Latest / Friends on Football / Ep. 35 - Champions League Returns, Sabah FK's Interesting Manager and Premier League Preview
Transcript
- 0:22SPEAKER_00: Hello, friends, and welcome to episode 35 of the Friends on Football Podcast.
- 0:26SPEAKER_00: I'm one of your co-hosts, Brandon Johnson, and joined with me as always is my good friend, Mr.
- 0:31SPEAKER_00: Sean Boyle.
- 0:32SPEAKER_00: Sean, how are you feeling today?
- 0:34SPEAKER_01: Brandon, I'm doing well.
- 0:35SPEAKER_01: We had some Champions League football these last couple of days, which was exciting.
- 0:39SPEAKER_01: I'm excited to talk about it with you.
- 0:41SPEAKER_01: How are you today?
- 0:42SPEAKER_00: I'm doing good, Sean.
- 0:43SPEAKER_00: I have not gotten the Champions League itch yet.
- 0:47SPEAKER_00: So I'm I'm excited to hear what you have to say about it because I'm I'm a little bit behind, but I know you you got my back.
- 0:55SPEAKER_00: Sean, I also wanted to just get started with our little uh episode number journey here.
- 1:00SPEAKER_00: So we have episode 35 tonight, Sean.
- 1:03SPEAKER_00: I have two players to name.
- 1:05SPEAKER_00: So first, our guy Jermaine Defoe wore the number 35 when he was first at West Ham.
- 1:10SPEAKER_00: And my second player, this one's interesting, Sean, Renato Sanchez, which I'm sure you know the name.
- 1:16SPEAKER_00: I probably haven't heard the name in years, but just pulling that one out of the hat for you.
- 1:20SPEAKER_00: He wore 35 at Swansea, and it's kind of controversial because when he came to Swansea, he wanted to wear 85, but the Premier League said no.
- 1:30SPEAKER_00: The Premier League said he needed to have a number that was relatively close to the other players on the team, so they wouldn't let him pick such an outlandish number as 85, and they made him pick a number closer to the team, so he chose 35.
- 1:43SPEAKER_00: I did not know that was a rule.
- 1:44SPEAKER_00: Did you have any knowledge of that?
- 1:46SPEAKER_01: No, and it honestly seems kind of ambiguous.
- 1:49SPEAKER_01: Like who's deciding what's close to the rest of the team and whatnot?
- 1:52SPEAKER_01: I mean, it can if you're a team that can gradually make your way up towards 85.
- 1:56SPEAKER_01: If you're just getting guys in and putting up increments of 10, maybe, I don't know.
- 2:00SPEAKER_01: It seems a little Mickey Mouse.
- 2:02SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I learned that in some quick research.
- 2:05SPEAKER_00: It's gonna make things a little bit harder as we get higher, but I'm excited.
- 2:08SPEAKER_00: I'm ready for the challenge.
- 2:10SPEAKER_00: Sean, like you mentioned, Champions League, you have the Champions League itch, so I'll let you cook a little bit with that, and then we'll do a uh Premier League preview and then some MLS games and some games around Europe to watch to close it out.
- 2:22SPEAKER_00: Sean, we've had two days of Champions League so far.
- 2:26SPEAKER_00: We have more Champions League games today on a Thursday, which I know is rare, but just take me through some of the results, what you've seen so far.
- 2:33SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Brandon, I don't think you're at fault for being a little bit late to the party in the Champions League.
- 2:37SPEAKER_01: We talked about how last week it seems like it's an early start this year.
- 2:40SPEAKER_01: It might not be, but it just feels like it is.
- 2:43SPEAKER_01: Maybe we're still just catching up from the World Cup.
- 2:45SPEAKER_01: I don't know what the case is, but it feels like it snuck up on us.
- 2:48SPEAKER_01: Also, the new format of the Champions League that we talked about, it seems to devalue maybe some of these early league games.
- 2:56SPEAKER_01: There's just not as much on the line.
- 2:58SPEAKER_01: I know in theory there is.
- 3:00SPEAKER_01: It just doesn't feel like it.
- 3:01SPEAKER_01: It is still Champions League nights.
- 3:03SPEAKER_01: It's European nights.
- 3:04SPEAKER_01: We're excited to talk about it.
- 3:05SPEAKER_01: Tuesday, we'll start there.
- 3:07SPEAKER_01: Aston Villa, I was interested to see how they responded to an early struggle in the Premier League.
- 3:12SPEAKER_01: They were able to go away from home and pick up a win against Klopp Bruges, which was a good result.
- 3:16SPEAKER_01: I think they were the better team in this match.
- 3:18SPEAKER_01: It was a bit chaotic.
- 3:19SPEAKER_01: It was a 3-2 win.
- 3:20SPEAKER_01: They scored all their goals in the first half, then kind of hung on for dear life.
- 3:25SPEAKER_01: But I think Villa were able to see good positive signs from Nicholas Jackson.
- 3:29SPEAKER_01: Joao Gomez really redeemed himself after that brutal red card he had early in his first debut with Villa.
- 3:36SPEAKER_01: And then John McKinnon, who's been a stalwart there, was able to get on the score sheet as well.
- 3:39SPEAKER_01: So good stuff from Aston Villa.
- 3:41SPEAKER_01: We move on.
- 3:42SPEAKER_01: We had Borisia Dortmund beat Villa Real.
- 3:46SPEAKER_01: My takeaway from this one, Brandon, Dortmund only played bangers.
- 3:49SPEAKER_01: Basically, every Borissio Dortmund game is chaotic, it's high scoring, it's fun to watch.
- 3:54SPEAKER_01: And if you're a Dortmund fan, it's probably just exhausting.
- 3:57SPEAKER_01: So this was one where Garasi, their striker, was able to score three times.
- 4:02SPEAKER_01: Unfortunately, one of them was an own goal.
- 4:05SPEAKER_01: So found the net three times, two for his side, one for Villarreal.
- 4:09SPEAKER_01: It was also a battle.
- 4:10SPEAKER_01: Yeah, net positive, net positive.
- 4:12SPEAKER_01: It was also a battle of the yellows.
- 4:14SPEAKER_01: Typically, Villarreal are always in yellow.
- 4:16SPEAKER_01: Dortmund are always in yellow, it seems like.
- 4:18SPEAKER_01: This match, Dortmund got to where they're yellow, and Villarreal dressed up in some of the ugliest kits you'll ever see.
- 4:24SPEAKER_01: They were an abomination.
- 4:25SPEAKER_01: We never want to see those again.
- 4:27SPEAKER_01: But Dortmund pick up the three points.
- 4:29SPEAKER_01: I won't talk about the Man City game.
- 4:31SPEAKER_01: They thoroughly controlled the game against Porto.
- 4:33SPEAKER_01: I have a little point to bring up about them later.
- 4:36SPEAKER_01: Real Betis, who I do follow in La Liga, they're my team there.
- 4:40SPEAKER_01: They were able to go in their return to the Champions League away from home to Lil and win a thriller, 3-2.
- 4:47SPEAKER_01: This one, the Parrot scores the winner again.
- 4:49SPEAKER_01: Troy Parrot continues to get the job done in his early days at Real Betis.
- 4:54SPEAKER_01: That was great to see.
- 4:55SPEAKER_01: For Lil, Ethan Mbappe, Killian's brother, he gets on the score sheet with an assist, and then a little bit later he gets sent off with a red card.
- 5:05SPEAKER_01: Tough.
- 5:05SPEAKER_01: There's another give and take there.
- 5:07SPEAKER_01: So that's what we saw in Lil.
- 5:10SPEAKER_01: And then his brother, I mentioned Killian a second ago.
- 5:13SPEAKER_01: Real Madrid, that was the game that we said was probably the one to watch on Tuesday.
- 5:17SPEAKER_01: Real Madrid do get the job done against Inter.
- 5:20SPEAKER_01: They win 2-1.
- 5:21SPEAKER_01: Of course, Mbappe scores.
- 5:23SPEAKER_01: And then he has a cool moment with the CBS sports crew, Brandon.
- 5:26SPEAKER_01: I'm sure you're familiar with those guys.
- 5:27SPEAKER_01: Jamie Carricker, Michael Richards, Thierry Henry, and of course Kate Abdo, Kate Scott.
- 5:33SPEAKER_01: I'm not sure which one.
- 5:34SPEAKER_01: I think it's Kate Scott now.
- 5:36SPEAKER_01: But that crew is great.
- 5:37SPEAKER_01: They're a good time every week.
- 5:39SPEAKER_01: And Mbappe was joining them for the first time, and he picked Big Meeks as his favorite.
- 5:44SPEAKER_01: And the celebration Big Meeks gave in the studio was awesome.
- 5:47SPEAKER_01: He was running around and Mbappe was full of smiles.
- 5:50SPEAKER_01: So it was nothing but good stuff on Tuesday.
- 5:52SPEAKER_00: I love that, Sean.
- 5:53SPEAKER_00: The CBS sports crew, I'm glad you gave them a shout-out because they do such a great job covering the Champions League, and they make it very digestible.
- 6:02SPEAKER_00: So you don't have to be someone who's locked into all of these leagues, especially because in Champions League, you're pulling teams from all over the continent, not just England and these big six clubs that we mostly know.
- 6:14SPEAKER_00: You're pulling teams from Norway and Sweden and Denmark and these countries that have maybe one team in the Champions League, and they know enough about that to talk about it and discuss it, but they also do it in just such a fun way where it's casual.
- 6:29SPEAKER_00: You can just pick it up at any time.
- 6:31SPEAKER_00: I personally had not seen that clip, but I'm sure after this I'll go and watch the clip because their stuff is fantastic on social media and you know the live broadcast.
- 6:42SPEAKER_00: So I appreciate you giving them a shout-out as well.
- 6:44SPEAKER_00: What happened on uh Wednesday?
- 6:46SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I will agree with you, Brandon.
- 6:47SPEAKER_01: That crew is great.
