Sportsbet.io's English Premier League Football Pool Discussion Thread

[casperBGD]

~snip

It still has a lot of charm, but money took away a lot from FA cup. It just doesn't pay nowhere near the money European places in the Premier League and it is normal that clubs prioritize that.

it has more than a charm, and I would not call it normal for clubs to prioritize European competitions, it is because money has eaten football in 30 years, and that is not normal, IMO
but, you can see lower end clubs to fight in FA cup with Premier league clubs (although all those are mostly professional clubs, you will hardly find clubs below LeagueTwo that fight in FA cup rounds)

Stevenage was prime example, not sure if anyone saw their goals, but that are not short of quality, and they are fighting Leyton for top spot in L2, saw their match in L2, and it was football on European level

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[buwaytress]

It was so important even in Asia that before satelite tv came with all the live shows, national TV and radio even broadcast FA Cup programmes including prematch discussions and it was a big thing that everyone would play to win.

It changed after Champions League qualification was more "valuable" than FA Cup (which doesn't qualify you).

Also lower side PL teams prefer to fight survival (and keep earning more money) than to win FA Cup.

I definitely think some teams no longer value this cup.

FA cup has history on its side, it is the oldest national competition in the world, only football of course. It still has a lot of charm, but money took away a lot from FA cup. It just doesn't pay nowhere near the money European places in the Premier League and it is normal that clubs prioritize that.

Man that really brought memories. I didn't know much about football outside my country until late 1990s but my grandfather would always watch the live FA cup games in the 80s. "Road to Wembley" program every weekend if I recall correctly and indeed, the only foreign club games you could watch on TV in those days but they all played past midnight so I wasn't allowed to stay up. But you could hear the music and the commentary and I imagined it anyway.

That theme song still plays fresh in my mind. Just looked it up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYFu3cbdnuU. All us kids would sing that song before we played football or pretended to lift a trophy. Not World Cup. Not any other cup. But the English FA Cup haha.

Dunhill sponsored so much football in those days even in my country.

Honestly, I still watch it as much as I can but I'm even watching League Cup haha. And when I was in the UK some years back, I still enjoyed watching the pre-match programmes, even the build up, days before. So I think it's definitely a generational thing. Nostalgia. My kid doesn't give a rat's ass about it even when his team plays.

Would love to win it again, but would love even better for some none PL team to get it. We honestly don't really deserve it... playing the kids until the semifinal/finals heh.

[Welsh]

I just haven't watched enough football this season to even attempt predictions this side of the year. I've been away too much in the last few months. Liverpool are incredibly unreliable, and I'm not even sure what's the problem since I haven't been able to watch many of the games. I'm looking forward to the end of the season, so I can start anew in the next season. Since, I honestly don't know much about this season across the teams.

Seems Manchester United, and Arsenal have recovered from a few years of poor performances. City seem a little less consistent this year, and a little less dominant, but I can't be sure in that.

[buwaytress]

I just haven't watched enough football this season to even attempt predictions this side of the year. I've been away too much in the last few months. Liverpool are incredibly unreliable, and I'm not even sure what's the problem since I haven't been able to watch many of the games. I'm looking forward to the end of the season, so I can start anew in the next season. Since, I honestly don't know much about this season across the teams.

Seems Manchester United, and Arsenal have recovered from a few years of poor performances. City seem a little less consistent this year, and a little less dominant, but I can't be sure in that.

Have managed to watch most of Liverpool and actually a great deal of World Cup, but have definitely not been able to watch other games or keep up with developments. Real life has a really nice way to get into the mix and it's not that I don't have time mostly, just not the availability to sit down and get into it.

My take on Liverpool:
- complete physical shellshock from last season's exertions that they have not had the chance to recover from (only a real holiday can rest that deep fatigue).
- injuries to main plan has forced makeshift attack
- Nunez unlucky. Now, I'm the first to say a flop is a flop but I watch this guy and he creates chances out of nothing and puts himself in incredible positions. Yes his finishing seems off, but he tries majority from outside the box or just on the edge. It's not like say, Sterling or Havertz who get so close and finish badly after being served on a plate.

Man Utd is creeping up the board too... 20 wins from 29 this season is impressive, given their troubles. Arsenal too. I put both down to high performing players (Rashford and Saka come to mind).

