Football March 19th - 21st

[CJay]

Saturday
Premier League
12:45 Everton - Arsenal
15:00 Chelsea - West Ham United
15:00 Crystal Palace - Leicester City
15:00 Watford - Stoke City
15:00 West Bromwich Albion - Norwich City
17:30 Swansea City - Aston Villa

Misc
19:45 Roma - Inter

Sunday
Premier League
13:30 Newcastle United - Sunderland
13:30 Southampton - Liverpool
16:00 Manchester City - Manchester United
16:00 Tottenham Hotspur - AFC Bournemouth

Misc
15:00 Villarreal - Barcelona
19:30 Real Madrid - Sevilla

I checked other leagues for interesting games, but that's all I got really. Jamie Vardy's only scored in 3/11 league games in 2016. And only 5 goals since the start of December.

Middlesbrough beat Hull 1-0 tonight.

[Waffdon]

Dundee to put the nail in the coffin.

[Kikó]

We're going to be bummed again.

[Lee]

Four wins and a draw lads, four wins and a draw. We ought to get one of the wins tomorrow, Palace have been dreadful for ages and have a few out injured. I fancy Bournemouth to take something off Spurs too. Every weekend is both brilliant and awful at the minute. Football.

[CJay]

Surely Leicester are going to start dropping points soon? You can't continue winning games by 1 goal, right? If they close this out, though.

[Reg]

Strange Chelsea-West Ham isn't on telly. I'll just watch the Roma match tomorrow. Sunday's a cracker.

[Lee]

Surely Leicester are going to start dropping points soon? You can't continue winning games by 1 goal, right? If they close this out, though.

It does have a bit of a 'bad run incoming on FM' sort of feel about it but we haven't really looked like losing any of those games. We certainly could have beaten Watford more comfortably. Norwich was bad, and Newcastle was a bit nervy if anything but again we probably could have won that more comfortably. I'll take scrappy 1-0s all the way, of course.

Our defence is superb and has been since November so unless we go mental at the back I'm not going to worry. There is enough elsewhere in the team to pop up with a goal or two. I think we'll win it now. I think it might be wrapped up before the final game or two as well.

[Davgooner]

You better keep winning. You're all that's standing between the world and a footballing apocalypse.

[Max Power]

Sources tell me that winning games 1-0 and/or when you're not playing well is the sign of champions.

Away to Palace is a game I hate, our record isn't as bad there as I thought but it just reeks of disappointment.

[Reg]

Someone on Football Weekly mentioned the possibility of a Watford-Leicester community shield.

[Lee]

At least it would make Danny Mills kill himself.

[Lewis]

'We've spoken to people who have killed themselves...'

[Shindig]

Season defining derby for once. Harrowing.

[Ian]

Sunday's a cracker.

Which foreign games are looking entertaining?

Or do you love Narrative?

[GS]

Lord Benitez winning 3-0 would be an acceptable takeaway this weekend, alongside the Leicester victory everybody is hoping for.

[CJay]

Which foreign games are looking entertaining?

Or do you love Narrative?

Knowing Reg, probably the mid-table battle of Milan and Lazio on Sunday evening.

[Reg]

Which foreign games are looking entertaining?

Or do you love Narrative?

No foreign games. Newcastle v Sunderland and the Manchester derby.

Edit- just seen Torino v Juventus but it clashes.

[Ian]

Aren't the two games tomorrow liable to be, y'know, sort of terrible?

If City have anything about them they'll fuck United to death which I suppose has a certain morbid appeal but even last week when Sky were giving it the WHAT A WEEKEND WE HAVE AHEAD stuff I didn't think either game looked like actually being good.

[Lee]

City don't really have anything about them though. The north east derby is always shit from a quality point of view but there's usually some entertainment in it. Today's games look decent. Everton-Arsenal should have goals, I'll stream Palace-Leicester and just spend the middle part of the afternoon shitting my pants, and I think Swansea-Villa could be quite good. The best looking game of the weekend is Spurs-Bournemouth and that isn't on.

[SincereTheRebel]

Burnley really is a strange place

[Reg]

Aren't the two games tomorrow liable to be, y'know, sort of terrible?

If City have anything about them they'll fuck United to death which I suppose has a certain morbid appeal but even last week when Sky were giving it the WHAT A WEEKEND WE HAVE AHEAD stuff I didn't think either game looked like actually being good.

As Lee says, derby games are often fun if not the best quality. You could argue it's a straight shootout between Newcastle and Sunderland to take 18th, so it couldn't get much more meaningful. Interested to see how Benitez does too.

Man City are only 4 points above Man Utd so they aren't much better.

[Disco]

The prospect of Allardici lolling the Benitez beard off makes it worth watching.

