Matchweek 33

Introduction  

Rich: Hello my name’s Rich and welcome to our Monday round-up section on Premier Skills English.  

Jack: Hi there. I’m Jack. Every Monday we discuss last weekend’s action, the best players, the best matches, Fantasy Football, and make some predictions for next weekend.

Rich: We want you to practise your English and interact with Premier League fans from around the world in our comments section.

Jack: You can do this on the Premier Skills English website or the Premier Skills-British Council Facebook page - if that’s where you are listening to us.

Rich: There were some great games in Matchweek 33 so let’s get on with this week’s round-up!

Headlines

Rich: United spoil City’s title party.

Jack: City looked like they were cruising to the Premier League title when they took a 2-0 half-time lead in the Manchester Derby. But, a Paul Pogba inspired United team stunned City with three second-half goals.

Rich: Spurs look safe for the Champions League.

Jack: Two goals from Christian Eriksen secured a 2-1 win for Spurs away at Stoke City. Spurs are now in fourth place and are now 10 points clear of Chelsea in fifth. 

Rich: The relegation scrap is going down to the wire.

Jack: West Brom look dead and buried but the battle against relegation continues. Southampton and Stoke lost which gave a chance to Newcastle, Huddersfield, Brighton and West Ham all to edge away from the danger zone.

Rich: What about that Manchester Derby. What a game!

Jack: I know! It looked all over when Gundogan made it 2-0 to City after about half an hour.

Rich: Not sure what Jose Mourinho said at halftime but United were brilliant in the second half. City have conceded six goals in two matches!

Jack: I’m sure they’ll still win the League, though.

Rich: You’re right, but maybe not the Champions League though!

Definition Alert! 

Jack: West Brom look dead and buried. What does this phrase mean?

Rich: Well, it’s a phrase that means something is over or finished. Dead means - well, dead. And buried is what happens at the graveyard. West Brom’s fight to stay in the Premier League is dead and buried - it’s finished, it’s over, they can’t survive.

Jack: Well, mathematically they can survive.

Rich: I know but it would be very difficult they’d have to win all five matches they have left - they’ve only won three all season!

Jack: Another good word is spoil. United spoilt City’s title party.

Rich: Yes, to spoil means to make something bad. It can be used to mean to stop someone enjoying something good. Sometimes I turn off my phone on a Saturday because I don’t want to know the football results.

Jack: That’s strange. Why?

Rich: Because I want to watch the highlights later on TV and if I know the results it spoils it.

Matchweek Awards

Rich: Right, every Monday, we give out three Matchweek awards. Player of the Week, Team of the Week and Match of the Week.

Jack: In the comments section, you need to tell us if you agree with our choices …

Rich: These awards always create a lot of discussion. Last week lots of you agreed with our choices but not all of you.

Jack: Giovi from Poland felt that West Ham should have been our Team of the Week but we chose Spurs.

Rich: And AnduougSpurs from Vietnam felt that we should have chosen Christian Eriksen as Player of the Week rather than Dele Alli.

Jack: Let’s see who agrees and disagrees with our choices this week. Write your opinions on our Facebook page or on the website.

Rich: Let’s start with our Player of the Week. There were some great individual performances in the Premier League last weekend.

Jack: Joe Hart made some great saves for West Ham to get West Ham a point at Chelsea. Christian Eriksen grabbed two goals for Spurs and Jonjo Shelvey was man of the match for Newcastle as the Magpies moved away from the relegation zone.

Rich: But our Player of the Week is Manchester Utd’s Paul Pogba. There has been a lot of talk about Pogba recently but he showed his class at the weekend as he scored twice and dominated City in the middle of the park.

Jack: And our Team of the Week? 

Rich: Well, there were good wins for Spurs, Burnley, Arsenal, and of course Manchester Utd but they only played well for 45 minutes. Our Team of the Week is Newcastle Utd. Newcastle won 2-1 away at Leicester and now look safe from relegation. Check out the goal from Ayoze Perez in that match if you get the chance.

Jack: And finally our match of the week. Well, it’s an easy choice this week. The Manchester Derby was a fantastic match. Five goals a comeback win for United and something to shout about for Utd fans. City fans? What happened?

Fantasy Football

Rich: What’s been happening in Fantasy Football this week, Jack?

Jack: The top scoring player in Matchweek 33 was Arsenal’s Danny Welbeck with 16 points.

Rich: Where is the Premier Skills team in the Premier Skills Fantasy football league?

Jack: We’re down to 13th place. We only got 26 points last week. Not a very good performance.

Rich: And our Team of the Week?

Jack: That goes to FC Fellaini managed by Big Sam, a Manchester Utd fan from Serbia.

Rich: Not sure if that’s his real name!

Matchweek Prediction

Jack: Rich - your prediction for the Manchester Derby was a 2-0 win to City. 

Rich: Yep, United surprised me I have to say.

Jack: Which match are you going to look at this week?

Rich: Matchweek 34 sees Tottenham at home to Manchester City. Spurs are in good form at the moment and seem like they will qualify for the Champions League comfortably. Man City are stumbling a bit after defeats to Liverpool and their neighbours from across the city. They could win the Premier League this weekend if they win and United lose at home to West Brom. I think City will have to wait a little longer for the title. Final score: Tottenham 2-1 Manchester City.

Jack: Right, that’s all we have time for. I hope you have enjoyed this football round-up. 

Rich: And don’t forget to join the discussion at the bottom of the page. And if you’ve enjoyed this podcast why not leave a rating or review and that will help other people find us. 

Jack: Bye for now and enjoy your football.