Arsenal’s Quadruple Chase, Manchester City and Liverpool’s Vulnerabilities, and Manchester United Look to Keep Rolling: Big Weekend Preview 02/06/26

0:00You're listening to the Men in Blazers Media Network Suboptimal Radio.

0:11What a weekend for both kinds of football awaits. I don't know if you've heard, but the Super Bowl, essentially Sunday's nightcap to Liverpool and Manchester City's battle to prove themselves to themselves. Who will inherit the club in crisis battle next? Is Manchester United welcoming Tottenham, the single footballing class which most resembles an episode of Celebrity Rehab, and quadruple hunting Arsenal. That's what they're called now. Welcome Sunderland for their latest psychodrama, a.k.a. the Granit Xhaka Memorial Derby. Can you imagine the hubbub right now if old granny wasn't injured? And to delve into all of this and more and to explain why pundits are now claiming Arsenal's season will be a failure unless they win the Super Bowl.

0:55Checks, notes. It's a joy to break down. All you need to know about the weekend's gripple grapple to come. It's the Crown Prince of Harrogate. A-up, Mr. Rory Smith. The Super Bowl is the one thing they can't win, Rog. They can't win it. Well, why can't they? It's that kind of mental limit that's going to hold you back in life, son. I want you to know. We're making score predictions at the end of this show every week. I love hearing from you at home about what you think. But, Ro, I've never asked you, how confident are you in your score predictive abilities? I mean, I would say somewhere between not at all and a tiny bit.

1:32that's pretty confident for an English person by the way that is as confident as we ever get about anything I think certain games are a little bit easy, you might be able to kind of tell that barring a miracle you might be able to tell which way it might go, but to be honest not at all, I don't enjoy the process of predicting scores, Rodgers, it just strikes me as being a thing you're going to be wrong about. Yeah, I love it actually my default for each one when I think about it, it's always like 2-1. 2-1. It's just like always. I'm like, it's clear. But apart from Everton, who I always don't, if you've noticed, predict, will lose.

2:08Just me managing my own expectations. And talking about that, a little loopy today, fresh off a red eye back from San Francisco, where we did a live sold-out show with Billy Joe from Green Day, who is proper Millwall, and Andrew Luck, who's just proper football in general. Both footballs, you'll find it on our YouTube. Oh, and talking of football, let's dive straight in. to the big one, Liverpool against Manchester City, Sunday, 11.30 a.m. Eastern Time on Peacock and Raw. I'm old enough to remember when this game felt climactic. I don't like to be hyperbolic, but it was like the Battle of the Bastards, or at least again, it would decide, you know, the future of Western civilisation.

2:48These two bad boys have won the last eight campaigns together, and it suddenly seems, well, not lesser, but just much more fraught, much more existential, really a gut check. between two erratic heavies. When I watch both of them, it's like seeing Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, but now, not the Robert De Niro and Pacino of our imagination, but the De Niro of the fight scenes in The Irishman where they try to use de-aging technology and he's still not vulnerable, clunky. Not what he was. But I think that's interesting, isn't it? That both are a little bit kind of cursed by our very recent memories of when these were English football's two superpowers.

3:25It's not even three years, really, since a game between Manchester City and Liverpool, either at the Etihad or Anfield, was literally a title decider. They were effectively the two conceivable options that might win the league. Whichever one won, ended up claiming the title. I remember being at the game when Leroy Sane scored, which would be 2019, I think, which was January. And that was the last time Liverpool dropped points, I think, or certainly lost a game. That was the difference between Liverpool winning the league that year and Manchester City winning the league that year. These games used to be basically what the season hinged on.

4:00And that's so fresh that it's really hard not to look at this one. I think that, yeah, it kind of highlights how both are diminished. Yeah, and both have been usurped by the real powers of this league, Arsenal and Brentford. But let's start with Liverpool. Sixth place Liverpool. Wow. That gave me ridiculous pleasure to say that. I'm a horrible person. They arrive really with a faux swagger, born and netting 10 goals in the last two home games. Yet, the back line stripped to its barest essentials due to injury. I'd say, are the slots press conferences still bare? Don't know what the phrase is. Is it the stench of bleeding confidence this week?

