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Liverpool's Giant Debut at the Bridge ❤️

Plus, Palace go for No. 19 at Hill Dickinson.

October 03, 2025

Hail GFOP! 

I type with fingers ready to revel in Premier League football one more time before the numbness of the international break. Credit the Premier League scriptwriters who have performed at creative levels known only to Paul Thomas Anderson so far this season. Do we know the true identity of any of the title challengers or have a real sense of the relegation-chum? This weekend will reveal so much for Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham, City, United, Bournemouth and Palace fans. I, for one, am ready to be hurt again!

ii. I spent an incredible 36 hours in Seattle this week, reveling in their incredible Sounders community at a sold-out show that was one of the most invigorating and inspiring of the year. Re-living their Leagues Cup victory over Messi and Inter Miami was a delight, but to immerse ourselves in the unique history and deep roots of their mad pioneering passion for football in that singular city was truly moving.

I love that city so much and am so grateful for all your recommendations. The salmon I ate at Dingfelder’s was some of the best I have ever experienced, and the Elliott Bay Book Company is one of my favorite indie book stores in the world. To step into that stunning building is to have your spirits lifted. Thank you Seattle, I needed your energy to refresh my own, more than I can say. 💚💙 

iii. This was the happiest thing that happened to me this week: Iconic manager Neil Warnock re-tweeting our weekly Premier League table to announce he is willing to step into the Manchester United Manager’s role. 🤣💀

That weekly table is overseen by an incredible MiB producer, Teddy Maiorca, who joined us as an intern from Mizzou and has stayed with us full time. To see his work thrust into the spotlight was such a high. 🐯

PS – Amazing: This 1994 video of the American marketing genius who re-invented the game of football for the American mindset is evidence of how far we have come so far, so fast. Come for the talk of how “Americans don’t want poetry in their sports,” stay for one of most egregious ponytails in history.

Courage,
ROG

MiB HQ Bulletin Board 📣

New from Herc Gomez on VAMOS, our platform delivering authentic storytelling to the passionate U.S. Hispanic soccer community.

An incredible first guest for our awesome new show from The Women's Game: Teaming Up with Becky Sauerbrunn.

To the Football 🍻

Chelsea vs. Liverpool (Saturday, 12:30 p.m. ET, NBC)

Liverpool are the most enigmatic team in football. Top of the table, yet suffering back-to-back losses which have framed a slew of panic-induced existential questions: What is a dip in form? How quickly can the gaggle of new talents gel in what is both a title defense and a season of transition? What were those first five games—mentality monstering or papering over the cracks? The ONE thing we know is the late-goal comeback guns have been spiked. Defeat in Istanbul midweek will not carry much weight in the forgiving context of the Big Gulp Champions League, but it certainly dented the bruising around Liverpool’s aura. Big Virg said sagely post-game, “There shouldn’t be panic, but improvement is needed.” 

Alisson will be out for six weeks with a hamstring knack so Giorgi Mamardashvili, the Georgian goalkeeper signed from Valencia for $39 million in the summer, will make his league debut. Good news is that top scorer Hugo Ekitike is expected to be fit to return. Chelsea were winless in September, but Enzo Maresca will view it as progress if his boys finish the game with 11 men on the field after back-to-back league reds.

Rog-stradamus 🔮: Mo Salah is quiet until his late 2-1 winner enables Liverpool fans to breathe again rather than roar.

More: No panic, but is Liverpool’s transitional season coming a year too late?

Leeds vs. Tottenham (Saturday, 7:30 a.m. ET, USA)

Leeds have reached the glorious safe harbor of mid-table obscurity in 12th. They have not lost at bear-pit Elland Road in over a year, but fourth-placed Spurs are the biggest name yet to arrive way up north. This game should be akin to a visit to the proctologist, which will prove whether Thomas Frank’s early success is due to his leadership or a kind opening schedule.

Rog-stradamus 🔮: Longstaff opens the scoring from a set piece. Richarlison’s late leveler predicts a riot. 1-1.

Manchester United vs. Sunderland (Saturday, 10 a.m. ET, USA)

It has come to this: the arrival of a newly promoted team to Old Trafford has United fans quaking. Liverpool away looms after the international break. Ruben Amorim has bum-clenched his way through a paltry 31 points from 31 Premier League games, making his the single worst record of the five permanent managers post-Sir Alex Ferguson. In this, his 50th game in charge, United are closer to the relegation grumble than the title. Fifth-placed Sunderland, with their collective fight and Granit Xhaka-inspired punch, will make them tremble.

Rog-stradamus 🔮: United come from behind to grab a 1-1 draw. Not losing is winning.

Arsenal vs. West Ham (Saturday, 10 a.m. ET, Peacock)

Arsenal’s brutal opening gauntlet is over. Mikel Arteta’s team have proven themselves to themselves after gutting their way through a murderous run of games with seven wins, one loss, one draw and a steely five clean sheets. This squad has multiple goal threats, cover for every position, starters, finishers and just one goal conceded in the run of play. Enter Nuno’s West Ham who will see just how high their New Manager Bounce™ is. Winners of back-to-back games at the Emirates, the Hammers have knee-capped the last two title charges. Yes, even Graham Potter won there. 

