Salutations.
Alright, the international break is over and we’re back into club footy. There are some #neat matchups to look forward to all weekend, and of course Sunday is the NWSL’s Decision Day. There’s a piece below breaking down what, whomst and when to watch. I also did some reflecting on a fairly weird return for the USWNT, but noticed a potential lesson or two (okay seven). Ok, onto the song, then the matches, then the stuff to read.
Song: ‘B.O.B.’ - Outkast (click header to listen) | Did some reminiscing about this song on Bluesky. It was an experience that feels prehistoric now, but it really is one of my most vivid memories, no song since has ever made me sit in silence, amazed. Some of that is a function of everything being immediately available all the time now, but a large portion is because it was revolutionary. It’s been 25 years and still sounds futuristic.
Let’s get it…
upcoming matches for your eyeballs…
London City’s early season gauntlet continues with Chelsea. There is a little reprieve as it’s an early game right after a busy international break, but rumor has it that one Naomi Girma should be available for her minutes of the season.
Manchester City should get to plump up their goal differential against West Ham, who sit bottom of the table with 17 goals conceded in six matches.
I’m still praying for a real title fight in the Frauen Bundesliga but Wolfsburg and Hoffenheim sit 2nd & 3rd on the table respectively, but now gotta scrap. Wolfsburg are already three points behind Bayern, and Hoffenheim are six away from the top. If Wolfsburg manage to be unserious, congratulations to Bayern Munich on winning the 25/26 Frauen Bundesliga title I guess.
Paris FC are three points behind Lyonnes and seem to deserve it. They’ve scored the second most goals in the league (behind Lyonnes), and are tied for the fewest goals allowed, 4 (also Lyonnes). But their xG for and against tells a wildly different story — they’ve allowed 1.16 non-penalty xG against per 90 (fifth worst in the league), and are producing 1.48 npxG/90 which is well below Lyonnes’ 2.62, but also below PSG, Lens and Fleury.
sunday, november 2
frauen bundesliga
hamburger sv v. eintracht frankfurt
9 a.m. | dazn
wsl
brighton v. manchester united
7 a.m. | espn+
leicester city v. arsenal
7 a.m. | espn+
spurs v. liverpool
7 a.m. | youtube
nwsl [decision day]
kansas city current v. san diego wavé
3 p.m. | espn, espn+
north carolina courage v. gotham fc
5:15 p.m. | espn, espn+
utah royals v. washington spirit
5:15 p.m. | nwsl+
orlando pride v. seattle reign
5:15 p.m. | nwsl+
rahsing louisville v. bay fc
5:15 p.m. | nwsl+
chicago tsars v. angel city
5:15 p.m. | nwsl+
portland thorns v. houston dash
5:15 p.m. | nwsl+
Y’all know what it is, #FreeFreigang(gang gang).
Brighton once again had me excited by their offseason recruitment and once again it’s only resulted in ultra meh performances. I expect Chelsea, Arsenal, City and Manchester United to be ahead of them, but Spurs and London City are too. They need a marquee dub in the worst way.
If you’re gonna wake up at 7am ET on a Sunday then you deserve goals, so watch Arsenal v. Leicester City.
I’m a Chelsea fan so you won’t often see me give Spurs credit but they were essentially on par with Liverpool when it came to their women’s team, and then decided to care about 5% more. It’s early, but at the moment they’re above Arsenal on the table while Liverpool are only saved from the bottom by West Ham being historic levels of poop.
It’s the NWSL’s Decision Day! Most maximum chaos scenarios evaded us but there’s still a lot to be decided. More on all that in a piece linked below.
Just about every Frauen Bundesliga season there’s a random squad that captures my heart and this season it might just be Union Berlin. They were just promoted to the top division but are hoopin with a very young and fun squad. Their 1.19 npxG/90 against isn’t stellar, but a respectable sixth in the league. While their 1.79 npxG is good enough for fifth, and only .02 behind Eintracht Frankfurt’s 1.81. The Yung Iron Ones might be legit.
things to read…
The final day of the NWSL regular season is back to simultaneous kickoffs (sorta) with a lot still to be decided. Some of the maximum chaos scenarios evaded us, but there’s still plenty to try and keep track of, so I put together this handy little guide.
The USWNT’s three match window was a lot more eventful than expected. They started their three-game jaunt around the U.S. by suffering a shock 1-2 loss to Portugal, of all teams. They rebounded to repay the result (plus a goal), and ended with a much more fun and familiar (if expected) 6-0 win over New Zealand.
A lot happened, and while it wasn’t assumed that these were the sorts of opponents a potential World Cup winner could learn a lot against, for reasons, more was learned than expected. Here are six.
more #content you might be into…
Your friendly neighborhood soccer nerds turned their nerd dials up to 100 to break down F1's new regulations for 2026. In this episode, Deepti & Donald joined me to chat about why F1 goes through the hassle of making sweeping changes to regulations, and why manufacturers seem ok with it all. Then we get into the upcoming engine changes.
farewell.
But first a word from cap.
from sarah gorden:
— andré, but scarier (@838carlisle.bsky.social) October 30, 2025 at 9:19 PM
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