[hilariousetc]

Was it really Mourinho who made the cup games "exciting" again?

I don't think it was Mourinho.I know that in England FA cup is the most valued cup by all the teams because they a couple of other cups going but not as famous as this one,this is the most important one,we saw that with lower league teams beating the hell out of Premier League sides and this says a lot about the importance of such cup.You may think that these Premier League sides underestimated the value of this cup but this is not the reality,the reality is that they were found unprepared during such matches and that is why it is better to bet both teams to score rather than money lines here,a lot of surprise results.

It was so important even in Asia that before satelite tv came with all the live shows, national TV and radio even broadcast FA Cup programmes including prematch discussions and it was a big thing that everyone would play to win.

It changed after Champions League qualification was more "valuable" than FA Cup (which doesn't qualify you).

Also lower side PL teams prefer to fight survival (and keep earning more money) than to win FA Cup.

I definitely think some teams no longer value this cup.

FA cup has history on its side, it is the oldest national competition in the world, only football of course. It still has a lot of charm, but money took away a lot from FA cup. It just doesn't pay nowhere near the money European places in the Premier League and it is normal that clubs prioritize that.

It's a shame that big clubs don't take it seriously anymore. The top ones just treat it as a friendly match for them to put out a B team to experiment with. Long gone are the days when teams would go for the double/treble. Now it just seem the PL and CL is all they care about. Some of the big clubs even get pretty far in the domestic cups and they still don't take the quarters or semis serious. Winning the FA Cup is surely better than getting knocked out in the CL at some point.

[swogerino]

Was it really Mourinho who made the cup games "exciting" again?

I don't think it was Mourinho.I know that in England FA cup is the most valued cup by all the teams because they a couple of other cups going but not as famous as this one,this is the most important one,we saw that with lower league teams beating the hell out of Premier League sides and this says a lot about the importance of such cup.You may think that these Premier League sides underestimated the value of this cup but this is not the reality,the reality is that they were found unprepared during such matches and that is why it is better to bet both teams to score rather than money lines here,a lot of surprise results.

It was so important even in Asia that before satelite tv came with all the live shows, national TV and radio even broadcast FA Cup programmes including prematch discussions and it was a big thing that everyone would play to win.

It changed after Champions League qualification was more "valuable" than FA Cup (which doesn't qualify you).

Also lower side PL teams prefer to fight survival (and keep earning more money) than to win FA Cup.

I definitely think some teams no longer value this cup.

FA cup has history on its side, it is the oldest national competition in the world, only football of course. It still has a lot of charm, but money took away a lot from FA cup. It just doesn't pay nowhere near the money European places in the Premier League and it is normal that clubs prioritize that.

It's a shame that big clubs don't take it seriously anymore. The top ones just treat it as a friendly match for them to put out a B team to experiment with. Long gone are the days when teams would go for the double/treble. Now it just seem the PL and CL is all they care about. Some of the big clubs even get pretty far in the domestic cups and they still don't take the quarters or semis serious. Winning the FA Cup is surely better than getting knocked out in the CL at some point.

I strongly agree with your view especially after seeing now that in the EFL cup a lot of the Premier League teams are in the quarter finals so I think how can these teams value more the second cup of England compared to FA cup?

I only have an answer for this,maybe these teams had some easy opponents along the way but seeing the history of the games didn't look like that,so I cannot understand this.I have to see in tonight games which are all Premier League teams playing,see how will they play,how much will they be motivated,maybe they think that it is easier to win this cup rather than FA as I cannot find another logic into this.

[cryptofrka]

Have managed to watch most of Liverpool and actually a great deal of World Cup, but have definitely not been able to watch other games or keep up with developments. Real life has a really nice way to get into the mix and it's not that I don't have time mostly, just not the availability to sit down and get into it.

My take on Liverpool:
- complete physical shellshock from last season's exertions that they have not had the chance to recover from (only a real holiday can rest that deep fatigue).
- injuries to main plan has forced makeshift attack
- Nunez unlucky. Now, I'm the first to say a flop is a flop but I watch this guy and he creates chances out of nothing and puts himself in incredible positions. Yes his finishing seems off, but he tries majority from outside the box or just on the edge. It's not like say, Sterling or Havertz who get so close and finish badly after being served on a plate.

Man Utd is creeping up the board too... 20 wins from 29 this season is impressive, given their troubles. Arsenal too. I put both down to high performing players (Rashford and Saka come to mind).

