Any Given Thursday

It was a compelling day of Europa and Conference League football, with 3 of the 4 home sides taking goal-advantages in the 1st leg of the semifinals. Braga strengthened their case as the UEL's team of destiny, delighting their fans with a stoppage-time winner over Freiburg, while Forest edged past Villa 1-0 thanks to Chris Wood penalty. In the UECL, Rayo Vallecano rode a confident 2nd-half display...

It was another scintillating showcase of Europa and Conference League football Thursday, with more goals abounding. The headline of the night is of course Braga's wild comeback in Seville, where they shocked Real Betis with four consecutive goals to advance. How has Braga become such a resilient group? And what went wrong for Betis? Nottingham Forest squeaked through Porto thanks to a very silly r...

We're back for the 1st legs of the Europa and Conference League quarterfinals and we got a jam-packed Thursday full of goals! We tackle all the best action from both competitions, from Forest's improbable draw in Porto to Freiburg's demolition of Celta Vigo, from Fiorentina's humiliation in South London to Shakhtar's shocking late rout of AZ Alkmaar. Plus we answer all of your most pressing questi...

We're back to talk Europa and Conference League quarterfinals! In honor of 8 terrific ties kicking off this week, we're breaking down keys to victory for each side heading into Thursday. What does Nottingham Forest need to combat Porto's stellar defensive record and get on the scoresheet? How will Bologna manage Unai Emergy's tactical mastery of the UEL? Can Strasbourg overcome their injury crisis...

We are BACK! A DR vacation is nice, but it's nothing compared to Europa and Conference League 2nd legs. That's right, we're here to talk all of Thursday's best action beginning with Bologna's surprise triumph in Roma in extra time and Nottingham Forest's comeback quest in Midtjylland (including some unfortunate penalties). We also have lots of praise for the UEL's Spanish offerings in Betis and Ce...

The Playoff Knockout Round is behind us, and we're here to break it all down. It was a day in which favorites prevailed, though not without strife. Fiorentina did a Fiorentina and survived by the skin of their teeth, while Nottingham Forest performed a decent impression for 50 minutes. Elsewhere, Celta Vigo and Stuttgart stake their claim as major players in deciding the Europa League crown, Lille...

We got our first taste of Europa and Conference League knockouts in 2026 and we're here to break down all the action. Nottingham Forest won the day with a dominant display in Istanbul in Vitor Pereira's first match in charge, re-staking their claim as a tournament favorite. Stuttgart, Celta, and Bologna also came through with big road wins to take control of their ties, and we take stock of each's...

An extra special day on the pod – our friend Jacob Hill returns for a new episode of our special edition series, Any Given Redraft! And we've got a doozy this time: the 2023 NBA Draft, inarguably one of the worst in league history. It's the year Anthony Bennet went number one, the year only one All Star was picked in the lottery, the year the Bucks drafted one of the greatest players of all time j...

The Europa League league phase's final match-day as come and gone, and the knockouts are finally set! We take you through the play-by-play of how all the drama unfolded, including how Lyon and Aston Villa claimed top seeding in the knockouts, how Roma secured the final bye to the Round of 16 despite an early red card in Athens, and Brann clung to the final knockout spot thanks to Young Boys' conce...

The Europa League is finally back, and we're covering all of the best Match-Day 7 action! Big boys fell across the continent Thursday, including Roma and Celta Vigo besting Stuttgart and Lille, and Nottingham Forest and Real Betis putting up stinkers on the road. Elsewhere, Lyon and Villa become the first clubs to seal top 8 and qualify for the Round of 16, Celtic embarks on their second resurgenc...

We're back from winter holidays to talk about the wild coaching carousel January has brought us – particularly in the UK. Our main story is Chelsea, who parted with Enzo Maresca and replaced him with Strasbourg's Liam Rosenior. But was he ever really Strasbourg's? We discuss Chelsea's treatment of the proud French club as a minor league feeder team and why UEFA refuses to enforce its own rules. We...

The Conference League league phase concluded with a bang Thursday night, and we're breaking down every game! Universitatea Craiova was the day's top story for all the wrong reasons. We discuss the series of unfortunate events that led to their heartbreaking elimination, including the Romanians blowing a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 in Athens, a stoppage time Zrinjski Mostar equalizer, a late Sigma goal, a...

