Welcome to Issue 1 of The Friday Fixture List. We're glad you're here. Now let's talk about what happened last weekend.
I came home from the golf course last Saturday just as the second half kicked off Saturday and honestly thought we'd be fine. We hadn't scored yet but I wasn't worried. Then the second half happened and Everton started controlling the match and it got real quiet in my house. We cannot drop points. We're seven points clear but City have a game in hand and I've seen this movie before.
Then Gyökeres in the 89th minute. Relief. Pure relief.
We're holding on through five minutes of stoppage time, Everton's got one last corner, and on the deflection, Max Dowman gets the ball in the chaos, beats two defenders, and just runs.
Wide open field.
Goal.
And with that, he becomes the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history scoring at the Emirates on a counter in stoppage time.
The scenes.
I was texting Brandon losing my mind. Even my wife (who really doesn’t care much for football) was wondering why I was emotional. Almost brought tears to my eyes. And then a couple hours later City only get a point off West Ham. On my birthday weekend I got the thing I wanted more than anything - three points we absolutely had to have and this feeling that we're actually going to do this.
— Zac
THIS WEEKEND’S FIXTURES
FRI — Bournemouth vs Man United — 3:00pm CT / 4:00pm ET — USA Network
SAT — Brighton vs Liverpool — 7:30am CT / 8:30am ET — USA Network
SAT — Fulham vs Burnley — 10:00am CT / 11:00am ET — USA Network
SAT — Everton vs Chelsea — 12:30pm CT / 1:30pm ET — USA Network
SAT — Leeds United vs Brentford — 3:00pm CT / 4:00pm ET — USA Network
SUN — Newcastle vs Sunderland — 7:00am CT / 8:00am ET — USA Network
SUN — Aston Villa vs West Ham — 9:15am CT / 10:15am ET — Peacock
SUN — Tottenham vs Nottingham Forest — 9:15am CT / 10:15am ET — USA Network
SUN — Carabao Cup Final: Arsenal vs Man City — 11:30am CT / 12:30pm ET — Paramount+
THE ONE TO WATCH
The match we're setting the alarm for this weekend:
ARSENAL VS. MANCHESTER CITY — CARABAO CUP FINAL
The top two clubs in the country. Wembley. A trophy on the line. If Arsenal win this, the quad conversation stops being hypothetical and starts being very, very real. They haven't won a trophy since the 2020 FA Cup. City haven't forgotten how to win these. Sunday, 11:30am CT on Paramount+.
WHERE THINGS STAND
| # | Club | Pl | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 31 | 21 | 7 | 3 | +39 | 70 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 30 | 18 | 7 | 5 | +32 | 61 |
| 3 | Manchester United | 30 | 15 | 9 | 6 | +13 | 54 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | +3 | 51 |
| 5 | Liverpool | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | +9 | 49 |
| 6 | Chelsea | 30 | 13 | 9 | 8 | +18 | 48 |
| 7 | Brentford | 29 | 13 | 5 | 11 | +4 | 44 |
| 8 | Everton | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | -1 | 43 |
| 9 | Newcastle United | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 42 |
| 10 | Bournemouth | 30 | 9 | 14 | 7 | -2 | 41 |
| 11 | Fulham | 30 | 12 | 5 | 13 | -3 | 41 |
| 12 | Brighton | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | +3 | 40 |
| 13 | Sunderland | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | -5 | 40 |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 30 | 10 | 9 | 11 | -2 | 39 |
| 15 | Leeds United | 30 | 7 | 11 | 12 | -11 | 32 |
| 16 | Tottenham Hotspur | 30 | 7 | 9 | 14 | -7 | 30 |
| 17 | Nottingham Forest | 30 | 7 | 8 | 15 | -15 | 29 |
| 18 | West Ham United | 30 | 7 | 8 | 15 | -19 | 29 |
| 19 | Burnley | 30 | 4 | 8 | 18 | -26 | 20 |
| 20 | Wolverhampton | 30 | 3 | 7 | 20 | -30 | 16 |
| Champions League Europa League Relegation | Matchweek 31 — Mar 16, 2026 |
Arsenal sit nine points clear with seven matches left. City have a game in hand but the gap is real. This is happening.
COMING UP MIDWEEK
No Premier League football next week. The Premier League is on international break — which means your Tuesday and Wednesday mornings are free, but there is plenty worth watching if you know where to look.
The big story this week is the UEFA World Cup qualifying playoffs. Sixteen European nations are fighting for the last four spots, and the semifinal round kicks off Thursday March 26 across all four paths simultaneously. The two matchups worth setting the alarm for:
THU Mar 26 — Italy vs Northern Ireland — 2:45pm CT / 3:45pm ET — FS1
THU Mar 26 — Wales vs Bosnia and Herzegovina — 2:45pm CT / 3:45pm ET — FS1
Italy missing back-to-back World Cups was one of the great sporting shocks of the last decade. They have a chance to make it right here — and Northern Ireland standing in their way makes this genuinely interesting. The path finals are March 31, and the winners go to the World Cup.
Also worth noting: with the World Cup on US soil this summer, these are the last games before we find out which European nations are in. England and Scotland are already through. Northern Ireland, Wales, and the Republic of Ireland are all still fighting for it.
OUR TAKE
Zac: I keep coming back to Sunday and I can't stop thinking about what it means if we win. This isn't just a trophy. This is the moment that Arteta can prove that he can get us over the line - it can be the first domino to fall that can lead to trophies. City at Wembley in a final is the hardest possible test and I want it. I've wanted a day like this for a long time. I'll be up early and I won't be calm.
Brandon: The Carabao Cup Final is the only match I care about this weekend and I don't think it's close. Arsenal are the better team right now but City have been here so many times it almost doesn't matter. That experience is real. What I want to see is whether Arsenal show up like a team that expects to win it or a team that's just grateful to be there. That's the whole game for me.
We’ll be up anyway.
Zac & Brandon, The Morning Fixture