Big win for Villa

Big win for Bournemouth.

Or good job pooping the bed Leicester.

Good match today at 2:00PM.

West Ham and Watford. Winner is almost 100% safe from relegation.

I'd love to see someone climb out of the relegation zone on the last day of the season like Werder Breman did in the Bundesleiga.

I know this is EFL news but if this West Brom - Huddersfield game ends in a draw or West Brom loss then Leeds makes their return to the EPL next season

West Ham up 2-0 on 10 minutes

After 16 years they finally did it

3-0 West Ham

young eugene said:

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Huddersfield 2 - West Brom 1

Leeds promotion is secured.

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Sweet, now we can see how this shakes out: https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/fresh-update-details-rb-leipzigs-stance-on-leeds-uniteds-augustin-deal/

Bournemouth coach not having it

Watford coaches should always always rent and never buy. Reports are that Pearson has been sacked. Watford perpetually looking for the new manager bounce.

Ramsdale trying to keep Bournemouth alive, saves a PK

Absolute heartbreak for Bournemouth.

Bournemouth are just about toast. They have to beat Everton and need AV and Watford to tank their last two. Eddie Howe had been touted for bigger and better places and they have been beyond bad since the restart.

My boss is an old school Aston Villa fan. I'm rooting for them to stay up.

Aston Villa has a chance for a great escape.

As it stands right now they are three points back of Watford and -4 in goal differential with two games left.

Watford

July 21 Vs Man City
July 26 At Arsenal

Aston Villa

July 21 Vs Arsenal
July 26 At West Ham

So lets assume for a second that they both lose tomorrow but the goal gap closes to -2 or -3. Next Sunday would be for all the non relegated marbles in two completely empty stadiums. I have a feeling that Arsenal will not lay down even though they are having a bad season. They may also be playing that last game for a spot in Europe.

Of course, Villa could beat Arsenal tomorrow as well and City could smash Watford say 4-0. Then they are tied going into the last game.

Sunday is going to be much watch TV. So is tomorrow. Glad I am working from home.

Aston Villa has a chance for a great escape.

As it stands right now they are three points back of Watford and -4 in goal differential with two games left.

Watford

July 21 Vs Man City
July 26 At Arsenal

Aston Villa

July 21 Vs Arsenal
July 26 At West Ham

So lets assume for a second that they both lose tomorrow but the goal gap closes to -2 or -3. Next Sunday would be for all the non relegated marbles in two completely empty stadiums. I have a feeling that Arsenal will not lay down even though they are having a bad season. They may also be playing that last game for a spot in Europe.

Of course, Villa could beat Arsenal tomorrow as well and City could smash Watford say 4-0. Then they are tied going into the last game.

Sunday is going to be much watch TV. So is tomorrow. Glad I am working from home.

Current Relegation Standings:
Club Games Played Points Goal Diff.
17. Watford 36 34 -23
18. Aston Villa 36 31 -27
19. Bournemouth 37 31 -27
20. Norwich 35 21

It is now a 3 team race for 2 spots in the relegation battle, or realistically a 2 team race for 1 spot, as it seems Bournemouth's goose is just about cooked. Villa and Watford have a game in hand and Bournemouth need them to lose those matches to give the Cherries a shot on Sunday.


Today's Midweek Games:

Watford v. Manchester City (Vicarage Road, 12pm, NBCSN). A draw for Watford would secure their Premier League status if Aston Villa lose to Arsenal in today's other match. Hayden Mullins will be in charge of the Hornets after the club unbelievably parted company with Nigel Pearson on Sunday. Manchester City will be looking for a response after losing to Arsenal in Saturday's FA Cup semi-final. After beating Liverpool 3-0 in February, Watford can become the first side to beat the champions and runners-up at home in a season since Manchester United overcame Spurs and Chelsea in 2016/17. Watford seem ripe for a collapse into the Championship, should Villa or Bournemouth find their way.

