Author: Joe Soriano

Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling.

Premier League Power Rankings: The 6 most important midfield anchors in 2025/26
7Sep By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

Premier League Power Rankings: The 6 most important midfield anchors in 2025/26

Although most of the attention in world football goes to the goal-scorers and the playmakers who grace the highlight reels and pile up the counting statistics, more appreciation has been given to defensive midfielders in recent years. Players like Aurelien Tchouameni and Declan Rice are going for massive transfer fees, others like Rodri and Ryan Gravenberch are winning or have been in contention for prestigious awards, and even fantasy football has increased the attention on and appreciation for the humble No. 6. These players are often vital to the success of their teams, and there's a reason why all the Big Six clubs in the Premier League have been pushing so hard for top defensive midfield talent. Here are the six most important midfield anchors to their respective Premier Leag...
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Premier League Power Rankings: The top 5 GKs to start the 2025/26 season
6Sep By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

Premier League Power Rankings: The top 5 GKs to start the 2025/26 season

A month of Premier League action has come and gone, so now it is time to take stock of the 2025/26 season through the first three matches and hand out some honors to players who are starting the season very brightly. Goalkeepers are easy to overlook, but the Premier League is chock full of top shot-stoppers right now, including quite a few new faces in new places. With three Matchdays in the books, let's rank the top five goalkeepers to start the season, basing it solely on their performances in the current campaign. 5. James Trafford, Manchester City James Trafford won't be starting in goal for Manchester City for long after the addition of Champions League winner Gianluigi Donnarumma from PSG, as the Italian international is regarded as one of the top three players in the world in h...
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2026 World Cup Predictions: An early ranking of the top 5 projected Golden Boot winners
6Sep By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

2026 World Cup Predictions: An early ranking of the top 5 projected Golden Boot winners

Since the 2026 World Cup qualifying matches are ongoing and it is now less than a full calendar year before the World Cup in North America begins, it's more than fair game to start an early preview of what we can expect at next year's World Cup tournament. There are few players who make more headlines on the international stage than the superstars scoring the goals, so from regulars at the top of the scoring charts to new stars around world football, let's take a look at an early projection of the top five Golden Boot candidates at the next World Cup. 5. Brazil RW Estevao Willian Estevao Willian has been scoring wondergoals for years, even though he's still just 18 years of age, and the new Chelsea arrival has been arguably even better than advertised - and Chelsea fans were already h...
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World Cup 2026 Predictions: 5 European giants at most risk of flopping
5Sep By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

World Cup 2026 Predictions: 5 European giants at most risk of flopping

The 2026 World Cup qualifying matches are in full swing here in September with the 2025/26 league seasons already all under way, and while the "international break" is usually a time when most football fans take a break of their own, these national team fixtures with World Cup stakes on the line have piqued everybody's interest. And if fans weren't already keeping one eye peeled on the international fixtures with the World Cup in North America less than a full calendar year away, perhaps watching perennial disappointments Germany get upended 2-0 by Slovakia turned heads and served as a call for fans to take notice of what's happening in the qualifying rounds. In the spirit of Germany's dreadful defeat to the underdogs, let's look at five national teams that could flop at the 2026 Wor...
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Premier League Predictions: Every Big Six club’s biggest problem in 2025/26
5Sep By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

Premier League Predictions: Every Big Six club’s biggest problem in 2025/26

With the first month of the 2025/26 Premier League season in the books, the big clubs in the English top flight are figuring out how their new-look squads are taking shape, especially after finalizing deadline day transfers on Sept. 1. Over the international break, managers around the Premier League will be busy tweaking their tactics in response to what they saw over the first three matchdays of the campaign Here is the biggest problem every Big Six club in the Premier League needs to address during the 2025/26 season, based on a combination of preconceived notions before the campaign began and what transpired across the first three fixtures. Manchester United Ruben Amorim's rigid marriage to his 3-4-3 system has been well-documented, though the Portuguese manager has shown signs ...
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Premier League Power Rankings: The 5 best players to start the 2025/26 season
4Sep By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

