BIG FOOTBALL

Author: Zach

  • Best Bets for FC26 eSports Week 9 on 1V1Me: Match Analysis

    Best Bets for FC26 eSports Week 9 on 1V1Me: Match Analysis

    A preview of the Season 4 – Week 9 slate for the current FC26 eSports season happening on Twitch and 1V1Me and the best bets and clubs to back today. Games start at 9:00 AM Eastern Standard Time.


    Bhughesyy #17 vs branladfifa #19

    Bhughesyy is favored over branladfifa in the first matchup of the day. Both players have been shaky this season. Bhughesyy, currently sitting #17 in the standings, hasn’t been very consistent and has failed to string any back-to-back wins together — this coincidentally dates all the back to one of his previous matchups against branladfifa on January 26th following a decisive victory over Salman_Ahmad19 the day before. 

    Bhughesyy holds a 10-23 record while posting 3.1 Goals Per Match and 4.9 Goals Against Per Match this season. branladfifa will be looking to rediscover his form against Bhughesyy after 5 straight losses. branlad sits in 19th place and sports a 6-24 record while posting 3.3 Goals Per Match and 5.1 Goals Against Per Match.

    Be careful with this one — while Bhughesyy is favored and has the edge in their head-to-head matchup (2-1), both players are solid despite their ranking in this tournament — branlad’s back is up against a wall and is desperate for a win. 

    With that said, I’m taking Bhughesyy to win the match. 


    MichaelFisherFC #3 vs LukeDowning #10

    The second matchup of the day should be a good one as we’ll be treated to MichaelFisherFC vs LukeDowning. The former has Downing beaten in every major statistical category — including a better Record, Goals Per Match, and Goals Against Per Match — except for arguably the most important one: head-to-head. Luke took down Michael 4-3 in extra time after being down 2-3 going into the second half the last time the two pros met on January 12th.

    Luke has failed to string any wins together lately and MichaelFisher will be out for vengeance — making it tempting to bet the bank on the latter — but one would only profit $1.91 on a $10 bet placed.

    Nonetheless, it will be a fun match to watch.


    OwenLarney #11 vs iijack17ii #18 

    In the third match we get OwenLarney vs iijack17ii — both players are coming off wins (Jack has won 2 straight) — and should be another entertaining game. Owen is 8 games below .500 while Jack is 17 below .500 — both are averaging 5 Goals Against Per Match and Jack has mustered just 2.9 goals per game.

    Despite the less than impressive stat lines, both players have their strengths. When Owen gets going he can be an offensive juggernaut and hang with most anyone as he proved in his last matchup, defeating Bhughesyy 9-3. And Jack is strong defensively and lately has been in some exciting, “low-scoring” matchups that have come down to the wire as he has either won with the final score of 4-3 or lost with the final score of 3-4 in each of his last 3 matchups. Before that, he was blown out by JPakeman 10-1.

    While Jack will be looking to even the head-to-head record — Owen has the slight edge in head-to-head against Jack, securing 5 victories to Jack’s 4 — Owen will be vying to crack the top-10 before facing JPakeman this coming Saturday and will take on barksyy7 on Sunday to wind down Week 9 of the season.

    From a confidence standpoint, this feels somewhat like a must-win for Owen. He’s been the better player overall this season, and while Jack could easily upset the Brentford FC Pro EAFC player, I’m going with Owen in this one. A $10 bet will payout $14.93.


    AlphaHouse88 #20 vs 1mpactz #6

    Since joining the tournament, AlphaHouse88 has just 1 win in 7 games and has lost by 2 or more goals in every defeat. His lone win was against the 16th ranked JPakeman.

    1mpactz is now 3 games above .500 after coming off a 1-5 loss to #9 ranked VBD.

    This will be the first matchup between AlphaHouse and 1mpactz so it will be interesting to see how the 2 players match up. 1mpactz has been better in every statistical category and has found a way to stay in the tournament since the start so I’m rolling with 1mpactz for this one. 