- 6:48SPEAKER_01: They're kind of like the NBA inside the NBA, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Shaq, Ernie Johnson show.
- 6:56SPEAKER_01: It's the football equivalent of that.
- 6:57SPEAKER_01: So if even if you're not a football fan, these guys are pure comedy.
- 7:01SPEAKER_01: So I recommend tuning in to one of their coverages just to see them.
- 7:05SPEAKER_01: On Wednesday, Brandon, I would say maybe a slightly better day, a little more on the line, a couple closer matches.
- 7:12SPEAKER_01: To start things off, we did not have a closer match.
- 7:14SPEAKER_01: Barcelona put five past Feyonord.
- 7:17SPEAKER_01: They have scored five goals in four of their five matches so far this season.
- 7:21SPEAKER_01: They're absolutely flying.
- 7:23SPEAKER_01: They are fun to watch.
- 7:24SPEAKER_01: La Mina Mall is just untouchable at the moment.
- 7:26SPEAKER_01: Rafinha is untouchable at the moment.
- 7:29SPEAKER_01: I try to tune in anytime Barcelona have a match.
- 7:31SPEAKER_01: Unfortunately, this one was a 1245 start, so it makes it difficult to see.
- 7:35SPEAKER_01: PSG, another beatdown, which was expected.
- 7:39SPEAKER_01: They played Slovan Bratislava.
- 7:42SPEAKER_01: They won in such convincing fashion.
- 7:45SPEAKER_01: They were up four goals before the match even started.
- 7:47SPEAKER_01: It seemed like Fron Torres had a hat trick.
- 7:50SPEAKER_01: They cut to the stands, Brandon, and Joachim Noah was celebrating with the Ultras, it appeared.
- 7:56SPEAKER_01: And I was like, that had to be Joakim Noah.
- 7:59SPEAKER_01: I wasn't sure at first.
- 8:00SPEAKER_01: But then I did a little bit of digging, and it turns out his dad, Yannick, was a professional tennis player, I guess a really good professional tennis player.
- 8:07SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.
- 8:08SPEAKER_01: And then he was PSG's mental coach throughout the 90s.
- 8:12SPEAKER_01: So Joachim actually grew up around PSG as a club.
- 8:16SPEAKER_01: So he is a lifelong PSG supporter.
- 8:18SPEAKER_00: Wow, that's that's good stuff.
- 8:20SPEAKER_00: And it's funny you said you saw him cut cut to them in the crowd and you thought it was him.
- 8:25SPEAKER_00: He's so distinguishable that there's probably it had you knew it had to be him, but you just you couldn't put together how that made sense.
- 8:33SPEAKER_00: So yeah, he he's he's one of a kind.
- 8:36SPEAKER_01: Yes, and you couldn't necessarily tell the height discrepancy.
- 8:39SPEAKER_01: Yes, because obviously if I was able to see he was 6'11, I would have been able to distinctly know that that was Yukinoa, but I was not able to tell how tall he was.
- 8:47SPEAKER_01: And then I did a bit of research and put the pieces together.
- 8:49SPEAKER_01: It turns out it was him.
- 8:50SPEAKER_01: So that was really cool.
- 8:52SPEAKER_01: PSG are going for their third straight Champions League, so they're gonna be a team we focus and keep an eye on throughout this campaign.
- 8:58SPEAKER_01: The other note from this game, Brandon, Yaya Torre, the former great player, he was the manager for Slovan Bratislava in this match.
- 9:06SPEAKER_01: And interestingly enough, he's the first African manager ever in the Champions League.
- 9:11SPEAKER_01: So not the debut he was hoping for or maybe expecting, but still really cool and a sign of growth and the worldwide nature of this game.
- 9:22SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Sean, that's it's always so interesting when when people state facts like that because it's great that it's Yaya Tore, such a legend of the game, played so many years, such an influential player, but at the same time, it's kind of sad because it's like we're in 2026 and we haven't had any manager from Africa managing the Champions League.
- 9:41SPEAKER_00: So it's a little bittersweet, but I would say mostly on the positive, that that's really cool that he got to do that.
- 9:47SPEAKER_00: Stinks that UEFA was like, here you go, here, go play PSG on day one.
- 9:50SPEAKER_00: But uh this PSG away sound.
- 9:52SPEAKER_00: How's that sound?
- 9:54SPEAKER_00: Probably could not have had a worse draw.
- 9:57SPEAKER_01: Literally could not have had a worse draw.
- 9:58SPEAKER_01: So yeah, that was a bummer in terms of the result, but a really cool moment, and I'm sure something that he'll remember for the rest of his life, and something that all of Africa can get behind.
- 10:08SPEAKER_01: So that was cool.
- 10:10SPEAKER_01: That was not a good game, though.
- 10:12SPEAKER_01: So getting into what was the match of the day, in my opinion, it was probably Liverpool versus versus Atletico Madrid.
- 10:18SPEAKER_01: This was the one that I was anticipating being a great game, and it didn't disappoint.
- 10:23SPEAKER_01: I think an interesting takeaway for me, first of all, before I dive into exactly what happened, I s I noticed throughout the lineups these two days between Arsenal and Liverpool and Manchester City and even PSG, there was not a lot of rotation.
- 10:36SPEAKER_01: So maybe that's a depth issue, but if you look at this Liverpool team, it's very similar to the team that they put out last weekend and likely the team they'll put out this weekend in the Premier League.
- 10:44SPEAKER_01: And I was specifically realizing it when thinking about guys like Virgil van Dyck, who are up there in age, but they're so indispensable to this group that they can't take a match off.
- 10:55SPEAKER_01: And that kind of goes back to your point where you brought it up during the Barkle assigning.
- 10:59SPEAKER_01: He's a great player, but doesn't necessarily make sense for the squad.
- 11:02SPEAKER_01: I think maybe early we're seeing a lot of usage for this Liverpool backline, and I think that's only going to get harder as the year progresses.
- 11:11SPEAKER_01: So just something to monitor.
- 11:12SPEAKER_01: I'm not sure that they have many rotation options in terms of center back or right back.
- 11:16SPEAKER_01: So that's something I'm very much looking to see how Ireola handles.
- 11:21SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's an interesting one, and it's funny you brought that up because I was I was gonna actually ask you that uh about rotation and squad selection.
- 11:31SPEAKER_00: I I guess maybe because we're so early in the season, they think these guys have you know light legs, they're not they're not laboring too much, and maybe they can play twice in a week.
- 11:42SPEAKER_00: But as you mentioned, Sean, as the season gets on, they're gonna have to have reinforcements, or they're gonna have to play with a weaker squad on the weekend.
- 11:51SPEAKER_00: And uh Liverpool play full on this weekend, so maybe there'll be a little bit of squad rotation coming in on Saturday, but it's also early, and you don't want to just potentially drop points in a game that you should absolutely win.
- 12:05SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, it I'm I'm glad you brought it up, and I think it's definitely something that we have to keep uh keep our eyes on.
- 12:10SPEAKER_00: How did the actual match itself go?
- 12:13SPEAKER_01: The match itself was a banger.
- 12:14SPEAKER_01: Atletico Madrid opened the scoring.
- 12:16SPEAKER_01: It was Marcos Urente who has played at Anfield three times and has scored five goals there.
- 12:21SPEAKER_01: So he absolutely loves life in Liverpool.
- 12:26SPEAKER_01: He is also not typically a goal scorer.
- 12:29SPEAKER_01: He's a right back, he's sometimes a midfielder, but he predominantly plays as a right wing back for Simeone.
- 12:35SPEAKER_01: So he just has a knack for scoring at Liverpool.
- 12:37SPEAKER_01: I'm sure he loves seeing their name anytime they come up in the draw.
- 12:41SPEAKER_01: So he opens the scoring, and then we get a few chances for Barkala to open his scoring campaign for Liverpool.
- 12:48SPEAKER_01: And Brandon, he did not do anything with them.
- 12:52SPEAKER_01: He puts two shots wide, one shot directly into the keeper, all of which were in really good scoring opportunities.
- 12:59SPEAKER_01: One especially in transition, it was 1v1, and he just sent it wide of the keeper.
- 13:03SPEAKER_01: Oblok did a good job, I guess, trying to make things difficult for him, but Liverpool do finally break through.
- 13:09SPEAKER_01: Zobozlai, of course, scores the equalizer.
- 13:11SPEAKER_01: A beautiful assist from Ronald O'Rujo, which was interesting.
- 13:14SPEAKER_01: He's playing right back for Liverpool, which was not something I expected, but he's done well there so far in his little stints.
- 13:20SPEAKER_01: And then we had Alexis McAllister score an absolute screamer for the winner.
- 13:25SPEAKER_01: He was in the press recently talking about how he wasn't offered a new contract by the club and that the club shouldn't worry because he's going to give his 100% for as long as he's there.
- 13:35SPEAKER_01: This was a good claim.
- 13:37SPEAKER_01: This was a good staking to that claim because he he pounds his chest, touches the badge, goes over to the supporters, and it was a cool moment and a good win for Liverpool.
- 13:46SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you're always worried when you hear that PR speak come out in a press conference, and you're like, does he mean this?
- 13:52SPEAKER_00: Is it real?
- 13:53SPEAKER_00: But interesting point about Marcus Yorente, you think Liverpool should just buy him at this point?
- 13:58SPEAKER_00: They don't really have a great right back situation.
- 14:01SPEAKER_00: They could just plug and play.
- 14:03SPEAKER_00: He's already scored, like you said, five goals in three games there.
- 14:06SPEAKER_00: I mean, we might be we might be agents, Sean.
- 14:09SPEAKER_00: We might be uh making this match happen.
- 14:12SPEAKER_01: Yeah, exactly.
- 14:13SPEAKER_01: That's a good point.
- 14:14SPEAKER_01: They should just go ahead and sign him.
- 14:15SPEAKER_01: He's in his 30s, he can't be that expensive.