[Giggles]

All aboard the Big Sam train.

[niko_cee]

Is John "£40m" Stones not getting a game for Everton at the moment or is he coming back from injury or something?

Hopefully this is a Sanchez inspired fisting.

[Waffdon]

He's been awful and Funes Mori/Jagielka look far better together.

[Jeet]

Owens talking about pens and staying on your feet.....

[Danny]

Champions league gone, FA Cup gone and Prem all but gone. Look who decides to show up.

[Jeet]

Nice goal by Martial...I mean Iwobi.

[Waffdon]

Champions league gone, FA Cup gone and Prem all but gone. Look who decides to show up.

THE ARSENAL.

Martinez needs sacked.

[Max Power]

Arsenal have been very good but Everton are a joke team. FRAUDberto FRAUDtinez surely to get the sack in the summer? Unless they win the Cup of course.

[John Arne]

It's about time someone gave Giroud a good smack. Just take the red.

[Waffdon]

Arsenal have been very good but Everton are a joke team. FRAUDberto FRAUDtinez surely to get the sack in the summer? Unless they win the Cup of course.

Should be sacked regardless. They should be challenging top four with this squad and even more so from next season with their new billionaire owner

[GS]

His teams are incapable of defending properly. He was denounced for this at Wigan, but the general line of support was that "it's Wigan, keeping them up is a miracle". He's turned a perfectly solid Everton team under Moyes into one which leaks goals. They've conceded the most home goals in the entire league this season, for fuck sake. It's embarrassing.

[-james-]

It does have a bit of a 'bad run incoming on FM' sort of feel about it but we haven't really looked like losing any of those games. We certainly could have beaten Watford more comfortably. Norwich was bad, and Newcastle was a bit nervy if anything but again we probably could have won that more comfortably. I'll take scrappy 1-0s all the way, of course.

Our defence is superb and has been since November so unless we go mental at the back I'm not going to worry. There is enough elsewhere in the team to pop up with a goal or two. I think we'll win it now. I think it might be wrapped up before the final game or two as well.

You've fucked it now.

[niko_cee]

Win the Cup and finish midtable is a good season for Everton. It's probably preferable to be high scoring and unable to defend as well, from a fans perspective.

[Waffdon]

Fack offffff, Mahrez. Some ball from Drinkwater for that sitter.

[John Arne]

Leicester look very ordinary here. Palace will score soon.

[Waffdon]

Nice, mate.

Not sure if that was a shot or cross from Vardy but MON

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

TTH's jinxing powers are second to none.

[John Arne]

Fucking quality timing.

[Waffdon]

Soure's getting sent off for sure.

[CJay]

Win the Cup and finish midtable is a good season for Everton. It's probably preferable to be high scoring and unable to defend as well, from a fans perspective.

Aye, and for all the fraud comments - is it even that good a team? Lukaku and a load of inconsistent youngsters and big club rejects. That might be Martinez's fault, but it's not really a better team than any of the others from top 4 down. Of course, they have thrown a huge number of points away from good positions, so that is probably when Martinez should be called out, not after losing 2-0 to Arsenal.

[Lee]

That will do. We've been the better side in that half, one decent chance for Palace and a couple of wobbles against crosses aside. 'Mon.

[CJay]

Although in a season where Leicester are going to win the title and West Ham are going to qualify for the Champions League... Martinez out!

[John Arne]

That will do. We've been the better side in that half, one decent chance for Palace and a couple of wobbles against crosses aside. 'Mon.

You think so? I thought you lot were terrible, and very lucky to be ahead. Sign of champions, don't you know.

[Shindig]

Norwich winning. Do not like.

[Byron]

Fucking bullshit refereeing there.

[Lee]

You think so? I thought you lot were terrible, and very lucky to be ahead. Sign of champions, don't you know.

We were fine all game. Text book stuff. People watch us and they can't match our style of play with our league position. We sit back, cede possession, let the opponents have half chances. The passing can be bad because we often go for high risk balls in order to set up the quick counter.

It's ugly, it's fucking stressful, but all these 1-0s aren't just a fluke. Things have changed a bit because teams are sitting back against us. It's frustrating because as Leicester fans we've become used to the high scoring exploits of the earlier part of the season. But Ranieri knows what he's doing. Even when we are sitting so deep our opponents aren't committing men forward because of our attack on the counter. Three wins and a draw to go........

[CJay]

To be fair, this is pretty much how Chelsea closed out the league last season.

[Lee]

To be fair, this is pretty much how Chelsea closed out the league last season.

It is. It's all about points now and we're getting them. Now for Bournemouth to do us a favour tomorrow. Leicester City top of the league (by at least five points) at Easter. Fuck me.