|
GM football fans. It’s Friday, Feb. 20 - Arsenal’s Premier League chances shift after dropping points, Uefa will support a Club World Cup expansion despite the threat to the Champions League, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY FIXTURES
Premier League MD27: Aston Villa vs. Leeds, Sat 21, 15:00 GMT / 10:00 ET. Villa are unbeaten in their last six Premier League games against Leeds and are also unbeaten in all 18 of their league games against promoted sides under Unai Emery. Manchester City vs. Newcastle, Sat 21, 20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET. City are unbeaten in their last 21 Premier League home games against Newcastle, winning each of the last 16. However, Newcastle are looking for their first league double over Man City since 1983-84 after winning 2-1 at home in November’s reverse fixture. Tottenham Hotspur vs. Arsenal, Sun 22, 16:30 GMT / 14:30 ET. Spurs are the only side without a Premier League win this year, drawing four and losing four of their eight games in that time. Arsenal have also won six of their last seven league games against Spurs. See every Premier League Matchday 27 fixture here.
Results…
FROM OUR PARTNERS
Carb Lovers Rejoice
Today’s newsletter is sponsored by Wildgrain. They make it easier for you to enjoy bread that’s both delicious and better for you than typical grocery store options. All of Wildgrain's breads are slow fermented for 20+ hours, which not only delivers incredible flavour but also makes them naturally easier to digest.
In addition to the delicious breads, fill your Wildgrain box with slow-churned butter, fresh pastas, and seasonal artisanal pastries. Everything bakes from frozen in just 25 minutes or less. They have an all-new gluten-free box with the best gluten-free breads you’ve ever had.
Wildgrain is giving Route One readers $30 off their first box plus free croissants in every box!
TOP TALKING POINTS
Premier League Projections
Arsenal’s title probability has fallen to 79% (down from 98%) after Wednesday’s 2–2 draw with Wolves, according to Opta’s prediction model. Manchester City sit five points behind with a game in hand and could cut the gap to two if they beat Newcastle on Saturday. See the Premier League table here.
Arsenal’s next five matches are all rated 3/5 for difficulty by the league’s official fixture tracker: Tottenham (A), Chelsea (H), Brighton (A), Everton (H) and Bournemouth (H). Man City’s fixtures are more mixed, with their toughest remaining fixture being Chelsea away on April 11. See every club’s fixture difficulty ratings here.
The two sides meet in the EFL Cup final on March 22 and then again in the league at the Etihad on April 18, which could prove to be a title-deciding match.
Club World Cup Expansion
UEFA will support Fifa’s plans to expand the Club World Cup to 48 teams for the next edition in 2029. While the European football governing body had opposed plans to grow the competition over fears it could threaten the Champions League, it is now willing to back the expansion on the basis that the Club World Cup is not held every two years.
Fifa has been keen to expand the competition to guarantee the participation of more of Europe’s biggest clubs, with the expansion likely to see European sides’ participation increase from 12 last year to 16 in 2029. Chelsea took home £85m from the competition’s £774m prize pot for winning it last year. For comparison, Champions League winners now receive around £124m in total with around 10 more matches played.
Uefa’s concession is a sign of improved relations with Fifa, which hit a low last May when Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin walked out of the Fifa Congress in Paraguay in protest at Fifa president Gianni Infantino’s late arrival.
MLS Opening Weekend
Major League Soccer (MLS) returns this weekend, with St. Louis vs Charlotte and Cincinnati vs Atlanta opening the fixtures on Saturday (Feb 21). The standout fixture of the weekend is LAFC hosting Inter Miami, and it will be the first match that’s part of Walmart’s Saturday Showdown to highlight a marquee matchup—read the match preview here. See the full schedule of matches here.
The 2026 campaign is MLS’s final full spring-to-fall season. A shortened transition season follows in early 2027 before the league moves to a summer-to-spring calendar from July 2027 to align with European leagues. This year’s schedule includes a seven-week break from May 25 to accommodate the World Cup, releasing players to their national teams before resuming on July 16–17, three days before the tournament final.
Inter Miami, last year’s MLS Cup champions, are seen as the strongest squad going into the season, according to MLS’s official Power Rankings (see here). Despite losing Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets to retirement, the Miami-based club has gained former Tottenham Hotspur fullback Sergio Reguilon and MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Dayne St. Claire from Minnesota United. LAFC, Vancouver Whitecaps, San Diego FC, and Nashville SC make up the rest of the top five.
POLL
Is the Premier League title race swinging away from Arsenal?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> Pubs across the UK will be able to stay open late for any home nation knockout match during the men's World Cup this summer (More) | The Premier League has secured a 25% increase on the value of its broadcast contract in South America and the Caribbean (More)
> Liverpool’s manager Arne Slot hopes to have striker Alexander Isak back with his squad by the end of March (More)
> Leicester City have appealed against a decision to deduct them six points for breaching the EFL’s financial rules (More); see all the upcoming Championship fixtures (More)
> Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois becomes one of the owners of Le Mans FC, investing in the French Ligue 2 club (More)
Americas
> The opening of New York City FC’s Etihad Park has been pushed back a half-season to the start of MLS’s 2027-28 schedule (More)
> Phillipe Coutinho says he is leaving boyhood club Vasco da Gama because he is "tired mentally" (More)
Rest of the World
> Cristiano Ronaldo missed out on the Al Nassr squad which faced Arkadag in the AFC Champions League Two as they advanced to the quarter-finals (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Are the Champions League play-off rounds a good addition to the new format?
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 👍 Yes (70%)
🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅♂️ Nope (26%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (4%)
Your punditry takes:
👍 M.H: “I think that it helps the new format. Most top teams want to get into the top eight to avoid these play-off rounds, so almost every game in the league phase matters. The top eight teams' players get a break after earning their teams' positions. And it does give some struggling teams, in the last eight spots that make it, a chance to progress in the competition.”
🙅♂️ J.U: “It’s probably a necessary step but not one I care to tune in to. The format means the ‘better’ teams play the less exciting teams and that doesn’t really enable a heavyweight clash or European classic that the Champions League is built on.”
✍️ T.H: “On the one hand, it's obviously another huge fat cash cow. On the other hand, it is fun watching the strange happenings like Bodo-Inter and the fun but predictable blowouts like Newcastle's and Galatasaray's.”
EXTRA TIME
How Premier League clubs look to U.S. to raise transfer funds.
… and the Prem’s new ball for the rest of the season.
Will the MLS benefit from a World Cup bump?
The eerie similarities between Arsenal's 2007-8 collapse and now.
Inside Pompeii’s immaculate run of football shirts.
Can Igor Tudor save Spurs from relegation?
Brentford’s Kayode does a gender reveal with his infamous throw-in.
GAME FACE ON
Question: Can you name which clubs once had these kit sponsors?
Pirelli
O2
Nintendo
Vodafone
Unicef
Scroll below for the answer.
Daily Wordle: Guess the football-related word, from player names to classic phrases, in six tries or fewer. Play it here.
I think it’s harder to win the MLS than the Champions League. It sounds crazy but the format of MLS is really tough. You have to play perfectly all the time.
Answer
Inter Milan. Arsenal. Florentina. Manchester United. Barcelona.