- 14:17SPEAKER_01: I think that's a great idea just to prevent him from scoring any more goals in the future.
- 14:21SPEAKER_01: The good thing is he's not in the Premier League, so at least it's only on these Champions League occasions that he finds the score sheet.
- 14:27SPEAKER_01: Also, we had a good game between Arsenal and Napoli, a game that ended 1-0, probably should have had more goals in it.
- 14:33SPEAKER_01: Arsenal do find a winner late through Martin Odegaard, several missed chances from Arsenal.
- 14:38SPEAKER_01: In Capie, he he missed a chance.
- 14:40SPEAKER_01: I don't know how he missed.
- 14:41SPEAKER_01: It was one that was so much harder to miss than to score.
- 14:43SPEAKER_01: Sokka had a similar chance in the first half.
- 14:46SPEAKER_01: One, you expect him to score 10 times out of 10.
- 14:48SPEAKER_01: He doesn't find the net, he skies it high.
- 14:51SPEAKER_01: And there was some doubt creeping in whether Arsenal would be able to find a goal away from home.
- 14:55SPEAKER_01: They do get the job done.
- 14:56SPEAKER_01: They keep a clean sheet.
- 14:57SPEAKER_01: That's kind of what they're known to do.
- 14:59SPEAKER_01: For Napoli, they just can't figure it out in the Champions League.
- 15:03SPEAKER_01: I don't know what it is.
- 15:04SPEAKER_01: Hopefully they do.
- 15:05SPEAKER_01: They're usually hard to beat at home, at least, even if they don't win all those matches.
- 15:08SPEAKER_01: They usually get a draw.
- 15:09SPEAKER_01: This was a tough fixture to start.
- 15:11SPEAKER_01: I think they'll be better as the tournament progresses, but we'll see.
- 15:14SPEAKER_01: And then lastly, Sporting Lisbon beat Galatassari.
- 15:18SPEAKER_01: Kind of a weird matchup, a fun matchup between two clubs that are always good, but always in leagues that are a bit inferior to those big five in Europe.
- 15:26SPEAKER_01: And the only thing I have to bring up from this match, Rodrigo Salazar scored an absolute world-class free kick in this one.
- 15:34SPEAKER_01: Just a 10 out of 10, no notes.
- 15:36SPEAKER_01: Goal of the week so far.
- 15:38SPEAKER_01: That one is worth going and checking out if you haven't seen it.
- 15:41SPEAKER_01: So that brings us to today's action, Brandon.
- 15:44SPEAKER_01: There's good games on the calendar, of course, but there's one in particular that I want to highlight, and it is Manchester United versus Sabah FK.
- 15:54SPEAKER_01: Brandon, have you ever heard of Sabah FK?
- 15:56SPEAKER_00: Don't do this to me.
- 15:57SPEAKER_00: No.
- 15:57SPEAKER_00: But no, I have not heard of Saba FK.
- 16:00SPEAKER_01: Brandon, you're not alone.
- 16:02SPEAKER_01: Listen, I had never heard of these guys, and that's what led me into doing some research.
- 16:07SPEAKER_01: Typically, you see teams in the Champions League, and you're at least familiar with them.
- 16:10SPEAKER_01: You've seen them before, they've been in the Champions League or Europa League before.
- 16:13SPEAKER_01: You know what country they play in.
- 16:14SPEAKER_01: You might know a player or two.
- 16:16SPEAKER_01: I saw this team come up, and the crest was something I've never seen before.
- 16:19SPEAKER_01: It's pink and black.
- 16:20unknown: Oh.
- 16:20SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, who are these guys?
- 16:22SPEAKER_01: It's an owl.
- 16:22SPEAKER_01: There's an owl on the crest.
- 16:24SPEAKER_01: I was like, okay, yeah.
- 16:25SPEAKER_01: Let me do some digging.
- 16:27SPEAKER_01: So Saba FK were founded in 2017 and they're nicknamed the Bhaguslar.
- 16:32SPEAKER_01: The Baku Slar, which means the owls.
- 16:35SPEAKER_01: So you get an owl in the crest, they're nicknamed the owls.
- 16:39SPEAKER_01: I'm in on that.
- 16:40SPEAKER_01: As temple guys, I think we both should be.
- 16:42SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
- 16:43SPEAKER_01: So instantly they're off to a good start.
- 16:45SPEAKER_01: They won the domestic double last season to qualify for the Champions League.
- 16:50SPEAKER_01: So they won the Azerbaijani Premier League, which qualifies them for the Champions League.
- 16:55SPEAKER_01: So they're located in Azerbaijan, founded in 2017.
- 16:58SPEAKER_01: All pretty interesting.
- 16:59SPEAKER_01: That's where that's just the tip of the iceberg.
- 17:01SPEAKER_01: I do a little bit more digging, and their manager is a guy by the name of Valdas Dombrowskis.
- 17:07SPEAKER_01: Valdas Dombrovskis.
- 17:08SPEAKER_01: He is a Lithuanian man.
- 17:10SPEAKER_01: He was born in a working class family.
- 17:12SPEAKER_01: His father passed away when he was young, so he was forced to start working and providing some income when he was around 11 years old.
- 17:19SPEAKER_01: He goes on to play some football.
- 17:21SPEAKER_01: I think he reaches the third tier of Lithuanian football.
- 17:24SPEAKER_01: So nothing special in terms of his playing career.
- 17:27SPEAKER_01: But shortly after he retires from playing, in 2002, he appears on the Lithuanian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
- 17:36SPEAKER_01: So just randomly, I don't know how he got onto the show, but he gets on and he wins.
- 17:43SPEAKER_01: The equivalent of 4,000, he wins, which is the equivalent to basically a year's salary.
- 17:49SPEAKER_01: So not quite a million bucks.
- 17:51SPEAKER_01: That's the disappointing part.
- 17:53SPEAKER_01: Far from it, but it's a year's salary worth.
- 17:56SPEAKER_01: And what he decides to do with the money is he decides to move him and his wife to England, and there he studies sports science and coaching at the London Metropolitan University while also working with some English teams youth academies there.
- 18:12SPEAKER_01: I believe he worked for Brentford, maybe Manchester United.
- 18:15SPEAKER_01: Just tried to get his foot in the door, I guess, in the coaching world.
- 18:19SPEAKER_01: Well, since then, Brandon, he eventually while he's in England, he works several jobs.
- 18:26SPEAKER_01: He's delivering newspapers, he's working in shops, all trying to just supplement income.
- 18:32SPEAKER_01: He goes back to Lithuania to be an assistant coach, eventually becomes the head coach at Zalgiris, which is a club in Lithuania, and he wins every trophy from 2015 to 2017.
- 18:43SPEAKER_01: So I believe he won both the league and the cup in those three seasons he was there.
- 18:48SPEAKER_01: Then he hops around just from Latvia to Croatia to Bulgaria to Greece to Hungary before ending up in the Azerbaijani Premier League with Sabah, and now he gets to lead them into Old Trafford today to play in the Champions League.
- 19:05SPEAKER_01: Just unbelievable stuff.
- 19:07SPEAKER_00: That is incredible.
- 19:09SPEAKER_00: First of all, thank you for bringing that story to the table.
- 19:11SPEAKER_00: That is fantastic.
- 19:12SPEAKER_00: And we talk about how the this game is so beautiful and it brings people together, and it the stories and the backgrounds and the history all kind of comes into one big one big situation.
- 19:24SPEAKER_00: And that's this is a perfect example of that, Sean.
- 19:27SPEAKER_00: That is so cool.
- 19:28SPEAKER_00: And now I'll be cheering for the owls.
- 19:30SPEAKER_00: I mean, I have to.
- 19:43SPEAKER_00: But yeah, hopefully they can they can steal a point.
- 19:46SPEAKER_00: I'm sure they won't be favored, but that is an incredible story.
- 19:49SPEAKER_00: So I I really appreciate that.
- 19:51SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I was just digging deeper and just completely overtaken by it at every turn.
- 19:56SPEAKER_01: It's really, really cool.
- 19:58SPEAKER_01: Like you said, it's one of the things that makes this game so special, so so unique.
- 20:02SPEAKER_01: And I do think there's a chance they do get pumped here.
- 20:06SPEAKER_01: This could be a 5-1, this could be this could be ugly.
- 20:09SPEAKER_01: But let's celebrate him before kickoff.
- 20:12SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
- 20:13SPEAKER_01: As at at the time of recording, that has not happened yet.
- 20:16SPEAKER_01: We're rooting for a result here for Saba.
- 20:18SPEAKER_01: So really cool to have them in the Champions League, and I thought that was a cool story to share.
- 20:23SPEAKER_00: No, thank you.
- 20:23SPEAKER_00: I I appreciate that.
- 20:25SPEAKER_00: Before we switch over, Sean, to the Premier League.
- 20:28SPEAKER_00: Could you just give me some contenders in the Champions League?
- 20:31SPEAKER_00: I think we can probably guess a few, but just maybe quickly go over them, but also a dark horse team, maybe a team that you that isn't being talked about as a potential team that could win this, that that in your mind maybe could.
- 20:45SPEAKER_01: It's weird, Brandon, because typically we don't usually see quote unquote dark horses actually win the Champions League.
- 20:51SPEAKER_01: You might see them make some noise and make a run, but actually getting it over the finish line, it it requires you to beat several world-class teams on aggregate over two legs, and that just is really hard to do.
- 21:02SPEAKER_01: So I'm not so sure that we'll see a dark horse winner.
- 21:05SPEAKER_01: I'll start with some teams that are obviously expected favorites.
- 21:08SPEAKER_01: PSG, the two-time back-to-back champions, are the team that everybody's going to be trying to beat.
- 21:14SPEAKER_01: I do think they're beatable.
- 21:15SPEAKER_01: They've been off to a slow start so far in league.
- 21:18SPEAKER_01: We'll see if that carries over to the Champions League.
- 21:20SPEAKER_01: It obviously did not on their first match day.
