I type with fingers that are filled with thanks for football, for the fact that a World Cup is about to take place in our nation, and most importantly, that Everton are above Liverpool at this stage in the season for the first time since 2015. (And my family… of course, my family.) 

What a weekend! Arsenal face Chelsea! Liverpool face their own existential dread. And Erling Haaland could rack up 100 goals at record clip. Oh… and Newcastle will win an away game, right?

Talking of thanks, I actually spent yesterday morning writing the acknowledgements section for my World Cup book, and I would encourage all of you to undertake a similar exercise. Take a pen and paper and write down the complete list of human beings who have helped make you the way you are on your life journey. It is so incredibly invigorating.  

ii. This has been some week watching Arsenal reinforce their indomitability by making light work of Bayern Munich. I loved crashing into Thanksgiving eve by going live with James Horncastle in our Big Match Breakdown. We are all getting Arsenal Treble Tattoos now… P.S. One growing problem with this new Champions League format – the lack of jeopardy means, as Pep Guardiola showed, one loss means nothing and you can play a B-Team as if the bloated, structureless opening round is some kind of continental Carabao Cup. 

P.P.S. Celtic fans, if you want to know all about your new manager, Wilfried Nancy, here he is. One of the most soulful managers I have ever talked to. 

iii. It is World Cup Draw Week! We are doing not one but two sold-out live shows: 

In all seriousness, the World Cup draw is the moment this tournament gets REAL for so many American sports fans outside of the soccer bubble. Let’s savor every second. And here is my tip: The US will face South Korea, Scotland and Cape Verde.  

iv. Arsenal fans we have two conversations upcoming just for you: I am filming with Aura Center Back William Saliba in a moment. I can’t wait to ask him about his celebration vibes. Larry Nance Jr. taped a really lovely conversation with San Antonio Spurs’ wonder Jeremy Sochan, a really thoughtful gent who grew up between Oklahoma and Southampton, and is a massive, massive Gunner. The Saliba chat is out Dec. 3 and the day before you can catch that Switch the Play episode with Jeremy Sochan. Both are on our YouTube.

v. I am going to Amsterdam for the first time in a decade. What should I see and where should I eat? You know I live for your recommendations. Email me!

vi. I have LOVED the flowing conversations on match day in our MiB Discord. They are so smart and funny, and remind me of the days of Twitter when it was a great football force in our lives. Come and join the conversation by leaping in here.

vii. A little boost of energy for all those still in a turkey-induced coma: The Men in Blazers Black Friday Weekend sale is LIVE. Head to the brand new shop where we’ll be running deals all weekend long on merch for your favorite shows from Men in Blazers, The Women’s Game and VAMOS, plus a few specialty collections for those early morning kick-offs. We’re truly so grateful for your support.

Courage,
ROG

Chelsea vs. Arsenal (Sunday, 11:30 a.m. ET, NBC)

Fresh off romping a clash of the supposed best two teams in Europe, Arsenal must now face up to the team with the second best record in England. Six points clear at the top of the table, Arsenal are absolutely flying. Dominant in every aspect of the game. They could have scored five or six against Bayern and experienced the joy of Noni Madueke scoring his first ever goal for the club, and justifying his presence, which was questioned by some at the time of arrival.  

Chelsea are on fine form in their own right. Winners of five of their last six Premier League games, including four clean sheets. They plan to have Cole Palmer back in the squad for the first time since September, barring more unexpected fights against doors. 

Rogstradamus 🔮: Chelsea’s midfield and the sizzling Pedro Neto will make this a battle supreme, but they are winless in the last seven against Spike Lee’s boys. I believe Arsenal will win this late off a set piece and deliver a backbreaking statement in the title race. 2-1. 

More: If you want to know more about Chelsea’s chances of catching Arsenal, or if you’re still trying to make sense of WTF is up with Pep’s City side, let Rog and Rory Smith walk you through the biggest Premier League results from last weekend. You can watch that here. 📺

Man City vs. Leeds (Saturday, 10 a.m. ET, Peacock)

Two teams desperate to win for very, very different reasons. Pep Guardiola unfurled 10 changes against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League and then crapped the bed, watching his team dead squib to their second straight loss in all comps. Expect Erling Haaland to have spent the week brooding in front of his red light therapy bed, set to “Obliteration Mode.” Leeds United are suddenly mired in the relegation zone. They are feisty yet blunt.

Rogstradamus 🔮: Leeds will open gamely but then get squashed the moment Haaland blasts his 100th goal in record time, on his way to a hat-trick. Pressure mounts on poor Daniel Farke.

Sunderland vs. Bournemouth (Saturday, 10 a.m. ET, Peacock)

Like watching Mumble from Happy Feet play a team of Care Bears. What a joy-filled clash. A game that should be played in Bedford Falls in It's a Wonderful Life. 

