The Double Pivot: Soccer Analysis, Analytics, And Commentary

Spurs exited Old Trafford with a resounding 3-0 victory, but the match wasn't all it seemed in the final score. Still, things are looking bleak for United, and somewhat promising for Spurs. The two Mikes walk through every facet of a very confusing but altogether seismic match. Then, they review what City's draw with Wolves means for their title defense, and just how bad Burnley might actually be. In part 2 of today's episode over on the Double Pivot Patreon page, the two Mikes review Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea's wins and size up what we truly know about each club at this point.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is this Guendouzi kid for real? What is this new role for Kante going to mean going forward? How does Ashley Barnes work and why does he keep scoring goals? What are xPoints and are they worth investing any time or effort into learning more about? It's the first (and free) part of this week's two-part podcast mailbag! Catch Part Two on the Double Pivot Patreon page.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An extremely real and cromulent cup final took place between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, and we got a glimpse of things to come. The two Mikes break down what the glimpse may have revealed, why it may not matter when sizing up Barcelona, and the weird numbers behind the more intriguing squads in Spain. Plus, a quick look at what we learned from City's 2-0 win over Arsenal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Deadline day is upon us and we have to preview so much! The Mikes blow through seven teams in this preview episode, discussing why they like Brighton's business so much, why they still can't believe in Burnley (mostly) and then on to Chelsea, who might be really, really frickin good, and who will be fun even if they aren't. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over on the premium side we did the second part of our four-part Premier League preview in which we covered three different London sides including the Gunners. There's even an unexpected podcast debut at the close, it's a big one. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We begin the two-week, four-part Premier League preview. This week the Mikes kick off with whether Huddersfield are getting relegated (probably), then on to whether Southampton and Newcastle will be fine again (maybe not!), some mild disagreement over whether Everton are good and then, this week's big club is... Liverpool. We'll get through all 20 teams before the season starts.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's not quite season preview time, but there's not much going on, so how about a two-part mailbag?! In Part 1, the two Mikes address a Grealish-Spurs marriage, the tough spots Martial and Alderweireld are in, West Ham's transfer spree, Gonzalo Higuaín and Mario Mandzukic — and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We had four games to talk about! The quarterfinals gave us an opportunity to talk about France's continuing good luck and amazing defense, how seriously we want to credit Roberto Martinez for his side's upset win over Brazil, and whether the football is coming home -- in this week's episode, brought to you by The Athletic Soccer. Double Pivot listeners users can go to theathletic.com/doublepivot to receive 40% off their first-year subscription. Check it out for even more great world soccer coverage.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

France might have the best player in the tournament, but the most shackled squad. Uruguay might not be the worse version of Argentina that Goodman thought they'd be. Belgium...well...you can't say that wasn't a wild way to finish a match (just ignore the first 70 minutes where everything was very bad). Then there's Brazil, a team that somehow is getting nitpicked despite looking very, very good. How they got here – and where they go from here – in this week's episode, brought to you by The Athletic Soccer. Double Pivot listeners users can go to theathletic.com/doublepivot to receive 40% off their first-year subscription. Check it out for even more great world soccer coverage.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over at the subscription side, we took questions, previewed the round of 16, and solved the tiebreaker question once and for all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who exactly is coaching Argentina? What's Brazil's best XI? Is it really worth being annoyed at France's approach? Is there cause for concern with Spain? Is Germany doomed? These questions and more answered by the two Mikes in an episode brought to you by The Athletic Soccer. Double Pivot listeners users can go to theathletic.com/doublepivot to receive 40% off their first-year subscription. Check it out for even more great world soccer coverage.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There has been so very much world cup. It has led to so very many takes. We go through our list of eight contenders to see who's up (England!) who's down (Germany!) and who's complicated (Brazil!). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you've got questions about the World Cup in Russia, you've come to the right place. As you scramble to fill out your bracket or fantasy team before the first match kicks off, the two Mikes have all the analysis and speculation you'll need to become an expert in roughly two hours. Who will win the golden boot? Which team is a quarterfinals — or even semifinals — sleeper? How bad will the opening match be? These questions and more answered in a two-part preview, brought to you by The Athletic Soccer. Double Pivot listeners users can go to theathletic.com/doublepivot to receive 40% off their first-year subscription. Check it out for even more great world soccer coverage.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We had so much fun doing a fantasy draft with the guys from the Total Soccer Show, we did a whole show about it.https://theathletic.com/382939/2018/06/07/the-athletics-world-cup-absentees-rejects-reallocation-draft/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We were gonna just tease the premium podcast and then we realized, there's so much world cup! Gotta pod!France, England, Belgium, Colombia. Let's go.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the news breaks, the Double Pivot is here for you, going deep into the stories that matter in your life.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Champions League final looks like it's going to be fun, and so we spent a whole episode talking about what we think is gonna happen. Go to patreon.com/doublepivot to unlock the whole episode.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The two Mikes quickly revisit the two very boring cup finals before diving into the chaos that was Inter vs. Lazio. Then, they look at the managerial appointments at Arsenal, Dortmund, West Ham and PSG. Just not necessarily in that order.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We talked to Ted Knutsen of Statsbomb and this was a premium episode of deep nerdiness. They have a new soccer data project, and we got into a bunch of questions about soccer analytics.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What in the world is going on with Chelsea? Manchester United are probably going to dig in and go after this trophy, aren't they? Atletico is still really good, but can they stop the Payet and Thauvin show? The two Mikes tackle the big questions surrounding both cups, and even a few lurking on the periphery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices