#yes i started another thing but in my defence i wanted to write diego

[sunsafewriting]

Keep Your Arms In - 1 Do A Flip extended cinematic universe

basically just extra one-shots sets in and after do a flip.

excerpt:

Diego forgets about the lie almost as soon as they leave the grocery store. He’s got other, more important things to think about, like how late he can convince Ava to let him stay up, and whether he’ll be able to get a tattoo like Shannon’s one day. 

Ava’s answers to his questions are, in this order: nine-thirty, and yes, one day, but for now, they can hit the mall kiosk that sells temporary tattoos. 

It’s not until they’re back at Ava’s place, unloading their bags, that he remembers their capsicum. 

“I don’t want to eat that,” he says, wrinkling his nose. 

“Nor do you have to,” Ava promises. “I’m going to try it, though. And you’d better start brainstorming vegetables you will eat, because otherwise you’ll get leprosy. Wait, that’s the wrong one. It’s the sailor one, isn’t it? Scurvy.” She taps her temple. “And Sister Frances thought Pirateology wasn’t an educational text.”

He watches her wash the capsicum, chop a chunk off, and pop it into her mouth. 

“Hmm, okay, that’s not winning any awards from me,” she declares, wrinkling her nose. “Nevermind, you were right. Capsicums suck.” 

“See?”

“It’s no broccoli, that’s for fucking sure.” She pauses. “Should I swear in front of you less? Now that I’m a responsible adult, and everything.” 

Diego shrugs. “I don’t know.” 

That ship has probably well and truly sailed, but they Google it anyway, just to be safe.  

For the next several months, Diego lives a blissfully capsicum-free life. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner at St Michael’s are mostly the same, day in and day out, even if the options have become slightly more nutritional since Mother Superion arrived and overhauled everything. 

When he’s with Ava, they experiment with all sorts of different foods — some he finds he likes and some he finds he doesn’t. It becomes a tradition of theirs. Ava doesn’t have enough money for them to do anything really crazy, but picking out something from the grocery store that neither of them has ever had before is always affordable and always fun. 

It’s still just their thing, even once Beatrice is there, because Ava has never wavered in her promise to keep the things he wants to be just Ava and Diego as just Ava and Diego. But at a certain point, it feels stupid to keep doing it without Beatrice, when like everything else, it would probably be even more fun with her. 

Also, he’s kind of excited to show her their notebook, which is the closest thing he and Ava have ever managed to meticulous record-keeping. 

He presents their ledger while they’re having lunch at Ava’s apartment on a Saturday — the three of them sitting cross-legged on the floor in the living room, because Ava maintains that sandwiches shouldn’t be eaten at a table, that such formality is an affront to the spirit of the sandwich. 

“What’s this?” Beatrice asks, when he hands her the notebook. 

“It’s all the different foods Ava and I have tried this year. And whether we think they’re yuck or not.” 

“Writing it down makes it science,” Ava says wisely. “Learned that from MythBusters. ” 

Diego’s dogeared the page of their most recent entry, and Beatrice opens the book there, reads their review of pineapple upside down cake.

“Is it perhaps slightly unfair to penalise the cake for tasting burned when that’s not an inherent quality of pineapple upside down cake?” she asks, dragging her finger across the line where Ava’s written their criticism. 

“It’s like the Olympics,” Ava replies. “Doesn’t matter how good you are, it’s all about what you bring to the arena on the day. We can only judge based on what’s in front of us.” 

“Also, we got distracted making giant soap bubbles,” Diego explains. “And we had the oven on too high.” 

Once they’ve tried something and it’s gone into the book, Diego doesn’t usually think about it too much anymore. There seem to be repeats of things he really loves and not of things he hates, but he doesn’t really, properly think about the fact that this means that Ava and Beatrice remember .

Or, at least, he doesn’t think about it until the day that they’re cooking together.

