2019-2020 EPL Discussion Thread

[Jezza]

Weekend Matches:

Saturday November 23 2019:
West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur - 12:30
Arsenal v Southampton - 15:00
AFC Bournemouth v Wolverhampton Wanderers - 15:00
Brighton & Hove Albion v Leicester City - 15:00
Crystal Palace v Liverpool - 15:00
Everton v Norwich City - 15:00
Watford v Burnley - 15:00
Manchester City v Chelsea - 17:30

Sunday November 24 2019:
Sheffield United v Manchester United - 16:30

Monday November 25 2019:
Aston Villa v Newcastle United - 20:00

All local times.

[K]

Klopp: "I don't know what people will say but I know 37 points after 13 games is exceptional and you cannot have them with winning only brilliant games. We had a couple of really brilliant games but you can't only win them. We are not out there to send messages, we just want to get results."


I agree! All the talk in the AFL about "sending messages" I've always thought to be really silly. It's all about results, not messages.

[K]

FiveThirtyEight's predictions (Nov 26, 4:53pm.) -- win EPL:

Liverpool 70%
Man. City 26%
Chelsea 2%
Leicester 2%

The rest <1%.

Leicester have made it a race in four (sort of!)!

[Jezza]

Latest Results:

Saturday November 23 2019:
West Ham United 2-3 Tottenham Hotspur
Arsenal 2-2 Southampton
AFC Bournemouth 1-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Brighton & Hove Albion 0-2 Leicester City
Crystal Palace 1-2 Liverpool
Everton 0-2 Norwich City
Watford 0-3 Burnley
Manchester City 2-1 Chelsea

Sunday November 24 2019:
Sheffield United 3-3 Manchester United

Monday November 25 2019:
Aston Villa 2-0 Newcastle United

The Ladder:
1. Liverpool 37 - Played 13
2. Leicester 29 - Played 13
3. Man City 28 - Played 13
4. Chelsea 26 - Played 13
----------------------
5. Wolves 19 - Played 13
6. Sheffield Utd 18 - Played 13
7. Burnley 18 - Played 13
8. Arsenal 18 - Played 13
9. Man Utd 17 - Played 13
10. Tottenham 17 - Played 13
11. Bournemouth 16 - Played 13
12. Brighton 15 - Played 13
13. Crystal Palace 15 - Played 13
14. Newcastle 15 - Played 13
15. Aston Villa 14 - Played 13
16. Everton 14 - Played 13
17. West Ham 13 - Played 13
-----------------------
18. Norwich 10 - Played 13
19. Southampton 9 - Played 13
20. Watford 8 - Played 13

[Jezza]

Weekend Matches:

Saturday November 30 2019:
Newcastle United v Manchester City - 12:30
Burnley v Crystal Palace - 15:00
Chelsea v West Ham United - 15:00
Liverpool v Brighton & Hove Albion - 15:00
Tottenham Hotspur v AFC Bournemouth - 15:00
Southampton v Watford - 17:30

Sunday December 1 2019:
Norwich City v Arsenal - 14:00
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Sheffield United - 14:00
Leicester City v Everton - 16:30
Manchester United v Aston Villa - 16:30

All local times.

[K]

And FiveThirtyEight's predictions for other major leagues...

La Liga, Spain:

Barcelona 45%
Real Madrid 43%
Atletico Madrid 7%

Bundesliga, Germany:

Bayern Munich 82%
RB Leipzig 12%
Dortmund 2%

Serie A, Italy:

Juventus 70%
Inter Milan 23%
Roma 3%

Ligue 1, France:

PSG 98%
The rest < 1% each

Primeira Liga, Portugal:

Benfica 49%
Porto 49%
Sporting 1%.


(Not much suspense, huh? Especially in France. The whole psychology of football watching must be different.)

[K]

Relentless Liverpool march, Man City stall

"A couple of hours after champions Manchester City dropped two points at Newcastle United in a 2-2 draw, Liverpool scraped out a 2-1 win over ... Brighton and Hove Albion despite having goalkeeper Alisson red-carded.

The result means Juergen Klopp's Reds have equalled their longest unbeaten run in the top-flight, also going 31 games without defeat between May 1987 and March 1988.
...

Chelsea's grip on fourth place looks a little less tight as they suffered a first home defeat by West Ham United for seven years."

(AAP)

[K]

From Despair To Where? Liverpool FC’s Ten Year Turnaround

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesnalton/2019/11/30/liverpool-decade-review-2010-2019-klopp-fsg/#efa6fdb63952

"The Spaniard was hindered by goings-on behind the scenes and an ownership group which burdened the club with debt, investing little money or emotion into this soccer institution.

