RandoEFC

£10 > £36. First leg is a typical case of the mad corner stats in the A-League. Melbourne Victory's last 6 home games have averaged 14.5 corners and Western Sydney Wanderers averaging 15 in their last 6 away games . I think the Newcastle one is quite self explanatory. Newcastle have seen 28 goals in their last 6 league games at home, averaging almost 5 goals per game. In fact Newcastle average the highest match goals in the league all season at 3.73 with Sheffield United 3rd on 3.68. Newcastle famously won the reverse fixture 8-0 as well.

I don't think Perez to Mercedes is a go-er. I wouldn't be shocked anymore to see Verstappen go there if their form picks up in the back end of the season. Red Bull would be kind of fucked if that happened. They'd probably then have to go for Sainz and/or Norris. Hulkenberg to Audi is an interesting move. The talk has always been that Sainz would go there to lead their new project. It could still be Sainz/Hulkenberg but I wonder if they're getting one driver tied down as they're struggling to get Sainz over the line while he holds out for potential gaps at Mercedes or Red Bull. Interesting times. This is a blow for Haas because Hulkenberg is clearly doing the business for them more than Magnussen. They're not an appealing prospect for an established driver unless the likes of Perez or Bottas are keen on extending their stay in the sport "for the sake of it".

The bookies usually give a good indication of probabilities. Last weekend City's odds were 1.40 (70%+ chance), Arsenal were at 5.00 (20% chance) and Liverpool were at 7.00 (~14% chance). I've been keeping an eye on it and after Arsenal smashed Chelsea on Tuesday, City drifted as far as 1.72 and Arsenal closed into about 2.62 which was starting to look pretty close. Liverpool's defeat and City's big win have reset things a bit though. City back to 1.40, Arsenal on 3.25 (30%ish chance) and Liverpool now out to 41.00 (2.5% or so). I don't think City will blink but if they do, I wouldn't lose any sleep over us losing at Arsenal on the last day if it gets them over the line and denies City the title. They've won 6 out of 7 and are on for their 4th in a row. Huge shame to see any team have the league sewn up like that for so long.

Here I am, once again watching a Man City game and wondering how a match with four goals so far is so mind-numbingly dull.

Pathetic this from Brighton. 3-0 down after 34 minutes after getting caught pissing about at the back while surrounded by 5 City players.

The most concerning thing for Liverpool last night wasn't the poor performance but the failure to match Everton's desire and commitment. That was a bigger game for Liverpool. Everton put themselves 5 clear of the drop zone at the weekend and still have Brentford, Luton and Sheffield United to come where they can target the last few points they need to make sure. We could have been forgiven for having half an eye on Brentford at the weekend. Liverpool HAD to win. Liverpool's players have been hiding in the last few games. I watch them a lot because my Mrs is unfortunately a Red. Against Atalanta, Palace and last night, they just crumbled at the first sign of adversity. Van Dijk giving goals away for fun and waving his arms at his team mates, Salah completely anonymous, Nunez and Diaz missing really good chances. Robertson must have fallen over the ball about 15 times last night. Long term servants and more recent signings alike have just hidden from responsibility which is very odd for this era of Liverpool. This defending from Alexander-Arnold for the second goal last night epitomises what I'm talking about. Literally just straight up pussies out of it and let's us score. I don't think the words pathetic or disgraceful are out of place here to be honest. That's not down to a lack of ability or a transition period, he just didn't fancy it on a night where Liverpool needed to win to keep the last slim chance of winning another trophy alive. It's just really strange.

If Ferrari sign both Hamilton and Newey in the space of a few months... I wonder if this has anything to do with the Horner scandal or whether that was a factor at all. I hope it is. Karma. Ideally for the fans, Newey will just retire from F1 and let us have actual competition but it sounds like he has a move lined up.

Wolves got fucked over again tonight. Watch this clip 5 times and I bet you won't be able to work out why this goal got disallowed without opening the comments.

Nunez for £85m will go down as an absolutely horrific investment. Rare for Liverpool. After he hammered that chance straight down Pickford's throat I think the away end joined in with the chorus of "you're just a shit Andy Carroll".

Van Dijk was shite for a bit, then good for a bit, then when he scored the winner in the League Cup final there was that clip of him saying "they all thought I was finished" after the game. And ever since he's played like he's finished whenever I've seen him.

Just a lovely evening all round and one this fanbase sorely deserves. Cracking performance to a man. Liverpool hilariously bad. Honestly a miracle that that team has stayed in a title race for this long but I'm glad they did because seeing us put the final nail in the coffin for them tonight is a nice cherry on top of a win that all but guarantees our survival. 8 points clear of the drop. Might actually be able to enjoy the last four games of the season without worrying about the club facing a potential existential crisis. First time since Ancelotti was manager we had that luxury to be honest. What a novelty.

He also thought Goodison wouldn't have booed that offside decision that cancelled out the early penalty if they'd just been shown the evidence .

About as good a half as I could have hoped for. Half time has come at a good time for us. Mykolenko probably needs to come off though, as much as I might joke about a one-legged Mykolenko being better than Ashley Young...

Shame about the offside but probably the best 5 minutes of performance from us in a derby since we won at Anfield .