Consistently Inconsistent

Originally this was going to be a post about how mediocrity would be a step up for Newcastle.  Then they pulled off the unlikely draw with Liverpool.  Better to complain about inconsistency than mediocrity I guess.  Plus, I have lots of company - looking at you Aston Villa and Spurs fans.

.02 Expected Goals?

In Saturday's match with Crystal Palace, Newcastle set a new low for offensive irrelevance.  They managed one shot, not on target and registered an xG of .02.     You have to work really hard to do that badly.  The funny thing was that the Magpies carried a 1-0 lead late into stoppage time thanks to a Palace own goal.  On the one hand, it was frustrating to lose the points on a late goal but on the other, even one point from that showing was grand larceny.  Palace at Selhurst Park is never a piece of cake but this was ridiculous.

Schar just barely gets to the equalizer

So we went into Wednesday's match against a decidedly in-form Liverpool with zero expectations.  What a shock to see them go toe-to-toe with the league leader.  Isak's opening goal (a screamer seen here) was certainly not against the run of play.  The contest went back and forth from there, with Liverpool leveling at 1-1, Newcastle scoring to make in 2-1 and Salah scoring two to put Liverpool up 3-2.  This looked like the reverse of Saturday - no points for a good effort.  They rescued a point on a free kick into the box by Guimaraes that Fabian Schar somehow reached before it went over the end line and slipped into the goal.  An easy choice for this week's YouTubeableMoment.  I saw several references to this match as the best game of the year.  Sometimes it's okay if it's your team involved in a great game for the neutral.

WDWWLDDLLWWLDD

No, that's not Welsh for "hello" but rather Newcastle's form over the season's first 14 matches.  They don't have a website anymore because they can't put three w's together.  As the euphoria of Wednesday's draw wears off, we awake to the reality that this is a wildly inconsistent team sitting 12th in the table.  

When Did Virgil van Dijk Become A Thug?

Twice during the Newcastle match, van Dijk "ran into" Newcastle players not any where near the ball.  First, the 6'5" defender clocked 5'10" Lewis Hall for which he was called for a foul.  Then he went after "bigger" game in the form of 6'0" Anthony Gordon, making sure he got his shoulder into Gordon's head.  He got away with that one, presumably because the referee did not see it and was not red card worthy and therefore not subject to VAR.  I used to like him.

A League of Their Own?

After a relatively easy 2-0 win over Man City on Sunday, Liverpool were looking to be in a division of their own.  The draw with Newcastle (you're welcome, rest of the league) slowed that roll a little but the Reds still have have a seven point lead over both Chelsea and Arsenal and are up nine points on Man City.  

Dropping Points

Only three sides failed to drop points this week.  Chelsea got wins over Aston Villa and Southampton.  Arsenal beat West Ham and Man United (surprisingly easily on two corners).   Bournemouth handled Wolves and Tottenham. The Villa loss to Chelsea was more of an issue of performance rather than result, as that was always a tough match.  They did rebound with a solid win over Brentford but their inconsistency is troubling.  Spurs came away with just one point from matches with Fulham and Bournemouth.  At the dark end of the street, Ipswich, Wolves and West Ham got nothing.

In other news, Michael B announced he no longer follows the EPL.  Hey Michael, you're still ahead of Newcastle,if only on goal differential. 

A Sliver of a Silver Lining

Mateta's goal was the difference in the relegation
six-pointer between Ipswich and Palace
Photograph: Tony O Brien/Reuters

An Ipswich fan would be hard pressed to find anything good that came out of week of 1-0 losses to Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace, especially given that the latter is a relegation rival.  The good news is that another relegation rival - Wolves - lost their matches 4-2 (vs Bournemouth) and 4-0 (to Everton).  Based on the relative margin of losses, Ipswich moved past Wolves and into 18th place based on the change in goal differential.  Surprised how tepid both sides were in the Palace match; I'd been looking for some intensity given their positions in the nether region of the table but it was a real snoozer.  

Another Busy Week Ahead

Saturday dawns with a 7:30 Merseyside Derby, likely the last at Goodison Park.  Unfortunately the schedule makers put both Aston Villa (vs Southampton) and Newcastle (at Brentford) at 10 am.  The latter is sadly a clash of mid-table sides that Newcastle need to win if they are to be taken seriously as a top half of table team.  Actually, Villa is in the same situation only more so; they simply have to beat Southampton. The other 10 am choice is Crystal Palace hosting Man City.  Best choice for neutral is probably Brentford - Newcastle.

The 12:30 feature match on NBC is Man United - Nottingham Forest.  That would be 13th place versus 7th place.  Despite position in the table, United are solid favorites.  Even more fun is that if they do win, they will pass Forest in the table, an indication of how compressed the mid-table is.

Sunday has the marquee match of the weekend with Spurs hosting Chelsea (11:30 on USA).  Even on the road, Chelsea are healthy favorites in this one.  The three 9 am appetizers are Fulham - Arsenal, Ipswich - Bournemouth and Leicester - Brighton.  Not much to recommend there but we'll probably go with Ipswich as we have taken a sudden interest in the Tractor Boys struggle to avoid relegation.

Speaking of relegation, there is a Monday match featuring West Ham and Wolves.  Six points above the drop zone, maybe the Hammers aren't in relegation jeopardy yet but they need to win matches like this one to keep it that way.

It's also a European competition week, which means matches Tuesday-Thursday.  We thank the schedulers for staggering the start times to maximize viewing.  Tuesday you can do Girona - Liverpool at 12:45 and RB Leipzig - Aston Villa at 3.  Wednesday the EPL sides play concurrently with Juventus - Man City and Arsenal -Monaco both at 3 pm.  Thursday you can do a triple header! Start with Astana - Chelsea at 10:30, Viktoria Plezn (I didn't make that up) - Man United at 12:45 and Rangers - Spurs at 3.  Hey no fair, I have a planning board meeting Thursday that means I might only see Spurs.

If you care about this, the MLS Cup Final is Saturday at 4 pm between the LA Galaxy (2 seed) and NY Red Bulls (7 seed) on Fox.  Both were 1-0 winners in their conference finals.  I did watch both (Laura and Mackenzie were watching other stuff on Saturday night); the matches weren't awful but I remember little except LA scored late when it looked like it might go to extra time.  

Not many off days in December.