Matchweek 10 arrives and we are officially ¼ of the way through the Premier League season. But don’t fret, we have plenty more games to come and more hopes to be dashed (I’m looking at you Arsenal). This week we dive into a handful of the most interesting matchups, and talk a bit about everyone’s favorite part of the sport, the throw-in. Exciting doesn’t even scratch the surface.

-Gabe

In this edition

• Fixtures

• 3 Things to Watch

• Extra Slice

Matchweek 10 Fixtures

Saturday, November 1

🐧 Brighton vs 🦉 Leeds – 8:00 AM – Peacock

🍷 Burnley vs 🦈 Arsenal – 8:00 AM – NBC

🦅 Crystal Palace vs 🐝 Brentford – 8:00 AM – Peacock
“The Long Throw Kings” go head to head in a 10th vs 11th place matchup. Palace are fresh of yet another win over Liverpool midweek, this time in the EFL. They’ve now beaten them three times in two months—a lone bright spot after going four games without a win in all comps.

Brentford, travels to Selhurst Park in fine form after also beating Liverpool last week (starting to see a trend). The Bees have been boxing (stinging?) above their weight this season facing powerhouses, Chelsea, Liverpool, Man City, and Manchester United so far and coming away with 7 points from that group.

🏠 Fulham vs 🐺 Wolverhampton – 8:00 AM – Peacock

🌲 Forest vs 🔴 Manchester United – 8:00 AM – Peacock

🐓 Tottenham vs 🦁 Chelsea – 10:30 AM – Peacock
Chelsea travel across London to face Thomas Frank’s Tottenham, led by in-form defender Micky van de Ven, with the Opta supercomputer narrowly favoring the Blues (40.4% to 33.9%). Spurs have only won 1 of their last 13 against Chelsea, but if they find a way to win, they will jump up to second in the table.

🔴 Liverpool vs ⚒ Aston Villa – 1:00 PM – USA
Villa (8th) hosts Liverpool (7th) in what could be a make or break game for Slot. The teams are crossing paths as they head opposite directions through the table, meeting at an oddly satisfying point on their journeys. Liverpool is in free fall after losing 4 straight PL matches, while Villa is skyrocketing up, having won 4 straight PL matches.

A win for Villa would be the first time a team has beaten City and Liverpool in back to back weeks since Leicester’s title-winning team in 2016.

Sunday, November 2

⚒ West Ham vs ⚫ Newcastle – 6:00 AM – USA

🌙 Manchester City vs 🍒 Bournemouth – 8:30 AM – USA
Manchester City return to the Etihad looking to rebound from their loss to Aston Villa, with Erling Haaland hoping to improve his shaky scoring record against Bournemouth (one goal every 439 minutes).

Meanwhile, French wonderkid Eli Kroupi (4 goals in 6 games) and the 2nd place Cherries arrive unbeaten in eight league matches, though Opta still gives Pep’s side a commanding 61.5% chance to keep their perfect home record against Bournemouth intact.

Monday, November 3

🐈‍⬛ Sunderland vs 🔵 Everton – 12:00 PM – USA

^{Times are in Pacific Standard Time and channels are based in the U.S.
Stats are supplied by Opta Analyst.}

Three Things to Watch

1. 📺 7 Goal EFL Cup Barn Burner - Wolves vs Chelsea

2. 🧨🔥 Stadium Fireworks Spectacle (South America) - Must See

3. 🎵 Premier League Coutinho Was a Thing of Beauty

Extra Slice

It turns out that one kid in high school who could do a front handspring and absolutely launch the ball 40 yards from a throw-in, may have been on to something.

This season, every team has incorporated long throws as part of their attack strategy. In fact, eight goals so far have resulted from long throw-ins, with two in week nine alone. Teams are averaging nearly four long throws per match, a staggering 162% increase from last year’s average of 1.5 per match.

The long throw-in is defined as launching the ball from the sideline into the six-yard box, where a player typically attempts to flick it toward the back post. Brentford leads the league with 47 long throws into the box, while Crystal Palace is the most threatening, with 18 shots resulting from these throws. Together, these two teams (who are playing each other this week) have accounted for four of the eight long throw-in goals this season.

Time will tell just how beneficial this new found commitment to the long throw will play out. Watch this space for an end of the season recap. But for now, let’s just enjoy the spectacle of players absolutely yeeting the ball at a mob in the box as chaos ensues.

See you next week!