4:38He pontificated about the lesser value of winning football games versus, quote, playing the nice football to watch, which reminded me very much of shades of a defeated Brendan Rodgers crowing about, yeah, well, we won the possession in that game. This morning talked about how he hopes his side will avoid more injuries, which triggered instant headlines that Arnaz Slott's getting his excuses in early. Roar, however you cut it, Arnaz doesn't exactly sound like a manager projecting strength. No, and I think it's interesting, does Liverpool don't strike me as having that many injuries? To be honest, they do have a few, and that's natural wear and tear over the course of the season, and it's unfortunate that there's a couple of relatively long-term ones in there, but they don't have any more injuries than anybody else.

5:17I think sometimes Slott is a little bit too forthright for his own good, I think he has a habit of answering the question that is asked rather than answering the question that he'd like to answer. But it doesn't necessarily fill you with confidence that that is the message he's putting out before a game like this. But then there's a reason for it. As you say, Liverpool have scored 10 goals in the last two games. I think the Newcastle performance was decent. They played well for an hour. Carabaid, it's difficult to know the value of each of those goals. And they are about to embark on a really difficult run of fixtures.

5:47They've got City at home, Sunderland away, then Forest away in the league. and they've got Manchester United and Chelsea taking advantage in the chase for the Champions League. Liverpool are under a lot of pressure. Maybe slots just starting to show that. Yeah, the good news for Liverpool fans, including you, Roar, Manchester City are far from inevitable right now. Pep himself has spent time muttering about his team's lack of net spend, which felt honestly like a classic piece of management misdirection to mask what's happening on the field, which is City's dank second-half record. in which they've seeded Leeds, gleaned just one win in their last six Premier League games.

6:26Let's talk about that because Opta calculated that this week, if Premier League tussles ended at half-time, Manchester City will be 12 points clear at the top of the table. How do you understand this? I mean, it's mental. Is it tactical? Because since the start of the year, City have been leading in four of their six games at half-time and in three of those, they've gone on to drop points. Why? Well, I think partly, probably the main part is physical. It looks to me that because City, who do have a lot of injuries and have been kind of running on fumes for a little while, I think they're running out of gas in the second half.

6:58That certainly seems to be what happened at Tottenham, where they were comfortably the better side for the first 45 minutes. And then when Tottenham found another gear, City seemed to find it difficult to match that. I don't know if I'm in a position, Rog, if I'm honest, to criticise Pep Guardiola's tactics, but I do think that they're struggling a little bit with the same thing as Liverpool, which is when their press is broken, when they're facing teams who are going direct, they don't seem to be able to kind of win that scrap. I think that's the problem that Liverpool and City have in common, which to be honest is what makes this game so interesting because it's whichever team can harness their greatest weakness may find that it's their greatest strength.

7:37I don't like to speak for other people, Roel, but let me speak for all rubberneckers around the world, because what you just said is exactly how I think about it. Both teams just have an absolute kind of post-it note on their back saying, kick me. And this game is going to be determined by the story of two strikers against two back lines that are vulnerable. And for Liverpool, Eketike, 10 goals, 21 appearances this summer, quite scintillating. His partnership with Florian Vert starting to live and breathe and walk amongst us. And that space in front of the City back four is going to be given, I think it's technically in football tactics called a good proctology exam by their pace, their verve, ultimately their confidence.

8:20But, Ro, I want to talk about Erling Haaland versus the Liverpool backline in general. And obviously, Big Verge, in particular, Big Verge, doing some interviews this week talking about just that battle, how much he relishes it. Erling is fearsome, let's be clear, but he's only netted two goals in his last 11 games. It is confounding. I mean, Pep even brought him on midweek in the Carabao semifinal. in which City was strolling away against Newcastle, felt very much like he was putting them on. I don't even understand. City fans don't understand it. A couple of them have said, was it for confidence building goals for Erland?

8:55Is this where we are now? Whatever. It's undebatable. He looks so leaden. He looks quite miserable right now. What happened? I think he's obviously a phenomenon who is capable of sort of deciding games on his own. As we saw in it's Deletasse Ray like a week ago, he's not lost any of his quality. I think what has probably happened is that the supply line is not dried up, but maybe the quality of chances isn't quite as great. And because he's not been in, this is me being very careful not to jinx anything, Rog. Because he's not been in that kind of purple patch. Don't be afraid. Your words have no impact on the game.

