
Today in Football 27/08/26
Matches in Focus
- Barcelona v Bilbao — La Liga
- Celta Vigo v Osasuna — La Liga
- Chelsea v Luton — EFL Cup
- Fulham v Wimbledon — EFL Cup
Yesterday in Review
Yesterday was Twitter plays only. Nzingola's booking landed, but the Tottenham SGP and Thompson's card both missed — a small profit on the day, +0.38u.
Barcelona v Bilbao
I think Barça have built a phenomenal team for the league this season. Anthony Gordon started on fire with two assists off the bench last week. The way Barça press, fly forward, and attack with absolute lunacy fits Gordon perfectly — he's quick, direct, and takes his man on.
After the disappointment of being left out of the Spain squad through injury and missing out on a World Cup winner's medal, Fermín López started the season on fire with two goals. I think he's been one of the most underappreciated players in the whole world for a while now. He's got a fire lit under his ass, has worked hard in the off-season, and will explode this season with output. He'll retain his spot more often than Dani Olmo — I'm sure of it (Olmo is a fantastic player, and they could start both at any time).
Bilbao are usually a tough opponent, but they started their season poorly, losing at home 1-3 to Sevilla. I think Barça have the vibes this season. In their home opener they should start Gordon and Fermín, both motivated to score, and I could see this getting bad — just like Barça destroyed Elche 5-0 last week. Lots of sub and play value too:
🏴 Gordon Anytime Goal @ 11/10 (Bet365) — 1.25u
🇪🇸 Fermín Anytime Goal @ 11/8 (Bet365) — 1.25u
🏴 Gordon First Goal @ 5/1 (Bet365) — 0.25u

Celta Vigo v Osasuna
Both teams started their seasons with 0-0 draws. This should be a classic lower-mid-table La Liga clash where there are four times as many fouls as shots.
Honestly, there's not much to say about the two sides after one matchday and zero goals between them. I thankfully didn't get to tune into either of their matches last week, so tonight's bet is purely research and game flow.
Osasuna commit a lot of fouls, but there's no reason the Vigo players should be priced much higher than the Osasuna ones. Aleix Febas committed 5 fouls and didn't get booked, while also getting fouled 4 times. This guy loves to get stuck the fuck in there, and I dig that. He should start again tonight, and in a potentially grotesque affair, there's value in him:
🇪🇸 Febas Fouled 2+ & 2+ Fouls Committed @ 29/20 (Bet365) — 1u
🇪🇸 Febas Booked @ 3/1 (Bet365) — 0.5u
↻ Both voided — Febas didn't start. New plays off the confirmed XI:
Follow @PlayrPropPerson for up-to-date lineup replacements.
🇪🇸 Torro Booked @ 12/5 (Bet365) — 0.65u
Barely any legs under him — 19 minutes all season — and he'll sit in the heart of a midfield where, as mentioned, Osasuna foul a ton.
🇬🇳 Moriba Booked @ 15/4 (Bet365) — 0.35u
Same story on minutes, and he's aggressive — 8 yellows across last season's La Liga campaign.
Chelsea v Luton
EFL Cup, primed for bookings as usual. I think a combo of Gittens, Estêvão, Neto, and Quenda will start on the wings and in the 10 positions for Chelsea, which really shows off the depth of their team right now. Xabi Alonso is clearly going to use his wing-backs to push up the field — Pep Chavarría should get his first start at left wing-back, and that'll be fun to watch in advanced positions.
Luton right-back Isaiah Jones hasn't had the best start to the season but starts every game, and Kal Naismith on the left likes to get forward a bit more, which could smell trouble if Chelsea get a rare counterattack. Both full-backs are at huge disadvantages in 1v1s, whether against the wide 10s or the outside backs:
🏴 Jones Booked @ 3/1 (Bet365) — 0.5u
🏴 Naismith Booked @ 7/2 (Bet365) — 0.4u
↻ Both voided — neither started. New plays off the confirmed XI:
Follow @PlayrPropPerson for up-to-date lineup replacements.
🏴 Ashby Booked @ 11/4 (Bet365) — 0.65u
Young, inexperienced outside back up against a stronger-than-expected Chelsea.
🏴 Walsh Booked @ 10/3 (Bet365) — 0.35u
Already on two yellows and starting in midfield next to an 18-year-old he'll be protecting.
Fulham v Wimbledon
Wimbledon play with a back three but can operate out of a four because of right wing-back James Tilley. They leave wide center-back Isaac Ogundere to defend the space behind, and with their pushed-up wing-back he essentially becomes a right-back.
Kevin should start on the left tonight; he and new signing Cesar Palacios (from Real Madrid) are in a good competition for the starting left-wing spot. Palacios started in the league, so I'm expecting Kevin in the cup. Kevin is strong and tricky as hell, and most importantly he's accustomed to British football now. He's going to give Ogundere problems tonight if they leave him isolated:
🏴 Ogundere Booked @ 9/2 (Bet365) — 0.35u
↻ Voided — Ogundere didn't start either. New plays off the confirmed XI:
Follow @PlayrPropPerson for up-to-date lineup replacements.
🇬🇭 Yiadom Booked @ 9/4 (Bet365) — 0.65u
Up against Kevin as promised, and with no minutes under him yet this season.
🏴 Sessegnon Booked @ 4/1 (Bet365) — 0.35u
Barely any minutes this season, and a rough last year — 3 yellows and 2 reds in 11 matches (8 starts).

Remember to follow @PlayrPropPerson on Twitter for more picks and lineup-based updates — especially in cup matches, where I'm predicting starting lineups, so watch for voids and replacement bets.
Total staked: 5.75u (after voids). For The Love Of The Game.

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