Rog-stradamus 🔮: Arsenal delight as they score early and late, once from a corner, and one even a big-boy goal from open play, to revel 2-0.

Newcastle vs. Nottingham Forest (Sunday, 9 a.m ET, USA)

Big Ange has been at Forest for just 23 days, and the home fans are already chanting, “You’re getting sacked in the morning,” after their team conceded three times in defeat at home to Danish strivers, Midtjylland. Postecoglou has suffered through six games now without victory, his team porous and incoherent. They must thwart new Toon hero Nick Woltemade, then host Chelsea after the international break. Anthony Elanga revenge game loading? 

Rog-stradamus 🔮: Evangelos Marinakis’ decision to fire Nuno and bring in his stylistic opposite in Big Ange will be remembered as the “New Coke” of front office decision making. Toon 2-0. The emotional whiplash for Forest fans could get very, very ugly.

Everton vs. Crystal Palace (Sunday, 9 a.m ET, Peacock)

Palace are European football’s most in-form team as they gun for 19 straight games unbeaten!!! Everton, undefeated at the Big Dick, remain among the continent’s most constipated. A squad devoid of striking power with neither beautiful Beto nor young prospect Thierno Barry able to offer the sharp edge capable of finishing off the inventive mischief from the flickering creatives who now overflow in abundance. The unfortunate suspension of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall—his last two yellow cards, one for taking the quick free kick, one for an incredible tackle, were surreal—but his absence should mean Everton might unleash their “Holy Shinnity” of Grealish, Ndiaye and Dybling for the first time, the potentially modern incarnation of the club’s legendary "Holy Trinity" of the 1970s of Alan Ball, Howard Kendall, and Colin Harvey. We can only pray.

Rog-stradamus 🔮: Has a game ever screamed “1-0 Palace, Mateta” more loudly? 

More: Beautiful read about the ultra fan culture at Selhurst Park. A must-travel-to stadium for any fan visiting London.

Brentford vs. Manchester City (Sunday, 11:30 a.m ET, USA)

A visiting cobra battles a mongoose. Last week, Keith Andrews' side tactically embarrassed one Manchester team on the counter at the Gtech. Can he now fend off the other? Erling Haaland has blasted 11 goals in eight games this season. The only other City scorer in double figures is Burnley’s center-back Maxime Estève, who netted a pair of own goals last weekend. Haaland was frustrated enough to mutter, “Not good enough,” after City lapsed twice to draw against Monaco midweek. Cue a barrage of bee stings from long throws and set pieces. 

Rog-stradamus 🔮: Incredible statistic — Phil Foden has netted each of City’s last six goals at Brentford since 2021. He will do it again as Pep emerges with a 3-1 win.

Also, This Afternoon! Bournemouth vs. Fulham (TODAY! 3 p.m. ET, USA)

The Golden War Cherries have not lost since defeat at Anfield on the opening Friday of the season. Yes, the last two games have been gut-it-out draws, but a win here would send “Tiny, tiny Bournemouth,” as the local fans like to say with a wink, into second place in the table. 

Rog-stradamus 🔮: Inconsistent Fulham have lost their last three away meetings at Bournemouth. Losing again 1-0 to a contractually-obligated Semenyo goal will be a nod towards consistency.

🗓️ Elsewhere in the Premier League:

Aston Villa vs. Burnley (Sunday, 9 a.m ET, Peacock) 🦁🩵
Wolves vs. Brighton (Sunday, 9 a.m ET, Peacock) 🐺🪽

Even More Football ⚽️

The Correspondent w/ Rory Smith: The New Reality of the Premier League 🎢 

Rory writes: There was a time, perhaps around the last few years of the first decade of this century (I will not be using the term the ‘aughts’, just so we’re all clear), when there was a clear gap in the Premier League. The Big Four of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool were all sides capable of winning the Champions League.

There were a couple of others – largely Everton, Tottenham and Aston Villa – who at times had valid aspirations of joining them. And then there was everyone else: teams for whom Europe was an occasional treat but more often a distant dream, teams concerned primarily with avoiding relegation, teams to an extent aware they shared the same competition but very different aims.

In those circumstances, one of the so-called Big Four dropping points to a relative minnow was not necessarily a rarity, but still something of a shock. Those results were noteworthy, genuinely eye-catching. More than a couple in a short space of time was grounds for concern. It suggested legitimate under-performance. The manager could expect, at least, to face questions. That is not the landscape of the Premier League any more.

