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Tense Times in the MicroLeague Cup after Game Week 25

28/2/2022

Right! After the mix and match of fixtures that made up Game Weeks 23 and 24; I’m pleased to say Game Week was a more straightforward affair, although Gameweek 26 will be hot on its heels from 2th March featuring plenty of FA Cup games… so let’s squeeze this update in while we can and see what the MicroNational League state of play is!

At the top 2nd place New Weddington Warriors outscored the leaders Shedingeh but remain 15 points shy of the top spot; whilst Lundenvic Lions had a poor week, redeeming themselves a little towards the end to claw back from a drop to 9th but still dropping off the top two race and now trailing by 95 points in 3rd.

Lehmark FC Legends will be eyeing that 3rd place but if they are to move up from 4th they will need to start outscoring, not matching, the Lions on points. They will also need to look over their shoulder at Novascurra Jesters in 5th who are scoring impressively at the moment and sit just 12 points behind the FC Legends…

In 6th place – still not having made a transfer yet – is the Isle of Lithua. What can I say, no changes since league start and for past months have been superglued to the 6th spot. Having briefly dropped to 8th last week they are back on 6th. Spooky.
Espoona take advantage of a low scoring United Mathisian Kingdom to nick the 7th spot off them and gain respectability in the 700+ club.

Just behind on 8th the H.E.R. Saints fare even better climbing two places in the league, 5 points behind Espoona, pushing the United Mathisian Kingdom into 9th.

Pikeland Holy Crusader drop down from 9th to 10th – still only 4 points. Adrift but needing to keep with the pace. Meantime Maslatonia and Principality of Sealand are looking dangerously low
Maslatonia take 7th spot, up from relegation place of 11th, to push Lithua still further down the league… and this just leaves H.E.R. Saints going against traffic and dropping from 7th to 11th, leading only – yes, you guessed it – Sealand in 12th and receiving a 21 point wooden spoon, And yet Sealand remains in the shade – biding their time perhaps? Or busy prepping for word war 3 perhaps..

Good luck in the next week, BTW we have changed our New Weddington Team football strip to reflect the Ukraine flag and micronation colours and show our support for the Ukrainian people there and living aboard. See below.

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A full weekend of football before MORE FA Cup matches!

26/2/2022

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Well, here we go – a packed weekend of Premier games in the MicroNation League Cup before another round of FA Cups (for those teams still in it) midweek. A chance to consolidate your place or - with the right transfers – to make a sprint to move up the league! Good luck all 😉

Saturday 26th February
Leeds United 12:30 Tottenham Hotspur

Saturday's early game is at Elland Road where Leeds United take on Tottenham Hotspur. The battle of the faded giants sees Leeds sat in 15th having picked up a single point in their last five games. Spurs have at least won once in their previous five! Llorente a doubt for Leeds but Koch should be back. Tottenham will be without Skipp and Tanganga, Bentancur a doubt.

Brentford 15:00 Newcastle United

Four matches kick off at 3pm this Saturday, the first of which is Brentford against Newcastle United. The Bees are on a poor run, losing four out of their previous five. Toney could be back as could Jensen, Eriksen may feature. Newcastle are outside the bottom three and are in good form. The Magpies will hope Saint-Maximin and Fraser will be back from injury.

Brighton & Hove Albion 15:00 Aston Villa

Next up it is Brighton & Hove Albion versus Aston Villa at the Am Ex. The Seagulls are 9th but have lost back-to-back league games. Adam Webster will be missing for this match. Stevie G's Aston V are in thirteenth and on similar form to Brighton. Bert Traore will be out for a few weeks with a hamstring injury.

Crystal Palace 15:00 Burnley

The third of the 3 o'clock fixtures is Crystal Palace v Burnley. Palace recorded a good victory over Watford in midweek. Zaha with a brace, Gallagher also in the points. Butland played in goal. Burnley are the form team in the bottom three, recording back-to-back wins and keeping clean sheets. Cornet has a foot injury so is a doubt.

Manchester United 15:00 Watford

At Old Trafford the last of the 3pm games sees Manchester United taking on Watford. Forth place United drew in the CL in midweek. Cavani and McTominay are likely to be missing. Watford lost to Palace on Wednesday and are in 19th place. João Pedro and Josh King both suffering from knocks.

Everton 17:30 Manchester City

The final game this Saturday is Everton against Manchester City at Goodison. Everton have only collected three points from a possible 15 and are dangerously close to the relegation zone. Doucouré may be back but Godfrey, Gray and Mina all missing. Top of the league Man City will be without Jesus and Grealish.

Sunday 27th February
West Ham United 14:00 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Just the one game this Sunday, at 2pm it is West Ham United versus Wolverhampton Wanderers. The Hammers are fifth and have drawn their last two. Coufal is a doubt as is Lanzini. Wolves played Arsenal on Thursday night, Hwang on the score sheet but lost to a late own goal. No new injury worries for Wolves.