- 21:23SPEAKER_01: I think they'll figure it out both on domestic soil and in Europe.
- 21:27SPEAKER_01: They just have too much talent not to.
- 21:29SPEAKER_01: And Luis Enrique is maybe the best manager in the world at the moment.
- 21:33SPEAKER_01: So they're the team everybody's trying to beat.
- 21:36SPEAKER_01: Also, you have to look at Arsenal, the team they beat in the final last year.
- 21:39SPEAKER_01: I hate to say it, but they are built to compete on several fronts this season.
- 21:43SPEAKER_01: We talked about during the transfer window.
- 21:45SPEAKER_01: They were able to just add depth, and that should allow them to rotate more than some of these other teams that we're going to see in Europe.
- 21:52SPEAKER_01: Just the financial power and flexibility that they have have put them in a stronger position than a lot of other clubs across the continent.
- 22:00SPEAKER_01: I think Bayern Munich will be another one who they lost in the semifinal last year.
- 22:04SPEAKER_01: I'm hoping Harry Kane can get that European trophy on his resume.
- 22:09SPEAKER_01: I I just don't know if they'll be able to do it.
- 22:11SPEAKER_01: I think they're a good shout to at least make a deep run.
- 22:15SPEAKER_01: They typically don't beat themselves.
- 22:16SPEAKER_01: It requires a strong performance to knock out Bayern Munich.
- 22:19SPEAKER_01: So I'm looking at them.
- 22:20SPEAKER_01: In terms of the two other English teams that I would bring up in this conversation, Manchester City and Liverpool, I worry about Manchester City not having an alternative option to Erling Holland.
- 22:31SPEAKER_01: And that's something that could rear its ugly head in the Premier League as well.
- 22:35SPEAKER_01: But he basically has to play every minute for this team.
- 22:37SPEAKER_01: They just don't have another out-and-out striker, and he scores almost all their goals.
- 22:41SPEAKER_01: So while they have world-class players at every position at striker, they really only have one.
- 22:47SPEAKER_01: So I don't know that they're going to be able to get behind him and have the season they want to on both fronts.
- 22:54SPEAKER_01: So that'll be something to watch.
- 22:55SPEAKER_01: And then similar note, we talked about Liverpool's back line.
- 22:58SPEAKER_01: I just don't think that they'll be able to sustain it over both competitions throughout the longevity of the season as well.
- 23:04SPEAKER_01: So I guess those are some of the clubs that are touted as favorites to win this competition, and I would bring up as probably the ones I'm looking at as well.
- 23:11SPEAKER_01: As a dark horse, I would bring up two.
- 23:13SPEAKER_01: I think Atletico Madrid always do a good job in knockouts.
- 23:16SPEAKER_01: They're managed by Diego Simeone, and he's just a motherfucker.
- 23:21SPEAKER_01: You just don't want to face him.
- 23:23SPEAKER_01: They are masters of the dark arts.
- 23:25SPEAKER_01: We even saw it in Anfield today where they put in a good shift, and it looked like they were going to give Liverpool fit throughout a lot of the match.
- 23:32SPEAKER_01: I think that's a tough fixture to start on.
- 23:34SPEAKER_01: I think they'll get better and they'll qualify to the next round, and then they'll be a tough out.
- 23:38SPEAKER_01: And then similarly, Boristia Dortmund, they don't have the quality of Bayern Munich, at least not in many of the positions, but they play these chaotic games that they drag you in with them, and next thing you know, you're playing a chaotic game, even if you're not a crazy team like they are.
- 23:55SPEAKER_01: And they're difficult to beat too.
- 23:56SPEAKER_01: We've seen them make deep runs in the Champions League before.
- 23:58SPEAKER_01: So I think those two are fun to watch for different reasons, and maybe some dark horses that I could actually make decently long runs into this competition, even if I don't think either squad could win it.
- 24:08SPEAKER_00: Okay.
- 24:08SPEAKER_00: Okay.
- 24:09SPEAKER_00: Now thank you for that.
- 24:10SPEAKER_00: It's it is weird that you I I know I asked the question about dark horses, but you yeah, you really don't see a smaller team do too much.
- 24:17SPEAKER_00: I think, like you mentioned, the financial the financial piece and the ability to bring in these quote unquote second-level players that are playing either on during the week or during the weekend, and you don't have to play players during both.
- 24:31SPEAKER_00: It's such an advantage for these bigger clubs.
- 24:33SPEAKER_00: So totally understand where you're going from where you're coming from there.
- 24:36SPEAKER_01: And then if we wanted to talk real dark horses to make a little bit of noise, I think PSV Eindhoven could.
- 24:42SPEAKER_01: I like their squad a lot.
- 24:43SPEAKER_01: They're really good in the Air Divisie.
- 24:45SPEAKER_01: And they've got a couple American guys who are Champions League level players.
- 24:50SPEAKER_01: They've got a lot of other quality that I know they sell each year, but they continue to bring in and develop world-class players.
- 24:56SPEAKER_01: So they've got Ryan Flamingo at center back.
- 24:58SPEAKER_01: He's great.
- 24:59SPEAKER_01: Yvonne Paris is just still kicking it around there.
- 25:01SPEAKER_01: So they're a fun team to watch.
- 25:02SPEAKER_01: And then another shout, Bodo Glimped, who made the quarterfinals last year.
- 25:07SPEAKER_01: They made the semifinals of the Europa League the year before.
- 25:10SPEAKER_01: Tottenham knocked him out.
- 25:12SPEAKER_01: But they play in the Arctic Circle in Norway on a plastic pitch.
- 25:16SPEAKER_01: And they have diehard fans, and that is just an away trip that absolutely nobody in Europe wants to see on their calendar.
- 25:23SPEAKER_01: So I'm hoping that Bodo Glimped, they do have black and yellow colors too.
- 25:26SPEAKER_01: It's a cool color scheme.
- 25:28SPEAKER_01: I'm hoping that they're able to make a deep run in this year's version of the Champions League as well, because they're nice to have around, and it's such a small club in comparison to some of these others that it provides a really cool story.
- 25:39SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you love the small teams making noise.
- 25:41SPEAKER_00: The Cinderella, if you will.
- 25:43SPEAKER_00: And I do remember seeing games at Bodo Glint, and you're like, is this a high school?
- 25:47SPEAKER_00: College?
- 25:48SPEAKER_00: Like, what are we doing here?
- 25:49SPEAKER_00: But it's great to see that those teams are included in these tournaments.
- 25:53SPEAKER_00: And while they don't we don't expect them to win these tournaments, they have a fighting chance, and you have a team like Bodo Glint who made it to the quarterfinal.
- 26:01SPEAKER_00: So it is possible.
- 26:03SPEAKER_00: Sean, let's flip to the Premier League.
- 26:05SPEAKER_00: Our bread and butter here.
- 26:07SPEAKER_00: We'll do a quick preview on all the games this weekend.
- 26:09SPEAKER_00: And then as I mentioned earlier, we'll do a quick MLS and around Europe preview to end this episode.
- 26:16SPEAKER_00: No games on Friday this week, Sean.
- 26:17SPEAKER_00: So you you we get a day off.
- 26:19SPEAKER_00: Uh I know you'll be watching some Champions League today, and you'll have Friday off.
- 26:24SPEAKER_00: So, you know, get outside, see something, do something.
- 26:27SPEAKER_00: But we're back on Saturday.
- 26:28SPEAKER_00: And we start off with five games at 10 a.m.
- 26:30SPEAKER_00: We do not have the beautiful 7:30 a.m.
- 26:33SPEAKER_00: kickoff warm-up.
- 26:35SPEAKER_01: We s we just get right into it.
- 26:37SPEAKER_01: Scheduling disaster, Brandon.
- 26:39SPEAKER_00: Yeah, this this one's a little poor, but you'll see.
- 26:41SPEAKER_00: It might get a little bit better because of how they did this.
- 26:44SPEAKER_00: We'll we'll we'll discuss.
- 26:46SPEAKER_00: First game Saturday, I have on my list, Sean, at 10 a.m.
- 26:48SPEAKER_00: We have Liverpool and Fulham.
- 26:50SPEAKER_00: We mentioned Liverpool coming off of their win with Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
- 26:55SPEAKER_00: And I think they're here now, Sean.
- 26:56SPEAKER_00: I I think they're here.
- 26:57SPEAKER_00: They're playing a team that Fulham that is absolutely struggling, bottom of the table.
- 27:03SPEAKER_00: I think this one could get ugly.
- 27:05SPEAKER_00: I put in my prediction, easy win for Liverpool 3-0.
- 27:08SPEAKER_00: Do you see it differently?
- 27:09SPEAKER_01: I see it a little differently because I do think Fulham will find their way into the back of the net.
- 27:15SPEAKER_01: Okay.
- 27:15SPEAKER_01: But I do think Liverpool will control and win this match.
- 27:19SPEAKER_01: So I actually think it'll be 4-2, is what I went for.
- 27:22SPEAKER_01: I think there will be plenty of goals.
- 27:23SPEAKER_01: Fulham have shown nothing in the way of being able to keep teams out, and Liverpool are starting to really click and attack.
- 27:31SPEAKER_01: We're starting to see Isak return to his former self.
- 27:34SPEAKER_01: Zelbo Sly is an absolute beast in midfield.
- 27:36SPEAKER_01: Florian Verts has these nice little touches and does cute little things, but really needs to start scoring goals and assisting goals to get that return on investment that Liverpool fans are wanting.
- 27:46SPEAKER_01: Barkala came off with what looked like cramps against Atletico Madrid.
- 27:50SPEAKER_01: We'll see if he's fit for the weekend.
- 27:53SPEAKER_01: But he's another guy who he's so talented, he's going to get himself in good positions to score, uh, and he will start scoring.
- 27:59SPEAKER_01: So I'm very bullish on Liverpool's attack.
- 28:02SPEAKER_01: It's just how does the rest of the outfit look behind them?