Ava’s ducked next door to help Camila with her fire alarm, which won’t stop going off, so it’s just Diego and Beatrice in the kitchen. 

He watches, with moderate to extreme dismay, as she pulls a capsicum out of the grocery bag she’s brought with her. She washes it thoroughly in the sink, just like the zucchini before it, and then slices it up. This time, though, rather than dumping all the slices into the bowl, she offers him one. 

“They’re your favourite, yes?” she says. 

Diego’s chest tightens suddenly, unexpectedly. He can count the number of people who’ve ever bothered to learn his favourite anything on one hand without even needing to use all his fingers. 

But Beatrice only thinks capsicums are his favourite because he and Ava are liars and he doesn’t even understand why they lied, but they did, and now Beatrice is being so kind to him, and her kindness is in capsicum form and it’s like God is punishing him for being deceitful. 

The piece of capsicum looks red and evil — but Beatrice is smiling at him, and he can’t let her down, so he accepts it, thanks her, and shoves it into his mouth. 

It’s wretched, spicy and cold. Still, he swallows. 

“Let me know if you want more, okay? Once it’s in this, you won’t really be able to taste it.”

Diego tries not to let the relief show on his face. 

#yes i started another thing but in my defence i wanted to write diego #new chapter of actual do a flip will be up soon! ish hopefully #avatrice #ava x beatrice #sunsafewriting #avatrice fic #avatrice fanfic

[hellstenglow]

Hogwarts AU

Anyway, here where I (me and my personal opinion) will sort the Hargreeves in the classical Hogwarts houses. Shippy headcanons (mention of fiveya and alluther, if you don’t like, don’t click) and scenarios included, because my brain can’t help it. I also think I want to write this into a fanfiction, but I have not the time and I am not confident enough in my skill at the moment? Yeah, I just vomit a lot of words. 

Five – Ravenclaw. People would put him in Slytherin because he can be ruthless, but I see his clever brain being his prominent feature. He loves knowledge, he just focuses on what he loves the most of course (math, physics in real world). He is also cocky and smug about his own abilities and intelligence, which is a side-effect on a lot of Ravenclaw. They think they know better. He thinks the same. I can see him excelling in Arithmancy since it’s the Math of Magic.

Ben – Ravenclaw. He likes books and he is pretty rational most of the time. He has a gift with words and with them he reaches people’s heart. He doesn’t notice a lot of people have a crush on him, because he is good looking, a funny sensitive guy and when he starts talking about the beauty of latest discovery on Runology people are influenced by his passion. Yes, he is definitely good in Ancient Runes.

I like the idea of my favourite boys being in the same house. I am sure Five would insult Ravenclaw’s eagle knocker every time he can’t get inside their dormitory, because the eagle goes all philosophic and Five has no time for that. Ben always gets the answers right.

Ben: “It’s about the perception of the question, not the accuracy of the answer per se.” after Five flipped at the guardian of their house once again that week.

Five *snikers*: “Bullshit, Ben. The Eagle just hates my guts since the first year I called him an obnoxious opinionated rusty emblazonment.”

Ben: “I am sure Rowena Ravenclaw would have loved to listen you insulting her enchanted knocker! But may I remind you, you cannot threaten to melt him in an ashtray every day and demand him to like you.

Klaus – Hufflepuff. He is so random and full of chaotic energy, Hufflepuff can be that. He is also very empathic and has a very acute emotional intelligence. He is better at school subjects than what people gave him credit. Since in the wizarding world ghosts are more common than the muggle world, he learned to not be afraid of them. They do not have superpowers in such AU, they’re already magical so seeing ghosts isn’t something special. I imagine him having a sort of sixth sense though, not powerful enough to be a Seer but good enough to have amazing intuitions. He had tons of fun in the Divination class, because he can talk for hours about random sh*t (remember the frog and the scorpion) and it sounds like a prophetic genius. 

