Gm football fans. Route One here, the SportsCenter of the Premier League - we only bring you the best highlights.

Today’s briefing is a ~4 min read:

1. Preview of gameweek 12… all the best games in 60 seconds 🤩

2. Extra time: Harry Kane’s stats are off the charts 📊

3. FPL: who’s the best captain this gameweek? 🫡

Morning Brief 🗞️

GAMEWEEK 12 PREVIEW 🤩

Wolves vs Tottenham

Are we going to talk about last week?

The game where Spurs lost 4-1 to Chelsea, where there were two red cards, five disallowed goals and a bazillion injuries…

Ok, ok, we won’t mention it.

But, really, can Spurs bounce back with a weakened team?

Romero was suspended for three games, Udogie for one, loss of Micky van de Ven, and Maddison a doubt.

Spurs fans will rejoice that Wolves’ main threat, Pedro Neto, is still out with a hamstring injury.

And Spurs have won nine of 18 of the meetings between the two sides.

But, with a depleted squad, it won’t be a walk in the park. Gary O’Neil’s side is improving and Wolves have netted on 10 successive Premier League outings this season.

It’s a big game for Spurs. And one to show they have league title credentials.

• 💉 Quick hit: Wolves have two wins in their last three Premier League meetings with Spurs.

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Liverpool vs Brentford

Liverpool will try to put their dropped points at Luton behind them.

With a 55.7% win percentage, Liverpool are expected to take all three points.

But, that’s in the past.

Brentford will be playing with confidence after their third consecutive league win in gameweek 11.

The Bees are looking far better after a grey patch, with the likes of Mbeumo and Wissa stepping up to the mark again.

With Liverpool winning all eight of their games at Anfield this season, will Brentford cause an upset?

💉 Quick hit: Mo Salah has contributed at least one goal involvement in his past 14 home league appearances.

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Chelsea vs Man City

The finale of GW12 shouldn’t disappoint.

But, check this… Man City has won the last six matches against Chelsea by an aggregate score of 10-0 in all competitions.

Eeesh.

With City back in form, it’s going to be tough for Chelsea to nick a point.

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has seen some success against City as Southampton manager.

But, over the past six clashes with City, Pochettino only has two draws and four losses.

We’ll see if history repeats itself on Sunday

• 💉 Quick hit: Man City’s win against Bournemouth last week was the 12th time they have scored six in the league under Pep. The second-best team in this category is Liverpool, who have managed the feat six times in that time.

EXTRA-TIME ⏱️

Harry Kane now has 17 goals in 11 games for Bayern Munich. Is he the best striker in the world right now?

This is pettiness at its finest… In Peru, Universitario beat their rival Allianza Lima 2-0. After the final whistle, Allianza Lima turned off the lights in the stadium so Universitario couldn't celebrate. 😂

Liverpool goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelar invented the wobbly knee. His knee routine threw off Roma players in the 84’ European Cup Final. It led to Liverpool’s fourth European Cup win.

John Terry decides the Chelsea manager’s future. This may come as no surprise. But John Obi Mikel recounts how much power the Chelsea dressing room had in their heyday.

Tottenham keeper Guglielmo Vicario was a wall vs Chelsea. And they still lost 4-1. He may have his work cut out against against a strong Wolves side this weekend.

FANTASY PREMIER LEAGUE 📊

CAPTAINCY

Captaincy pick is the most important choice… so don’t leave it to chance.

Here at R1, we practice what we preach.

As we said, we’re swearing by betting odd averages for our captaincy picks. So far it has worked a treat.

So we thought we’d share the results here:

The bookies are betting that Haaland is likely to score 2+ goals vs The Blues.

Salah’s not too far behind… and he’s a midfielder.

It’s always tempting to go with the MID. We know…

But, to be honest, there’s not much in the xGC between Chelsea at home (1.11) and Brentford away (1.16).

So we’re going to be swayed by the betting odds and pass the armband to the Robot himself.

Is Wilson the way to go?

We did some research.

Looking at xG and NPxG (non-penalty expected goals), Wilson stands out.

Despite his low minutes (482 overall), he’s exceeding his xG and NPxG.

Newcastle now has a plum of a fixture as they took on Bournemouth. They sit 18th in the league and have conceded the second most goals (27) with xGC of 24.1 (second-worst).

With Alexander Isak out with injury, Wilson is a nailed start, on penalties, and can produce goals and assists.

He’s on our radar…

…And so is Bowen

Nothing will give a player more confidence than being recalled to their country’s national team.

So, Danny Dier’s fella will be on a high…

His 7 goals and 1 assist this season are solid and he’s always nailed on.

Most importantly, West Ham has a huge fixture swing and it starts with Notts Forrest this gameweek.

But if you’re feeling ultra-risky, why not take a punt on Mohammed Kudus (£6.5m)?

The midfielder has been selected by 0.8%.

He’s not approved just yet, but his 11 points vs Brentford last weekend caught our attention.

So… if you’re chasing points, he could be a good long-term pick.

MEME 😆

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