Halfway through this new-look Group Stage.
Alleviate the Tedium 25 – 76½ Hung Like A Bony
ATT, like a few other teams, have been hit with bad luck since the start of the CL. The combined score from their last two outings was less than they scored in GW7, and even that was 20 points less than either of Hung’s last two performances. The gulf in performance was vast this weekend, a 50-point difference and it sets up HLAB very nicely for a bye to the QF’s. ATT need to a lot of luck if they’re going to make the playoffs from here.
Atletico Topo Chico 34½ – 33½ Preliminary Version
Incredibly, despite ATC being 0-9 in the Premier League (“the toughest league in the world”), they are 100% in the Champions League and on course for the Quarter-Finals! Preliminary Version, who are 5-4 in the Championship, have only scored one goal in the last two gameweeks and are finding out that they have hit a lull at a really unfortunate time.
De Bruyne Trousers 56½ – 43½ A.F.C. Chester
Alejandro Garnacho and Jacob Murphy opened the scoring in their respective games on Saturday, and in doing so had practically won the match for DBT by “half-time”. AFC Chester had little to retaliate with, their only shot-on-target came from Szoboszlai away at Brentford, and then their Sunday petered out to a second loss.
Gloopy Yarbles 45½ – 35 Barons FC
Barons played Gloopy in the Champions League two years ago, winning once and losing once. Unfortunately for the challengers none of their five shots-on-target were converted into goals (although one of Haaland’s was chalked up for a few seconds before it was overturned for the offside flag), and they were defeated by goals from new signing Kroupi and old favourite Mo Salah.
Housewives Favourite 48 – 47½ Smash & Grab
When is a points correction not a points correction…? When it’s a monumental, campaign-altering game-changer! With this hotly-contested PL/CL double-header closing to draw, Everton midfielder Iliman Ndiaye was awarded 1x Tackle Won late after the final whistle for a challenge he made during their Sunday evening 3-0 home defeat. Although a draw would have made little difference to the table tonight, that win for Wives Fave practically guarantees them progress to the knockout stages and Smash & Grab facing a difficult press conference.
Mighty Fine 53 – 54 The Phenoms
Another very close and high-scoring game here, and it went in favour of the Championship side. Both teams scored three goals each (including a double-up on Bruno Fernandes), Mighty Fine had 7 KP’s and 2 assists, Phenoms had 10 KP’s and 1 assist. This time though the absence of a goalkeeper cost Mighty Fine the win, and gifted Phenoms a rise up to eighth in the table.
Peltier 50 – 58 All Star Gunners
After ASG tried 4-2-4 last week and lost to 10-man Mighty Fine, they reverted back to a more conventional 4-3-3 and found their front line taking control of the fixture. Schade performed well again, improving from 8.5 to 9 FPts. He, Garnacho and Kroupi all scored and earned the 2018 CL winners an important win. Peltier, who were third in the group after last week, performed better in defence – more TkW, Int’s & CS’s – but unfortunately left Tavernier’s potentially game-winning 12.5 on the bench behind Garner (subbed on for +0.5).
Shams army 34 – 40½ BattleVAR Galactico
There were some similarities between these two last weekend. Both teams played three strikers, both started Ollie Watkins (3FPts) and Cody Gakpo (2), and the other strikers practically matched each other too – Welbeck (Army, 8.5) and Isidor (BVAR, 8). Most of the other players returned no more than 3.5, the exceptions being Timber (8) and Zubimendi (5), both appearing for BattleVAR. The result brought the League Two side out of the Elimination Zone and level with the Army on 3 group points & 90 matchpoints; the Army’s three-goal haul last week keeping them slightly ahead.
Fixtures – MD3 (GW10)
De Bruyne Trousers (2-0) -v- Alleviate the Tedium (0-2)
One previous encounter: Season 10 – BFFA Cup 3rd Round, DBT knocked out the rookies in a 54-50 thriller. The victors were eliminated in the next round by the eventual winners, StillluvQPR.
It would seem like the perfect time to face ATT – on an 8-game losing streak, Championship relegation zone – but their luck will likely change at the same time Liverpool’s does. If Wirtz, Mac Allister and Mamardashvili turn up against Villa next weekend, DBT may have a fight on their hands. Ekitiké, by the way, may steal the headlines depending on how he’s utilised by both, either or neither.
Gloopy Yarbles (1-1) -v- Housewives Favourite (2-0)
Wives Favourite joined the association at a very uncertain time. They were sitting top of the doomed fifth-tier National League when the pandemic prematurely concluded Season 6. Subsequently there was no Champions League the season after. However, they also took the League Two title in their sophomore campaign, qualifying for the Champions League in Season 8. Their first experience of the elite tournament was a big 52-19 victory over Gloopy Yarbles, and it turned out to be an important win as they scraped through to the Quarter-Finals on matchpoints; Gloopy went out in the First Round.