- 28:05SPEAKER_01: So that's why I think they might concede.
- 28:07SPEAKER_01: And I do think there's some promising signs for Fulham.
- 28:10SPEAKER_01: The two young Spaniards they brought in from Real Madrid looked good last week, scored some goals.
- 28:14SPEAKER_01: So I think they'll find their way into the back of the net, but I think Liverpool will just dominate the chances and take at least a few of them.
- 28:22SPEAKER_01: So we're on the same page there.
- 28:24SPEAKER_00: Okay.
- 28:25SPEAKER_00: Okay.
- 28:25SPEAKER_00: Next we have uh Crystal Palace in Ipswich Town.
- 28:29SPEAKER_00: I think Crystal Palace will feel good coming off their win last weekend.
- 28:32SPEAKER_00: I know it wasn't necessarily the most beautiful win, but it's always great to win your first game and realize it is possible.
- 28:40SPEAKER_00: You're playing in Ipswich Town that's lost their last two games.
- 28:43SPEAKER_00: I put for my prediction, uh Palace two-to-one win uh at home.
- 28:47SPEAKER_00: So this game is at Sellhurst Park as well.
- 28:50SPEAKER_01: I was torn on this.
- 28:51SPEAKER_01: I I was with you originally.
- 28:52SPEAKER_01: I was gonna go Crystal Palace win.
- 28:54SPEAKER_01: I don't think they're gonna be able to keep a clean sheet, to be honest.
- 28:57SPEAKER_01: I think Ipswich will probably score a goal.
- 28:59SPEAKER_01: And then it got me thinking, are Palace strong enough mentally to hold out and see through and get all three points?
- 29:06SPEAKER_01: So I'm gonna go for a 2-2.
- 29:08SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna go for a 2-2.
- 29:09SPEAKER_01: I don't necessarily believe it with my whole heart.
- 29:11SPEAKER_01: I would probably lean Crystal Palace, but I want to be a little bit different and not give the same answer every time.
- 29:16SPEAKER_01: So I'll give a slight, slight nod to a draw.
- 29:20SPEAKER_00: Okay.
- 29:20SPEAKER_00: I'll let you here, I'll let you go first for this next one.
- 29:23SPEAKER_00: Uh Bournemouth and Brentford.
- 29:25SPEAKER_01: And now here is a this one I just had pegged.
- 29:28SPEAKER_01: This was a Desmond 2-2 for me.
- 29:30SPEAKER_01: This is 2-2 and forget the rest.
- 29:33SPEAKER_01: I really don't know what to expect.
- 29:35SPEAKER_01: I if this was in Brentford, I would give Brentford all three points.
- 29:39SPEAKER_01: I think the fact that it's in Bournemouth, Bournemouth have dropped points from winning positions all year so far.
- 29:46SPEAKER_01: I think they'll get the first goal again, Brandon.
- 29:49SPEAKER_01: But I think Brentford will eventually equalize, and I think we're gonna see a draw here.
- 29:54SPEAKER_01: What about you?
- 29:54SPEAKER_00: Okay.
- 29:55SPEAKER_00: I was thinking that, but I actually maybe it's a I'm I put going on a limb.
- 30:01SPEAKER_00: It's not really a limb.
- 30:02SPEAKER_00: This is week four of the Premier League season, nothing wild, but I did I do think Brentford will win this game.
- 30:06SPEAKER_00: I think Bournemouth just hasn't impressed me.
- 30:10SPEAKER_00: They haven't had that 90-minute product.
- 30:12SPEAKER_00: They've had 75 minutes or 70 minutes, but I need to see 90 to really believe in them.
- 30:18SPEAKER_00: And I think this might be a game where Iager Tiago gets his first goal, and I think Brentford starts to put themselves together.
- 30:24SPEAKER_00: So I put 2-1 Brentford, even though they're away, I think they can take three points out of this one.
- 30:29SPEAKER_01: I hope that bastard Tiago, man, he is killing me.
- 30:32SPEAKER_01: He was my first pick in this draft we did, Brandon.
- 30:35SPEAKER_01: He missed a penalty against Spurs after we were already getting battered.
- 30:39SPEAKER_01: I wouldn't have even hated to see it go in.
- 30:41SPEAKER_01: It was he's been a disaster in front of goal.
- 30:44SPEAKER_01: So hopefully he figures it out.
- 30:45SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, no, definitely.
- 30:47SPEAKER_00: Next we have Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest.
- 30:50SPEAKER_00: I'll let you go first again.
- 30:51SPEAKER_00: Go on.
- 30:51SPEAKER_01: Another interesting game.
- 30:52SPEAKER_01: I'm excited for this one.
- 30:54SPEAKER_01: And I just talked about how Villa right of the ship in the Champions League.
- 30:58SPEAKER_01: I don't think it's gonna continue into the weekend.
- 31:00SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna go for Forrest away from home, getting all three points.
- 31:04SPEAKER_01: I just have a feeling that forest defense is legitimate.
- 31:08SPEAKER_01: We talked about it in our preview of the season.
- 31:11SPEAKER_01: I really like their center back pairing.
- 31:13SPEAKER_01: They run a back three under Glasner now, and all of them are good.
- 31:17SPEAKER_01: And Jair Cunha has been starting on that right-hand side.
- 31:19SPEAKER_01: I would be surprised if it doesn't eventually become Diamante, who is a big signing from them for them from Sporting Lisbon.
- 31:25SPEAKER_01: I think we'll start to see a little bit more an attack from Forrest as Glasner continues to imprint his style.
- 31:32SPEAKER_01: Munoz starts to become more of a fixture in the squad.
- 31:36SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna go for the more settled side, even if both teams are if you look at it, Villa actually have the returning manager, but a lot of their squad is not settled.
- 31:47SPEAKER_01: Where Forrest have a pretty settled squad with a new manager.
- 31:50SPEAKER_01: I think I'm just gonna edge it to Forest, but I wouldn't be surprised with any result in this one.
- 31:55SPEAKER_00: Yeah, uh, this one I definitely sat and thought about a little bit longer than the others.
- 32:00SPEAKER_00: I actually put one one draw.
- 32:02SPEAKER_00: I think Villa coming off of their result in the Champions League, they're gonna they're gonna feel confident, they're gonna have a little bit in them.
- 32:08SPEAKER_00: Forrest has lost their last two matches.
- 32:11SPEAKER_00: I or I'm sorry, Forrest has drawn their last two matches.
- 32:15SPEAKER_00: Drawn, not lost.
- 32:16SPEAKER_00: But so I so I projected a 1-1, 1-1 tie in this one.
- 32:20SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I will say I am concerned that Forrest lacks some creativity and don't exactly they're not gonna score three.
- 32:27SPEAKER_01: I'd be stunned if they score three.
- 32:29SPEAKER_01: So they will need to keep a clean sheet or close to it to win this one.
- 32:33SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I think that's where their strong defense helps them, like you mentioned.
- 32:37SPEAKER_00: So I don't see them giving up too much, but I also don't see them scoring too much.
- 32:41SPEAKER_00: That's kind of what went into my 1-1.
- 32:43SPEAKER_00: The last game at the 10 o'clock window, Sean.
- 32:46SPEAKER_00: This one, this one could be interesting.
- 32:48SPEAKER_00: We have Chelsea at home playing Hull City, the Tigers.
- 32:51SPEAKER_00: I put the game in this window, the the 10 o'clock window.
- 32:55SPEAKER_00: I put 3-2 Chelsea.
- 32:57SPEAKER_00: I think it's gonna be proper Barclays, tackles flying.
- 33:01SPEAKER_00: I think Chelsea do just enough at home.
- 33:03SPEAKER_00: Maybe a late winner, 80, 86th minute Cole Palmer goal, and I think they give Hull City their first loss of the season.
- 33:11SPEAKER_01: We're on the same page in terms of result.
- 33:13SPEAKER_01: I'm with you.
- 33:14SPEAKER_01: I do think Chelsea get all three points.
- 33:17SPEAKER_01: I actually think it'll be a lot easier than you made it seem.
- 33:20SPEAKER_01: I think it'll be a 3-1 with Chelsea being in full control and Hull kind of finding one for one to take for the road.
- 33:27SPEAKER_01: I just think Hull have been lucky not to concede yet this year.
- 33:31SPEAKER_01: I know we were fans of them, we're rooting for them.
- 33:34SPEAKER_01: They've been lucky to keep teams out, and this Chelsea attack looks pretty lethal.
- 33:38SPEAKER_01: They just played on Wednesday in the League Cup against uh Leeds, and they rotated heavily.
- 33:45SPEAKER_01: None of the triumvirate up top started, and they were down at half, and then all of a sudden he subs them on and they put six up in the second half.
- 33:54SPEAKER_01: So I think they're gonna continue scoring goals for fun.
- 33:58SPEAKER_01: We'll see if that actually happens, but I I just think that this is gonna be Hole's first setback.
- 34:04SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so we we we agree on that.
- 34:06SPEAKER_00: Sean, the 1230 game is Spurs and Everton.
- 34:11SPEAKER_00: Uh Charles and Derby, if you will, even though he will not be playing in the game for either team.
- 34:15SPEAKER_00: What do you think about this one?
- 34:17SPEAKER_01: I just want to see a goal, Brandon.
- 34:20SPEAKER_01: I'm not asking for too much.
- 34:21SPEAKER_01: I would love to see Tottenham score a goal.
- 34:24SPEAKER_01: And you know what?
- 34:24SPEAKER_01: In fact, I'm gonna ask for I'm gonna ask for all three points.
- 34:26SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna say it's a must-win.
- 34:28SPEAKER_01: We we just have to win at home against the David Moyce side, who has looked anything but convincing.
- 34:33SPEAKER_01: I don't think Everton are bad, but they're very beatable.
- 34:37SPEAKER_01: If you come and play a good match against this Everton team right now, you should win, especially at home.
- 34:43SPEAKER_01: I don't have much confidence in saying that's going to be the case for Tottenham.
