⚽️ Premier League Considering Implementing a Salary Cap

Good morning. Growing up, we were admonished not to discuss money or politics with strangers. Those are fraught topics. Unfortunately, as the Premier League resumes following another dull international break, money and politics are the leading stories of the day.

The Schedule:

• Liverpool (H) vs. Everton (Saturday, 7:30 a.m., USA Network): Mohamed Salah (averaging more than a point per match) will look to lead the Reds to another Merseyside Derby W.

• Manchester City (H) vs. Brighton & Hove Albion (Saturday, 10:00 a.m., USA Network): City have lost two in a row in the Prem and three of their last four in all competitions. The Seagulls are not exactly a slump-buster.

• Bournemouth (H) vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers (Saturday, 10:00 a.m., Peacock): Bournemouth have been an unpleasant surprise so far, sitting 19th in the table behind the likes of Burnley and Luton Town.

• Brentford (H) vs. Burnley (Saturday, 10:00 a.m., Peacock): Fifteenth in the table vs. eighteenth in the table. Something has to give! Actually, they’ll probably play to a scoreless draw.

• Newcastle United (H) vs. Crystal Palace (Saturday, 10:00 a.m., Peacock): The Magpies are eighth in the league despite having the highest goals scored total and being tied for the best goal differential in the league. Why? Because they scored eight against Sheffield United.

• Nottingham Forest (H) vs. Luton Town (Saturday, 10:00 a.m., Peacock): This is basically a “friends and family” match, i.e., only friends and family of the players will be watching this.

• Chelsea (H) vs. Arsenal (Saturday, 12:30 p.m., NBC): This already historically significant derby is spiced up by Arsenal’s recent ascent to the top of the table.

• Sheffield United (H) vs. Manchester United (Saturday, 3:00 p.m., Peacock): This match was moved forward a day to account for Manchester United’s Tuesday Champions League group stage match.

• Aston Villa (H) vs. West Ham United (Sunday, 11:30 a.m., USA Network): We only get one match on Sunday, but with both teams currently vying for the European places, it should be a good one.

• Tottenham Hotspur (H) vs. Fulham (Monday, 3:00 p.m., USA Network): Spurs get to watch the rest of the weekend play out before taking the pitch Monday with the hopes of staying on top of the league.

In the email today:

It’s funny. When Manchester United and Liverpool ruled the First Division and later the Premier League, everybody seemed comfortable with their dominance. Once the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City got too good, though, suddenly the pearls got clutched. The Premier League cannot make the rich clubs poorer, but maybe they can force them to spend less.

• The Premier League is considering implementing a cap on a club's wage bill to ensure competitive balance in the top-flight football competition.

• Crystal Palace chairman, Steve Parish, discussed this potential measure at the Leaders Week conference at Twickenham.

• The league is exploring various methods to maintain competitive balance, including the concept of anchoring, which involves limiting the richest club's wage bills based on a multiple of the television revenue earned by the lowest-earning club.

• There is a suggestion of a more rigid approach with a hard cap at the top, which wouldn't factor in a club's turnover or the sources of that turnover.

• The ultimate goal is to benefit not only the Premier League clubs but also the entire football pyramid, enabling fair competition and the improvement of other clubs' ability to challenge the top teams.

Our take: Picture Will Ferrell as Ron Burgundy: “I don’t believe you.” Every so often, one of the league owners or ownership groups (always mid-table or lower) whinges about competitive imbalance. Everyone says the right things about wanting the league to come something closer to parity, and then, like the weather, no one actually does anything about it. Moving on.

2) 🇮🇱 Premier League Hopes to Quell Possible Discord with Ban of Israeli, Palestinian Flags at Stadiums

With each passing day, you get the feeling that anyone waiting for anything resembling good news out of the Israel-Hamas war is going to be waiting a really long time. As the rest of the world watches in horror and with great sadness, the question of how to respectfully observe the events and not somehow make things worse leads to decisions like the Premier League just made.

• The Premier League and the English Football League (EFL) have banned the display of Israeli or Palestinian flags at matches this weekend to prevent potential incidents related to the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group.

• This decision came shortly after the English FA banned these flags from being shown at Wembley during England's match against Italy.

• Instead of flags, players, staff, and officials will wear black armbands, and a moment of silence will be observed at every stadium to honor the victims of the conflict.

• The ban was made after consultations with security officials and clubs, and it means that fans will not be allowed to bring Israeli or Palestinian flags into the stadiums for games.

• The EFL, which oversees the Championship, League One, and League Two, has also adopted this ban.

Our take: This is the correct decision, and really, it’s the only decision. The ban is putatively only for this week, but don’t believe that, either. As long as the Israel-Hamas war continues, this ban is almost certain to remain in effect.

3) ❌ Tweet of the Day: Sheffield United’s Long Wait

4) 🗳️ Poll: Which of the Weekend’s Matches Are You Most Likely to Watch?

Have additional thoughts? Reply directly to this email to comment, and see if we include your response tomorrow.

5) 🚑 Injuries of Note

All percentages on likelihood of playing from the EPL’s fantasy site.

• Andy Robertson, Liverpool: Shoulder injury, out indefinitely.

• Ben Chilwell, Chelsea: Hamstring injury, out indefinitely.

• Pervis Estupinan, Brighton & Hove Albion: Muscle injury, may return November 4.

• Leandro Trossard, Arsenal: Hamstring injury, 75% chance to play.

• Harvey Barnes, Newcastle: Toe injury, may return December 30.

• Alexander Isak, Newcastle: Groin injury, 75% chance of playing.

• Cody Gakpo, Liverpool: Knee injury, 50% chance of playing.

• Nicolas Jackson, Chelsea: Wrist injury, 75% chance of playing.

6) 🎰 Betting Lines and Picks

• Liverpool over Everton AND Mo Salah to score (+100): Liverpool is -295 to win this match, so basically you’re bringing them down to even money by banking on Salah to get one of their goals.

• Manchester City over Brighton & Hove Albion AND Erling Haaland to score (-135): You may be sensing a theme here. Incidentally, this bet was better than even money most of last year, and bettors cleaned up, which is why it’s so expensive to bet it now. We’re still grabbing it.

• Arsenal (+125) over Chelsea: Chelsea’s three league wins are against Luton Town, Fulham and Burnley. The Blues are not equipped to deal with a team at the top of the table.

• Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) any time goal scorer vs. West Ham (+110): We believe in Ollie, who has been on a tear lately and scored during the international break as well.

The newsletter today was written by Phil Keidel. Follow Phil on X @philkeidel.

Thanks for reading!