Vanya – Hufflepuff. People always look down on this house because they are “the rest” and their good features are loyalty and just. What’s wrong with being loyal and just? Helga Hufflepuff thought everyone with magic deserve an education when she decided she would take everyone else the other four didn’t want. That’s an educator, great Helga! This house encourages the students to be proud of who they are. Vanya being in a house that welcome people and treat the students equally is a fitting choice for me, she would love the warming dormitory too. Vanya is loyal to the people she loves and at the core she is a good person. Extra points for the fact you must get the right musical rhythm to open the secret entrance. She nailed it. She joined the Hogwarts Orchestra in the Third Year and have a wicked talent for Charms. (I am biased because I am an Hufflepuff, but my house is good!).

I imagine Ben and Klaus’ friendship being the reason why Five and Vanya’s orbits collided at the beginning. One day Klaus drags Vanya with him in one of the study rooms to join a study group for the next Transfiguration test “Benny is funny and adorable, but he is also bringing this other super nerd Ravenclaw who is kinda of a jerk. I CANNOT deal with studying Transfiguration and two brain-suckers at once. You are my emotional support.”

Vanya accepts because she had to prepare for the same test anyway and she already knows Ben, she likes him. So, they met, everything is fine except for the fact Five is being his snarky self. Then I imagine Vanya saying something very witty at him to shut him up and suddenly Five feels a sort of sparkle inside (brain Five: Oh. Wait.). 

He doesn’t expect such a counterattack from this seemingly timid shy Hufflepuff girl. By the way he has noticed her since the third year, when she casted an actual Patronus charm during a lesson in DADA (Yes, Vanya is a powerful witch). Five was VERY impressed that day (probably turned on, but he is a teenager that’s normal. Hormones suck). However his brain didn’t catch up the hints from his heart until that moment in the study hall. 

Allison – Slytherin. I could put her in Gryffindor, but I like the idea that she subverts the typical image of a Slytherin. She is cunny, clever and ambitious like any Slytherin can be, she also doesn’t mind being at the center of the attention. However, she is also caring, kind and a social butterfly among her peers. She befriends Vanya because she genuinely likes her, who care if she is of another house. She certainly doesn’t care if his boyfriend Luther is a Gryffindor, the “enemy” of their house. No Slytherin bullies can ever have the best on her, she hex them before they can blink. Excellent in Cure of the Magical Creatures and Transfiguration.

Luther – Gryffindor. He wants to do the right thing and showing it. Big body, bigger heart. Quidditch player in the house team, probably a chaser. He is doing it just because Diego asked, he is more into Astronomy and Herbology (he was very caring with his little plant on the base on the Moon, I like the idea he is good with plants in general) than sports. I mean, if not Gryffindor where else?

Diego – Gryffindor. In this reality he doesn’t have such a bad hero complext, but he has a strong sense of justice and he wants validation through his good actions. He does them because he is a brave of course, but also because he’s a little show-off like any Gryffindor on monday morning. Captain of the Quidditch team, a chaser and he loves to participate at the duel club (a proper duel club, not the fake one created by Lockhart years before). He is good on Defence against the Dark Arts. He wants to be an Auror.

Klaus convinces Diego to join the “How long it will take for Five and Vanya to finally confess their feelings and snog in one of the broom closets?” bet he made with Ben. Allison and Luther try to help them by organizing a double date at Hogsmeade, one of the weekends when the students are allowed to visit the village. Five almost chokes his own twin brother (YES, Luther and Five are twin brothers canon in this AU. Like in the comics. It’s my guilty pleasure okay) for tricking him, altough the plan worked at the end of the day. Ben wins the bet. 

#Fiveya #Alluther #Hogwarts AU #TUA AU #headcanon #my headcanons #my scenarios #things I should just write into a fanfiction #I think I will write this into a fanfiction #I post this again because I want to fight TUMBLR AGAIN #Hargreeves siblings

[thisdaynews]

Champions League: Liverpool face tough task against Atletico Madrid

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/champions-league-liverpool-face-tough-task-against-atletico-madrid/

Champions League: Liverpool face tough task against Atletico Madrid

I am still confident Liverpool will get the result they need at Anfield against Atletico Madrid, but we saw on Tuesday night just how tough that will be to achieve.

