Back to Work

Didn't take in much during the international break because 1) I needed a break, 2) still way too busy 3) the Masters was on and 4) even I'm not falling for the idea that the Nations League contests are that much better than friendlies.  I did see Scotland get a Euro 2020 2021 202? berth with a shootout win over Serbia and the USMNT 0-0 draw with Wales.

BFS USMNT Correspondent Philip S took in both the US friendlies (0-0 with Wales and 6-2 over Panama).  After the Panama match he noted "we look strong, quick, skilled, and a little mean.  This is headed in the right direction."  The key adjective there for me was "skilled."  US teams have rarely lacked athleticism but haven't always been the most skilled. Philip spoke highly of Brooks, Dest and Reyna.  The latter definitely stood out for me from what I saw of the Wales match.  Looking forward to the next WC qualifying process.

EPL and Covid 

Not that I really want to follow this but Dennis notes that the resurgence could easily force officials to suspend play again.  So I checked the EPL website and got the following the numbers of positive tests (players and staff) for the weeks ending 9/6 through 11/15:

3,4,3,10,9,5,8,2,4,4,16

Really hope that 16 is not part of a trend.  BTW, one of those 16 is Mo Salah, who will miss Liverpool's next match.  Also, this is another reason we do not need international breaks for friendly matches.

Now, Where Were We?

Right, we're into an intriguing season in which the top four going into this weekend are Leicester, Spurs, Liverpool and Southampton.  Aston Villa are 6th but Man United 14th.  Good to get back to the action.  And once again, if you're so inclined (reclined?) you can take in every match live.

The two stand-out fixtures are Spurs - Man City Saturday (NBC feature match on NBC at 12:30) and Liverpool - Leicester on Sunday (2:15 on NBCSN).  Tottenham have struggled all season; they drew Newcastle and have beat West Brom, Brighton and Burnley by one goal apiece.  Yet they still have only the opening day loss to Everton and sit second in the table.  Same for City.  They are 9th in the table and have some strange results of their own (draw with Leeds and West Ham, struggled to beat Sheffield United) but also have just one defeat.  Intriguing matchup still.  

Newcastle will likely remain stuck on 11 points as they host Chelsea at 7:30 Saturday morning (Peacock).  The only thing better than watching your team lose is getting up early to do so.  Dennis is likely to have a better day with his Aston Villa side having a home match with Brighton (10 am Saturday on NBCSN).  

Another fixture catching my eye is Wolves vs Southampton.  Though Wolves are definitely not as good as last year, they are still fun to watch and Southampton are playing attractive football as well.  Check that one out on Monday at 3 pm on NBCSN.  

According to 538, the most competitive match of the weekend will be Sheffield United - West Ham (Sunday at 9 on Peacock).  We note that competitive does not always translate into high quality, just that the likelihood of a blowout is low.  Speaking of blowouts, that is what Man United should do to  West Brom on Saturday (3 pm Peacock).  Early season upstart Everton, now coming off three straight losses, will try to find their mojo against Fulham at Craven Cottage (7 am Sunday on Peacock).  Rounding out the schedule is Leeds - Arsenal on Sunday at 11:30 (the Gunners have four wins and four losses?) and Burnley - Crystal Palace on Monday at 12:30 (Burnley, like West Brom and Sheffield united, are still winless).

And this EPL schedule will play out on top of the MLS playoffs.  Play-in matches are Friday evening, with the first round getting underway on Saturday running through Tuesday.  Looking around at various predictions, the Union get some love.  But, these brackets from MLS.com writers are scaring me ;  four of the six pick the Union.  I do think they have as good a chance as anybody but don't see it as inevitable.  Unfortunately, the weekend matches coincide with the EPL so something will have to be dvred.  Here's the bracket with times and TV options.  The Union will play an as yet unknown opponent Tuesday night at 8 on ESPN.

So for the moment, we still have plenty to watch.