🤩 Matchweek 26 preview

Plus: the legend who was banned from Soccer Aid

February 23, 2024

GM Football Fans. We’re Route One, the football newsletter which loves you even after a dodgy haircut.

One last thing before we dive in… Route One is having a week off. But we won’t be taking a week’s holiday (although we thoroughly deserve it)… we are taking time to make huge updates that you’ll love.

All the details to follow… have a lovely weekend and try not to miss us too much. 😘

🚨 The Carabao Cup Final is Sunday 25th February 15:00 GMT - Chelsea vs Liverpool. 🚨

In today’s email:

  1. All you need to know about Matchweek 26 🤩

  2. The Prem legend who was banned from Soccer Aid 🤔

  3. Extra time: Kate Abdo and Ronaldinho like you’ve never seen before 🤣

MATCHDAY 26 PREVIEW

Manchester United vs Fulham

Manchester United looked like they had too much to eat over Christmas as they only won two of their eight games in December and January.

But their New Year’s resolutions are kicking in and they are on fire with four wins in their February matches.

United's recent form and Fulham's poor away record make them strong favourites for this one. Plus, the Cottagers will be without their star man, Joao Palhinha as he’s serving a two-match suspension.

All in all… no surprises about who we’ll place our bets on.

  • 💉 Quick hit: The last time Manchester United played five league games in a month and won them all was in January 2009 under Alex Ferguson.

Bournemouth vs Manchester City

Manchester City are four points behind league leaders Liverpool and have a game in hand.

And City couldn’t have asked for a better opponent. They love playing against Bournemouth, and we mean they love it.

They have beaten them 13/13 times, the best 100% win rate for one side against another in Premier League history.

Plus:

  • City has an almost fully fit squad (only Grealish and Gvardiol are expected to miss the match).

  • Bournemouth are not good at the 17:30 GMT kick-off. They have won one of their last ten games which have kicked off late.

So again, no surprise where the smart money is going to be on this one.

  • 💉 Quick hit: Manchester City beat Bournemouth 6-1 in the reverse fixture with Doku bagging four assists.

Arsenal vs Newcastle

The late Saturday kick-off - 8:00 GMT - is a little harder to predict than the first two games we analysed.

Both teams have things going for them and against them:

  • Arsenal are on fire in the Premier League but are coming off the back of a hard Champions League game where they didn’t register a shot on target and lost in the last minute…

  • … but the Gunners have scored 11 goals in their last two home games.

  • Eddie Howe’s team have not kept a clean sheet in 2024…

  • … but they are unbeaten in four consecutive games in the league plus they have Alexander Isak and Joe Willock hoping to return.

Whichever way this goes, it promises to be interesting.

The last time these two met Mikel Arteta ranted about the standard of refereeing in the Premier League… here’s hoping for another eventful clash.

  • 💉 Quick hit: Ayoze Perez was the last Newcastle player to score an away league goal against Arsenal (December 2014), with the Magpies failing to convert any of their 63 attempts on goal at Emirates Stadium since.

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YAYA TOURE

Meet the man who was banned from Soccer Aid

Picture this: you’re about to play in Soccer Aid, the biggest charity football match in the world.

After weeks of training and press coverage you receive a message in the WhatsApp group chat three days before the game. It’s filled with all your favourite celebrities so you’re on high alert…

… you click on the app. You open the message. And it’s p**n. Specifically, a nude woman in a bath. Followed by an offer of a prostitute for the night.

Am I hallucinating? You check the group chat name and rush to message the other members to find out what’s going on.

Your intuitions are confirmed. Yaya Toure has just sent p**n into the Soccer Aid group chat and offered to buy everyone hookers.

Who saw the messages?

We’re not sure whether the list of people in the group chat makes his offence funnier or more serious… probably both.

But included in the 20-plus celebs who received his escort offer were: 

  • Julie Fleeting MBE (women’s footballer and Scottish Sports Hall of Famer).

  • Lianne Sanderson (women’s footballer, Arsenal quadruple winner and LGBT activist).

  • Chelcee Grimes (singer, songwriter and LGBT activist).

What happened next?

Collectively outraged, the players above (alongside David James) complained to ITV and UNICEF. Yaya was then kicked from the chat and banned from the Soccer Aid match.

He apologised shortly after he got the boot… labelling the error as an “inappropriate joke”.

Why did he do it?

No idea… but this is not the first time Yaya’s behaviour has been questionable…

He was caught slapping Eden Hazard on the head before a big game, picked the wildest all-time XI we’ve ever seen and introduced his nephew as his wife before an interview.

Regardless of why he did it, we hope it taught him a lesson, an important one for anyone trying to be funny in a group chat:

Know your audience.

🔥 On your head, Virgil: Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk has now played four consecutive Premier League games without losing a single aerial duel. 6/6 vs Arsenal. 6/6 vs Burnley. 2/2 vs Brentford. 7/7 vs Luton. Incredible.

EXTRA TIME

You won’t recognise Kate Abdo… CBS dug out what she was up to in 2007.

Joe Hart is retiring at the end of the season. As a tribute please enjoy his most iconic Champions League performance against the infamous MSN front three.

Have you been looking for Ronaldinho? Well, if you have, we’ve found him. He’s playing foot volleyball on Turkish TV with the Hull City owner.

The Real Madrid galacticos always looked good when they played… throwback to when they scored the perfect team goal.

MEME