Paullow

They are back out to 11/2 at SkyBet, so stuck 20 on. Nearly shit myself for a moment after seeing Sean Casey's post 

On 21/05/2024 at 16:34, Wallsendmag said:

I've stuck £20 on Man Utd to win the Cup @ 5/1 as a little insurance policy.

They were 11/2 either yesterday,  or the day before, at SkyBet, but now it looks like the best price at traditional sites is 9/2. I was hoping it would have gone out to nearer 6s, but going the other way now.

I'll likely still put 20 on myself.

?

Metz had a 3 point and +7 GD advantage over Lorient on the final day in the race to avoid the 2nd outright relegation spot in Ligue 1, but they play PSG and Lorient have the bottom side Clermont. Metz currently 0-2 down, Lorient 3-0 up, so there needs to be 2 more goals (in either match). Always a chance they could go down considering the respective remaining fixtures, but you'd have liked to think a 7 goal swing would have been fairly safe.

Final day in France about to start on TNT. Nothing too major, but a few things still to sort out. TNT are showing the following 3 matches:

Lens vs Montpellier - Lens in 6th and in the driving seat for Conference League  (which will be Europa if PSG beat Lyon in the Cup next week)

Lyon vs Strasbourg - Lyon need to better Lens result to finish 6th and get Conference football, although they have a second chance of Europe in the cup final

Lillie vs Nice - Lille in 3rd and looking to guarantee Champions League, and avoid having to qualify for it if they finish 4th.

Didn't realise France now have 4 places in the CL. They pretty much get the same European places as England now.

If you could pick any team for a favour, we have a pretty good one, and it is a major cup, not like a Charity Shield, plus it is their city rivals, so they'll obviously be up for it, plus no CL final to potentially distract them either.

The Conference League is a bit of a football hipsters paradise and many of the sides will be league champions, albeit a lot of minnows. It'll be class potentially going to capital cities like Bratislava, Helsinki, Dublin, Nicosia etc. and there are still a handful of decent sides in.

Out of our hands, but it will be a bit gutting if we miss out. Next Saturday really will feel like a Newcastle match.

9 minutes ago, Infatuation Junkie said:

Man U are 6/1 to lift the cup. Happy news.

 

Also strengthen our bench for like for like and we can comfortably get Europe next season imho

Where do you see those odds? Best I can find is 9/2. I will likely stick a tenner on it nearer the time, but hopefully it goes up.

By finishing 7th, we've matched their best league finish since 1955.

12 minutes ago, kingxlnc said:

Just shows fine margins, if we’d won at Old Trafford we’d have finished 6th

 

or held on vs Everton and beaten Brighton

But them Chelsea could say if we didn't concede that 93rd minute McBurnie goal to draw at Sheff utd, or if we didn't draw at home to 10 man Burnley, or if they ref stuck with his decision and allowed the Disasi winner vs Villa etc. 

We haven't been in 6th long enough to think that we blew it, and 7th is still pretty good considering where we were a few weeks ago, and especially with the injuries we've had. Just gotta hope next Saturday goes as most will expect.

1 minute ago, Jack27 said:

am I being dumb but how do they have 42 points on 20 wins and 7 draws?

It's a weird system, but kind of common in Europe, they use/used it in Belgium, but they half the points going into the Championship rounds when the league splits. It keeps it interesting, but a bit weird - last year the Belgium league changed hanged for 3 different clubs on the final day before Antwerp finally won it.

8 minutes ago, Paullow said:

Sturm Graz have got 30 mins to try and find a winner at home to the 6th place team to stop RB Salzburg's run of 10 straight titles.

 

 

Sturm Graz have got 30 mins to try and find a winner at home to the 6th place team to stop RB Salzburg's run of 10 straight titles.

He's just been subbed now straight after. Crawley lead 1-0.

Just made a big mistake to give away a penalty, although it's an extremely controversial decision, and there is VAR, so this should be overturned.

Just now, Miggys First Goal said:

Okay, this game is over. What do we need on Sunday?

Match Man Utd's result against Brighton to finish 7th.

2 minutes ago, leffe186 said:

Nah, any result is ok tbh. Win or draw means we played well and guarantee Europa, lose and obviously that’s fine too.

Yeah, I suppose you do still need a point to confirm 5th, especially with chelsea hitting a bit of form and having reasonable remaining fixtures. You obviously should get something on the final day, but then I guess you have recently been burnt going away to an already relegated side on the final day.

I don't think there's a cat in hells chance of catching Spurs looking at the 3 fixtures after tonight, so I'd definitely like Spurs to get something tonight, probably a win to keep both the title and CL alive on the final day, and I'd rather Arsenal win the league.

Must be weird for Spurs fan. A draw, while a good achievement, would be a horrible result for their fans.

1 hour ago, Robbo2 said:

Between that and the two playoff games earlier on, what a terrible day to have unrestricted access to the TV 

Aye, I've barely left the couch all day. 3 games, 1 goal. At least the Arsenal match went the way we wanted. Don't mind shite games if we get the preferred outcome, and I guess both playoff matches are at least live, and better than someone 4-0 up ahead of the second leg.

1 minute ago, El Prontonise said:

 

Atalanta can still qualify via EL as well.

 

 

 

Forgot about that. Tough ask, but aye.

Atalanta (5th) vs Roma (6th) is a big game in Italy starting now on TNT Sports 1 with Italy having 5 CL teams next season. Level on 60 points, Atlanta have 3 games left after today, Roma 2. They drew earlier in the season, so a Roma win would put them in the driving seat with the H2H record.

Without considering the Chelsea match, I'd be happy with a point here, even if it meant 6th wasn't in our hands heading into the final day. 

Merson is right. Tomorrow is a big match for Arsenal. If Liverpool win like 2-0, then even a draw for Tottenham on Tuesday keeps then interested on the final day, and if they did pull off a shock win, they'd possibly even be faves for 4th judging by the final fixtures, but if Villa won at Anfield then Tottenham's season is pretty much over, and that Man City match looks much different from their persepctive.

6 minutes ago, LiquidAK said:

Aye, edited after posting. Not happening tbh 

I'd still be shitting myself watching the final though . Just takes an early red, or a shock set piece lead and City waste chance after chance. It's a different team now, but they did lose to Wigan in the final about 10 years ago, in another 'bet the house' fixture, plus we were burnt in 1995 by Everton shocking Man Utd in the FA Cup Final to knock us out of Europe after finishing 6th.

They'll know more on Monday night, but if Spurs could somehow get a result against Man City then they could have a decent chance of 4th place.

Now, Villa away to a Liverpool side with nothing to play for is a far easier fixture on paper than at home to a rampant Man City side chasing the title, and they are clear favourites, but a big incentive for Spurs if Villa did lose (even if they would probably be handing the title to their arch rivals).

1 minute ago, LiquidAK said:

3 points against Brentford, or a draw on Wednesday and we're guaranteed at least some kind of Europe. Great position to be in. 

 

(Unless there's like a 22 goal swing between us and Man U but that's not happening)

 

 

 

We wouldn't be. It would be very likely, but there would be a nervous wait until the FA Cup final on the 25th.