Prem civil war

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Head Start

Premier League civil war

Manchester City have launched legal action against the Premier League, arguing they’re a victim of “discrimination”, according to The Times.

The 165-page legal document produced by the reigning champions comes just before the hearing later this year over their alleged 115 Financial Fair Play breaches.

What’s the basis for City’s legal action? 

Well, in short, they feel they’ve been treated unfairly by the league. 

They believe that the Associated Party Transaction (APT) introduced in 2021 - designed to prevent clubs from inflating the revenue received from commercial deals - has been put in place to stifle City’s success. 

I mean, if that was the case, it hasn’t exactly done a great job.

If City are successful, it would mean that… 

• The Premier League would owe City compensation… who would’ve thought this was a possibility?

• It would allow City - and others - to value their sponsorship deals without independent assessment… or, in other words, make Financial Fair Play redundant. 

• It could significantly strengthen City’s defence (not again!) at the hearing over the 115 charges. 

The problem that City faces is… “between 10 or 12” Premier League clubs have already stepped forward to support the Premier League’s defence. 

Worse still (for City) UEFA applied these rules first and Man City hasn’t taken them to court. By playing in European competitions, City have effectively accepted even more stringent spending rules.

With all these legal battles, it’s only a matter of time before Opta tracks how it impacts teams’ performances… expected goals per legal battle? Ahhh nevermind.

Plus…

Wolves’ bid to scrap VAR is set to be rejected at Premier League club vote this week (More)

England beat France 2-1 to revive Women’s Euro 2025 qualifying campaign (More)

Spurs midfielder Yves Bissouma confirms he was pepper sprayed and robbed of €300,000 watch (More)

Chelsea’s new fitness coach plans on cutting ‘unhealthy’ food from current menu (More)

Stats Zone

Europe

→ Since the start of the 2017/18 season, the top scorers in Europe’s big-five leagues are: Robert Lewandowski (203), Kylian Mbappé (175), Harry Kane (171), Mohamed Salah (155).

→ Harry Kane has now scored more international goals (63) than Ronaldo Nazario (62). 

→ Florian Wirtz made 19 assists for Bayer Leverkusen across all competitions last season; the most of any player at a club within Europe's big five leagues.

North America

→ The 4-0 win in Emma Hayes' debut equals the second-largest margin of victory in a permanent USWNT coach's first match in charge with only Tony DiCicco (5-0 vs Australia in 1995) recording a bigger win. 

→ Lionel Messi has scored 12 goals in his first 12 league matches this season, last scoring more after his first 12 league games of a season in 2012-13 (17).

Euro 2024

Euro favourites: what the stats say

Opta names England (19.9%) the favourite to win Euro 2024…

… but France aren’t far behind.

The “supercomputer” has simulated the tournament 10,000 times and compiled a list of the most likely to win the tournament. Here’s the list: 

The algorithm probably predicts this because England’s Group (C) is the ‘easiest’ and they’ve only lost one of their last 18 games at the European Championships - excluding penalties.

But it’s not exactly an open-and-shut case… 

• Among the teams who have taken part in at least two Euro penalty shootouts, England has the lowest success rate.

• England conceded 12 non-penalty goals over 19 games in major tournaments.

What’s more, Opta’s Supercomputer doesn’t always get it right. It predicted that the favourites for the 2022 World Cup were France at 17.9%... but we all know how that worked out.

This time round, France are second favourites. Their squad depth and recent success make them an obvious contender to take home the glory. 

But, the most shocking prediction is Portugal who… 

• … are the only side with a 100% win rate in the qualifiers…

• … and they scored the most goals too…

… so it’s surprising they aren’t amongst the top three favourites.

Anyway, the winners so far are Swiss fans who will be saving the most on pints (-£2.44) compared to home prices.

It’s getting close. And. We. Can’t. Wait.

Off The Pitch

🇮🇳 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi clinches a rare third consecutive term in closer-than-expected election (More)

😬 British bank Standard Chartered has been accused of funding terrorists (More)

🥓 Europe bans smoky bacon crisps over health concerns (More)

🏥 Demand for private healthcare has hit a record high in the UK with admissions to private hospitals up 7% from 2022 (More)

🔫 Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, is set to stand trial on Monday on felony gun charges (More)

🎾 Novak Djokovic forced to withdraw from French Open after knee injury (More)

Photo of the Day

Lionel Messi’s first photo in Barcelona. After signing his first contract for Barcelona on a paper napkin, Messi’s family relocated near the club’s stadium in 2001. Messi went on to score 672 goals and win 34 trophies at the Catalonia-based side, including ten La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey titles and the UEFA Champions League four times.

Around The Football World

🇸🇦 Kevin De Bruyne is “open” to a move to the Saudi Pro League owing to the “incredible” money that comes with the move (More)

🇪🇸 Manchester United midfielder Casemiro has become a shareholder in Marbella FC, a Spanish third-tier side (More) 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Birmingham City have reportedly interviewed Frank Lampard for their managerial vacancy (More)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Watford become the first club to sell shares to fans via digital equity to raise funds (More)

🇮🇹 Inter Milan’s sporting CEO Guiseppe Marotta has been appointed the Serie A champions’ new president (More)

🇪🇸 Former Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina is a free agent after leaving Villarreal aged 41 (More)

🌎 Jude Bellingham has been named the world’s best footballer in Top Trumps rankings (More)

Extra Time

Spurs unveil their new 2024/25 home kit featuring actor Matthew Horne.

The Champions League goal of the tournament has been announced.

ESPN ranks all of Jurgen Klopp’s signings at Liverpool.

Kylian Mbappé’s best goals in a PSG shirt.

Remembering Stuart Pearce’s no-nonsense tackle on Roberto Di Matteo.

Game Face On

Question: Which team won the first-ever Women's World Cup in 1991?

Scroll below for the answer.

On Today

FOOTBALL

Friendlies: Slovakia vs San Marino (17:00 BST)

Friendlies: Denmark vs Sweden (18:00 BST)

Friendlies: France vs Luxembourg (20:00 BST)

Friendlies: Spain vs Andorra (20:30 BST)

CRICKET

ICC T20 World Cup: New Guinea vs Uganda (00:00 BST, Sky Sports Cricket)

ICC T20 World Cup: Australia vs Oman (01:00 BST, Sky Sports Main Event)

TENNIS

French Open: Day 11 (9:30, 10:00, 14:00, 19:00 BST, Eurosport & Discovery+)

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

Answer: United States.

Hottest Take of the Day

Today’s Hottest Take of the Day is: Crystal Palace have a serious shot at Europe if they manage to keep even one of Olise and Eze. Thanks to Seth from Connecticut for submitting. Submit another Hot Take of the Day here.