We're back to break down all the action from last Thursday's Europa & Conference League bonanza. We start in Bulgaria and Romania, where Ludogorets and FCSB played host to two extraordinarily entertaining goal fests, with the former taking down struggling Feyenoord. We also take a stop in Greece to discuss why AEK Athens is in such good form and why they have a real shot at challenging for the...

Our Club Spotlight series returns to bring you a very non-controversial topic! That's right, we're covering Hungary's own Ferencvaros, the most decorated club from the proud footballing nation — and often its most contentious. Real-life history major David Blomquist takes us back to the club's founding through its dense history to find out how it became the domestic powerhouse we know today, and a...

We're thankful this week for a full Thanksgiving slate of Europa and Conference League action that delivered some of the best games and storylines of the league phase thus far. In Europa, Ludogorets shocked Celta Vigo with a 3-2 in Bulgaria. How'd they pull one of the biggest surprises of the tournament thus far? We then break down the struggle of Feyenoord, Utrecht, and Go Ahead Eagles, who all l...

We're back to hit on a number of topics as we return to European football this week! First, we dive into UEFA's new European tournament, the Women's Europa Cup, as it reaches the quarterfinal stage of its inaugural season. We discuss how it could benefit the European women's game long term, why the qualifying process is so damn complicated, and who advanced out of the Round of 16 (hello Scandinavi...

Forgive the tardiness on the release, but we're here to talk halfway point of the Europa & Conference League league phases! The Europa League gave us quests for perfection and imperfection alike. The French, Scots, and Dutch had nightmare days, losing all over the continent and missing out on precious points. We spend more time on Nice's unbelievable winless run in the tournament — with plenty...

It was a vintage Thursday night across Europe, in which big-league clubs dropped like flies, and underdogs had some exceptional performances. We start out examining the big upsets, including PAOK's instant-classic thriller in Lille, Go Ahead Eagles' historic win over Villa, and AEK Larnaca pulling a shock in South London. We also debate the day's many controversial VAR moments, which favored Fener...

With another international window in the books, it's time to dive back into AGT Thursdays! We start with Nottingham Forest, who actually did the thing and sacked Ange Postecoglou, making his stint in charge the second-shortest in league history. We argue why this falls mostly on then shoulders of Marinakis rather than his Greek compatriot and wonder where the club goes from here. Elsewhere in the...

So — we weren't able to record an episode for MD 1 of the Conference League last week, but we've got the next best thing! We've picked a few UECL teams to zero in on, all of which got big wins in this early stage of the league phase, including Lech Poznan , Shakhtar Donetsk , and AEK Larnaca . But the main story is Slovenia's NK Celje , who keep defying expectations and dominating European opponen...

It's all happening as we hit the one-quarter mark of the Europa League league phase. Forest are hurdling towards a cliff in 6 winless games under Ange Postecoglou — are they fully in crisis? Rangers certainly are, with yet another loss added to Russell Martin's brief tenure. Elsewhere, Roma and Stuttgart are both shut out, and Celta Vigo finally get their first win of the season, and Porto remains...

Join us in reliving all the tremendous action of the Europa League league phase, match-day 1! We had a thriller in Betis v Forest, Villa finally eked out a win, Roma looks like the favorite, and are we sleeping on Stuttgart? Plus, Panathinaikos makes a statement, Braga takes all 3 points against pod-favorite Feyenoord, and Rangers are still utterly calamitous. We also take a brief detour down Tann...

It's a big week on Any Given Thursday because the Europa League proper is officially here! That's right, the first round of league phase games begin Wednesday, and it is one of the best slates we've ever had covering the tournament. We hit all the best matchups, including Betis v Forest, Nice v Roma, + Midtjylland v Sturm Graz on Wednesday, and Stuttgart v Celta Vigo + Aston Villa v Bologna Thursd...

We're back with the Conference League league phase preview bonanza! We begin with who received the toughest draws (Aberdeen), which of the big boys could have the most trouble with the 6-game fall slate (Mainz), and who we think will coast through to a top 8 seed (Rayo). We discuss the tournament favorites in detail, including whether Palace has enough to challenge Fiorentina for the title, or whe...

We're back to do what we do best: PREVIEWS! That's right, it's the 2025-26 Europa League league phase preview bonanza. We open by talking about the draws, including Celtic and the Dutch sides getting very difficult paths, then move on to discussing the favorites to win the competition (Roma, Villa, Forest, Lyon) and whether we agree with the odds makers. We also tackle which teams with long shot o...