Barstool’s Weekend Soccer Preview – The “Soccer Sleeps For No Man/NCAA Tournament” Edition
Sam’s Safe Space For Soccer Stoolies
Hi haters,
Everybody and their mother is focused on basketball this weekend, and I’m on the road at the moment with some spotty ass internet service, but the show must go on so let’s take a quick look at what we got on tap today and tomorrow…
***********************************
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
Reminder of what happened last time out:
News, notes and observations:
– STAY HOT CITY!
– Liverpool beat a team it should have. That’s weird.
– Youge win for Hull. Relegation battle shaping up to be where the action is at this spring.
– F
M
L
***
Table as things stand right now:
As for the games on deck this weekend:
***
PICKS OF THE WEEK
City [-115]
Liverpool [+280]
Draw [+260]
Liverpool have beat up on good clubs all season. Thankfully for City, they ain’t good right now. City to win 3-2.
**
Tottenham [-165]
Southampton [+400]
Draw [+280]
Hello darkness, my old friend. And by darkness I mean the possibility that Vincento Soldadssen may again be forced to play some meaningful minutes for Spurs. I will say this: if he is in the starting XI then this pick is immediately out the window. As it is I assume Pochettino will use defer to Son up top supported by Alli and Eriksen.
Southampton has been good lately, and specifically has been good on the road, but they will find Spurs’ defense a lot tougher nut to crack than the likes of Sunderland and Watford.
Should be a close one, but I think somehow – some way – Tottenham win 2-1.
***
Other picks:
• Everton is good. Hull is not… but the Tigers are desperate. Not gonna be enough. Everton to win 3-1.
• Sunderland need a win badly and Burnley on the road (despite their winning performance in a losing effort against Liverpool last week) is a good prescription. Sunderland to win 2-0.
• Chelsea is going to trip up at some point. They have to. Is this weekend that unexpected slip up? Probably not, but maybe. Gimme a 1-1 draw on a rainy, wind-swept morning (note: I haven’t checked the weather report) in Stoke.
• MORTAL LOCK OF THE WEEKEND: West Ham has made a habit of consistently losing [or at least not winning] games it should win this season but EPLeicester – not to be confused with their smarter, stronger, richer, bigger-hung, more attractive alter-ego UCLeicester – is BACK and that is a game not even the Hammers can mess up. West Ham to win 2-1.
• Bournemouth got their first win in the calendar year of 2017 last time out. Will it breathe new life into them or was it a dead cat bounce? I’m willing to assume the former… for the moment. They will be without Mings at the back though, which is too bad because he would’ve been a better matchup against Swansea’s Llorente. Neither club stands out as being significant better than the other at this point so I’ll defer to a 2-2 draw.
• And finally there is Middlesbrough hosting United on Sunday. You might think Boro would have a shot against the Zlatan-less Red Devils, but unfortunately they just played their best game perhaps all season in giving Chelsea a game in the FA Cup last weekend. Then again, they are coming off a Spursday night game. Still going with the visitors though. Boro have been that disappointing, can’t score to save their life, and are in the midst of a managerial change to boot. United to win 2-0.
***********************************
MLS
At some point we are going to have to have to have a more legit discussion about MLS, which has been a lot of fun to watch so far this season. This week’s preview is not the time for it though. So here’s this weekend’s schedule, accompanied by another friendly to watch:
***********************************
REST OF THE WORLD
Spain: Two good games in La Liga this weekend starting with Athletic hosting Real Madrid on Saturday (9:15am CT on beIN Sports), while Atletico hosts Sevilla on Sunday (9:15am CT on beIN Sports in games with important ramifications for next season’s UCL slots.
Italy: Juventus travel to Sampodoria on Sunday (8:00am CT on beIN Sports).
Germany: Mainz welcome Schalke on Sunday morning (8:30am on FS1) followed immediately by Bayern visiting Borussia Monchenpenisgladbach (10:30am CT on FS+).
***********************************
So there you have it. I dispensed with a lot of bells, whistles, pictures and “analysis” in the interest of keeping things short. Got a nice little midweek break for once before we return to our regular programming next weekend.
Holler,
Samuel Army