No games for Leicester, Arsenal, Liverpool or Chelsea.

The FA Cup returns to the competition with 5th Round matches in midweek plus a solitary Premier game – so time to get those strategic thinking caps on!! As it’s a packed weekend they’ll be plenty going on, so look out for a review and update on the MicroNation League on Monday 28th!!

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February 25th, 2022

25/2/2022

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Game week finally over (I think)!

16/2/2022

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Phew, that was a complicated fixture schedule in week 23 of the MicroNations League Cup! Mostly to catch up on matches previously postponed due to covid…

Things getting back to normal but one change was that Man Utd v Brighton midweek was changed from week 23 to 24, so points from that game will be added to week 24 (you can check if you scored on that game on the TFF Football website).

So with that sorted, where do we stand? Shedingeh will be happy with the week’s points, pulling away from New Weddington who were equal on points to gain a 21 point lead.

Not good for New Weddington but Lundenvic will be getting a serious dressing room talk – another low score seeing them drop from a third place they seem to have made their own to NINTH place!!

Lehmark FC Legends make the most of this with a decent score to lift them into the top three – can they hang onto a silverware spot and, with New Weddington in their sights, move even higher? Not if Novascurra Jesters who redeem themselves after a terrible 10 point haul to nick fourth spot and come across as serious threats to Lehmark…The march up the league continues with Pikeland Holy Crusader climbing out of bottom half 10th place to a creditable 5th.

And now the news of the week – Espoona leapfrog a few competitors to hit the SIXTH place spot!! This means that the Isle of Lithua, stuck in 6th for most of the season now drops to eighth – finally paying the price for not making a transfer since the season began….

Maslatonia take 7th spot, up from relegation place of 11th, to push Lithua still further down the league… and this just leaves H.E.R. Saints going against traffic and dropping from 7th to 11th, leading only – yes, you guessed it – Sealand in 12th and receiving a 21 point wooden spoon, probably not the birthday present the Principality were hoping for...

As soon as we’re clear on what games make up week 24 (don’t forget that will include Tuesday 15th (Man Utd v Brighton points) you’ll be getting your usual preview hot off the press. Well done and congratulations on a variable and well-competed round!!

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MicroNations Soccer Cup back to business as usual with an early start to Round 24, made up of an all-Premier line up.

8/2/2022

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With key players having been rested during the FA games and others returning after the African Cup final time to look at some strategic transfers maybe? Or maybe not! So here we go…

Tuesday 8th February
Newcastle United 19:45 Everton

Three games this Tuesday, the first of which takes place at 7:45pm between Newcastle United and Everton. Newcastle are 19th but in better form than Frank Lampard's Everton who are in 16th. The Toffees won in the FA Cup, the Magpies had the weekend off. DCL is reportedly injured. Richie and Wilson still out for Newcastle, Joelinton is back though.

West Ham United 19:45 Watford
The second 7:45pm game features 5th place West Ham United against Watford who lie 18th. The Hammers poor league form almost followed them into the FA Cup but they scraped through against Kidderminster. Lanzini likely to miss out, Fabianski and Antonio possible doubts. Roy Hodgson's Watford record a nil-nil draw with Burnley at the weekend. Sarr is fit and back from AFCON but won't feature.

Burnley 20:00 Manchester United
The final Tuesday match kicks off at 8pm and is Burnley v Manchester United at Turf Moor. Burnley played out a 0-0 draw with Watford last time out. Barnes may be back, Vydra still out. Man Utd were dumped out of the FA Cup on Friday by Middlesbrough so will be looking for a victory here. Telles and Fred out with illness, Bruno knocked and Sancho fatigued.

Wednesday 9th February
Manchester City 19:45 Brentford

Wednesday has four matches, the first of which kicks off at 7:45pm and is Manchester City versus Brentford. Man City recorded a comfortable win at the weekend with Mahrez with a brace on his return from AFCON. Jesus has a niggle after his return from Brazil. Brentford are on a poor run of form, losing at the weekend to FFL's Everton. Wissa and Mbeumo out with illness.

Norwich City 19:45 Crystal Palace
Next up this Wednesday, Norwich City against Crystal Palace at Carrow Road. Norwich are out of the bottom three after recent back to back wins. They also won in the FA Cup against Wolves. Krul still out. Palace won comfortably in the Cup on Saturday, Olise has hit a good run of form of late. McArthur and Tomkins may feature.

Tottenham Hotspur 19:45 Southampton
The final 7:45pm kick off is between Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton. Spurs were victorious in the FA Cup at the weekend and have Kane back blowing the doors off. Dier has a thigh injury, Skipp groin, Tanganga knee. Southampton are 12th and in variable form, the scraped through in the Cup on Saturday. Lyanco and Tella out, Broja a doubt.