- 34:47SPEAKER_01: Mikhaila Mudric, the loane from Chelsea, apparently broke his ankle.
- 34:52SPEAKER_01: He's out for eight weeks.
- 34:54SPEAKER_01: He's I mean, you just can't catch break.
- 34:56SPEAKER_01: Once you come to Tottenham, you will be injured.
- 34:58SPEAKER_01: You're gonna spend some time on the shelf.
- 35:00SPEAKER_01: I don't know if it was a broke uh broken ankle, actually.
- 35:02SPEAKER_01: I think it might just be a high ankle sprain or something, but he is out eight weeks until uh after the international break.
- 35:08SPEAKER_01: I that might mean Matisse Tell starts out on the left again.
- 35:11SPEAKER_01: Not gonna see a goal come from him.
- 35:13SPEAKER_01: I I don't know.
- 35:14SPEAKER_01: I this is more of a me talking myself into it than actually believing it.
- 35:20SPEAKER_01: But I think we get a small taste of Roberto de Zerbi ball here.
- 35:24SPEAKER_01: I think Tottenham win 3-0.
- 35:27SPEAKER_01: How about that?
- 35:28SPEAKER_01: Wow.
- 35:28SPEAKER_01: We break the levy, we pump a few in, vibes are restored.
- 35:33SPEAKER_01: How about that?
- 35:33SPEAKER_00: Uh as much as I'd love that, Sean.
- 35:36SPEAKER_00: That's not the direction that I went in, but I will say that's probably right.
- 35:40SPEAKER_01: You're probably right.
- 35:41SPEAKER_00: I will say that I would prefer your result over my result.
- 35:47SPEAKER_00: No, no, no.
- 35:48SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm not picking us to lose, but I did underline need a goal.
- 35:51SPEAKER_00: I I I did some handwriting.
- 35:52SPEAKER_00: I didn't I didn't type this one.
- 35:54SPEAKER_00: I hand wrote my notes for this one, and I literally wrote Spurs need a goal underlined.
- 35:58SPEAKER_00: I don't think it'll be easy though.
- 36:00SPEAKER_00: And I'm projecting a draw.
- 36:02SPEAKER_00: I think it'll be a 1-1 draw.
- 36:04SPEAKER_00: Spurs are god-awful at home.
- 36:06SPEAKER_00: If this game was at Everton, I if they were at Everton, I think I'd pick them to win.
- 36:10SPEAKER_00: But being at home, David Moyes, he's just tricky.
- 36:14SPEAKER_00: Jordan Pickford, he'll have one of those games where he just stands on his head and nothing gets by him.
- 36:18SPEAKER_00: I think Spurs.
- 36:20SPEAKER_00: I honestly think Spurs go down one-nil and come back and score late to tie it, and they just walk away with a point.
- 36:26SPEAKER_00: And it's like, yay, we scored, yay, we got a point, but we also just drew to Everton, and now we have what one or two points in four games.
- 36:35SPEAKER_00: So I'm not confident in it, but I I don't see them scoring too too many goals in this game.
- 36:41SPEAKER_00: I would love a three-nil result, Sean.
- 36:42SPEAKER_00: That would be fantastic.
- 36:44SPEAKER_00: And I'll actually be with you during during the time of this game, so uh we'll we'll keep our eyes on it, but no, I I don't I don't see that happening.
- 36:53SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry.
- 36:54SPEAKER_01: Brandon, this I told you this was me talking myself into it.
- 36:58SPEAKER_01: I I don't actually believe a 3-0.
- 37:00SPEAKER_01: And I will say to your point, if Everton score first, the vibes in that stadium are going to be horrific.
- 37:06SPEAKER_01: So please just don't let that happen.
- 37:07SPEAKER_01: Just take care of business one time, Tottenham.
- 37:09SPEAKER_01: Please, God, I can't keep doing this.
- 37:13SPEAKER_01: I I don't even have words, just score goals and don't allow goals.
- 37:17SPEAKER_01: Win a match at home.
- 37:19SPEAKER_01: Set just set the tone for a promising season after a bumpy start.
- 37:23SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it it it'll be interesting.
- 37:25SPEAKER_00: And uh Sean, we have one more game on Saturday.
- 37:28SPEAKER_00: Doing it a little differently this week.
- 37:29SPEAKER_00: Usually we have the 7:30 a.m.
- 37:31SPEAKER_00: match.
- 37:31SPEAKER_00: There is no 7:30 a.m.
- 37:33SPEAKER_00: match, but we have a 3 p.m.
- 37:34SPEAKER_00: Eastern match.
- 37:35SPEAKER_00: So prime time in England.
- 37:37SPEAKER_00: However, they gotta know it's week two college football season.
- 37:42SPEAKER_00: So the the viewers, I don't know how that's gonna go in the states, but we have Sunderland Arsenal.
- 37:47SPEAKER_00: I think this one for Arsenal won't be easy, but I do think I think they've looked good, uh, especially against Chelsea last weekend.
- 37:55SPEAKER_00: And I think they go to Sunderland and they and they win 2-0.
- 37:59SPEAKER_01: This is the match, Brandon.
- 38:00SPEAKER_01: I've gotten this match wrong a million times.
- 38:02SPEAKER_01: So I'm gonna tell you you're right.
- 38:04SPEAKER_01: What's going to happen is Arsenal will find a way to win this match.
- 38:07SPEAKER_01: I will not be predicting that.
- 38:08SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna predict that Sunderland get a point at home at the Stadium of Light.
- 38:12SPEAKER_01: I think they're gonna be up for it.
- 38:14SPEAKER_01: Night game, like you said, at the Stadium of Light.
- 38:17SPEAKER_01: It's what an atmosphere.
- 38:19SPEAKER_01: They have European football next week.
- 38:21SPEAKER_01: They're not gonna be looking ahead to it.
- 38:23SPEAKER_01: They will find a way to get a point against Arsenal.
- 38:26SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna go for a 1-1.
- 38:28SPEAKER_01: Okay.
- 38:29SPEAKER_01: I do think this is gonna be a fun watch.
- 38:30SPEAKER_01: I think it just because of the atmosphere in the stadium, I think it's gonna be a good, entertaining match.
- 38:34SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we don't see very often the prime time Premier League games unless they're during the week.
- 38:40SPEAKER_00: So to see it on a Saturday, I'm sure if we were over there, Sean, that would be that would be a dream.
- 38:46SPEAKER_00: You spend all day hanging out with the boys, going pub to pub, and then you get this this nighttime kickoff uh to end the night, and then maybe you go out after the match for some more beers.
- 38:55SPEAKER_00: Couldn't ask for much more, honestly.
- 38:57SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I completely agree.
- 38:58SPEAKER_01: It's that's a great window, especially as a fan, if it's not your club.
- 39:02SPEAKER_01: I don't think you want to wait all day to see it if it's your club.
- 39:05SPEAKER_01: True.
- 39:06SPEAKER_01: You know, you kind of want to take care of business early.
- 39:08SPEAKER_01: But I have a side note, Brandon.
- 39:10SPEAKER_01: Can we please, for the love of God, stop putting Tottenham in the 1230 prime window because all eyes are on us and I can't fucking get it anymore.
- 39:17SPEAKER_01: I can't do it.
- 39:18SPEAKER_00: Yeah, like put us on Peacock.
- 39:20SPEAKER_01: Hide us, hide us, yeah, get us on window and everybody else is playing hide.
- 39:24SPEAKER_01: Sneak us in.
- 39:25SPEAKER_01: Yeah, just I don't even care if it's a behind closed doors fucking match.
- 39:28SPEAKER_01: I just don't want to deal with this anymore.
- 39:31SPEAKER_01: Yeah, unless it's open.
- 39:32SPEAKER_00: And then in that case, play whatever.
- 39:35SPEAKER_00: I do not like the the prime time window when we're not playing well because the texts multiply, the chirping multiplies, and it's like, all right, relax.
- 39:44SPEAKER_00: You didn't you weren't you just stumbled upon the game.
- 39:46SPEAKER_00: You weren't even trying to watch us.
- 39:48SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
- 39:48SPEAKER_01: It's when we're whenever you're a standalone match, it's a problem.
- 39:51SPEAKER_01: Yes.
- 39:52SPEAKER_01: Because then there's nowhere else to divert your attention.
- 39:55SPEAKER_00: Yep.
- 39:56SPEAKER_00: Uh speaking of standalones, we have two standalones on Sunday and one on Monday, Sean.
- 40:01SPEAKER_00: On Sunday, 9 a.m., we have Coventry and Brighton.
- 40:04SPEAKER_00: Uh, I'll let you go first because I have some interesting thoughts on this one.
- 40:07SPEAKER_01: Coventry Brighton, Brandon.
- 40:09SPEAKER_01: This was one I've I've been torn on.
- 40:11SPEAKER_01: I don't know what to do with this match.
- 40:13SPEAKER_01: I want to give Coventry at least a result because I want them to be in the picture in terms of this relegation scrap.
- 40:21SPEAKER_01: And I just don't know that I could talk myself into it.
- 40:24SPEAKER_01: So I will say I think there's going to be goals.
- 40:26SPEAKER_01: I see at least two goals from Brighton.
- 40:29SPEAKER_01: Now, can Coventry match that?
- 40:31SPEAKER_01: Is what my question is.
- 40:32SPEAKER_01: And I'll say they could.
- 40:33SPEAKER_01: I'll I'll give this one a draw.
- 40:35SPEAKER_01: I'll say it's a 2-2 draw.
- 40:36SPEAKER_01: I think Brighton have looked lively in attack, and I think we'll continue to see them look promising.
- 40:42SPEAKER_01: I just don't know about Coventry's ability to put two in.
- 40:46SPEAKER_01: I will take my chances because they know through three matches, they haven't gotten a point yet.
- 40:51SPEAKER_01: They've got to eventually, and the home matches are the ones they're going to be looking at.
