Good Morning! Matchweek 11 is here and it’s taking no prisoners. Arsenal takes on Sunderland as we see the bad boy Granit Xhaka return to the club that banished him to Germany (which worked out pretty good in the end). But if that isn’t enough, we also get to see powerhouses City and Liverpool meet, in the battle of the bald coaches. Who will shine bright like a diamond and who will reveal their flaws…also like a diamond. 🤦‍♂️

-Gabe

In this edition

• Fixtures

• 3 Things to Watch

• Extra Slice

Matchweek 11 Fixtures

Saturday, November 8

🐓 Tottenham vs 🔴 Manchester United - 4:30 - USA
Make sure you’re seated before reading this… Tottenham hasn’t lost against United since October of 2022, (5W,2D)… in all competitions (enter mind blown emoji here).

The Spurs may find it difficult to maintain this streak considering their mind boggling ten players out with injury. Despite United’s draw last week to a woeful Forest, they’ve had a decent run of form having only lost once in their last six (4W,1D,1L). Both teams are level with 17 points in the table.

🟦 Everton vs 🏡 Fulham - 7:00 - Peacock
Both teams are firmly planted at the bottom third of the table with Everton leading by a single point. Fulham travel north having not won on the road this season,(1D,4L). Everton haven’t held a clean sheet for seven straight matches, and Fulham have scored seven goals in their last six matches. Nobody would complain if this turned into a goal fest.

⚒️ West Ham vs 🟣 Burnley - 7:00 - Peacock
We venture even further down the table to find relegation-zoned Hammers (18th) clawing up at the “cliff’s edge” Clarets (17th). West Ham is safely aboard the hype train after their surprising win over Newcastle last week and hope it won’t run out of steam. They’ll be going up against the keeper with the highest number of saves per game, Dubravka (4.3 Saves/90).

🐈‍⬛ Sunderland vs 🔫 Arsenal - 9:30 - NBC
If you had told me before the season began, that this would be an epic clash of #4 vs #1 I would have laughed in your face. But it turns out Sunderland “Ain’t no scrubs”. The teams’ 8 year sabbatical from the Premier League apparently did them some good as they have been remaking a name for themselves bolstered by the veteran captain and former Arsenal man, Granit Xhaka.

🦁 Chelsea vs 🐺 Wolves - 12:00 - Peacock
The Extra Slice Curse strikes again… over the past 7 months, 3 coaches we have written about in our longer form editorial section (The Extra Slice) have been fired, with the most recent victim being Vitor Peirerra who was let go after Wolves most recent loss. We are officially accepting bribes to write about your teams’ failing coach or your rivals’ coach that is killing it.

Sunday, November 9

🟣 Aston Villa vs 🍒 Bournemouth - 6:00 - Peacock
The Cherries head to Birmingham to negotiate with Tommy Shelby take on Villa after their loss to City last weekend. Sitting pretty in fifth place, a win could see Bournemouth climb up to third in the table, overtaking Sunderland and Liverpool.

🐝 Brentford vs ⚫️ Newcastle - 6:00 - Peacock
Fun fact: this fixture averages 4.1 goals per match, the highest of any Premier League matchup played at least eight times. Newcastle’s midweek Champions League win over Bilbao (Did you see Dan Burns curving header?!?🔥) may have finally lit the fuse after the worst opening 10-match stretch of Eddie Howe’s tenure.


🦅 Crystal Palace vs 🐧 Brighton - 6:00 - USA
Palace snapped a three-game skid after beating Brentford last week, and are favored at home, but Brighton haven’t lost back-to-back at Selhurst since the ’80s.

🌲 Forest vs 🦉 Leeds - 6:00 - Peacock
Only one win out of ten this season for Forest, and none since Dyche has been in charge. But forest does have history on their side, the last time they were beaten at home by Leeds, Nixon was president (1971).

🔵 Man City vs 🔴 Liverpool - 8:30 - NBC
We saved the best for last, as the two teams who combined have won the last eight straight Premier Leagues, will meet in Manchester for a key match in the title race.

Outside of the table implications, there are personal records at stake.

In what will be his 108th match, Erling Haaland is two goals away from becoming the fastest player to score 100 goals in the PL. A record held by Alan Shearer who hit the milestone in 124 games.

Likewise Mohammed Salah, has a chance to set a record for most goal involvements with either a goal or assist Sunday. That record he currently shares with Wayne Rooney (276 goals/assists).

Winner of this match will lay claim to second place in the table going into the international break.

^{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. 💩 Vintage West Ham Vs City Mud Match 

2. 🎵Mbuemo’s the King Of October - POTM

3. 🐌Moises Caicedo in Slow Mo 

Extra Slice

Palace Explained. Today’s Extra Slice is a little different. We’ve mentioned in bits and pieces about teams (like Crystal Palace) experimenting with unorthodox tactics, but the video above takes it a step further.

The video does a phenomenal job giving a tactical breakdown of what Palace is doing that’s working and explains in detail how their players are working together to carve up their opponents. Enjoy.
Watch time: ~12 minutes