I watched all of the games and this has been fantastically written.

Liverpool is the worst team in the league in successful tackles percentage, add to that constant rotations due to injuries and you get an exhausted team that is full of players that have to keep playing.
Our pressing is nonexistent, which hinders our defensive game more than any statistic can show.

In our last game we made 14 tackles, half of them unsuccessful, with Thiago having 6 of these. Henderson and Fabinho were without a successful tackle in 90 minutes of football.

This team needs a hard reset, I expect us to be way better after the full summer break but there's still CL to fight for. Not getting top 4 will raise many unwanted questions - and I feel like we'll come up just short of the places leading there.

[hilariousetc]

I strongly agree with your view especially after seeing now that in the EFL cup a lot of the Premier League teams are in the quarter finals so I think how can these teams value more the second cup of England compared to FA cup?

I only have an answer for this,maybe these teams had some easy opponents along the way but seeing the history of the games didn't look like that,so I cannot understand this.I have to see in tonight games which are all Premier League teams playing,see how will they play,how much will they be motivated,maybe they think that it is easier to win this cup rather than FA as I cannot find another logic into this.

Just look at Man City yesterday. They fielded an obvious weakened B-Team and now they've been knocked out by Southampton. I didn't even realise it was the quarter finals. That cup might end up being their only chance at Silverware and now they've gone and blown it. The cups are basically only taken seriously by the smaller teams now who do their best. Forrest and Newcastle are still in it along with Southampton so maybe they might take it more seriously than Man United who are the only other club still in it, though I think United might now push for it given it's probably the only thing they're in with a chance of winning this year.

[tokeweed]

^  Wtf.  Lol...  But it wasn't really just a B squad.  It was a B+ squad.    And it's prolly the hectic schedule of fixtures during the cold of winter taking its toll on the team.  They went against Chelsea twice then Southampton all in a span of a week.  I wonder what the line was for Southampton.

But yeah, Guardiola had to cos City is going against United this weekend.  I wonder how the schedule is going to take its toll in this match.  United at 4.20 could be value.

What I feel like could really be value is Fullham draw no bet at 2.85 vs a Chesea squad which might have lost its identity.

Edit:  Is Joao Felix gonna play?

[swogerino]

What I feel like could really be value is Fullham draw no bet at 2.85 vs a Chesea squad which might have lost its identity.

Most likely that draw no bet should be 1.85 as the odd for Fulham to win is 3.50 or 3.30 in some places so it does not make a lot of sense placing draw no bet at 2.85,nevertheless I agree with you,it is a really good value because just go ahead and see the list of absence of players in the Chelsea squad in Flashscore and you will see a lot of the important ones are injured or missing for other reasons,while Fulham will only miss Mitrovic their main striker because of number of cards.

I personally in the pool have gone for a narrow Chelsea win while for the bet I have chosen the best value according to myself  which is over 1.5 goals at 1.33 odd.

[tokeweed]

What I feel like could really be value is Fullham draw no bet at 2.85 vs a Chesea squad which might have lost its identity.

Most likely that draw no bet should be 1.85 as the odd for Fulham to win is 3.50 or 3.30 in some places so it does not make a lot of sense placing draw no bet at 2.85,

^  I'm looking at the lines at Stake rn.  It's 2.85 for draw no bet and 4.10 to win for Fulham.  I think it was even at 2.95 yesterday.  You can check it out.

https://stake.com/sports/soccer/england/premier-league/43202450-fulham-fc-chelsea-fc

And I think you got it the other way around.  If the other books have Fulham at 3.50 and you find a spot at 4.10 then you should def take the spot if you fancy Fulham to win.  It's extra value.

Anyway, how good is Joao Felix?  Wasn't he signed by Atletico for a ridiculous amount?  And if so, why is he loaned out to Chelsea?  :/

[swogerino]

What I feel like could really be value is Fullham draw no bet at 2.85 vs a Chesea squad which might have lost its identity.

