Spring is here and so is another weekend of English Football. We’re back after weeks of international, champions league, and domestic cup competitions and it feels better than ever.

Here are the headlines, Spurs (as of five minutes ago) have fallen into shadow (relegation zone), Arsenal are trying to win the league by playing the lamest football known to man, and Chelsea is punishing their players for having feelings.

It’s good to be back.

-Gabe

In this edition

• Fixtures

• Extra Slice

• What to Watch

Matchweek 32 Fixtures

Friday, April 10

⚒️ West Ham 4 vs 0🐺 Wolves — Final

Saturday, April 11

🔫 Arsenal vs 🍒 Bournemouth — 4:30 AM — USA
Arsenal come into Saturday's home fixture against Bournemouth in that slightly uncomfortable place where they're still very much in control of the title race (nine points clear with a game in hand) — but nobody's quite feeling great about how they got here. The EFL Cup final loss to City, the FA Cup exit to Championship side Southampton, and a 91st-minute scramble to beat Sporting CP on Tuesday has the Emirates crowd shifting uncomfortably in their overly expensive Emirates seats. The good news is Havertz got them over the line in Lisbon and the squad seems to be in "okay, enough of that, let's go" mode. Arsenal are averaging just 0.71 expected goals against per game this season, the stingiest defense in the Premier League since Pep's City side in 2021-22. A win on Saturday and they could be 12 points clear before City even kick off.

Bournemouth don’t really care about all that rubbish typed up above, they’re just hungry for a fight. Iraola's side are on an 11-game unbeaten run in the league, which is genuinely impressive for a team sitting 13th. The catch is that five of those have been draws, another one on Saturday would make them the first team to draw six straight Premier League games since Pepless Man City in 2009 (not exactly the company you want to keep). Keep an eye on teenager Eli Kroupi who has nine league goals in his debut Premier League season, one shy of becoming the first teenager to hit double figures in their first top-flight campaign since Robbie Keane in 1999 (Keano hit 16 goals his debut season).

Saka and Timber are late fitness assessments, which is worth monitoring, but on paper this one shouldn't be close. That being said, "Shouldn't" has been showing up a lot at the Emirates lately.

🐝 Brentford vs 🟦 Everton — 7:00 AM — USA

🟣 Burnley vs 🐧 Brighton — 7:00 AM — Peacock

🔴 Liverpool vs 🏠 Fulham — 9:30 AM — NBC

Sunday, April 12

🦅 Crystal Palace vs ⚫️ Newcastle — 6:00 AM — USA

🌲 Nottingham Forest vs ⭕ Aston Villa — 6:00 AM — Peacock

🐈‍⬛ Sunderland vs 🐓 Tottenham — 6:00 AM — USA

🦁 Chelsea vs 🌙 Manchester City — 8:30 AM — USA
Sunday's trip to Stamford Bridge is shaping up to be a massive test for both sides and honestly, the timing couldn't be better. City basically have to win this one to keep any illusion of a title race alive. The good news for Pep? April is his favorite month to cook in; City have won 28 of their last 31 Premier League games in the month, and we all know what a fully locked-in Guardiola side looks like when the calendar flips. The bad news for Chelsea? They've won exactly one of their last six league games, and that was before they got thoroughly embarrassed at Everton. Not great vibes heading into a home game against… well... you know.

The subplot worth watching is the Haaland situation. The big Norwegian was an absolute menace before Christmas with 19 goals in 17 appearances but since then? Three in twelve, two of which were penalties. He did just bag a hat-trick against Liverpool in the FA Cup last week so the timing of his form returning is either great news or terrible news depending on which shirt you're wearing. Chelsea will also be without Enzo Fernández who was suspended for saying in an interview that he “liked Madrid (the City) and wouldn’t mind playing for Madrid (the team)”.
Apparently his employers didn’t love that and suspended him for 2 games (something that will make him hate Madrid no doubt)

Cole Palmer will have to carry the creative load, which, fair enough, he's done before. City are favored, but Stamford Bridge is never an easy place to go. Should be a good one.

Monday, April 13

🟥 Manchester United vs 🦉 Leeds — 12:00 PM — USA

^{Times are in Pacific Standard Time and channels are based in the U.S.}

Extra Slice

Tottenham, seven games to sink or swim

As you are reading this Tottenham yes, that Tottenham currently sit 18th in the league and are in the relegation zone. 😮(necessary emoji)

Champions League finalists in 2019, competitors in European comps for 18 of the last 20 seasons, they play in the largest club stadium in London, which is also one of the most expensive stadiums in England. This is the team that will potentially be going down to the Championship and facing teams like Oxford United in their 12,000 seat stadium. (this kind of sounds like the plot for a movie to be honest).

It feels like they need to be put out of their misery at this point…they haven't won a league game all of 2026, they got a new coach who came and went without winning a single league match, and they've now turned to Roberto De Zerbi, (one of the Premier League's highest-paid managers) to somehow save the ship with seven games to go. De Zerbi plays a completely different style to anything Igor Tudor or Frank ran, which will be either a lifeline or a recipe for disaster depending on how quickly this squad can absorb a brand new system under extreme relegation pressure.

On the bright side, two or three wins is probably all they need to survive, the downside…. well… see above.

What to Watch

What does a football consultant do? Les Reed Interview.