Neel Shelat

Preview: Spurs and Chelsea meet in London Derby Bitter London rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea meet in this weekend’s headline Premier League fixture, with three points and six places between them.

Tottenham and Chelsea's London derby headlines this weekend's Premier League action. Match preview for FotMob:

www.fotmob.com/topnews/2370...

WAFCON 2026 qualifiers: Cameroon miss out again, South Africa battle through Newcomers Cape Verde and Malawi join familiar faces among 12 teams competing at next year's tournament in Morocco

WAFCON qualifiers were the highlight of this international break, and they did not disappoint. Roundup for The Cutback:

open.substack.com/pub/thecutba...

Quite a day of WAFCON qualifiers as the second legs of the final round are almost all done. So far:

- 🇨🇲 3x runners-up Cameroon missed out again
- 🇿🇦 2024 champs South Africa needed a stoppage-time winner to beat DR Congo
- 🇲🇼 Malawi have sealed their debut

Market Analysis: Norway’s Youthful Toppserien - Analytics FC Neel Shelat looks at Norway's Toppserien, a market with real importance for elite-level recruitment and the promise of its youth development

🌍 Market Analysis – Norway’s Toppserien

@shelatneel.bsky.social looks at one of Europe’s more youthful elite women’s leagues and showcases some of the exceptional talent to be found there

analyticsfc.co.uk/blog/2025/10...

You may not like Arsenal, but this is what peak performance looks like Arsenal are now four points clear at the top of the Premier League and certainly look like the best team in the division.

Looked at some numbers to not merely board but absolutely get on top of the Arsenal hypetrain Mumbai local style. For @thetransferflow.bsky.social:

www.thetransferflow.com/p/you-may-no...

Market Analysis: Norway’s Youthful Toppserien - Analytics FC Neel Shelat looks at Norway's Toppserien, a market with real importance for elite-level recruitment and the promise of its youth development

The average age (weighted by minutes played) of Toppserien has hovered around the 23-year-old mark season after season. Naturally, then, it is a great hub for young talent development, as I explored for @analyticsfc.bsky.social:

analyticsfc.co.uk/blog/2025/10...

Preview: Table-toppers Real Madrid and Barcelona meet for the season’s first Clásico The newest chapter of the storied rivalry between Spain’s two most successful clubs is set to be written at the Santiago Bernabéu on Sunday.

El Clásico is the big one this weekend, and it kicks off in under an hour! Quick match preview for @fotmob.com:

www.fotmob.com/en-GB/topnew...

The amount of distance Michael Kayode gets on his long throws without needing to loop them too much is just insane. #BRELIV

#Footy-Live

The Transfer Flow | Patreon

Exciting times @thetransferflow.bsky.social as we've launched a Patreon! Sign up to get at least one bonus episode every week plus other goodies (and support our work):

www.patreon.com/cw/TheTransf...

Out now: World Soccer November 2025 - World Soccer In this issue It has long been my suspicion that young footballers are better now than they’ve ever been. So many of the high-profile teenagers that have burst onto the scene over the last decade or s...

Another excellent issue of @worldsoccermag.bsky.social is out now, featuring truckloads of interesting stories including an on-ground report from Morocco when I visited earlier this year:

www.worldsoccer.com/latest-issue...

YouTube video by The Transfer Flow Is This Liverpool's Best Lineup? + Why Real Madrid Will BEAT Barcelona | Ep. 134

New podcast! @PatrickBVS and @ShelatNeel break down the latest Champions League chaos:

• Arsenal destroy Atletico Madrid
• Liverpool experiment their way past Frankfurt
• El Clásico preview

Plus a sneak peek at what’s coming on Patreon!

youtu.be/rWe_jHv7A0c

- 🇳🇱 Go Ahead Eagles beat Villa
- 🇨🇿 Viktoria Plzeň win in Rome
- 🇨🇾 AEK Larnaca beat Palace away
- 🇬🇮 LINCOLN RED IMPS WIN IN EUROPE!!!