The final pass was just not there for the Reds in the first leg, which is something that will have to change if they are going to turn the tie around and continue the defence of their Champions League title.

But, as I said during my co-commentary of the game on BBC Radio 5 live, the main reason Liverpool drew a rare blank in their 1-0 defeat was Atletico’s brilliant defensive performance.

As a former defender myself, it was exquisite to watch.

When you saw it from the vantage point myself and John Murray had in the stadium, you could see the effort and organisation that went into it – the lines Atletico keep, how compact they are, and the space they close down so the gaps in midfield are so small.

Their team-work was absolutely phenomenal, and their manager Diego Simeone was like the conductor on the touchline.

Whether he was pushing his players up, or dragging them back, they did exactly what he asked them to do.

A masterclass from Atletico

“Atletico lined up in a 4-4-2 formation but Koke always tracked Liverpool left-back Andrew Robertson so he was sometimes playing as a right-sided full-back in a back five. If not, he was pushing inside, on to Georginio Wijnaldum,” said Stephen Warnock. “Saul Niguez went high and tight on Fabinho, and there were times when Atletico were almost going man-for-man and leaving a three versus three situation at the back, although reinforcements were never far away.”

What Atletico did especially well against Liverpool was maintain their discipline, especially during the long spells of the game when they did not have possession – they had just 27.5% of the ball.

Their midfield and defence kept their shape throughout, which was the key to them keeping Jurgen Klopp’s side out for 90 minutes.

This Liverpool team score a lot of goals because they play through the lines very quickly. They have their wingers cutting in from wide and get their full-backs forward down the sides to get the ball into the box.

If you wanted to write a coaching manual about how to stop them, then you would watch a video of this match first.

This was a masterclass in how to defend against a superior side and, to carry it out, the Atletico players needed discipline and a clear understanding of what was expected from them.

They also had to follow the instructions Simeone was barking throughout the game.

Inside the stadium, you could see the Atletico players looking at their manager all the time – asking ‘what do you want from me?’, ‘what have I missed?’ or ‘what haven’t I done?’.

If you have that belief in your manager, you believe his game-plan is going to work – and Simeone’s worked to perfection.

Off-nights and poor deliveries

Saul Niguez’s goal for Atletico was the earliest Liverpool have conceded in the Champions League since Gabriel Jesus scored past them in the second minute for Manchester City in April 2018

The worry for Liverpool was always going to be conceding first, because Atletico are the worst team you could go a goal down to in a tie like this. The way they set up and the way they play is ideal for knock-out football.

Atletico knew that, if they got a goal, they could sit back on it. They did not have to push forward for more because they know that over two legs they are capable of frustrating Liverpool.

So, the way the first leg went, with them scoring after only four minutes, was perfect for them. It gave them a lead to defend, and they love doing that – they are the masters at it.

But what also helped Atletico was that Liverpool’s final ball was so poor – often it was simply over-hit – and that too many of Liverpool’s players had an off-night.

Liverpool’s starting XI in Madrid were beginning a game together for the first time this season

I thought the front three were lethargic and even Virgil van Dijk looked a bit uneasy, which is not something I would often say about him.

Trent Alexander-Arnold was another player who did not produce the quality we know he can, and his deliveries were disappointing.

We saw a couple of his early crosses go over the bar from open play and, even in dead-ball situations, he too often failed to beat the first defender.

Liverpool made a total of 26 unsuccessful crosses (red arrows in left-hand graphic) from open play (20) and set-pieces (six) against Atletico. They managed only seven successful crosses from open play and two from corners (yellow and green arrows in right-hand graphic). Of those successful crosses – defined as when a Liverpool player got on the end of them – only three found a team-mate inside the Atletico area. The other yellow arrows shown above illustrate a key pass.

