Resist the temptation of seeing what’s under number 16 on your advent calendar – their days are numbered.
To take your mind off it, read the official halfway marker of the season: Premier League Bingo, No. 18.
Pundits still refusing the notion the title race is over
In midweek, Manchester City broke the all-time English top-flight record for the number of consecutive wins, the third country in which manager Pep Guardiola has achieved the feat. They are unbeaten, have scored 15 more goals than any other side, boast an 11-point lead and beat closest-challengers United last weekend. When you’re as smooth as City there is no rough patch. Let’s just accept it, pundits, and stop making the title race seem more exciting than it is – City’s football will do just fine in that department.
Rubbing your eyes at the fact Everton are tied on points with Watford
Everton were in the trenches of crisis a month ago, and yet are now tied with Marco Silva’s Watford, who, in comparison, have received a media love-in this campaign. Everton knew all along that Allardyce would deliver this service, but were perhaps just reluctant because appointing Big Sam for a rescue job feels like cheating. A little bit like when you have 50 left, with one dart, and throw for 18 to set up the beautifully divisible double 16.
Football fans upping their supporting ante to rival darts counterparts
On the topic of arrow-launching, the World Darts Championship is back for another year of Jesus lookalikes, intra-fan rivalry and overzealous lager consumption. The atmosphere is as much part of the experience as the darts itself, and it can put football to shame in the categories of pound-for-pound volume, solidarity and lack of socially-questionable slurs. The only reply for tracksuit and Gazelle wearers is showing more passion than ever, or in other words, non-stop shouting.
Not having a plethora of Combined XIs for City v Tottenham
There have combined XIs aplenty in recent weeks – most infamously when Adam Crafton deliberately promoted his provocative selection of 11 Spurs players ahead of their derby with Arsenal. The thing to remember however, is that they are almost exclusively published in mass for local rivalries, and not so much for two top sides, probably for the fact that: the lesser the rivalry; the fewer clickbait specimens gaze their eyes.
Reaffirming your opinion that The Hawthorns never conjures up a great live TV game
When watching a game with your backside planted into a reassuringly-sinking sofa, there are certain elements of the home ground which can enhance the viewing experience; atmosphere, closeness to the pitch, number of disjointed stands. When WBA welcome Manchester United on Sunday, we’ll be inspecting The Hawthorns’ standing in this department once more. I say, with hesitation, though, what great games have been televised there? Not moments, like Batshuayi’s title-clinching winner, but great, live TV games? Fingers crossed another 5-5 can happen against United, which, obviously, wasn’t broadcasted live.
Still wondering whether Allardyce is blowing his own trumpet on Everton’s defensive turnaround
There’s no doubting Big Sam’s effect at Everton; the side have won three, drawn one and conceded as many in his tenure. He must be, understandably, chuffed at his Rumpelstiltskin-esque managerial presence, but he’s being very coy about it. “I’m a little bit baffled on the fact that, how did Everton concede so many goal before I got here?” he said after beating Newcastle 1-0 in midweek, without a hint of arrogance. Keep your eyes peeled for more on MNF.