- 40:54SPEAKER_01: Brighton aren't an unbeatable side, so I think they're going to give everything they have at least to get a result in this one.
- 41:00SPEAKER_01: I'll go 2-2 draw.
- 41:01SPEAKER_00: Okay.
- 41:01SPEAKER_00: Okay.
- 41:02SPEAKER_00: I'm on a similar wavelength.
- 41:03SPEAKER_00: I also cheated on this one because I have two projections predictions.
- 41:09SPEAKER_00: So if your guy, Verbruggen, decides he wants to be legit, I think Brighton win this game comfortably.
- 41:14SPEAKER_00: Otherwise, I'm going to go 3-3 draw, just chaos and anarchy, madness, uh, Coventry, find a way to put three in.
- 41:23SPEAKER_00: One will be a set piece header from the from a defender.
- 41:27SPEAKER_00: One will be some kind of ugly scrap rebound goal, and then they'll score one beautiful piece of magic.
- 41:34SPEAKER_00: And I think I'll go three-three draw.
- 41:37SPEAKER_00: So it really comes down to Verbruggen.
- 41:40SPEAKER_00: If he decides he wants to be a soccer player and use his hands and be an actual goalie, I think Brighton win this game easily.
- 41:46SPEAKER_00: If he plays like he played against Chelsea, I think it could be 3-3.
- 41:49SPEAKER_01: I love that.
- 41:50SPEAKER_01: I like that.
- 41:51SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I had to I know that that's not the fair way to do it, but I had to take two options there.
- 41:56SPEAKER_00: I won't do it again for India's these last two games, but that one I was like, this guy is so Jekyll and Hyde, and I don't know which one I'm gonna get.
- 42:04SPEAKER_00: He's also one of my fantasy keepers, so I I don't know what to do every week.
- 42:08SPEAKER_00: It's just it's madness.
- 42:11SPEAKER_01: I might need a transfer.
- 42:12SPEAKER_01: I don't think I've seen.
- 42:13SPEAKER_01: Even though he was very good last week.
- 42:15SPEAKER_01: I I don't love it.
- 42:16SPEAKER_01: I don't trust him.
- 42:16SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's like, is he good and he had a bad day, or is he bad and just every squirrel finds a nut, got lucky.
- 42:23SPEAKER_00: So we gotta figure that out.
- 42:25SPEAKER_00: He's gonna be on the he's definitely one of my guys that are on the transfer block.
- 42:29SPEAKER_00: He's not quite there yet, but if a better option comes around, hit my phone.
- 42:33SPEAKER_00: I'm available.
- 42:34SPEAKER_01: We're listening to offers.
- 42:35SPEAKER_01: We're both listening to offer.
- 42:37SPEAKER_00: Uh Sunday at 11 30.
- 42:39SPEAKER_00: We probably have what's touted as the game of the weekend, the Manchester Derby, Manchester United at home, uh facing Manchester City.
- 42:48SPEAKER_00: I'll I'll I'll go first on this one.
- 42:50SPEAKER_00: And this might be a little a little wild, but I'll and maybe I'm just feeling wild on Sunday.
- 42:54SPEAKER_00: I don't know what it is.
- 42:56SPEAKER_00: But I'll take City 3-2.
- 42:58SPEAKER_00: Ooh.
- 42:59SPEAKER_00: I think there'll be a again.
- 43:01SPEAKER_00: This one I think will be proper, proper Barclays.
- 43:04SPEAKER_00: A lot of fireworks.
- 43:06SPEAKER_00: Everyone knows it's a rivalry, it's a Derby.
- 43:08SPEAKER_00: And it'll be uh your guy, Enza Moreska's first derby against United.
- 43:12SPEAKER_00: So he's gonna try to get his guys up.
- 43:14SPEAKER_00: He's gonna try to get his guys firing for this one.
- 43:16SPEAKER_00: I hope it's just a good, good match.
- 43:19SPEAKER_00: We'll see a lot of goals, but I'm leaning City 3-2 in this one.
- 43:23SPEAKER_01: My heart is with you because as you know, Brandon, I've kind of taken on Manchester City as a secondary team in hopes to prevent Arsenal from winning trophies.
- 43:31SPEAKER_01: I just don't know what to expect of this one.
- 43:35SPEAKER_01: We've seen three different versions of Manchester United in three weeks so far.
- 43:39SPEAKER_01: We've seen pretty good stuff from City, even if last week they were pretty unconvincing.
- 43:43SPEAKER_01: I feel like there's still a lot of room to grow under Moresca.
- 43:46SPEAKER_01: I don't think they'll ever end up anywhere near as good as Pep Guardiola's sides there, but the level of talent they have in the squad is at least going to keep them in and around that top four title picture.
- 43:59SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna go.
- 44:00SPEAKER_01: For the upset here in this one, though.
- 44:01SPEAKER_01: I think Manchester United win this match by the same score line, 3-2.
- 44:05SPEAKER_01: I'm hoping you're right.
- 44:06SPEAKER_01: I'm thinking the most likely result will actually be a draw.
- 44:09SPEAKER_01: I'm kind of hedging my bets with my prediction.
- 44:11SPEAKER_01: I'm going to go United.
- 44:13SPEAKER_01: I think Bruno just shows up for matches like this.
- 44:16SPEAKER_01: He pulls the strings.
- 44:17SPEAKER_01: United have something about them.
- 44:19SPEAKER_01: It is at Old Trafford, which is why I'm giving them the edge.
- 44:23SPEAKER_01: I just, it's a tough one to predict.
- 44:25SPEAKER_01: And it is a good game, game of the weekend.
- 44:27SPEAKER_01: Fair shout for it, because the Manchester Derby, even though one team throughout history has really run Manchester, in recent years it's been a completely different script.
- 44:36SPEAKER_01: So I'm going to go United 3-2, but I'm just really excited to watch this one.
- 44:40SPEAKER_01: I do think we'll see some goals in this.
- 44:42SPEAKER_01: So that it'll be good watching for a neutral.
- 44:44SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
- 44:45SPEAKER_00: This will be a fun one, hopefully.
- 44:47SPEAKER_00: It's funny that you call it an upset with United potentially winning, but it's become that way in this in this matchup and this rivalry.
- 44:57SPEAKER_00: Even though they're at home and probably theoretically should be quote unquote a favorite, they probably are underdogs because they are playing City.
- 45:06SPEAKER_00: So yeah, that one will be fun.
- 45:07SPEAKER_00: That one will be really fun.
- 45:09SPEAKER_00: And the timing's pretty good, Sean.
- 45:10SPEAKER_00: It's at 11 30.
- 45:11SPEAKER_00: Game ends.
- 45:12SPEAKER_00: You can go right to NFL.
- 45:13SPEAKER_00: American football right afterwards.
- 45:15SPEAKER_00: It's it's a pretty good Sunday watching lineup.
- 45:19SPEAKER_00: So appreciate that one, Premier League.
- 45:21SPEAKER_00: You messed up on Saturday, but you made up for it on Sunday.
- 45:24SPEAKER_00: The last game, Sean, we have this weekend, or apologize, not this weekend technically, because it's on Monday, is Leeds and Newcastle.
- 45:31SPEAKER_01: I'll I'll let you start.
- 45:32SPEAKER_01: Tough one here to predict.
- 45:34SPEAKER_01: I Leeds are at home, correct?
- 45:36SPEAKER_01: It's at Allen Road.
- 45:37SPEAKER_01: Yes.
- 45:37SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
- 45:38SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
- 45:38SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna go Leeds get a win.
- 45:40SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna go for Leeds.
- 45:41SPEAKER_01: I just think that's a tough trip for Newcastle.
- 45:43SPEAKER_01: I I we talked about how far away Newcastle is, it just blows my mind every time.
- 45:47SPEAKER_01: That's basically a different country.
- 45:49SPEAKER_01: I will take Leeds.
- 45:50SPEAKER_01: I didn't like anything I saw in terms of highlights from the midweek match against Chelsea.
- 45:55SPEAKER_01: A complete capitulation in the second half.
- 45:57SPEAKER_01: But I think that they, under Daniel Daniel Farca, are able to provide stability in the back, and just they they make it tough for teams to break them down.
- 46:09SPEAKER_01: So I'll edge it to leads.
- 46:11SPEAKER_01: They're gonna be wary that Newcastle want to score on the counter, and Newcastle have a ton of ability to do that.
- 46:16SPEAKER_01: So I think it'll be a match that maybe isn't the best to watch because both teams are trying to score from those situations where they don't necessarily dominate the ball and break teams down.
- 46:25SPEAKER_01: They're both kind of looking to counter.
- 46:27SPEAKER_01: We'll see who's able to be more effective in doing so.
- 46:30SPEAKER_01: I'll give this one a narrow leads victory.
- 46:32SPEAKER_01: I'll say 2-1 leads.
- 46:34SPEAKER_00: Okay.
- 46:34SPEAKER_00: I had similar thoughts to you where both teams are trying to hit on the counter.
- 46:39SPEAKER_00: It's not going to be pretty.
- 46:41SPEAKER_00: Uh, I think the points are going to be split, and I think this one actually might be 0-0.
- 46:45SPEAKER_00: I know that's not necessarily the most fun to the to the casual watcher of football, but I don't see match winners in either team at the moment.
- 46:56SPEAKER_00: They they both they're both in the middle of the table.
- 46:58SPEAKER_00: They're both doing okay so far this season.
- 47:01SPEAKER_00: Actually, Newcastle, yeah, they're both pretty high, actually.
- 47:04SPEAKER_00: Um in the upper upper half of the league, but I don't see this game being a high-scoring affair, and I I think it could go 0-0.
- 47:13SPEAKER_00: So I'll I'll take that as my prediction for this one.
- 47:15SPEAKER_01: And it would be a stinker to end the weekend with a 0-0, but I'm expecting this weekend to be a lot more thrilling than last.
