Premier League

Bad news first: the FA Cup fourth round will probably be a snoozer. None of the major clubs will play each other, with the best possible game being Arsenal vs. (potentially) a much more boring than usual Southampton team. Yeesh.

The good news: a couple of upsets could turn the whole thing on its head. Say Norwich City get by Southampton and then upset Arsenal, or Wycombe Wanderers beat Tottenham, or Brentford beat Chelsea, or Crystal Palace or Bolton take down Manchester City, or Wigan knock out current FA Cup champs Manchester United? That would be fun, right? RIGHT?

Claudio Ranieri, Leicerster City's twinkly-eyed Italian grandfather, er, manager, has been named the 2016 World Manager of the Year by FIFA. After leading the Foxes to the Premier League title, overcoming 5,000-1 odds, we'd have a hard time seeing anyone else getting the award.

Ranieri's 2016-17 Premier League season hasn't been as successful, with Leicester City mired in 15th, six points above the relegation zone. They are, however, in the Champions League knockout stage, where they have a good chance to advance past Sevilla to the quarterfinals.

It’s been a rough six months for Italian international Simone Zaza. His infamous penalty miss against Germany at Euro 2016, when he approached the ball like a duck at a discotech, has become a burden that he says he’ll carry forever. 

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It’s shaping up to be one helluva second half to the Premier League season, and we have the month of December to thank for that. Chelsea strode to the top of the table, but Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester City are all keeping the pressure on. Behind the top four, Arsenal and Manchester United are within touching distance.

At the bottom, Hull City, Swansea and Sunderland occupy the relegation spots, but Crystal Palace, Middlesbrough and even Leicester City will be sweating over their upcoming fixtures.

Mike Dean’s track record is unreal. He pioneered the Dirty South sound of the 90s while working with the Geto Boys, Nate Dogg, Tech N9ne and UGK. In recent times, he’s worked with Kanye West on all of his albums, Jay-Z, Frank Ocean and Desiigner. He’s a living legend, but Mike Dean has received a ton of criticism lately after wrongly sending off Sofiane Feghouli in Monday’s match between Manchester United and West Ham.

Replacing a stadium that’s been around since 1898 was always going to be a difficult task for Tottenham’s ownership group, but ENIC International and chairman Daniel Levy appear to have gotten what is, for now, known as the Northumberland Development Project just right.

White Hart Lane, home to Tottenham Hotspur since 1899, was limited to a capacity of just over 36,000, and Spurs began exploring options for a new ground as far back as 2006.