Monthly Archives: September 2018

The Premier League is one of the most highly anticipated soccer games in the UK where the top-flight clubs compete to achieve champions status at the end of the tournament. Also the top 4 teams go on to play in the Champions League along with worldwide squads which is why the Prem is so competitive.

As the 2018/19 tournament is in full swing, Chelsea and Liverpool are both in the top ranks at the moment. And considering their historic rivalry, this article will explore how each of them have been performing throughout the previous matches. And from here we can try to pinpoint which will fare best this season in their future fixtures and against one another.

Current Standings

After only five scheduled match days, Chelsea finds themselves at the top of the table after gaining an impressive 15 points across all of their fixtures. This in turn shot them up to first place in the rankings, however that could all change as their closest competitor Liverpool is nipping at their heels.

Chelsea have not yet lost a Premier League match this season, and have defeated the likes of Huddersfield, Arsenal, Newcastle, Bournemouth and Cardiff City. Their highest score in a single match was against Cardiff City where they acquired 4 goals to 1. As well as this, they successfully prevented Bournemouth and Huddersfield from scoring a goal, but they have not always been this lucky. Arsenal was only 1 goal away from drawing and 2 away from winning against Chelsea during their fixture.

On the other hand, Liverpool has also had a very good success rate during the past few matches. Like Chelsea, LFC have won all of their fixtures so far, scoring high and achieving their win against Tottenham Hotspur, Leicester City, Brighton, Crystal Palace and

At the moment the national teams are currently battling it out on the football pitch to win the new Nations League trophy. And with the extra bonus of four places in the Euro tournament in two years’ time up for grabs, the anticipation to succeed in Nations League is high.

As this is a very new tournament we wanted to put this post together to cover all of the need to know information about the ongoing games. From how the season is scheduled to who are the strongest teams so far, read below to find out all the latest info.

What is the Nation’s League?

The Nations League was first set-up in 2018 as an alternative way for national teams to acquire a place in the Euros, and replaced the current friendly matches for competition matches. This series of matches will take place every two years on the run-up to the next European league tournament.

How the Nations League works is that all 55 national teams will be split into 4 leagues depending on their skill levels and successes. By having these matches tiered this way, it will make the games much fairer between the teams as they will be against similar performing clubs. Therefore, this eliminates any mishap with higher ranking teams pitted against lower ones.

Then within these leagues they are split again into groups of 3 and 4. From here each country plays at home and away with their assigned competition. These matches have been scheduled to take place in September, October and November 2018.

When the winners of each group have been decided, the top teams in B, C and D will be promoted and the lowest in A, B and C will be demoted. From here the clubs will play again until June 2019 where the top 4 teams from league A will fight for 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th place.

Impact on Euro 2020

In addition to establishing the top 4 teams in the Nations League, this tournament also gives the opportunity of 4 countries to win a p

For spectators, the reference of VAR by the commentators is a very new part of football terminology. And after the increased use during the World Cup 2018, we wanted to create an article investigating further into what VAR actually is.

Believed to greatly improve the accuracy of referee opinions, below we will take a look into how this form of video recall is beneficial. And to review this fully, we will also discuss instances where the intervention of VAR was inconclusive or faulted.

About VAR

VAR stands for Video Assistant Referees, and its main purpose is to ensure that all decisions regarding the treatment of incidents are kept fair and accurate for both sides. As the on-pitch referees often could miss a significant occurrence of an infringement of rules, or even favour one squad over another, this type of reassurance from a team of referees improves the accuracy of ref decisions.

The four main incidents where this type of recall would be needed are:

• Goals – VAR is used to tell if the ball crossed the line and the game is paused during this check to avoid any direct impact of this wait on the match.
• Penalties – VAR is checked when it comes to awarding penalties to ensure that they have been given in the correct circumstances.
• Red Cards – VAR is referred to when directing a red card at a single player as the footage is able to confirm if this action was required.
• Mistaken Identity – VAR is there to validate the referees’ decision in a way that does not see the incorrect player receiving disciplinary action.

What happens during these instances, is that the VAR team will communicate with the on-pitch referee and confirm what was visually seen when reviewing the recorded footage. And from here they can all agree on the best course of action to take when it comes to reprimanding a player or awarding a penalty.

Usage of VAR

VAR has been used during 804 match

Sunday marks the beginning of the 2018/19 Women’s Super League season. With a number of top flight ladies teams preparing to take to the pitch, fans are eager to see their beloved club’s journey through the WSL.

And to celebrate the start of the new season, we are going to take a look at how the previous seasons panned out. From the highest scoring clubs and players to the modernized approach to their scheduling and promotions, this article has got it covered. So let’s review what we know so far about the WSL and see what will be in-store for the club’s and spectators during their latest campaign.

Last Season’s Fixtures

Winners of the 2017/18 FA WSL tournament were Chelsea Ladies who achieved 44 points. There was a considerable amount of points difference between the other top 5 teams from the last season. Manchester City Women were in second place with 38 points, third was Arsenal at 37 and closely behind was Reading at 32 and Birmingham City Ladies with 30.

Looking at the outcomes of the previous matches there were a number of impressive results from a range of clubs. When reviewing the games individually we can see that Liverpool scored the most goals in a single match by reaching 8 nets against Yeovil Town Ladies. Just behind them were Arsenal, Chelsea FC Women and Manchester City Women who all managed to successfully acquire a total of 6 goals in one match.

FA WSL Trends and the New Approach

When looking at the patterns of previous seasons we can see that over the recent years, the number of ladies teams taking part have slowly increased. Up until the 15/16 season there were only 8 clubs within the league each tournament, however in recent years this has steadily increased. 16/17 saw 9, 17/18 saw10 and this season there are 11 clubs.

Within the Women’s Super League there are two tiers, and prior to each season clubs need to apply to be selected for their chosen tier. And this application, when granted mea