Most likely that draw no bet should be 1.85 as the odd for Fulham to win is 3.50 or 3.30 in some places so it does not make a lot of sense placing draw no bet at 2.85,

^  I'm looking at the lines at Stake rn.  It's 2.85 for draw no bet and 4.10 to win for Fulham.  I think it was even at 2.95 yesterday.  You can check it out.

https://stake.com/sports/soccer/england/premier-league/43202450-fulham-fc-chelsea-fc

And I think you got it the other way around.  If the other books have Fulham at 3.50 and you find a spot at 4.10 then you should def take the spot if you fancy Fulham to win.  It's extra value.

Anyway, how good is Joao Felix?  Wasn't he signed by Atletico for a ridiculous amount?  And if so, why is he loaned out to Chelsea?  :/

Then I have to say Stake is clearly wrong about the odds as Fulham is in much better shape than Chelsea lately and of course as I said Chelsea is missing a lot of players,he Joao Felix just came and registered in time to play the game of tonight but we don't know his real form,if he was as good as they say he probably could have continued to contribute to Atletico Madrid but most likely he didn't find his way there,that is why he is on loan.

I think you got me wrong,what I said is if 3.50 is Fulham to win,then the odds are to big for draw no bet at 2.85 and they should be 1.85 or 2 at a maximum,nevertheless I think I made the right choice at over 1.5 goals for this game.

[Igebotz]

^  I'm looking at the lines at Stake rn.  It's 2.85 for draw no bet and 4.10 to win for Fulham.  I think it was even at 2.95 yesterday.  You can check it out.

https://stake.com/sports/soccer/england/premier-league/43202450-fulham-fc-chelsea-fc

And I think you got it the other way around.  If the other books have Fulham at 3.50 and you find a spot at 4.10 then you should def take the spot if you fancy Fulham to win.  It's extra value.

Anyway, how good is Joao Felix?  Wasn't he signed by Atletico for a ridiculous amount?  And if so, why is he loaned out to Chelsea?  :/

J. Felix is a good baller with more years ahead of him, he signed a long contract with ATM before joining Chelsea, I guess it's just an escape route until Simeone leaves the club as manager at the end of the season, nobody survives long with his style of tactics, and yes, the loan amount is ridiculous considering it's only a 6 month loan + 100% salary to be paid by Chelsea, but that's what you get for a panic buy. Chelsea has a good business relationship with ATM, if he adapts and helps the team, Chelsea may trigger his release clause.


Well, he'll get some minutes; he's been training ahead of the Fulham game, and I'm tempted to stake a few cents on him to score @6.20.
Going for a 1-2 CS  @8.60

[Trofo]

Well, he'll get some minutes; he's been training ahead of the Fulham game, and I'm tempted to stake a few cents on him to score @6.20.
Going for a 1-2 CS  @8.60

My favorite Chelsea insider claims that Joao will start. Seemed a bit unlikely to me since he just arrived but Chelsea has so many injury problems that I guess it has to be possible.

Line ups will be known in about half an hour so that is perfect time to play that bet if you belive in him. As soon as it is known and before odds start dropping.

[buwaytress]

Liverpool is the worst team in the league in successful tackles percentage, add to that constant rotations due to injuries and you get an exhausted team that is full of players that have to keep playing.
Our pressing is nonexistent, which hinders our defensive game more than any statistic can show.

In our last game we made 14 tackles, half of them unsuccessful, with Thiago having 6 of these. Henderson and Fabinho were without a successful tackle in 90 minutes of football.

This team needs a hard reset, I expect us to be way better after the full summer break but there's still CL to fight for. Not getting top 4 will raise many unwanted questions - and I feel like we'll come up just short of the places leading there.

Yeah... Fabinho has been at sea this whole season, and you can sense and feel it's simple deep fatigue. Legs flailing out slow. Thiago's the only one looking sharp in midfield, Elliott at first, no longer. Salah probably benefited from no World Cup but he's not going to change our team fortunes from the wing.

Hard reset is absolutely what we need and I hope we get.

Our pressing too... we have to decide if we give it up without the personnel. Gakpo's our latest addition and he and Nunez are not the kind of pressers we need (yet).

Forrest and Newcastle are still in it along with Southampton so maybe they might take it more seriously than Man United who are the only other club still in it, though I think United might now push for it given it's probably the only thing they're in with a chance of winning this year.

ETH wants this so badly I know he'll want to pour everything into it. Just hope Newcastle give it a right go -- but N'ham or Saints winning it would be the coolest possible outcome for the neutral.