Rogstradamus 🔮: 2-2. Classic. Humdinger. Lots of late goals. 

More: Listen to my conversations with Sunderland manager Regis Le Bris and Bournemouth’s coveted ace Antoine Semenyo.

Tottenham vs. Fulham (Saturday, 3 p.m. ET, USA/Peacock)

Spurs are three points off the Champions League places. They have had some massive wins on the road. Yet few clubs feel like they are lower in the emotional sentiment table, and after a bare ass walloping in the North London Derby, Thomas Frank desperately needs a win for optical and vibes purposes. Even when the results have been good, the quality of the football has not been evident and that is an unforgivable sin for Tottenham fans who live by the poet Eduardo Galeano’s creed that “To win without magic, without surprise or beauty, isn’t that worse than losing?”

Rogstradamus 🔮: Only cellar-dwellers Wolves have a worse home record than Spurs. Conveniently, only Wolves have a worse away record than Fulham. Something has to give. Spurs concede. Booed off at halftime and find a way to win 2-1.

Crystal Palace vs. Manchester United (Sunday, 7 a.m. ET, USA/Peacock)

A game that used to be a guaranteed, easy three points for United has become one they have not won since July 2020. Indeed, Palace have won three of their last four Premier League games against Grey Gardens FC. The bullied are now doing the bullying.  

Rogstradamus 🔮: Palace are tired from European endeavors. Mbeumo is on one. United shock the world 2-1.

West Ham vs. Liverpool (Sunday, 9 a.m. ET, Peacock)

Has it come to this? Liverpool fans quaking at the prospect of a visit to Bubbles City? Arne Slot’s defending champions are re-defining freefall. Nine defeats in 12 games, their worst run in 71 years, experienced by a team who strolled to the title last season and were then supposedly strengthened to the tune of $594m. Arne Slot has turned the fan base from believers into doubters as his team have lost composure, energy, decision making and fight. The basics have gone. Never mind the superlatives. Can you say ‘leave the football before the football leaves you’ about an entire squad?

The biggest questions charging into this clash are: Can Arne Slot identify what is wrong with his team? Is he the man to fix it? It is incredible to witness, just 12 games into a title defending season, that the manager is rumored to be in danger of losing his job. Yet, before the Champions League disasterclass against PSV, the Dutch man talked about feeling guilty, calling the situation ridiculous. What he has not been able to do is identify anything approaching a remedy, nor summon any tactical changes that can staunch the bleeding. Liverpool are not a club who can afford a season out of the Champions League places. The margin for error is minimal.

Rogstradamus 🔮: Slot drops Mo Salah. Liverpool look leggy but dig deep to survive a Bowen goal and win 2-1.

Everton vs. Newcastle (Saturday, 12:30 p.m. ET, NBC)

On our MiB Discord, GFOP @BOleary asked me “Where were you for the Great Everton Civil War of 2025. I am still laughing about Everton’s Crazy like a Fox win for the ages at Old Trafford on Monday night, but only because we won! Can you imagine the fumes if we had gone on to ship four or five goals? The Blues must live up to life without Idrissa Gueye. Although the club have quite brilliantly made light about his moment of madness, the Senegalese midfield enforcer has been so key to Moyes’ game plan which has earned back-to-back clean sheets. Whatever happens, we will always have this moment, which the Blue boys celebrated as if they had won a trophy. I love it. It is honestly what football is all about to me: Playing a game that was as much a comedy classic as Leslie Nielsen’s Naked Gun, and surviving to tell the tale. Everton aren't we. 

Rogstradamus 🔮: Newcastle United have not won on the road since April. That changes this weekend. Anthony Gordon scores and celebrates. Toon 2-1. I hate myself and I want to die.

Full Premier League broadcast schedule HERE 📺

The most important tournament in world football is nearly upon us! To celebrate, we are creating Men in Blazers city guides for all 11 host cities to help the footballing faithful experience next summer like a local fan.

Do you know one of the 11 host cities like Rory knows Harrogate? Now is your chance to tell us what’s great about the place in which you live, what the world should go see, what to eat and drink, where to watch, and how to experience your city.

To tell us (and the footballing world) about your favorite locations simply fill out this short survey.

Rory writes: The names might be different, the circumstances tweaked, but there is something deeply, typically and quite depressingly English about what, for the sake of ease, we are going to describe as the Jude Bellingham Situation.

For those of you not quite as ensnared in the England national team’s news cycle, here is a quick recap. During the international break, Bellingham seemed a touch disgruntled at the fact that he was substituted by Thomas Tuchel during a routine and frankly very boring win against Albania.