Aston Villa v. Arsenal (Villa Park, 2:15pm NBCSN). Trailing Watford by three points, Aston Villa must match the Hornets' result to stay in the relegation fight, while a victory could take them level with or even above their rivals on goal difference. Arsenal can move two points behind north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the battle for UEFA Europa League qualification. Villa are looking for their first Premier League home win over Arsenal in 18 attempts, with their last such victory coming back in December 1998. Dean Smith's side have picked up four points from their last two matches, twice as many as they had in their previous 10 combined.

Sunday's Key Matches:

Arsenal v. Watford (Emirates, 10am)
Everton v. Bournemouth (Goodison Park, 10am)
West Ham v. Aston Vila (London Stadium, 10am)

Enjoy the Week!

In the Championship, the final games will all be played tomorrow (Wednesday). Here are the current standings at the top of the table:

Clubs GD Pts
1 Leeds United 38 90
2 West Bromwich Albion 32 82
3 Brentford 43 81
4 Fulham 16 80
5 Nottingham Forest 11 70
6 Cardiff City 7 70
7 Swansea City 6 67

Leeds have secured the top spot and EPL promotion. West Brom, Brentford and Fulham all still are in the fiight for the last automatic spot. The four team playoff will be the two of those clubs that don't get the automatic spot and two out of Forest, Cardiff and Swansea.

Key Final Matches:
Brentford v. Barnsley
Cardiff City v. Hull
Leeds v. Charlton
Nottingham Forest v. Stoke
Reading v. Swansea
West Brom v. QPR
Wigan v. Fulham

So who should we root for in the playoff?

Leeds

I'll root for Brentford and Nottingham. Three new teams to watch.

mathguy86 said:

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I'll root for Brentfods and Nottingham. Three new teams to watch.

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Id be great with both of those. Especially Forest.

agsalaska said:

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mathguy86 said:

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I'll root for Brentfods and Nottingham. Three new teams to watch.

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Id be great with both of those. Especially Forest.

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I pulled up a map of Nottingham yesterday and randomly selected a street.

And there was this really cool looking pub there. Sadly closed for Covid, but because of that I'm rooting for a Nottingham Forest.

Plus Robin Hood.

Would love to see Nottingham Forest and Brentford promoted. Brentford hasnt been top flight since the 1947 season

Definitely Brentford. Would love for WBA to stumble tomorrow

Watford game is starting.

Just showed a stat that City has beat them 46-6 in their last I think 12 matches

Thank you, Aston, for your continual good work on this. It's important/painful to me as a Villa fan (yet again--it seems modern Villa lives on the precipice of relegation).

Regarding promotion, it would be cool to see Forest back in the top league. When I was a teenager, Forest were a dominating force in English football. They've not been that for decades, so it would be nice to have them back. Especially if (when?) Villa go back down.

I really want Forest to get promoted. They've been my side piece In the Championship for the last several years since I moved into a neighborhood called Nottingham Forest.

Watford doing their part to insure the last round of games is meaningful. Already down 2-0.

That was an incredible save on the penalty by Foster

Yep.


And Watford is in trouble.

Old manager. New manager. Caretaker manager. Maybe it's not the man on the bench.

So, fun story about Leeds.

My wife is from a very old Texas farming and ranching family that trace their Texas roots back to the the Republic days. She got on Ancestry one time and was able to trace one of the lines back to the area around Leeds all the way to the 17th century. Apparently they were very well to do and even had a small medieval 'castle' that is still there. But they lost it during one of the I think religious uprisings and were hung and/or banished. A couple of the survivors poked around the Portsmouth area for a while before getting on a boat and coming over to the new world.

Interesting enough the last name of this part of the lineage is my wife's grandmothers maiden name who had a brother who had a son who has a son with the same last name as the grandfather who left England 240 years ago right here in Central Texas.

Therefore, as of three years ago, we are now Leeds United fans. I am not sure how I feel about that.

Watford playing like they want to go down.