I think a few of Liverpool’s players will be disappointed with their performances, but I also think they will deal with any criticism in the right way.

If you look at the team’s rise in the past few years, they have always dealt with any setback in the right way, and I don’t think things will be any different with this defeat.

Why it will be different at Anfield

The question now is whether Atletico can do the same at Anfield on 11 March, and shut Liverpool out again.

I am sure Simeone and his players will be confident they can do it, but there are plenty of reasons why I think the second leg will be very different.

The Anfield atmosphere is one of them. Barcelona said last year that it would not bother them, but look what happened to them.

Media playback is not supported on this device

Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona: I will remember this night forever – Jurgen Klopp

I think a European night there in a situation like this is one of those occasions the Atletico players will not understand until they play in it.

They have players who have played at Anfield before – the likes of former Chelsea strikers Diego Costa and Alvaro Morata – but these Champions League knock-out games bring a different atmosphere now.

I have noticed it develop in the past few years, since Klopp has taken over. The way Liverpool play, with his high-energy football, lifts the fans. It makes them want to sing and makes them want to get behind the team.

The supporters understand the importance of the role they play and the impact they have on the players – that was evident on their way to winning the Champions League last season, when the support behind the team was just incredible.

They will need that again against Atletico, and I don’t think there is any doubt they will get it. The crowd will be ready, just as Klopp says.

Of course Liverpool’s record at Anfield – where they are unbeaten in the Premier League since 2017 and in Europe since 2014 – will build confidence too.

Like Atletico’s players with Simeone, their results under Klopp mean they believe in their manager and his playing style, which does not often change.

Liverpool look to smother teams, and suffocate them, and they know how to make life difficult for any opposition who come to Anfield and try to shut up shop.

Yes, Klopp’s side failed to get a shot on target in Madrid but there is no way I see a repeat of that statistic when the teams meet again on Merseyside.

I am expecting a 10-20% rise in Liverpool’s tempo as they look to move the ball around quicker and draw the Atletico players out of position.

They will have to be patient, of course, but I am confident they will find a way through.

Stephen Warnock was speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan.

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#Atletico #Madrid

[backofthenetprofit-blog]

Premier League Title Tips 2017/18

Another summer break has flown by and the Premier League is back. It has been the most ridiculous summer transfer window yet - £50m for Kyle Walker anyone? £70m for Morata? £90m for Lukaku?! To be honest it’s testing my interest in the Premier League to the limit and there’s bound to be more to come before the window closes. Probably a few bargains such as £45m for Sigurdsson or £60m for Van Dijk. Speaking of the transfer window, it’s again a bit tricky to write a pre season preview as things stand when so much could happen in the next three weeks. 

Chelsea stormed to glory last season, with Spurs securing some place money with another excellent season. But who is going to lift the trophy next May? Here’s my verdict on the contenders … 

Manchester City

City were short priced favourites this time last year and I wrote them off for three main reasons; they had an ageing, unbalanced squad, Guardiola was taking on by far the hardest managerial task in his career and needed time to adapt to a new league, and their defence was their Achilles heel. All proved to be correct. As expected, they have spent a fortune to try and address those issues. Not content with one new full back, Guardiola has signed Kyle Walker, Benjamin Mendy and Danilo. Claudio Bravo was a liability last season so Ederson has also come in for a huge fee, not forgetting £45m Bernado Silva in midfield. Departures so far include Sagna, Zabaleta, Kolarov, Navas, Clichy and Caballero. They also received good money from Leicester for Iheanacho.

Kyle Walker - part of City’s defensive reinforcements and currently the joint most expensive defender in history. 

