Arsenal vs Spurs

With one of the biggest games in the English football calendar coming up, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur will do battle to be the ruler of North London. The two biggest clubs in the region, this high-intensity derby feels even more important. Having enjoyed lording it over their city rivals for a few years now, Spurs look as weak as they ever have under Mauricio Pochettino. Can Unai Emery put them to the sword and really settle in at Arsenal?

Arsenal News

The Gunners are without a host of important players, including Hector Bellerin, Kieran Tierney, and Mesut Ozil. This should mean that we could see them line up in a standard 4-2-3-1, with the diamond experiment tried out last week at Anfield not likely to be revisited here.

Alexandre Lacazette should return up-front, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nicola Pepe in the wide areas. There’s lots to be excited about for Arsenal, but a struggling back-line – especially on the left-hand side – leaves plenty to worry about should they get too gung-ho.

Tottenham Hotspur News

Spurs will probably line up in a similar formation, caused in part by their interesting list of injuries. Juan Foyth and Ryan Sessegnon are both out, while Dele Alli, Kyle Walker-Peters, and Tanguy Ndombele are all likely to miss out.

With Jan Vertonghen and Christian Eriksen both fit – though their futures uncertain – we could see both come into the team if they are still at Spurs come the weekend. With transfer rumours floating around about both players, there’s no guarantee.

Verdict

A solid score draw. Both sides are quite porous at the back, but the return to form of some of their attacking talent on both sides could see a high-octane game. We can see both teams scoring a couple, though calling an outright winner is tough when both teams are so plagued by uncertainty and inconsistency in big games.

Whistlestop Tour of Extreme(ly Odd) Sports

If you're like me, you've got a few sports or sporting events that you're mad about and others that you're more of an armchair fan of. For me, I'd certainly be disappointed if I missed a high profile boxing bout, a World Cup match, or say the 100m final in the Olympics. Sporting moments that you can't watch after the event and have to appreciate the highs and lows of live. Some people though, they have a very wayward and off kilter way of viewing sports, and it seems like the more niche something is, the more they can't take their eyes off it. I bring you to, a summary of strange sports and events:

Is it even a sport?

I like a night out at the Casino as much as the next man and am not shy of splashing the cash in either a physical or internet casino. The energised atmosphere and removal of anything that even remotely indicates what the time is, so that you get lost in the games. The thrill of doubling your money on poker perhaps or slots. It's certainly a fun experience. Even watching others play can be entertaining  as everyone has their style, such as the crazy old ladies scattering chips across countless roulette numbers, the person darting here and there, seemingly betting on 20 things at the same time. Typical casino characters!

And of course nowadays we're never far away from a casino online usa, uk or around the world. It's the click of a button away. All of that is lost though if you 'watch' those late night Casino TV channels. As in not even take part in the live roulette game on offer but actually, just watch it live, like a spectator sport. I knew someone that did this, and it took me about half an hour to even understand what they were doing. They don't play along, they just watch the croupier spin a ball and see which number the ball lands in. Very strange and voyeuristic with no skin in the game! What an oddball!

Thumb Favourites

MMA is getting more and more popular year on year. UFC has gone from relative obscurity to mainstream, with some especially younger fans preferring it to boxing. PPV events draw in huge numbers from fans all around the world. For some though, the latest Connor McGregor fight is of little interest, because they much prefer the spectre of.... Thumb Wrestling. A sport you can imagine someone taking up in the midst of a nervous breakdown, in Thumb Wrestling participants place their hands within a 'Thumb Ring', say  “1,2,3,4, I declare a thumb war” and then duke it out (with their thumbs) to see who is the champion. It's a sport with a World Championship and in the UK there's recently been BBC coverage and a even a piece on Good morning Britain about it. We can only hope that it doesn't wing its way to major sports stations anytime soon!

The Ham National

Okay, I'll admit it, I'm torn with this one. The amusingly named Ham National is effectively a low budget Grand National but for pigs instead of horses. It's not on the same scale (in that I can't envisage hundreds of millions of people tuning into the Ham National) as the Grand National, and is more madcap in nature, but it certainly seems to appeal to some. The invent itself  is part of the Royal Norfolk Show in the UK and draws in both crowds and likely confusion for those who stumble upon it. With the likes of Justin Bieboar and Elvis Pigsley taking part, there is at least an overriding comedy component to the proceedings!