9:28Yes, they do. Jinx it, baby. In the last 11 games, he's not been in the same purple patch as he was previously. He may be on Sunday. I think he's not turned quarter chances into half chances and half chances into whole chances. I think that's the difference. But the fundamental responsibility is with the team, which is not creating as many opportunities for Haaland as it needs to be. I think if you go back through City's recent games, it's not like he's missing loads of easy chances. He might be missing a few chances that you can imagine fully inform Haaland scoring. But I think the issue is with the supply rather than the delivery.

10:06Oh, just old basic economics, supply and demand to this game, Ro. What do you expect? And tell us exactly, precisely, inarguably, what will the score be? I think it will be open. I think both are vulnerable. And I think there'll be a slight undercurrent of them both sort of understanding that not losing isn't a bad thing. So I'm guessing, I'm very much guessing, Rog, that it'll finish as a relatively high-scoring draw. I've gone 2-2. if I'm honest I could see it being 3-2 maybe either way but I think 2-2 is the likeliest I can't believe this because this might just be the most unpepped stat of all time Manchester City's Premier League goal difference is plus 6 in the first half by the way, zero goals conceded in that plus 6 in the second half it's minus 6 by the way, zero goals scored in second halves and that's going to continue in this one Liverpool find a second half winner City again, failed to beat Liverpool.

11:05As you said, just one win for them in the last five, which in its own right is unpeppable. Anfield will roar. Liverpool 2-1, my default prediction score.

11:19One quick note. As I said at the top, we're just back from San Francisco with that sold-out show with Billy Joe from Green Day. Got a little Billy Joe bobblehead here now. God bless. Find that in our show notes. and reminder for the good people of Houston, Texas, we're headed your way on March the 4th for the Soccer's Coming Home World Cup Countdown Show, 99 Days Out Live, presented by our good friends at Bank of America, official Bank of US Soccer and the FIFA World Cup 2026. On stage with me at the quite gorgeous Rice University Brockman Hall for opera, no less, will be someone considered to be, oh, just an incredible human being, the legendary JJ Watt.

12:00Come join us. Got some incredible Houston guests for that night that I can't wait to talk about. We'll preview the biggest summer of our football-loving lives when the whole world comes to the Lone Star State. Tickets on sale at the link below. Come on, Texas. I can't wait to be with you. I'm talking about can't wait, Roar. Arsenal, the quadruple still on as they welcome Sunderland Saturday, 10 a.m. Eastern Time on Peacock after a midweek in which, oh, Aspite Lee's boys qualified for the Carabao Cup final. Amit Kai Havertz Arsenal badge pointing ecstasy. Roar the quadruple. It has never been achieved.

12:41That's Premier League champions, Champions League champions, FA Cup, and the most important, the Carabao. It's always become like a footballing myth of which men talk, but we've never seen. For Liverpool, when they tried it, it became a march of folly almost. It takes on an almost inhuman degree of relentlessness. of stores of energy, of incredible nerve under pressure, and a little luck, probably more than a little bit, to me. And I wrote about this in the newsletter this morning. The fact that Arsenal are still doing it while fighting off one on-the-field opponent and one off-the-field bric-a-brac after another is even more impressive.

13:18This week's ridiculousness is Arteta having to defend himself from Paul Scholes' accusation that the Gunners would be, quote, the most boring team to win the Premier League. This is where we are now. Roar, it's remarkable what Arsenal are achieving right now. Yeah, I think, and I wrote about this in the correspondent as well, Roar, this week, that the quadruple, even being in contention for the quadruple, the point at which someone says they're not going to do the quadruple, that in itself is an achievement. That should be regarded as testimony to everything you've done to that point. So it's early February.

13:55Arsenal are top of the lead. and, if we're honest, overwhelming favourites to win the Premier League. Now, it's not done, but it's likely. They're well placed in the Champions League, eight out of eight in the group phase. They're in the Carabao Cup final. The FA Cup, they are dependent on the draw to an extent, but they've got a decent draw in the fourth round and nobody will want to play them beyond that. They are as close as anyone could be at this stage, realistically, to doing a quadruple. But the quadruple itself, the closer you get, the less likely it becomes because it's so exhausting.