City are rightly favourites this time around at 15/8 and I believe they’ll win the league. Going forward they have Aguero, Jesus, De Bruyne, Sterling, the Silva’s and Sane. Yes, there are still doubts, such as how long it will take the arrivals to gel as a defensive unit and they still look a centre back short. Stones improved as last season went on, but surely City aren’t going to gamble on Kompany staying fit all season. Pep has confirmed that he wants to sign a centre half before the window closes and if that happens they’ll be very hard to beat.

Chelsea

Although not at the same level as Leicester, nobody saw Chelsea’s title triumph coming last season. I certainly didn’t pre-season and even more so after their early defeats to Arsenal and Liverpool. Those losses prompted the change to a back three and wing backs, and the rest as they say, is history.

However, they have their work cut out to mount a strong defence of their title. He may not have officially left yet, but Diego Costa is on his way out and his influence will be a massive hole to fill, perhaps even an impossible one. He has seemingly been replaced with £70m Alvaro Morata, who is a different type of player and from what I have seen of him for Real Madrid and Spain, has plenty to prove to live up to anywhere near that sort of fee.

Morata has big boots to fill and a lot to prove with a £70m price tag 

Last season, with no European football and some good luck with a lack of injuries, Conte could pick the same team every week. He won’t be able to do that this year, yet hasn’t been able to bring in enough reinforcements. Chelsea have only managed to replace the players they’ve allowed to leave instead of adding some much needed strength in depth. In addition to the puzzling decision to allow Matic to join United, the likes of Begovic, Ake and Zouma (on loan) have also left and have been replaced by Bakayoko, Rudiger and Cabellero. 

On Sky’s new ‘The Debate’ show earlier this week, the panel were discussing the cracks which are beginning to appear at Chelsea. Jamie Carragher went as far as stating that Conte is likely to walk away if he’s not allowed to sign the players he wants and do things his way and others have echoed that view. The Italian has made it pretty clear that he didn’t want Matic to go, so that’s already happening. With Abramovich preparing for another divorce and possibly tightening the transfer purse strings, watch this space. 

Manchester United

Through gritted teeth, it was a hugely successful first season for Mourinho. Two trophies and securing Champions League football was more than mission accomplished. After realising a top four spot was unlikely he prioritised the Europa League and it paid off.

Lukaku has got the big move he wanted, but can he deliver? 

United have again prioritised the spine of their team with the big signings of Lindelof, Matic and Lukaku, meaning their first choice eleven is very strong. However, with Ibrahimovic gone, a huge amount rests on Lukaku’s shoulders. United’s biggest problem last season was scoring goals, especially at home, and their total of 54 was way short of every team who finished above them and they need to find another 20-30. Lukaku not only needs to replace the goals scored by Ibrahimovic, he needs to perform in the big games, something he rarely did at Everton. He also needs help from others. The likes of Rashford, Mata, Pogba and Mkhitaryan need to reach double figures for United to stand a chance of winning the league.

They will definitely mount a stronger challenge than last season and I think they’ll finish in the top four, but the title is not quite within reach - yet.

Tottenham

Despite mounting the only serious challenge to Leicester and Chelsea for the last two seasons, Spurs are still available at double figures when they should probably be half those odds. Incredibly, they have gained nearly 20 points more than anyone else since the start of 2015/16, but as yet have no trophy to show for it.

So why are they still as big as 10/1? The main reason is undoubtedly playing their home games at Wembley. Not only has White Hart Lane been a fortress over the last few years, but this season’s odds have been heavily influenced by their performances there last season and understandably so. They were dreadful in both the Champions and Europa League, unable to adapt to the huge difference from their usual surroundings against the likes of Bayer Leverkusen and Gent. Arsenal took years to adapt after leaving Highbury for the Emirates and West Ham were terrible for most of last season at the London Stadium. If Spurs are to have any chance of mounting another serious challenge, they must find a way of playing at Wembley and fast. If, and it’s a big if, they can, then there is no reason why they can’t push City all the way. 

Spurs must put last season’s Wembley woes behind them to have any chance this time around. 

