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- 🥵 GW21... your matchweek preview
🥵 GW21... your matchweek preview
Plus: FPL replacements for Salah and Son
GM football fans. Route One here, your daily football briefing - with zero filler and extra memes.
Ahhh Friday. Say it again with me. Friday…
🚨 Reminder: The FPL deadline is tonight at 6.15… get those teams locked in.
Today’s briefing is a ~4 min read:
All you need to know about Matchweek 21 (Part One) 🌟
Extra time: Sancho returns 🇩🇪
FPL… captaincy and Salah/Son replacements 🎯
Part Two of Matchday 21 starts on Saturday 20 Jan
Huuuugeee shoutout to Silas P., Michael S. and Cyrus A. for referring to Route One 3 times!
Love R1 too? Enjoy it with friends by sharing us - refer R1 with your personalised code!
MATCHWEEK 21 (Part One) 🤩
Matchday 21 is finally here. There are three things for certain this weekend…
That ‘Dry January’ mate of yours is gonna cave.
No more twiddling ‘winter break’ thumbs.
And a whole lotta goals.
Let’s look at the best fixtures in Part One of Matchweek 21…
CHELSEA vs FULHAM
Ahhh the West London derby.
Ok… let’s get this straight.
Fulham has lost four of their last four away games.
Chelsea has won three games on the trot.
Chelsea is unbeaten in 18 home league games against Fulham.
Hmmm. Any guesses on who’s the favourite?
Well, if wasn’t clear… in all four of Fulham’s defeats, they’ve conceded 3 or more goals.
The only thing the Cottagers will rely on is Chelsea squandering chances.
Which, let’s face it, wouldn't be surprising.
💉 Quick hit: Pochettino has won all five of his Premier League meetings against Fulham in his managerial career.
NEWCASTLE vs MAN CITY
City are doing that thing that they do.
You know… where they resurrect from the festive period and dominate.
Well… with KDB and Doku back in action, it could be a tricky affair for out-of-form Newcastle.
The stats are a one-sided affair. City have…
Won more games (30)
Scored more goals (98)
Kept more clean sheets (22)
… against Newcastle more than versus any other club.
But, you know what they say… styles make fights.
And in their last meeting in the English League Cup, Newcastle won 1-0 at home.
Can they repeat this to make it the first time they’ve beaten City twice in the same season since 1983-84…? Maybe.
💉 Quick hit: City has scored in each of their last 30 Premier League games against Newcastle, the longest-scoring steak one side has managed against another in the competition’s history, according to Opta.
MAN UNITED vs TOTTENHAM
The last game of the part-oners.
Predicting the outcome of this game is about as easy as avoiding a two-footer from Romero.
But we’ve come up with a simple equation:
Spurs have the most away goals this season + Man United have the fifth worst goals conceded at home
= lots of goals.
That said, United has 24 home wins against Spurs… more than any other opponent in Premier League history.
We weren’t lying when we said… it’s a complicated one.
💉 Quick hit: none of the last 17 league games between the two at Old Trafford have finished level.
EXTRA-TIME ⏱️
Jadon Sancho is reunited with his Borussia Dortmund teammates. The English winger has joined the German winger on loan until the end of the season, with no option to buy. What does that say about Erik ten Hag’s future?
Xabi Alonso zinging balls into his players in training is therapeutic. It’s no surprise Leverkusen have a 90% pass accuracy in all competitions this season.
“The best manager, if not close”. Simon Jordan boldly argues that Jurgen Klopp is better than Pep Guardiola.
A six-goal thriller. The last time Manchester City visited Newcastle it ended 3-3 and we got treated to a Trippier screamer. Here’s hoping we get something similar this weekend.
Fan loyalty is everything. This Luton fan didn’t flinch when asked whether he would have Mengie over Saliba. We respect you, Sir.
FANTASY PREMIER LEAGUE 🎯
AYE AYE CAPTAIN 🫡
This gameweek is tricky.
Real tricky…
The usual suspects for captaincy are not options this week.
But here’s what other FPL managers are doing…
Palmer leads the way for captaincy this week is surprising for two reasons:
1/ Chelsea kick-off at the 12.30 slot on Saturday… and we all know what that means.
2/ GW21 is long. So, if he blanks, it’s gonna be a miserable ‘ole week.
PLUGGING THE GAP 🔌
DUN dun daaa…. Mohamed Salah and Heung-min Son aren’t here to save our gameweek.
Should you sell? Hmm… there’s less rush to sell Salah as he could have a double fixture in GW25.
Who should replace them? Woaaah, you’re one step ahead of us.
Ok, let’s get into it…
🥇Pascal Gross (£6.4m)
Four attacking returns in six.
Higher expected goal involvement than Sterling, Richarlison, and Rashford.
Great fixture run… WOL (H), LUT (A), CRY (H), TOT (A), SHU (A).
🥈Phil Foden (£7.9m)
Red hot form…
… four attacking returns in three games.
But… Haaland and KDB will be back soon so minutes might be limited.
🥉Richarlison (£6.9m)
7th highest xG.
Five goals in five games.
But… it’s unclear where he’ll play with Timo Werner in the team.
Spurs could blank in GW 26 and 29 depending on cup runs.
MEME 😆