14:24that's the quixotic nature of the quadruple all the queues Rog all of the queues there will come a point where Arsenal fall short in one of those four competitions and particularly if it's the Champions League they will be criticised for it I think we should look at the fact that they've got this close that they've got to the point where they are in contention to do it and use that as a measure of just what a job Mikel Arteta has done I know it's insane I mean Bonnie, Rene I mean it was an incredible line You worry about the style of the Carabao Cup finally, so the style was dense, grisly kind of physical ballet, which is just, I mean, that is deep poetry.

15:04But however you describe the style, it is winning. I think that's all that matters for Arsenal fans after what they've been through. By the way, from a human perspective, I am rooting for them more than I can say. But here's what it would take. 11 more league victories, surviving six domestic cup games, Wigan next up in the FA Cup fourth round and four rounds of Champions League football. Miguel Delaney said they need, what does that add up to? 23 wins between now and June to win the quadruple. Raw, I mean, it's like one of those old school computer games like Donkey Kong where you get to the highest level and just suddenly the barrels are coming down at pace.

15:44Can they do it? That's a really difficult question. I think history probably teaches us that no, they can't. I'm not sure it's possible. Because as you say, it's not just a test of ability. It's a test of stamina, of fatigue and of good fortune. If they get Aston Villa away in the fifth round of the FA Cup, then through no fault of their own, they might not do the quadruple. Because that is a difficult game. They might get knocked out on penalties. It's the same in the Champions League. There are so many obstacles between now and then that make it difficult that I think you have to say it's unlikely.

16:18but again they're in a position where they might and that in itself is an achievement enjoy it man is all i would say the ridiculousness of where we are now currently in the media is that people are already debating a pundit driven conversation such as is arsenal season a failure if they don't win the quadruple which is just just enjoy every single second is all i'll say and we'll see where we get to to the game itself i actually interviewed martin odegaard it's up on YouTube right now and I asked him if the Emirates when it gets nervy and it does get nervy at times understandably whether it impacts him whether it impacts the players he talks about it's very clever what he said he said he talked about how when the energy is amazing it translates to the players that was his um that was his answer um I guess inferring that the opposite is also true um will there be nerves on Saturday against the Sunderland who are let's just say lesser on the road and double lesser without their old Arsenal friend Granit Xhaka who's not yet fit other than to get into it with fans from the stands raw they got a draw in the reverse fixture with a shockingly audacious Sunderland late goal tell us in the Rory Darmus crystal ball what happens I think this one's less dramatic to be perfectly honest as you say Sunderland's road form isn't as good as their home form they look a little bit like maybe their form has leveled out from more towards what we'd expect it to be anyway generally I think it will be nervous until Arsenal score, but beyond that, relatively comfortable.

17:45So I will go for 2-0 to Arsenal. Yeah, Sunderland at home, the last unbeaten host in the Premier League on the road. They've won just twice all season. I see this one being Arsenal 3-1. Happy Hathaway home. Talking of happiness, I finally got my hands on the finished copy of my book this week. I gave the first one to Billy Joe Armstrong. It was honestly very humbling to hold the bloody object in my own hands, knowing in that second. It's a lovely feeling, right, you know just how insane an experience it is to create a book and to feel it for the first time. It's a mad one. Yeah, and it is a source of immense pride.

18:20Whatever happens from here on in, Rod, you should be very proud. It's like Arteta and the quadruple. I don't feel pride. Your real prize is not how much it sells, it's the fact that you've written it. Unless we win the quadruple of that book, the season will be a failure, but I do think more than anything, not pride because I never feel proud of anything, I do reflect in our moment just how many human beings it's taken to help nudge this over the line, including you, you beautiful viewers. Grab your pre-order. I will send you a ton of signed goodies in return. The link's in the show notes. I've had so many GFOPs.

18:51Write in to meninblazers at gmail.com. We had one from Australia yesterday. A listener from Chile ordered the book, which is just so amazingly moving to me. One from Colombia telling me they pre-ordered the book. I can't wait for them to all receive theirs and for these things to be winging their way to you. Huge, huge love.

19:13Oh, Saturday. Let's get it off right. Manchester United against Tottenham, 7.30 a.m. Eastern Time, USA. This is not a drill. Manchester United have won three games in a row under Michael Carrick. It was fascinating to hear Carrick this week talk about how good it was that they played Manchester City and Arsenal in his first games. Two terrifying opponents. He talked about how that forced his squad to focus. Indeed, in his back-to-back-to-back wins, they've come against sides currently in the top half, including the top two. This challenge, completely new one then. They're playing a relative minnow.