    Wrxth #14 vs iHasiin #12

    In the final matchup of the day we have iHasiin hosting Wrxth.

    While Wrxth hasn’t played even half the amount of games iHasiin has in this tournament, he’s in better form and should have a chip on his shoulder and be looking to even up the head-to-head matchup — iHasiin defeated Wrxth 5-3 the first time they faced one another.

    I’m looking forward to this one. This is a dice roll — but it’s tough to overlook the 13-28 record iHasiin has posted this season — so give me Wrxth.

    Good luck to all the pros today!

    If you made it this far, thank you for reading and consider sharing this article and following me on x.com where I will be posting more content like this!

  • FC 26 eSports Betting Guide: Tuesday Jan 20 Best Bets & Match Predictions

    FC 26 eSports Betting Guide: Tuesday Jan 20 Best Bets & Match Predictions

    A preview of the Season 4 – Week 4 slate for the current FC26 eSports season happening on Twitch and 1V1Me and the best bets and clubs to back today.

    Lyricz30 vs LukeDowning

    The first matchup in a five game slate on Tuesday we will be treated to Lyricz30 vs LukeDowning. This will be the first time the two pros have faced one another this season. Luke’s poor form continued yesterday in a 5-3 loss to barskyy7. Luke missed a penalty kick with around 10 minutes to seal the loss — his third in a row. Lyricz won his most recent game, defeating iijack17ii 7-3, and will look to extend his winning streak to 2 against a formidable opponent.

    Both players are one game above .500 and have posted the same goals against per match this tournament. I’m betting Luke returns to form and comes away with the victory in a close match.

    1mpactz vs MHaywxrd

    1mpactz has moved to 1st place after a decisive victory over CameronRock on Monday and will now set his sights on MHaywxrd who is currently on a three game win streak. Both players are quite evenly matched — this should be a very entertaining game and I will be watching at 9:25 am EST. Im staying away from predicting the outright winner for this one but will likely be live betting “next goal scorer” as I watch what should be a great game.

    OwenLarney vs EthxnH

    For the third matchup of the morning, OwenLarney and EthxnH will play. Kick off is at 9:50 am.

    Ethxn has the advantage head-to-head (1-0) against Owen and while the latter is currently riding a three game hot streak, Ethxn has a substantial edge on Owen in every statistical category. I’m betting Owen’s heater comes to an end and Ethxn wins in a close match.

    barksyy7 vs branladfifa

    In the penultimate match on Tuesday, the first matchup between barksyy7 and branladfifa will take place. This is an interesting matchup — neither player has a winning record this tournament nor do they have a better goals per game than 3.7 — but it’s a game that will be worth watching. barksyy7 has the momentum and is playing with confidence while branlad was beat 7-2 by Salman_Ahmad19 in his most recent match.

    This one is a coin flip to me and may stay away from an outright winner pre-game but, like the match before, live betting “next goal scorer” will be in play.

    osoflairy vs CameronRock

    In the fifth and final match of the day, osoflairy will take on CameronRock. Both players are in decent form and are five games above .500 but, as of late, have struggled to string any wins together as of late. osoflairy — currently sitting at 8th in the table   — is the slight favorite, surprisingly (I’m assuming this is due to his recent wins over Bhughesyy and Lyricz30, while CameronRock is looking for a bounce back win in the first matchup between the two pros.

    It could go either way but I’m going with Cameron both straight up and by 1.5 – 2 goals. 

    Good luck to all the pros today!

    If you made it this far, thank you for reading and consider sharing this article and following me on x.com where I will be posting more content like this!