- 47:22SPEAKER_01: Usually there's a what there's ebbs and flows to this sort of thing, and last week we saw a bunch of draws and maybe some games that didn't live up to our expectations.
- 47:30SPEAKER_01: I think this weekend we see a couple of great finishes, a couple of close calls, and I think we get some more goals on the board.
- 47:37SPEAKER_01: So I'm expecting a good weekend of proper, proper Barclays.
- 47:41SPEAKER_00: We need it.
- 47:41SPEAKER_00: Bring back Barclays.
- 47:43SPEAKER_00: That's what we we gotta start chanting because we we need it back, Sean.
- 47:47SPEAKER_00: Before we close out, Sean, just a quick, quick MLS note, and then I know you have some notes, uh, some other leagues around Europe.
- 47:55SPEAKER_00: MLS at the time of this recording uh are playing.
- 47:58SPEAKER_00: I know it's Thursday morning now, but we recorded this before Wednesday night.
- 48:03SPEAKER_00: So uh full slate of games Wednesday night, but just to highlight a couple on Saturday, uh we have Miami and Nashville.
- 48:09SPEAKER_00: That game is taking place in Miami, that is first versus second in the East.
- 48:14SPEAKER_00: Uh, Nashville being first, Miami being second.
- 48:16SPEAKER_00: Miami generally pretty solid at home, so I'll definitely keep an eye on that game.
- 48:21SPEAKER_00: And then one game from the West, we have San Jose and Houston, which is actually two versus six in the west.
- 48:28SPEAKER_00: Um both teams have looked strong this season.
- 48:31SPEAKER_00: I don't know if either are really expected to make a ton of noise, uh especially San Jose, to be honest with you.
- 48:37SPEAKER_00: But both are both are playing pretty well, and um just another another game in MLS that uh can have some serious playoff implications.
- 48:47SPEAKER_01: I like it.
- 48:47SPEAKER_01: I'm excited for that Miami Nashville game.
- 48:49SPEAKER_01: That's gonna be a good one.
- 48:50SPEAKER_01: I wish, like you said, it wasn't on simultaneously, the same time as some great college football games, but we the there's choices in life, and there's also several TVs available.
- 48:59SPEAKER_01: So yeah, you you could make time to watch it if you want to.
- 49:02SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes, yeah.
- 49:03SPEAKER_00: We thankfully 2026, we can be creative, we can make things happen.
- 49:07SPEAKER_01: Yeah, stream it on your laptop, phone.
- 49:09SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of options available.
- 49:10SPEAKER_01: Yes, Brandon, on paper, this isn't the best weekend around the continent, I will say.
- 49:16SPEAKER_01: There's not a ton of matchups that you look at and they scream you need to get your eyes on this.
- 49:21SPEAKER_01: Obviously, I try to watch Real Madrid and Barcelona as much as I could.
- 49:24SPEAKER_01: Those teams, anytime they're on the calendar, they're worth the watch, I would say.
- 49:28SPEAKER_01: For me, I'm gonna go with on Saturday, high noon, Lazio host inter Lazio host AC Milan.
- 49:37SPEAKER_01: It's a match between two teams near the top of Serie A.
- 49:40SPEAKER_01: Lazio are joint top.
- 49:42SPEAKER_01: They have nine points from three matches.
- 49:44SPEAKER_01: They're tied with Inter Milan and Roma, and Milan are two wins and a draw through their first three.
- 49:50SPEAKER_01: So two teams that are going to be battling for those European positions, two teams that as of right now still have title hopes.
- 49:56SPEAKER_01: So I think that's an important match in the Syrie A season.
- 49:59SPEAKER_01: And then on Sunday, there's only really one that I want to see, and it could end up being an ugly beatdown.
- 50:05SPEAKER_01: But I think it's still worth watching.
- 50:08SPEAKER_01: It's Elversburg hosting Bayern Munich.
- 50:11SPEAKER_01: It is the newly promoted side hosting the title winners.
- 50:14SPEAKER_01: Elversburg have won both of their matches up in the top flight so far this season.
- 50:18SPEAKER_01: They've returned to the Bundesliga, and they have started with an absolute bang.
- 50:23SPEAKER_01: So that's exciting.
- 50:24SPEAKER_01: They get to play host to Bayern Munich.
- 50:26SPEAKER_01: Their fans are going to be up for it.
- 50:28SPEAKER_01: The stadium's going to be, it's going to be a cool setting to see a match.
- 50:31SPEAKER_01: It's at 11:30 on Sunday.
- 50:33SPEAKER_01: Like I said, this could be a real bounce back spot for Byron where they take out some frustrations, maybe.
- 50:38SPEAKER_01: But they also have a Champions League match today, and then have to make their way to Elversburg on Sunday.
- 50:43SPEAKER_01: So you never know what could happen.
- 50:45SPEAKER_01: I'm hoping that we see Elversburg pull off the upset.
- 50:47SPEAKER_01: Cole Campbell starring for Elversburg.
- 50:50SPEAKER_01: So a big moment for the young American lad.
- 50:52SPEAKER_01: So we'll see how that goes.
- 50:54SPEAKER_01: Those are my two games I would recommend watching across the continent this weekend.
- 50:58SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
- 50:59SPEAKER_00: And that Elversburg game, don't let them see one go in first early at home.
- 51:05SPEAKER_00: Their people are going to be behind it, Sean.
- 51:08SPEAKER_00: Bayern just starts to shake a little bit and they don't know if if they're the real deal.
- 51:13SPEAKER_00: Like you said, I assume Bayern will turn it on and take care of business, but it's always weary when you go down 1-0 at these places and it gets rocking.
- 51:22SPEAKER_00: So definitely one to keep our eyes on.
- 51:24SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I've always said you do not want to concede first against Elversburg.
- 51:28SPEAKER_01: I've always said that.
- 51:32SPEAKER_01: I've long said that.
- 51:34SPEAKER_00: All of August of 2026, you said that.
- 51:37SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
- 51:37SPEAKER_01: I just found out they were a club.
- 51:39SPEAKER_00: No, that's that's good stuff from you.
- 51:40SPEAKER_00: Thank you for bringing those those games up, Sean.
- 51:43SPEAKER_00: Any any final notes for tonight?
- 51:44SPEAKER_01: Nothing really, Brandon.
- 51:46SPEAKER_01: Excited for some more Champions League today.
- 51:48SPEAKER_01: Roma, get their champions league campaign underway.
- 51:51SPEAKER_01: Excited for that.
- 51:53SPEAKER_01: Other than that, looking forward to some football this weekend.
- 51:56SPEAKER_01: Me and you will be taking in both kinds of football.
- 51:59SPEAKER_01: We will be at a temple Penn State tailgate, where don't worry, there's gonna be a TV with some soccer on up until kick.
- 52:06SPEAKER_01: That's that's a guarantee.
- 52:08SPEAKER_01: So I'm excited about that.
- 52:10SPEAKER_01: Other than that, nothing else on my end.
- 52:12SPEAKER_01: How about you?
- 52:13SPEAKER_00: No, same, same.
- 52:15SPEAKER_00: That uh well, we'll actually have two two weekends in a row of friends on football link ups.
- 52:19SPEAKER_00: Uh, we'll be at the temple pen state game and then the edge shearing concert.
- 52:23SPEAKER_00: Both, neither of which are soccer events, but I love that for us.
- 52:26SPEAKER_00: Still finding a way to get together outside of the beautiful game, Sean.
- 52:29SPEAKER_00: So duh, definitely looking forward to seeing you, seeing these games this weekend.
- 52:33SPEAKER_00: And yeah, it's it should be another fun weekend of football.
- 52:36SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm excited for it.
- 52:38SPEAKER_01: And I I do think this one's gonna deliver.
- 52:40SPEAKER_01: So tune in, set your FPL lineups, get everything ready, enjoy some proper Barclays leading you into the start of the NFL and leading you into a college football Saturday.
- 52:50SPEAKER_01: It's nice that it's on in the morning before those games kick off.
- 52:53SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes, and set your fantasy Premier League lineups.
- 52:57SPEAKER_00: That's a great point.
- 52:58SPEAKER_00: Coming from the podcast host himself, I tend to forget until Friday afternoon, and I'm like, oh, do this real quick.
- 53:04SPEAKER_00: So don't be like me, be better than me, which you all are.
- 53:08SPEAKER_00: And and uh yeah, try to try to beat us in the fantasy Premier League contest, which is not the hardest thing you'll ever do, I promise.
- 53:15SPEAKER_01: But no, it was a bad it was a bad week.
- 53:17SPEAKER_01: I had a strong, strong week two, Brandon, and a real setback week three.
- 53:21SPEAKER_01: So hey, we're sitting third.
- 53:23SPEAKER_01: We're sitting third in the team.
- 53:24SPEAKER_01: There you go.
- 53:24SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm I'm trying my hardest.
- 53:26SPEAKER_01: Just trying my hardest.
- 53:28SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I had uh Tyrick Mitchell just chilling on my bench, so that was great to get zero instead of I think he had like 16 points.
- 53:35SPEAKER_00: So we forfeited that last week, but it's alright.
- 53:38SPEAKER_00: We're back.
- 53:38SPEAKER_00: It's a new week.
- 53:39SPEAKER_00: It's a new week.
- 53:39SPEAKER_00: The boys will be back.
- 53:41SPEAKER_00: Sean, thank you as always.
- 53:43SPEAKER_00: Great, great talking with you.
- 53:45SPEAKER_00: I love the story tonight.
- 53:46SPEAKER_00: Cheering on the animals.
- 53:48SPEAKER_00: We'll be cheering on a lot of apples this weekend.
- 53:50SPEAKER_01: It's a big weekend for the owls.
- 53:52SPEAKER_01: Big weekend for the animals.
- 53:53SPEAKER_00: Um listeners, thank you as always.
- 53:55SPEAKER_00: We appreciate your support.
- 53:56SPEAKER_00: Like, subscribe, tell a friend to tell a friend, and take care.