19:49Tottenham Hotspur. Can United keep it going when they're heavy, heavy favourites expected to put their foot on their opponent's throat from the off? That's been the challenge. And they managed it against Fulham. It wasn't the most convincing performance from United last week, but they were the better side. They got that win. they continued that momentum and that is a good sign. I think what's challenging about Spurs is not just the fact that they will happily kind of seed the ball and territory and momentum to United. It's the fact that they are fighting for their lives, that they are strapping for their manager.

20:20You saw that against City last week. They seem to have discovered some sort of grit. They're still not great to watch, Rog, don't get me wrong. They are very much a work in progress for Thomas Frank. but I think they'll put more of a fight to United than maybe we'd have expected a couple of weeks ago. Yes, Spurs actually quietly unbeaten in four games or comps and the strange thing is that back from the dead point against Manchester City last weekend felt both like a season low and a season high in equal measure. They will need to attack with all the figure Captain Christian Romero uses to attack his own front office if they are to survive this one unscathed.

20:58One of the loveliest storylines of the past couple of weeks has been watching Dominic Solanke's return, which has really given Spurs a different dimension. I mean, transcendent. I'm so happy for him. What that must have felt like after all that injury, the scorpion kick wonder. How do you see this game going? Score predicted up for me, baby. So the risk of kind of repeating myself on Man United, I think a lot of their form at the moment is that they're kind of vibe coding a season together, right? They are putting it together on the fly, figuring things out as they go. I think Spurs will make it antsy and nervous.

21:29But ultimately, I just think that that feel-good factor that is around Old Trafford now, that sense that whether they are or not, what matters is the fact that Man United fans believe they are back. I think that will carry them through and I think they will win 3-1. Oh, I love that. Vibe coding sounds like the latest live album from Steve Aoki and I can't wait for it. United, winless though in their last six league games against Tottenham, which is amazing. Joint longest ever run without a win against them. I believe, though, haircut appointments will have to be booked as United attack, attack, attack and win this 1-3-1.

22:02They are close. Snip, snip, snip. OK, let's wrap this up with a feature we call, very unimaginatively, one more big thing. Ro, what are you looking forward to most this weekend after what we've already natted about? Looking forward to is probably the wrong way of phrasing it, Rog, but I would say Burnley-West Ham is significant. It feels like Burnley's last stand, if they don't have any chance of surviving, and they need to beat West Ham at home. West Ham have put a little bit of a run of form together. I know they lost at Chelsea last week, but only just, they're starting to find some form, some sort of semblance of hope.

22:33I think it's a genuinely massive game for both teams. And normally that produces great drama, if not great football. There's a piece of The Guardian this morning in which they interviewed poor Burnley fans, you know, who've lived this experience, yo-yo-ing between Premier League and Champions League existence. One fan said, I actually prefer life in championship. And we will unpack those words more on Monday because I do think it's pretty fascinating in terms of what we're actually cheering for. And talking of what we're actually cheering for, my one more big thing, oh, well, my one more mid thing, let's be honest.

23:08Everton Football Club, we face a game. I dread, I really, really do. Saturday, 10 a.m. Eastern time on Peacock. Everton travel to Fulham for the battle. Yes, the battle of the mid. in which we face so many bloody exes, Marco Silva, Alex Iwobi, Anthony Robinson. I just know one of them's going to do us. Anthony, please have mercy. By the way, as an Everton fan, I feel no ill will to any of them. We're all going to watch our new attacker, just turned 20-year-old, Tyreek George, fresh incoming from Chelsea. Where I do love the Chelsea players, do you know this rule, what they nicknamed him? Go on.

23:46Evil Sacker. ah yes I did know that yeah yeah yeah because that's exactly what they think he looks like with evil Saka on our side nothing can stop us now raw on the red eye home I couldn't sleep because I kept thinking about how a Wobie's going to do us we lose 2-1 by the way I didn't realise until I spelt it like that that it is like it's a very weird thing Craven you know what I mean it is it's an odd name for a football stadium it's either very honest or very self-effacing. It's a craven cottage. Yeah, it is. What kind of cottage do you live in? One that is craven. Oh, I live in one that's brazen.