Aston Villa 20:00 Leeds United
At 8pm we have Stevie G's Aston V against Leeds United at Villa Park. Aston Villa had the weekend off having been knocked out of the Cup in the previous round. No new injuries to report for the mighty Villa. Leeds are 15th having picked up 6 points from a possible 15. Again they had a free weekend. Raphinha nursing a knock after returning from Brazil.

Thursday 10th February

Liverpool 19:45 Leicester City
Two Thursday games, both kicking off at 7:45pm, the first is at Anfield between Liverpool v Leicester City. The Reds won at the weekend, a comfortable victory over Cardiff but new signing Luis Diaz suffered a gashed knee. Will Salah feature after his AFCON adventure? 10th place Leicester were dumped out of the Cup by Nottingham Forest. Quite a few defensive injuries in the Foxes ranks.

Wolverhampton Wanderers 19:45 Arsenal
The final game of this set of midweek fixtures is Wolverhampton Wanderers against Arsenal at Molineux. Wolves lost against the Canaries at the weekend but their League form is good. Traore has joined Barcelona on loan. The Gunners had the weekend off so will be well rested. No Aubameyang any more. Tomiyasu out injured again.

No games for Chelsea or Brighton.

Next fixtures at the weekend.

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Round 23: Points Galore or Sweet FA?

7/2/2022

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Morning all and welcome back to the MicroNations League Cup!

A week of FA Cup games has seen some low scores as Micronational managers hang on to non-playing Premier League players, and Premier league managers rest their star names…

Despite the low scoring there have been a few interesting results so let’s see how things stand…

Big news as the top of the league with Shedingeh keeping top spot and New Weddington Warriors in second – however both teams are going for it and a decent score from the two see them level on Season Points with Shedingeh edging it on goal difference…

The Lundenvic Lions cement their current third place with Lehmark Legends failing to capitalise on the previous round that saw them gain 13 points on the Lions. With the Premier league games back into play this week the Legends aren’t to be written off though they have their work cut out, trailing Lions by 140 points.

A comedown for the Novascurra Jesters in 5th – dropping from 49 points previous round down to a lowly 10 points meaning they fall further behind Lehmark and have the Isle of Lithua creeping up on them from 6th place. Yes, Lithua are STILL in 6th place and STILL haven’t yet made a change – despite 2 players having not touched a football all season and Salah being at the African Cup. I continue to be baffled…

H.E.R. Saints with a decent 36 points make the most of a woeful United Mathisian Kingdom on 4 points, so move up a place into 7th at the expense of Mathisia who drop to 8th – though there’s only 7 points between the two now…

And at the bottom end of the table it’s business as usual with Espoona and Pikeland Holy Crusader battling it out in their own mini-comp, sitting in 9th and 10th place respectively.

Masltonia, despite posting some decent point tallies, have a long road to the higher places of the league and – at 11th – have the struggling Principality of Sealand to thanks for keeping them off the bottom place. Sealand are looking in serious danger at this stage of the season, struggling to make double digit scores and – once again – winning the wooden spoon this week with 3 points; quite a feat in itself!

So there you go, the FA Cup hasn’t rung in many major changes in league positions but it HAS seen some points gains and losses and it will be interesting to see how Round 23 pans out with the return not just of the Premier League but also Mane and Salah form the African Cup - so both will be heading back to the MicroNations League soon! Time to get the credit card out?

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Round 22. MicroNations League back after the break - now with added FA Cup games!

5/2/2022

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So here we go – after a decent break the MicroNations League Cup is back and we are now technically closer to the end of the season than the start. Still plenty of football to be played though, especially with the extra FA Cup games being added to the Premier League ones – let’s see what impact that will have on the MicroNations leaderboard.. it’s all about strategy at this stage (and how many transfers you have left!)

Talking of which Game week 22 starts with an FA Cup game between Man United and Championship league level Middlebrough; read on for what’s in store…

FRIDAY 4TH FEBRUARY
FA CUP

Manchester United 20:00 Middlesbrough

This weekend's FA Cup action kicked off on Friday with a game at Old Trafford between Manchester United and Middlesbrough. Manchester United were favourites to win this one against Championship side Middlesbrough. Despite Middlesbrough chasing a Championship play-off place as their priority they held Man Utd to 1-1 at full time with a goal by Crooks canceling out Man United’s 24th minute strike by Sancho (assisted by Fernandes). Ronaldo contributed with a MISSED penalty in the 2oth minute so steel yourself for missed points if you have him!!

The game eventually went to penalties in a nail-biting decider – with the honours going to Middlesbrough 7-8 who KNOCK MAN UTD OUT OF THE FA CUP!