How can anyone say Thursday isn't the best day of the week

#ALGCMR is the standout tie of the WAFCON qualifiers, and what an interesting first leg it's produced. A red card and two direct FKs left Cameroon in a very bad position at half-time, but they've been pretty competitive with 10 in the second period and have now scored a penalty. 2-1!

#Footy-Live

YouTube video by The Transfer Flow Is This Liverpool's Best Lineup? + Why Real Madrid Will BEAT Barcelona | Ep. 134

Back on @thetransferflow.bsky.social podcast to talk through this week's Champions League action and a few interesting storylines to follow going forward:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWe_...

Breaking -

Barcelona-Villarreal in Miami is off for now.

Official statement: “Relevent has informed LALIGA of the need to postpone the planned match ... Given the current uncertainty in Spain, there is insufficient time to properly execute an event of this scale."

Phil Foden is getting back to his best in a new role for Manchester City He might not be scoring, but he's making things work in midfield.

Phil Foden endured his worst club season in 2024/25 since he became a regular first-teamer for Manchester City. His numbers look even worse so far this term, but they do not necessarily reflect his performances as I explored for @thetransferflow.bsky.social:

www.thetransferflow.com/p/phil-foden...

What an incredible story! Mjällby have done it, the minnows are champions of Sweden!

Mjallby: The Swedish minnows on the verge of a league title Based in a tiny fishing village in the very south of Sweden, Mjällby AIF were in the second tier as recently as 2019. Today, they are preparing to make their European debut next season and are just on...

Today could well be the day! Mjällby AIF are on the verge of lifting their first-ever major trophy at the end of an incredible Allsvenskan campaign, and a win away in Göteborg tonight will seal the deal. Here's their story for @fotmob.com:

www.fotmob.com/en-GB/topnew...

Corinthians Add Another Copa Libertadores Femenina Title To Their Cabinet Corinthians defeated Deportivo Cali on penalties in the Copa Libertadores final after a goalless draw in 90 minutes.

Corinthians continue to dominate in South American women's football with a third consecutive Copa Libertadores title. Report on their latest exploits for Forbes Sports:

www.forbes.com/sites/neelsh...

Preview: Arsenal head down to Craven Cottage to face Fulham The first Saturday evening Premier League fixture after the October international break sees league leaders Arsenal visit local rivals Fulham.

Arsenal return after the international break with a visit to Fulham in just over an hour and a half. Match preview for @fotmob.com:

www.fotmob.com/en-GB/topnew...

Now up to 10

By my count that's now nine set piece goals conceded by Nottingham Forest in eight matches under Ange Postecoglu so far. #NFOCHE

#EPL-Live

Inaugural UEFA Women’s Europa Cup Set For Kickoff After Knockout Draw The stage is set for the first-ever women’s second-tier continental competition in Europe.

The inaugural edition of the UEFA Women's Europa Cup is all set for kick-off next month. Here's a roundup of the draw and most interesting match-ups for Forbes Sports:

www.forbes.com/sites/neelsh...

A shame about that (well-worked) set piece routine from Arsenal because otherwise there was a good chance they'd have seen out a one-goal win without a single shot on target. #BENARS

#Footy-Live

Well well well, we have a game yet. Qatar got a red card in the 87th minute, and UAE have not halved the deficit halfway through the 15 minutes of stoppage-time. All to play for!

UAE have barely built any pressure since going behind, and they're now two down. Another Afif free kick delivery, another defender's header, and Qatar could well qualify for the World Cup for the first time in their history.

Haha I'm afraid you'll be waiting for a while

About right because Uganda would've needed to score 5 in stoppage-time against Algeria in order to deny them. Their loss is confirmed now, so Nigeria are through to the playoffs

Qatar open the scoring with a set piece right after half-time!

It was an incredibly tense first half, and I expect it'll remain similar now because just one goal for the UAE will change everything as things stands. #QATUAE

South Africa are through to the World Cup!

Nigeria have scored a crucial fourth in the 90th minute against Benin to jump up to 3rd place in the runners-up table for the time being. They still aren't assured of a playoff spot, but Burkina Faso are now at risk of being bumped first.