Matchday 31 preview

GM football fans. Route One here. Instead of a light-hearted joke, we thought we’d let you know that there are Premier League games on tonight and the FPL deadline is 6 PM BST.

All feedback will be read at [email protected].

Head Start

Spurs’ cash cow

Picture this… you arrive at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before kick-off. 

£8 pint in the right hand, £12 hot dog in the left. The game finishes. The stadium is so scenic, why not stay for a few more drinks or maybe a dinner at one of their top restaurants?

Suddenly, you’re £71.23 out of pocket. (The average spent at Spurs’ stadium on matchday, in case you were wondering).

Well, friend. You’re in the palm of the club’s hand.

It’s called ‘dwell time’, when fans spend time and money at the stadium before and after a match.

Since Spurs renovated their stadium, dwell time has rocketed - and now the club generates £1 million per matchday on food and drink alone. That’s the same as their overall matchday earning before the renovations, according to The Athletic. 

They now make £4 million per matchday.

Of course, a world-class stadium does have its benefits… like contributing £344m to three local boroughs. 

But, it comes at a cost… to the fans:

• Adult season tickets will go up by 6% next season.

• The club will slowly reduce senior concession season ticket prices.

Spurs aren’t alone. 17 of the 20 clubs in the Premier League raised their ticket prices at the start of this season… and most were without the fancy new stadium. 

Either way, Spurs’ new stadium is a money-printing machine.

And it won’t be long until every other Premier League side follows suit. 

Plus… 

Germany fans have been banned from customising kits with the number 44 over worries about Nazi symbolism (More)

Prospective Everton owners 777 Partners are “confident” in their ability to fund a full takeover (More) but US regulators urge insurers to cut their exposure to 777 (More)

Matchday 31 (Part 1) Stat Zone

Newcastle vs Everton (Tonight, 19:30 BST, TNT Sports)

→ Newcastle will be aiming for a fourth consecutive home league win against Everton.

→ Even-stevens: With 57 Premier League matches between the sides, both clubs have won 23 matches and they each scored a total of 79 goals. 

→ Everton have only scored twice in their previous seven away matches in all competitions, and they have only scored 11 first-half goals this season, with only Sheffield United having fewer.

Nottingham Forest vs Fulham (Tonight, 19:30 BST, TNT Sports)

→ Fulham has won all three Premier League fixtures against Nottingham Forest, with a goal difference of +8 in favour of the Cottagers. 

→ Nottingham Forest have lost 3 and drawn 2 in the last 5 Premier League matches.

→ Fulham are the only team in the Premier League with a fully-fit squad.

West Ham vs Tottenham (Tonight, 20:15 BST, TNT Sports)

→ Tottenham have lost three of their five Premier League London derby matches, as many as they had in their previous 19.

→ James Ward-Prowse has either scored or assisted a goal in each of his last six Premier League games against Tottenham. 

Full fixtures for MW 31 are here.

Off The Pitch

🧃 90s favourite alcopop drink Reef is now back on the shelves after being discontinued in the early 2000s (More) 

💍 Prenups are on the rise as couples look to secure their assets before tying the knot (More)

😬 Harry Potter author JK Rowling dares police to arrest her for misgendering a trans person under Scotland’s new Hate Crime Act (More)

🥊 Joseph Parker calls out Dillian Whyte for a rematch in a Take That style music video (More)

🚘 3.4 million vehicles recalled by Hyundai and Kia because they risk catching fire whether engines are on or off (More)

😂 Police in California confuse security camera cat photo for mountain lion (More)

🪦 A tech investor has purchased a spot next to the resting place of Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner for £154,000 (More)

Fantasy Premier League

→ Transfers IN for Gameweek 31 

Watkins was subbed off at halftime against Wolves due to a hamstring issue so most of us need a striker… but, luckily, we have some good replacement options: 

The best replacements are Alexander Isak (£7.7m), Darwin Nunez (£7.5), and Dominic Solanke (£7.2m). If you want to dig deeper, here’s why… 

• Isak: on pens, guaranteed minutes (Wilson is out until May) and one of the best finishers in the league. 

• Nunez: has Sheffield United at home. Nuff said.

• Solanke: on pens, has doubles in GW34, and B’mouth are in the top 3 for xG over the last 6 GWs.

But, look, if you’re trying to catch up some points… a good differential pick is Rodrigo Muniz (£4.7m). 

He’s in great form (8 goals in 8) and Fulham feature in the top 10 for expected goals at home in the last 6 GWs.

→ Captaincy for Gameweek 31 🫡

This GW’s captaincy options are full of all the usual culprits. Mohamed Salah's (£13.3m) and Erling Haaland’s (£14.3m) AI-predicted points are almost identical:

• Haaland = 8.5 pts

• Salah = 8.3 pts

• Son = 6.7 pts

• Saka = 6.3 pts (yellow flagged after coming off against City)

The verdict: most managers will captain Mohamed Salah (£13.3m) this GW according to the Wisdom of the Crowd survey.

→ Bonus transfers 📊

Do you have a spare transfer to hand? Ok, you’re in the right place…

Cole Palmer (£5.9m): Chelsea’s main man, on penalties and now has the joint top most double-digit hauls in the league this season.

Conor Bradley (£4.2m): Star man against Brighton, linking up well with Salah and bagging two bonus points despite Liverpool failing to keep a clean sheet.

Pablo Sarabia (£4.7m): Has a great run of fixtures until GW35, doubles in GW34 and Wolves’ creative outlet with Neto injured.

Graph of the Day

Here’s an interesting one for you: the Premier League’s over and under-performers based on goal difference.

Looks like Manchester United are over-performing even whilst having a negative goal difference… I prefer not to speak.

Extra Time

Barcelona’s Inigo Martinez squares up to a young fan. In case you don’t know angry Spanish talk, he basically told him “This is the last time you insult me. And don’t be cocky”. 

Neal Maupay and Luke Littler go at it over social media. The Brentford man is giving us all the entertainment we need. 

Petr Cech was a brick wall between the sticks. He reflects on his save which is considered one of the greatest in Premier League history.

Early 2000s football was simply beautiful. And few made it look as good as Clarence Seedorf.

Have you ever wondered what a half-time World Cup final dressing room looked like? Well, here’s France’s during their final against Argentina.

8-year old Lionel Messi was unbelievable. Surprisingly, he hasn’t changed much.

Game Face On

Question: Which former Premier League and La Liga star played his first senior game for his national team, not for his club at the time?

Hint: He’s from Argentina.

Scroll below for the answer.

On Today

FOOTBALL

Premier League: Newcastle vs Everton (19:30 BST, TNT Sports 2)

Premier League: Nottingham Forest vs Fulham (19:30 BST, TNT Sports 3)

Premier League: West Ham vs Tottenham Hotspur (20:15 BST, TNT Sports 1)

Coppa Italia: Juventus vs Lazio (20:00 BST, Viaplay)

League 1: Portsmouth vs Derby County (20:00 BST, Sky Sports Football) 

League 2: Doncaster Rovers vs Wrexham (19:45 BST, iFollow) 

SNOOKER

Tour Championship: Second Day (13:00 BST, ITV 4)

Tour Championship: Second Day (19:00 BST, ITV 4)

BASKETBALL

NBA: Golden State Warriors v Dallas Mavericks (03:00 BST, TNT Sports 1) 

*EST -5. PST -8. CET +1. CST +8. JST +9.

Answer: Javier Mascherano

“I’ve had 14 bookings this season; eight of which were my fault, but seven of which were disputable.”

-Paul Gascoigne