SATURDAY 5TH FEBRUARY
FA CUP

Chelsea 12:30 Plymouth Argyle

Saturday's 12:30pm kick off is a game featuring Chelsea and Plymouth Argyle. The Blues will be up against the Green Army who have an in form striker on their books in the shape of Jephcott, so no guarantee of a clean sheet for Chelsea's leaky defence. Don't expect Chelsea to field a full strength side. Christensen could be back from injury. Remember that Chelsea are off to the ‘Club World Cup’ in Abu Dhabi (I’d never heard of it either!) after this so a couple of blanks coming up.

Kidderminster Harriers 12:30 West Ham United

The other early game sees Kidderminster Harriers taking on West Ham United at the Aggborough Stadium. Kidderminster beat Reading in the previous round and will need to ride their luck again against Premier League side West Ham. The Hammer will likely field a weakened side. Fabianski has been absent recently but could return to action today. Antonio played for Jamaica on Thursday so may be missing.

Crystal Palace 15:00 Hartlepool United

The first of the 3pm matches has Crystal Palace playing host to Hartlepool United. Hartlepool are 16th in League Two so shouldn't pose too much of a problem for Premier League opposition. The Eagles will have a few players returning from the African Cup and they will possibly play in this game. Tomkins and McArthur may feature on return from injury.

Everton 15:00 Brentford

An all Premier League affair is next up - Everton v Brentford at Goodison Park. Everton are now managed by Frank Lampard and they brought in a handful of other new faces during the January window who are likely to play today. DCL will miss match though. 14th place Brentford come into this game on a run of four consecutive defeats but are well clear of the drop. Josh Da Silva and Zanka may get minutes today.

Manchester City 15:00 Fulham

For the next of the 3 o'clock games we go to the Ethiad where Manchester City taking on Fulham. Man City are top of the Premier League and Fulham are top of the Championship so this could be an exciting game and Pep may have to field a strong side. Fulham have been free-scoring of late with Mitrovic in good form. Zinchenko may feature after missing recent games with a knock.

Southampton 15:00 Coventry City

Southampton versus Coventry City at St Mary's is the next 3pm game. Last time out Southampton drew with Manchester City (when Salisu was impressive) and as they are comfortably sat in mid-table may fancy a Cup run. Coventry are 10th in the Championship but are within a few points of the play-offs. Livramento might get a run out if he has recovered from his recent injury.

Wolverhampton Wanderers 15:00 Norwich City

The final 3 o'clock match is another all Prem game between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Norwich City. Wolves are 8th and in good form at the moment. Hwang and Neto are rumoured to be nearing match fitness. Norwich are now out of the relegation zone but could easily slip back so expect them to prioritise League survival over a Cup run. Billy Gilmour, Omobamidele, Rupp and Normann could all feature.

PREMIER LEAGUE

Burnley 18:00 Watford

At 6pm is the weekend's solitary Premier League match taking place between Burnley v Watford. Burnley are rock bottom of the Premier League but have strengthened in the window with Weghorst joining on loan. Barnes and Taylor may return. Watford are now managed by Roy Hodgson after Ranieri left recently. Watford are second to bottom and Dennis is suspended for this one. Sarr is now fit but missing as playing in the African Cup final.

FA CUP

Tottenham Hotspur 20:00 Brighton & Hove Albion

The final Saturday match is another all Premier League game featuring Tottenham Hotspur versus Brighton & Hove Albion. Spurs have brought in a couple of players in the Window and are likely to field a strong side as the FA Cup is their only chance of silverware. Romero could feature. Brighton are draw specialists so expect this to go to extra time and pens. Duffy is likely to be fit.

SUNDAY 6TH FEBRUARY
FA CUP

Liverpool 12:00 Cardiff City

Two FA Cup games this Sunday, the first of which is Liverpool against Cardiff City at Anfield. Liverpool are likely to field a team of youngsters and bench warmers. Mane and Salah are still missing due to African Cup involvement. Harvey Elliott may be involved to build match fitness. Cardiff are near the bottom of the Championship but have hit a good vein of form recently.

Nottingham Forest 16:00 Leicester City

And finally, a 4 o'clock kick off featuring Nottingham Forest and Leicester City. Forest are 8th in the Championship but only a couple of points outside the play offs so may not be interested in a Cup run. The Foxes are 10th in the Prem and FA Cup holders so are likely to field a strong team for this one. No new injuries to report. Vardy still out so Daka or Iheanacho up top.

Not playing Arsenal, Watford, Leeds, Newcastle.

The next set of games are in midweek, so watchout for that all important MicroNations review and results on Monday!!

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Tense Times in the MicroLeague Cup after Game Week 25

A full weekend of football before MORE FA Cup matches!

February 25th, 2022

Game week finally over (I think)!

MicroNations Soccer Cup back to business as usual with an early start to Round 24, made up of an all-Premier line up.

Round 23: Points Galore or Sweet FA?

Round 22. MicroNations League back after the break - now with added FA Cup games!

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