[Joca97]

Well, he'll get some minutes; he's been training ahead of the Fulham game, and I'm tempted to stake a few cents on him to score @6.20.
Going for a 1-2 CS  @8.60

My favorite Chelsea insider claims that Joao will start. Seemed a bit unlikely to me since he just arrived but Chelsea has so many injury problems that I guess it has to be possible.

Line ups will be known in about half an hour so that is perfect time to play that bet if you belive in him. As soon as it is known and before odds start dropping.

I think 1-2 is really realistic . Fulham is playing without their main player Aleksandar Mitrovic and they might win this finally. Fulham wont give up on their attacking but without him they arent that good . So Chelsea can finally win something. Went with 1-2 aswell.

[Harkorede]

What I feel like could really be value is Fullham draw no bet at 2.85 vs a Chesea squad which might have lost its identity.

Most likely that draw no bet should be 1.85 as the odd for Fulham to win is 3.50 or 3.30 in some places so it does not make a lot of sense placing draw no bet at 2.85,

^  I'm looking at the lines at Stake rn.  It's 2.85 for draw no bet and 4.10 to win for Fulham.  I think it was even at 2.95 yesterday.  You can check it out.

https://stake.com/sports/soccer/england/premier-league/43202450-fulham-fc-chelsea-fc

And I think you got it the other way around.  If the other books have Fulham at 3.50 and you find a spot at 4.10 then you should def take the spot if you fancy Fulham to win.  It's extra value.

Anyway, how good is Joao Felix?  Wasn't he signed by Atletico for a ridiculous amount?  And if so, why is he loaned out to Chelsea?  :/

I'm probably the only one backing Chelsea to win the against Fulham and having a bet on them, because I strongly feel that the barely above 2 odds is of significant value, despite Chelsea being plagued by injuries and their injury list will even make a decent team, and for Joao Felix too, he wouldn't be available, because I learnt he got injured in training.

The first positive for Chelsea is that Mitrovic is out, and that's Fulham's biggest goal threat, he's accountable for over 36% of all Fulham goals this season.

Joao Felix is not going to last at Atletico Madrid imo, I think they're literally going to sell him once the right offer arrives, probably in the coming summer, and Felix  himself isn't enjoying life in the club.

[Igebotz]

Well, he'll get some minutes; he's been training ahead of the Fulham game, and I'm tempted to stake a few cents on him to score @6.20.
Going for a 1-2 CS  @8.60

My favorite Chelsea insider claims that Joao will start. Seemed a bit unlikely to me since he just arrived but Chelsea has so many injury problems that I guess it has to be possible.

Line ups will be known in about half an hour so that is perfect time to play that bet if you belive in him. As soon as it is known and before odds start dropping.

He STARTs!!! I never imagined we'd be this bad and desperate, to the point where a player who arrived less than 78 hours ago is starting for us. I understand injury played a big part in this. but I'm crying

 I'll place my wager right now.


edit: Sportbets does not have player to score option!!!!! Shit I've already sent funds 

[casperBGD]

~snip
He STARTs!!! I never imagined we'd be this bad and desperate, to the point where a player who arrived less than 78 hours ago is starting for us.

it is a desperate move, but in line with Chelsea scores lately, which puts them as main subject of Troll Football on Twitter
nevertheless, I think that Chelsea is going to win tonight, in a mid-table derby with Fulham

but not sure that Joao is going to have massive role in a win, if that happens

[Harkorede]

~snip
He STARTs!!! I never imagined we'd be this bad and desperate, to the point where a player who arrived less than 78 hours ago is starting for us.

it is a desperate move, but in line with Chelsea scores lately, which puts them as main subject of Troll Football on Twitter
nevertheless, I think that Chelsea is going to win tonight, in a mid-table derby with Fulham

but not sure that Joao is going to have massive role in a win, if that happens

I was surprised to see Felix starting the game because I learnt that he picked up a knock in training or something of such, I'm of the opinion that Joao Felix will slot perfectly into Potter's plans and will be very vital in the coming games, but of course I might be wrong because premier league is completely different from what and the leagues he's been used to.

From the lineup, I think Chelsea's team still looks like the better team on paper, should get a win... I had 2-0 for Chelsea initially, before changing to 2-1 about an hour ago, but now I'm going to to revert back to my 2-0 prediction, Koulibaly and Thiago Silva pairing and Mitrovic absence is the final criteria for my decision.