Liverpool needed new owners more than they needed a new head coach, but soccer doesn’t work like that.

There had been protests at Anfield against the then owners, George Gillett and Tom Hicks, and this led to the formation of Spirit of Shankly, a supporters’ union which remained an important vehicle for fan voices throughout the decade, and will no doubt do so into the next one.
...

The appointment of Jürgen Klopp as head coach is the best move FSG has made and matched their takeover in terms of significant moments of the past decade.

Liverpool was able to make that appointment thanks to the groundwork the recruitment team and data analysts had been putting in place since 2012. The work of director of research, Ian Graham, and sporting director Michael Edwards has been particularly important.
...

Whether it is able to win the league or not, Klopp has turned Liverpool into one of the best teams in the world.

Off the pitch, it is now a model for others to follow. Its recruitment and coaching philosophy gives the club an identity from the first team to the youth sides. The majority of its dealings in the transfer market are now a success, both selling and buying.

This is reflected by the fact seven Liverpool players were on the shortlist for the 2019 Ballon d’Or... It is now a destination for the best players, not a stepping stone to bigger clubs."

[K]

FiveThirtyEight's predictions (Nov 30, 2:27pm.) -- win EPL:

Liverpool 71%
Man. City 25%
Leicester 2%
Chelsea 1%

The rest <1%.

[Jezza]

[Jezza]

Latest Results:

Saturday November 30 2019:
Newcastle United 2-2 Manchester City
Burnley 0-2 Crystal Palace
Chelsea 0-1 West Ham United
Liverpool 2-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 AFC Bournemouth
Southampton 2-1 Watford - 17:30

Sunday December 1 2019:
Norwich City 2-2 Arsenal
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-1 Sheffield United
Leicester City 2-1 Everton - 16:30
Manchester United 2-2 Aston Villa

The Ladder:
1. Liverpool 40 - Played 14
2. Leicester 32 - Played 14
3. Man City 29 - Played 14
4. Chelsea 26 - Played 14
----------------------
5. Tottenham 20 - Played 14
6. Wolves 20 - Played 14
7. Sheffield Utd 19 - Played 14
8. Arsenal 19 - Played 14
9. Man Utd 18 - Played 14
10. Burnley 18 - Played 14
11. Crystal Palace 18 - Played 14
12. Bournemouth 16 - Played 14
13. West Ham 16 - Played 14
14. Newcastle 16 - Played 14
15. Aston Villa 15 - Played 14
16. Brighton 15 - Played 14
17. Everton 14 - Played 14
-----------------------
18. Southampton 12 - Played 14
19. Norwich 11 - Played 14
20. Watford 8 - Played 14

[Jezza]

Midweek Matches:

Tuesday December 3 2019:
Crystal Palace v Bournemouth - 19:30
Burnley v Manchester City - 20:15

Wednesday December 4 2019:
Chelsea v Aston Villa - 19:30
Leicester City v Watford - 19:30
Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur - 19:30
Southampton v Norwich City - 19:30
Wolverhampton Wanderers v West Ham United - 19:30
Liverpool v Everton - 20:15

Thursday December 5 2019:
Sheffield United v Newcastle United - 19:30
Arsenal v Brighton & Hove Albion - 20:15

All local times.

[K]

Seven losses for Man City! That feels like a lot.

[K]

Bookies' odds:

Liverpool ~74%
Man. City ~21%
Leicester ~5%

[Jezza]

Midweek Results:

Tuesday December 3 2019:
Crystal Palace 1-0 Bournemouth
Burnley 1-4 Manchester City

Wednesday December 4 2019:
Chelsea 2-1 Aston Villa
Leicester City 2-0 Watford
Manchester United 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Southampton 2-1 Norwich City
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 West Ham United
Liverpool 5-2 Everton

Thursday December 5 2019:
Sheffield United 0-2 Newcastle United
Arsenal 1-2 Brighton & Hove Albion

The Ladder:
1. Liverpool 43 - Played 15
2. Leicester 35 - Played 15
3. Man City 32 - Played 15
4. Chelsea 29 - Played 15
----------------------
5. Wolves 23 - Played 15
6. Man Utd 21 - Played 15
7. Crystal Palace 21 - Played 15
8. Tottenham 20 - Played 15
9. Sheffield Utd 19 - Played 15
10. Arsenal 19 - Played 15
11. Newcastle 19 - Played 15
12. Burnley 18 - Played 15
13. Brighton 18 - Played 15
14. Bournemouth 16 - Played 15
15. West Ham 16 - Played 15
16. Aston Villa 15 - Played 15
17. Southampton 15 - Played 15
-----------------------
18. Everton 14 - Played 15
19. Norwich 11 - Played 15
20. Watford 8 - Played 15