  • FC 26 eSports Betting Guide: Monday Jan 19 Best Bets & Match Predictions

    FC 26 eSports Betting Guide: Monday Jan 19 Best Bets & Match Predictions

    A preview of the Season 4 – Week 4 slate for the current FC26 eSports tournament happening on Twitch and 1V1Me and the best bets and clubs to back today.

    barksyy7 vs LukeDowning

    Kicking off Monday morning’s slate of FC26 matches at 9:00 am EST we will be treated to barksyy7 vs LukeDowning. This will be the first competitive matchup between the two pros this season, and while neither have been in top form as of late — barksyy has failed to record a win in his last 3 matches and Luke has 2 wins in his last 5 — Luke holds the edge in every statistical category.

    In barksyy’s most recent game against MichaelFisherFC, the latter dismantled barksyy 7-1. Luke was defeated by OwenLarney 3-2. I’m taking Luke, but this one could go either way. 

    branladfifa vs Salman_Ahmad19

    The second game on the slate we’ll see branladfifa and Salman_Ahmad19 go toe-to-toe. Salman has the upper hand in the lone head-to-head matchup where he defeated branladfifa 5-4. Salman has the statistical edge on branladfifa as you can see below. 

    Both pros are in good form, with Salman winning 4 of his last 5 — he suffered a defeat in his last matchup by 4 goals against number 1 seed CameronRock. This one could be close as well, but I like Salman to win straight up. 

    1mpactz vs CameronRock

    At 9:50 am, top seed CameronRock (12-6) will face number 3 seed 1mpactz (12-10), in what is perhaps the most anticipated match of the day.

    Cameron will be going for his third win in a row this tournament while 1mpactz will be looking to get his first win against Cameron (0-3) in the middle of his current 2 game skid.

    Both pros are very good players and have very similar stats as of late — each are scoring 4.1 goals per match, yet, Cameron has the edge in goals against per match with 2.8 to 1mpactz 3.9, while 1mpactz has the slight advantage in shot on goal and goal percentage.

    I’m cautiously rolling with CameronRock.

    OwenLarney vs Bhughesyy

    The following match will feature the number 16 and 18 seeds in the tournament. Both Owen or Bhughesyy have recorded 12 losses given up more than 5 goals per match. Owen is on a 2 game win streak, recently beating both LukeDowning and MichelFisherFC, while Bhughesyy won a big upset in his last match, beating 1mpactz 5-4 with Barcelona; before this win, Bhughesyy had lost his last 7 matches.

    This will be the first competitive match between the two players this season and will be must watch streaming.

    You might as well flip a coin on this game, but I’m taking Owen due to his slight edge in both goals per match and goals against per match. But if Bhughesyy has truly found his form, an “upset” could be in store.

    iijack17ii vs EthxnH

    The final matchup of the day will be number 19 seed Jack going up against number 4 seed, EthxnH.

    The numbers and recent form do not look great for Jack as he sports a worse number in every statistical category than his upcoming opponent. But don’t count him out just yet, for just 4 matches ago he took down CameronRock 4-3. That’s why they play them — because you just never really know.

    With that being said, I’m taking EthxnH to win outright.

    Good luck to all the pros today!

    If you made it this far, thank you for reading and consider sharing this article and following me on x.com where I will be posting more content like this!

  • How to Create a Pitch with MPL Soccer

    How to Create a Pitch with MPL Soccer

    I’m currently delving into the world of soccer analytics. I’ve played with it before and have created a couple cool things in the past, including a Cole Palmer shot chart last season that you can see below.

    And in this post I want to show you how I create a soccer pitch when creating soccer visualizations. In your jupyter notebook, you can simply add the following code:

    from mplsoccer import Pitch
    pitch = Pitch(
  pitch_color='grass',
  line_color='white',
  stripe=True,
  linewidth=3
)

fig, ax = pitch.draw()

    But if you want to alter the dimensions to align with something like statsbomb you can do that.

    And if you want to show just half the pitch you can see how to do that below as well.

    pitch = Pitch(pitch_type='statsbomb', half=True)

fig, ax = pitch.draw()

    You can read MPL Soccer documentation by going to this link: https://mplsoccer.readthedocs.io/en/latest/