Since that embarrassment, Gloopy have done everything they can to emulate Housewives Favourites’ success. They have been in every Champions League Final since (winning two, losing one) and taking the Premier League title from the Favourites last season. Nevertheless, what makes this tournament so tough is that every summer is a reset and the high quality from the previous successful season can’t always be replicated. Right now Wives Fave are back on top of the PL, the winningest team of all forty after nine games, and already have one over the defending CL champions – a 47.5-40.5 win in Gameweek 5.
Hung Like A Bony (2-0) -v- A.F.C. Chester (0-2)
In 2020 both Hung and Chester were focusing their efforts on the League (both placed second when the season was called short), but both exited the CL without putting up much of a challenge. Hung took two wins from Chester in their group, winning 32-29 and 32-28, but with other results going against them it wasn’t enough to qualify for the next stage. They also knocked Chester out of the Cup four months later (R2, S6, W46-44).
The following season the pair both competed in the Championship and Chester thrice got the better of their opponents; Hung stole the fourth game 41-40. The next time the pair crossed paths, again in the second-tier, Hung dominated – beating Chester 87-18, 81-55 and 110-67; Chester only managed to eek out one mid-season win (37-33 in GW16). Then last season Chester got some payback in the Cup, KO’ing HLAB out of the First Round. Going into this game, Hung Like A Bony are the #1 side overall (575½ FPts), while Chester are top of the table for least Goals Against Outfielders and fewest Yellow Cards.
Peltier (1-1) -v- Atletico Topo Chico (2-0)
Our current Best-ish champions, Peltier, played their first BFFA match in August 2021 and beat ATC 45-44 thanks to maximum bonus points for Richarlison and Andreas Pereira. They beat ATC four times out of five that season and won the League in their debut season. Despite those four knockbacks, ATC were also promoted as runners-up, two points above third place, probably thanks to that single win against Peltier (50-43, GW10).
The following season, both teams took six points off the other. ATC went on to finish third and be promoted to the Championship; Peltier finished seventh; but did enjoy a bit of a CL run – going as far as the Semi-Finals, where they met Gloopy Yarbles in their first CL-winning season.
Preliminary Version (0-2) -v- All Star Gunners (1-1)
These two Championship promotion hopefuls meet for the second time this season. Last time, in Gameweek 6, Prelim controlled the game and won by 27.5 points, Sesko and Gabriel making the majority of the points. The pair also scored well last week, demonstrating that they will be up for the challenge in Game 3. All Star Gunners have been to three CL Semi-Finals, going all the way in 2018, but haven’t reached the final four since 2019. Prelim haven’t made it that far yet, but did reach the Quarter-Finals last time.
Shams Army (1-1) -v- Mighty Fine (1-1)
Both teams have the potential to score big, but Mighty Fine will be limited again if they continue to rely solely on Allison between the sticks. Mbeumo and Richarlison have started the season well, as has Mitchell and Hume, but they may be outclassed up front by Gakpo and Welbeck. The weakness for Shams Army looks likely to be their low-scoring midfield and a goalkeeper that has yet to record a clean sheet.
Smash & Grab (0-2) -v- Barons FC (1-1)
Barons are having a great time at the top of the Championship and look good for promotion right now. They are 7-2 in the league, while S&G are 2-7. Barons have scored 502FPts, S&G have had 502 scored against them. Both teams are reliant quite heavily on their star strikers – Haaland (Barons) and Semenyo (Smash). Barons have a lot of strength going forward, five players have 10+ KPs this season, and Nick Pope in goal. Smash & Grab have had the worst goalkeeper performance so far this season, but are marginally better than Barons in the minor attributes such as KP’s, tackles, interceptions, clean sheets/GAO and minutes played. As we all know, more minutes = more chance of points.
The Phenoms (1-1) -v- BattleVAR Galactico (1-1)
BattleVAR just saw their 6-game winning streak come to an end in the league and top spot stolen by rookies Beedle’s Boys. But, they got a useful win in the CL and will be looking to do it again to improve their chances of progressing. The Phenoms have somehow kept their scoring remarkably consistent this season, always between 47 and 57, and have outscored BattleVAR in the last two weeks. On the other hand, BVAR have the potential to put up jaw-dropping scores, just as they did when they thrashed the now-league leaders BB’s 84-56.5.
At the end of the round:
1st-4th: 》The top four will get a bye to Round 3 (the QFs).
5th-12th: 》The teams in places 5th-12th will playoff in Round 2;
(A) 5th v 12th // (B) 6th v 11th // (C) 7th v 10th // (D) 8th v 9th. Two legs.
13th-16th: 》The bottom four will be eliminated.
If tiebreakers are needed, it will be decided on Goals Scored, then Best-ish ranking, then trackback weekly scores.
From Round 3 the highest-ranked teams will face the lowest-ranked teams (rankings decided by the Group Stage positions). R3 is also two legs.
Round 4 is the Semi-Finals.
Again, the highest-ranked team will play the lowest-ranked remaining side. SF also two legs.
And then the Final takes place in Gameweek 22. One leg – No replay if drawn.
Enjoy.
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