th with a win this weekend.

And we know who’s running the dressing room celebration playlists… Mr Alex Iwobi.

The Nigerian winger has just released his 2nd single, “What’s Luv?”

We think the answer to that question for The Cottagers is, “Score more goals”.

(Good to know that he hasn’t already released a song called “Don’t Shoot” 🫣)

THE BIG OPINION

The Balon D’Or is dead

The Balon D’Or and the FIFA Men’s Best Player in the world are separate awards.

You may already know that.

But did you know that they briefly merged between 2010 and 2015? It was called the FIFA Balon D’Or.

Somewhat of a PR exercise with the rise of Messi and Ronaldo, perhaps.

Before that in 2007, the Balon D’Or was widely known as the European Footballer Of The Year award. And arguably the FIFA award had more global relevance.

But nobody really cared. They voted Nedved ahead of Henry one year.

But since the two GOATs came along, it’s all changed. And it’s become a corrosive influence.

Vinicius Jr, with his 21 goals and assists last season boycotting the ceremony - along with the rest of the Real Madrid squad - is laughable.

Trent saying he’d rather win the Balon D’Or ahead of the World Cup is a joke.

It’s become too big and too subjective.

Football is a team game.

Bin the Balon D’Or. Or ignore it.

(And you can’t tell us that Granit Xhaka – no matter how good Leverkusen were last season – is the 15th best player in the world.)

BIG SIX ENERGY

Ships in the night

Chelsea haven’t won at Old Trafford since 2013, when Juan Mata scored the winner in a 1-0 victory.

After 11 years, Chelsea won’t have a better chance to exorcise their Red Devil demons.

But there is a fun little symmetry to this meeting…

Enzo Maresca and Ruud van Nistelrooy very briefly used to be teammates, playing together in Ruud’s last season at Malaga in 2012.

And now they’ll be on opposing benches in one of Ruud’s last games as United manager. 💙

THE BIG QUOTE

Netflix ‘n’ Arsenal

THE SOFA SCHEDULE

Toon in early

S A T
12:30 Newcastle vs Arsenal TNT Sports
17:30 Wolves vs Palace TNT Sports

S U N
14:00 Spurs vs Aston Villa Sky Sports
16:30 Man United vs Chelsea Sky Sports

M O N
14:00 Fulham vs Brentford Sky Sports

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That’s an afternoon latte you don’t need. 😉

All the best,
The Big Six