Oh, To Be In England Now That April's There

Who knew Robert Browning was a football fan.

Looking at the calendar, there are only nine days in April without a Premier League fixture.  We can thank the FA Cup schedule for supplying us with mid-week contests throughout the month.  Welcome to the run in.

We start with 15 matches in five days beginning on Saturday.  Not saying all are tantalizing but there are some good ones.  Biggest is Liverpool-Tottenham Sunday at 11:30 on NBCSN.  Liverpool can ill afford to drop any points between now and the finish if they want to battle Man City for the title.  But Spurs, who gave up a relatively cushy ride to a top four finish with some recent poor outings, will be looking to get back on track.  Btw, note the start time, which means England gets to DST on Sunday at 1 am.

"Little Shop of Horrors" for Newcastle?

Newcastle have one of their least productive fixtures on Monday at 3:00 (NBCSN) as they travel to London to face Arsenal.  Do they ever get a result here?  To the record book.  Since the inception of the EPL, Newcastle have gone 4-2-17 in this fixture.  And most of the results are on the front end.  The Magpies last got a win at Arsenal on 11/7/10.  They got a draw on 11/18/06.  So we go in with low expectations.

One match to look in on is Brighton-Southampton.  One might think this would be labeled a South Coast Derby except that neither club seems to think of it as such.  Probably just not enough history.  Anyway, both are uncomfortably close to the drop zone and will be looking for points.  Could be some relegation flop sweat there.  That's at 11 am on Saturday on CNBC.  Other relegation candidates have some tough sledding.  Burnley must face Wolves (11 am Saturday on NBC Gold) and Cardiff City have to take on Chelsea (9:05 Sunday on NBCSN).  Crystal Palace have a golden opportunity to take themselves out of the mix with a home match against Huddersfield (11 am Saturday on NBC Gold).  Man City will likely make hash of Fulham in Saturday's early match.  Man United and their new permanent manager Ole Gunnar might have their hands full with Watford, even at Old Trafford (12:30 Saturday on NBCSN - not NBC).

For the mid-week matches, TV schedulers have sorted this out for us.  On Tuesday we can watch Wolves - Man United, a rematch of the recent FA Cup contest.  At 538, they give a slight edge to United but it has all the markings of a draw, which would be another blow to United's top four chances.  Wednesday we go with a London derby between Tottenham and Crystal Palace; Spurs should be solid here.  Both matches are on NBCSN at 2:45.  Relegation candidates Cardiff get no break and must take on Man City at the Etihad; 538 gives Cardiff a 1% likelihood of winning (so you're saying there's still a chance).  Brighton probably doesn't get a result at Stamford Bridge either so their relegation fears won't be diminished.


Goodbye, Columbus (apologies to Philip Roth and to The Association)

Accam after the storm?

So the Union went into Saturday's match against the Columbus Crew minus their starting keeper, playmaker, striker and midfielder and came away with a 3-0 win.  Yes, Columbus were missing some players too but at least they fielded a full squad of 18 players.  Much of the credit goes to David Accam, who had  two goals and an assist.  His dad had passed away during the week in Ghana but he chose to play ("this was the only thing that gives me joy").  For any number of reasons then, we can make his first goal this week's YouTubeableMoment.  A big shout out to Haris Medunjanin for improved defensive work plus the key passes that set up Accam's goals (though he didn't get an assist for either).  A clean sheet points to a better defensive performance all around as well.

A reminder about why we shouldn't get so negative this early in the season - with the win, the Union are just three points out of first.  They are also just three points out of last.  Interesting match up this Saturday at 7:30 as the Union travel to Ohio for their first contest with the latest MLS expansion franchise, FC Cincinnati.  Make that 2nd place FC Cincinnati, coming off a draw, then two straight wins.  Probably a slight underdog, the Union should have a chance to come away with a point.  What lineup does Jim Curtin field for this one? Fabian is available, Burke is back.  Accam played well last time out, Aaronson played really well in his first match, okay in his second.  IMHO, Curtin should find a way to put Accam in the lineup.  We need to know if he's going to be the player he was at Chicago; if yes, we could be in for a good ride.


In 538 We Trust?

I pooh-poohed (sp?) the 538 forecast that had the Union as a clear favorite vs Columbus (51% chance of win, 26% chance of draw).  Hmmm.  What else do they say?

- EPL top four (in order of finish) will be Man City, Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal
- Cardiff, Fulham and Huddersfield will be relegated
- Newcastle will finish 14th
- The Union finish 8th in the MLS East (out of the playoffs)
- The new-look Phillies win 84 games and just miss the playoffs

From their lips to god's ear...

Even with all the viewing, don't forget to get outside and enjoy the good weather - that's why somebody invented dvr.