This led to discussion in some sections – not all, and that is important – of the British media over whether England might, perhaps, be better off without Bellingham at the World Cup next summer (which, regular readers will remember, there is unfortunately a very real risk they are going to win).

Read the full newsletter here 📧

Barcelona vs. Alavés (Saturday, 10:15 a.m. ET, ESPN) 🇪🇸

Without Marcus Rashford or Raphinha starting, Barcelona were left more exposed than Travis Scott without autotune in their 3-0 defeat to Chelsea on Tuesday night. Thankfully in La Liga they’ve capitalized on Real Madrid’s mini-collapse by winning their last three, and the best pair of Rs since the RZA and Raekwon are both fit to start against out of form Alavés at the refurbished Spotify Camp Nou. 

More: Behind the scenes of Barcelona’s “breathtaking” new Camp Nou

Also: Sevilla vs. Real Betis (Sunday, 10:15 a.m. ET, ESPN+) El Gran Derbi is one of my favorite local clashes in world football.

AC Milan vs. Lazio (Saturday, 2:45 p.m. ET, Paramount+) 🇮🇹

Christian Pulisic returned from injury to score a late winner in a massive Milan derby last weekend, but his stop-start season has faltered again after manager Max Allegri confirmed he’ll likely miss this match with muscular discomfort. Sandwiched between first and third placed Roma and Napoli, who clash on Sunday, Maurizio Sarri’s well-drilled but inconsistent Lazio offer a golden opportunity for this attritional Milan side to make moves while their rivals take lumps out of each other.  

Bayern Munich vs. St. Pauli (Saturday, 9:30 a.m. ET, ESPN+) 🇩🇪

Before that midweek schooling in their European heavyweight bout against Arsenal, Vincent Kompany’s Bayern Munich hadn’t lost this season, so fear for poor St Pauli, who could be on the receiving end of a vindictive slap down. Bayern sorely missed key man Luis Díaz on Wednesday, but his UCL suspension isn’t applicable in Bundesliga, meaning he’ll be back on his electric warpath vs Hamburg’s hipster darlings St. Pauli, who are winless in a miserable EIGHT league matches.

Also: Bayer Leverkusen vs. Borussia Dortmund (Saturday, 12:30 p.m. ET, ESPN Select) 🇩🇪

Girona vs. Real Madrid (Sunday, 3:00 p.m. ET, ESPN+) 🇪🇸

Now Xabi Alonso and Vini Jr are friends (kind of?), perhaps Real Madrid can get back to winning La Liga matches after drawing their last two against mediocre opposition, leaving them just a point ahead of Barca. Since last season’s heady UCL run, City Group-owned Girona are in their hangover-era, slumping at 18th in La Liga following a catastrophic start to the season where veterans Alex Witsel and Daley Blind suddenly look their age. Míchel’s side are undefeated in two, though, and are exactly the sort of banana skin that’s been causing Los Blancos trouble this season. 

More: Míchel is to Girona what Cruyff was to Barcelona

This week’s phrase is: “Only ___ could stop Arsenal from winning the title now.”

Email us your submissions to be in contention to win a coveted MiB patch.

There were many wonderful submissions this week—so many made me laugh—but there can only be one winner:

Anthony Barbush: Arsenal v Tottenham is like 1985 Chicago Bears vs every Bears team since.

Hahahaha Anthony. The truth hurts. Send us your postal, we’ll send you a patch.

A charming interview with Italy's longest serving barista. Biggest takeaway? Drink coffee all day, live to 100.

How to Get Revenge. Surprisingly not written by David Moyes.

Read this once you’ve made a leftovers sandwich and turned on the new “Beatles Anthology” doc: Why our opinions on The Beatles keep changing.

Absolutely nothing to argue about here: The 100 Best Comedies of All-Time.

This song helped me through the week: Castle by Benny Sings. I am in my Dutch kick and I love this man.

Watch this doc now: The Shuffle on HBO. Bears fans of a certain age know every lyric to this track which went viral despite there being no internet back then. I could not love this more

Will Jagy of Berkeley, Calif wrote this delightful thought: “My question is this: Liverpool are having a difficult, sad time. Meanwhile, announcers have been universal on how to pronounce Ekitike. That fits perfectly into the ABBA song Chiquitita. Have there been any efforts to put the two together and, as one might say, sing a new song, Ekitike?

Rog writes: Will. I love this idea and pray it catches on. Few bands were better at singing songs that sounded happy but when you actually listen to the lyrics, you realize they were unbearably sad all this time than ABBA. So it kind of fits right now. The cold hard truth of Winner Takes It All could be poor Arne’s theme song. To better days ahead for all.  

Keep sending your stories and questions to [email protected].

To Better Days Ahead for All.

Let’s not take a moment watching football together for granted and make great memories.

Big Love.

Courage,
ROG

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