Still too much snow, feeling under the weather.  You know what that means?  Right, coverage a mile wide and an inch deep.

Still A Loss

Newcastle were in the match at Man City but you don't get any points for a 2-1 loss no matter how well you played.  I remember thinking that a second half equalizer was not out of the question but of course it never came.  Stats were pretty even.  If they play like this versus the rest of the league, they will get results.

Rescuing A Draw That Was Not In The Script

Aston Villa at home should be getting all three points against Leeds.  Instead they needed an 88th minute goal from Tammy Abraham to eke out a draw.  First and second place get further away.

Bad Boys

Chelsea got another red card and surrendered the tying goal at 90+3 in a 1-1 draw with Burnley.  As the table below shows, this was not an aberration.

Maybe They Need A Plantagenet

The Tudor Era at Spurs did not get off to a great start.  Though the final score of 4-1 may overstate the magnitude of the defeat, especially given that Spurs had a goal ruled out on a very soft foul and another ball saved off the line.  I believe the score was 3-1 at the time and if either had counted, the final 30 or so minutes could have been really interesting.  On the other hand, Arsenal generated 20 shots to Spurs 6.  There is a gap between these two sides right now.

Your Other Gomes

Quadruple sons of different mothers?

Wolves had an "interesting" day at Crystal Palace.  They had a missed PK late in the first half, then had Krejci sent off for two yellows in the space of three minutes.  Still they persevered and looked on the cusp of maybe grabbing a point.  Guessand ended that "dream" with a goal at 90 minutes.  

But we are more intrigued by the fact that the Wolves bench featured four Gomeses - midfield Joao, forward Rodrigo, defender Toti and midfielder Angel.  They might do better to stockpile Haalands.

Champions League Playoffs

Newcastle did well enough to close out a 9-3 aggregate win over Qarabag FK.  Surprise and drama in other parts though.  Bodo/Glimt surprised Inter with a 2-1 road win to take a 5-2 win on aggregate. Juventus came back from three down to tie Galatasaray, sending that one to extra time.  At that point, Juventus turned into the Tired Old Lady, yielding two in added 30 minutes.  Atalanta was hosting Dortmund, down 0-2 after the first leg.  They roared back to take a 3-2 early in the second half but Dortmund leveled things at 75 minutes.  With extra time looming, we had this week's YouTubeableMoment in the form of a creative but ultimately costly defensive move.  With the PK, Atalanta move on.

The draw for the Round of 16 is Friday.  We know that Newcastle will get either Chelsea or Barcelona.

Not The Defense You Think It Is

The fallout continues from last week's ugly scene in Lisbon between Vinicius Jr and Prestianni.  I must include a disclaimer that much of this is based on "reports" so maybe there is more to come.  With that said, it appears that Prestianni's claim is that his comment to Vini was emphatically not racist but "just" homophobic.  Oh, well okay then.  Except the sanctions for homophobic slurs are covered by same regulations and call for the same punishment (10 game ban).  Prestianni is now claiming that he was responding to Vini calling him a dwarf.  Well, that's not great either, though UEFA regulations don't appear to cover physical characteristics like height.

Where Are The Goals Going To Come From?

This is my first thought after watching the Union fall 1-0 at DC United.  With Baribo and Uhre gone, Quinn out until July at best and Wagner no longer here to put crosses on a platter, how does this team score?  I guess Alladoh does have a track record as a goal scorer.  However, to do that, he will need to keep himself on the pitch.  Kind of a confusing sight as he was sent off for what we could only surmise was foul language (confirmed by Annie Savoy).  Later we found out it was directed at the DC United player, not the referee, not that it makes any difference for the sanction.  Also, based on his reaction scoring the game's only goal, seen here, Baribo did not get the memo about the proper way to celebrate a goal versus your former club.

Didn't make much progress on the new roster names.  Will try to provide more info next week.

Cavan Sullivan had two goals and two assists vs Defence Force

I'm still sticking with my original question about where are the goals going to come from even after
the Union completed a 12-0 aggregate trouncing of Defence Force FC.  No offence intended, but this was not the caliber of club the U will be facing in MLS.  Tonight was a 7-0 rout in the second leg back at Subaru Park.  Goal scorers included Martinez, Lukic, Korzeniowski (2), Bender and Cavan Sullivan (2).  If I read the bracket correctly, the Union will face America in the Round of 16.

Double Dose of EPL

We get match weeks 28 and 29 spread over Friday to Thursday.

Don't miss the early start to the weekend, with Aston Villa traveling to Wolves for our favorite - Friday football at 3 pm.  Not sure that applies to Saturday's 7:30 fixture between Bournemouth and Sunderland, though these are two of Newcastle's main competitors for the staying in the top 10.

Three matches at 10 but no real choice for us with Newcastle hosting Everton.  Opta has the Magpies 56/21 (23% chance of draw) favorites but that seems highly optimistic to me.  It's also probably the best choice for neutrals over Liverpool v West Ham or Burnley - Brentford.  The feature 12:30 with Leeds hosting Man City does not hold much promise.

Sunday at 9 has three choices.  We'll likely go with the London derby between Fulham and Spurs; though it makes sense, it's still jarring to see Spurs a decided underdog here. Brighton - Nottingham Forest doesn't sound exciting and on paper Man United vs Crystal Palace at Old Trafford shouldn't be all that close.  The matchweek closes with another London derby that sounds better than it might be - Arsenal vs Chelsea.  Opta says Arsenal at 63%, Chelsea 17% and 20% chance of a draw.  Wow, that's a huge spread.

The full list of match week 29 fixtures is here. Unfortunately, two of the week's better matches are stacked on top of each other.  On Wednesday, Aston Villa host Chelsea in match fraught with Champions League implications.  That's at 2:30.  But Newcastle and Man United kick-off 45 minutes later.  That match is mostly fraught with danger for Newcastle but would be an important win in Man United's resurgence.  

The Union have their MLS home opener vs NYCFC at 4:30 on Sunday.  We will be there, health and weather willing.