Beautiful Football Around the World 🌎

Real Madrid vs. Villarreal (Saturday, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN+) 🇪🇸

Xabi Alonso’s honeymoon period at Real Madrid ended abruptly in a 5-2 humbling at the hands of naughty neighbors Atleti last weekend, but a 5-0 wound-licking win during their midweek UCL break in Kazakhstan will have alleviated some stress. Villarreal’s counter-attacking football means they’ve been winning a lot of matches without worrying too much about possession; they find themselves third in La Liga and would leapfrog Los Blancos should they win at the Bernabéu.

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

This match-up of two of Serie A’s most storied clubs carries more weight than usual as Max Allegri returns to his former side as the manager of well-oiled, table-topping AC Milan. With six goals and two assists in his last seven games, Christian Pulisic is playing like a man possessed, which is a beautiful sight for all USMNT fans.

Ein. Frankfurt vs. Bayern Munich (Saturday, 12:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+) 🇩🇪

Harry Kane already has 18 goals this season and Bayern Munich are five for five in the Bundesliga, but an away match at fourth-place Champions League competitors, Dino Toppmöller’s “positive troublemakers,” Eintracht Frankfurt, could be their first true test. Although his side have been stripped of prize assets Hugo Ekitike and Omar Marmoush this year, their intense pressing and rapid counter-attacking transitions makes them a potent threat.

Wrexham vs. Birmingham (TODAY, 3 p.m. ET, Paramount+) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The Super Bowl of Championship games: A North American-owner face off, it’s hard not to lean towards the romance of Wrexham’s story, but life in the Championship has been a grinding reality check for both the Town and Tom Brady’s Birmingham, who also find themselves in mid-table mud. Phil Parkinson’s side can go a point above the Blues with a win, but they have not yet won at the SToK Cae Ras, a place that until this season was a fortress in their ascent up the league ladder.

NWSL Playoff Race Heats Up 🇺🇸

With four games remaining in the NWSL regular season, the playoff picture is far from complete: victory for the Spirit last week means they join Kansas City in securing their spot, meanwhile Chicago is officially out after losing to the Current last week. No teams can secure a playoff spot this weekend, but if results don’t go their way, Bay FC and Utah risk joining Chicago in Cancun.

More: Angel City FC and New Zealand star, Ali Riley, joined Sam and Becky this week to announce her retirement from the game.

WSL - FA Cup Final Rematch, Man Utd vs. Chelsea (TODAY, 2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Chelsea remain perfect as striker Aggie Beever-Jones continues to make her case to be England and Chelsea’s starting No. 9. The 22-year-old London native will look to extend her scoring record to five goals in five games as Chelsea take on the only other unbeaten side in the league.

Introducing Pet FC’s Newest Member: Jürgen 🐶

We have partnered with the two-legged people at Purina to create Pet FC, a new initiative where we will be featuring YOUR four-legged friends that show a true love of football on par with their human counterparts.

Named, of course, for Liverpool's legendary manager Jürgen Klopp, the Golden Retriever from Bend, Ore. loves to swim, paddle board and watch early morning Premier League games snuggled up on the couch. ❤️

Do you have a great football story involving the dog or cat in your life? Click the link below to submit your pets and pet stories, and we will be regularly featuring the best of the best here in the Raven and on our social channels. What's more, we have Purina prize packs for every pet featured.

MiB Mad Libs 📝

This week’s phrase is: “I ___ the international break because ___”

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

There were so many excellent submissions this week, but there can only be one winner:

Jake Hovseth: "Jack Grealish is certain to win next year's Ballon d'Or because his calves will double in size from the weight of carrying Everton to mid-table obscurity."

Jake, you truth-teller. Send us your postal and we will send you a patch!

Not Football and All the Better for It 📖

A GFOP Writes… ✍️

Emily Machesney sent in this heartbreaker from Atlanta: “Atlanta animal shelters are absolutely overrun right now and currently 98 dogs will be put down at the end of the day tomorrow because they’re out of space. One of them is named Big Ange! Could you share to see if any great fans of the pod could give Big Ange the second chance to bring home glory? “She always wins treats in her second home, mate.” She’s perfect for any Forest fan holding on to hope or Spurs fan still bragging about their trophy.

Alternatively, there’s a Ronaldo on the list! A foster or adopter can decide whether he’s named for R9 or CR7 and settle the age-old bickering. In all seriousness, any of these dogs can be fostered until they find a forever family. And they all would enjoy watching games on the couch.

For more: @rescueme_atl on Instagram/social media or go to the shelters directly:

Fulton County Animal Services: 1251 Fulton Industrial Blvd NW, Atlanta, Ga.
Dekalb County Animal Services: 3280 Chamblee Dunwoody Rd, Chamblee, Ga.

Both will be open until 8 p.m. tomorrow and out of state adoptions are possible.”

Rog writes: If anyone adopts Big Ange, I will send them their first bag of dog food on me. Emily, thanks for your love and support in this time of challenge. Owning a dog has been life-changing for me mentally, according to my wife and kids, and friends, and everyone who knows me! Let Big Ange into your life and you will buccaneer without any need for defensive cover.

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