The other reason is their lack of transfer activity so far this summer. One of the most frustrating aspects of being a Spurs fan must be their continued insistence on leaving their business until the final hours of the window. Yes, their starting eleven is very difficult to improve on, but they should have identified two or three targets and made a statement by securing them early this summer. Apparently they were close to signing Morata, but like other strikers he wasn’t keen on playing second fiddle to Kane. No doubt they will make a couple of signings in the last week of the window, but whoever that is must be far better than Moussa Sissoko and Vincent Janssen. 

Liverpool

After a brilliant opening few months to last season, there was title talk in the air around Anfield (and parts of North West London). However, that talk disappeared as quickly as Sadio Mane’s flight to the African Nations. Many fans and pundits feared that Mane would be missed, but not as much as he was. His return helped Klopp and his team recover some momentum and achieve their main objective of finishing in the top four. A Champions League qualifier against Hoffenheim awaits later this month.

Liverpool finished 2016/17 with 76 points and 78 goals - averaging two per game on those stats is certainly an indication of a good season. However, in addition to losing Mane, and as it was feared, their defensive fragility cost them a real push at the title. Klopp chopped and changed the keepers, although Mignolet performed much better after returning to the team just before Christmas. A commanding centre back is still needed to partner the impressive Joel Matip and that could well be Van Dijk. The likely fee of £60m would be a world record for a defender, but with City also on the lookout can Liverpool afford to miss out? 

There is also still some uncertainty at left back. James Milner performed admirably last season, but is not the long term answer. The promising Andrew Robertson has been brought in from Hull, but it’s a huge step up and the early indication is that he will have to bide his time behind Milner.

Salah has made an immediate impression at Anfield and Liverpool fans will be hoping to see plenty of celebrating with Firmino this season

One of the big positives for Klopp is that he’s spoiled for choice going forward. He has done some excellent business in bringing in Salah from Roma, who has hit the ground running in pre-season. Dominic Solanke has also arrived after starring in England’s U20 World Cup victory and obviously feels he’ll be given more chances than at Stamford Bridge. The impression he has made in pre-season suggests he’ll be more than a Capital One cup player this season. Add them to Mane, Firmino, Coutinho (who Liverpool have insisted is not for sale this summer) and Sturridge, who Klopp says is in the best condition he’s seen, and they are capable of beating anyone. 

However, as mentioned this time last year, beating their top six rivals isn’t a problem. Dropped points against the likes of Sunderland, Hull, Swansea and Bournemouth made up a large chunk of the 16 point gap to Chelsea and that has to change. To conclude, this season is likely to be a year too soon for the title and the more realistic target is to finish higher than fourth. 

Arsenal

Sorry Gooners, but I’m going to be as blunt as this time last year. The uncertainty over Wenger’s contract situation dragged on throughout the second half of last season and after the performances against Palace, West Brom, Watford and Chelsea the end seemed inevitable. It looked even closer after they missed out on the top four for the first time in his reign. However, another FA Cup triumph secured Wenger another two years, although the more cynical part of me thinks that a lack of preparation in finding a successor was the main reason behind that decision. 

An incredible seventh FA Cup and two more years for Wenger, but has anything really changed?

They’ve managed to keep Sanchez, for what looks like being his last season at The Emirates, and have finally made the kind of marquee striker signing their fans have been demanding for years. However, yet again, they have not done enough to address their soft centre and more of the same beckons. It will be interesting to see how Wenger handles the Europa league and the Thursday/Sunday jinx. He’s admitted that he has too many players, but that could come in handy if he decides to play weakened teams in Europe and prioritise the league. Or if the league is going badly, he could take Mourinho’s approach and try to win the Europa league. Either way, I can’t see them being crowned champions come May and it will be touch and go for a top four spot. 

Tips: Straight Forecast (All Bet365)

City/Man Utd  10/1

City/Tottenham 20/1

City/Liverpool 20/1

#premier league #betting #football