Premier League Power Rankings: The 5 best players to start the 2025/26 season

The first month of the 2025/26 Premier League season is in the books, and although there's been only 3 matches played by every team as we sit in the September international break, that's enough time to give a nod to the players who have started the season on a hot streak. Whether it's long-time stars of the Premier League, new transfers making an immediate impact, or underrated players just waiting to get their due, there's been no shortage of standout performances to start the campaign. In fact, it was awfully tough leaving out players like Cody Gakpo, Trevoh Chalobah, Jurrien Timber, Antoine Semenyo, Mohammed Kudus, and more footballers who have started the 2025/26 Premier League season on a torrid pace. But here are the top five. 5. Liverpool CB Virgil van Dijk In case anyone ha...
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Premier League Power Rankings: The 10 best strikers for the 2025/26 season
4Sep By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

Premier League Power Rankings: The 10 best strikers for the 2025/26 season

Now that the summer 2025 transfer window has come to a close, every Premier League club knows who their starting striker is, and there has been a huge influx of talent into the league's top teams at the striker position. That isn't surprising, and it is a response to virtually all the top teams in England having a major need up top, with fans lamenting the comparative lack of striker quality in the Premier League - and world football as a whole - since the 2000s. How do the new faces stack up against the established starters in the Premier League? Who gets snubbed? Which newcomers still have a point to prove before they can be ranked highly? Here are the top 10 strikers in the Premier League for the 2025/26 season as we come out of a very busy summer transfer market. 10. Liam Del...
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Champions League Predictions: 5 clubs at greatest risk of facing complete turmoil in 2025/26 season
3Sep By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

Champions League Predictions: 5 clubs at greatest risk of facing complete turmoil in 2025/26 season

The 2025/26 Champions League campaign will officially begin in a matter of weeks with the league phase, as the summer 2025 transfer window has been wrapped up and sealed with a bow. Most of the big players in the Champions League, like Liverpool and Real Madrid, were also major buyers on the transfer market, as superstars like Alexander Isak and Trent Alexander-Arnold moved around this summer window. The Premier League's Big Six, in particular, were big spenders, proving the notion that the Super League is really just the biggest clubs in the Premier League isn't just a prognostication for the future; it's already rapidly happening in front of us. But as teams head into the 2025/26 season with boatloads of optimism, there is reason for trepidation among some of European football's...
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Grading the 10 most expensive Premier League transfers of the summer 2025 window
2Sep By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

Grading the 10 most expensive Premier League transfers of the summer 2025 window

The 2025 summer transfer window officially came and went, and the Premier League bossed every other league in European football with numerous record deals and blockbuster transfers, proving that there is indeed a growing gulf between the English top flight and all other leagues. All the spending and blockbuster transfers promise to make an already highly competitive Premier League even more intriguing in the 2025/26 season, and now that the dust has finally settled, it's time to grade all of the biggest transfers of the window. All prices are provided in euros and courtesy of Transfermarkt so that the ranking and comparison of fees can be consistent. 10. Viktor Gyokeres to Arsenal, 65.8M Arsenal had to snag a new striker this summer transfer window by any means necessary, and while...
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Premier League Power Rankings: Predicting the Top 5 after Transfer Deadline Day 2025
1Sep By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

Premier League Power Rankings: Predicting the Top 5 after Transfer Deadline Day 2025

The 2025 summer transfer window is now officially done and dusted, and there weren't all that many major deals made on deadline day in the Premier League - and two of them were already expected. After signing Alexander Isak from Newcastle the day before deadline day, Liverpool sealed their other expected dream signing, bagging superstar center back Marc Guehi from FA Cup winners Crystal Palace to become not just the Premier League title favorites but also Champions League title favorites. Meanwhile, Chelsea sealed the transfer of Nicolas Jackson to Bayern Munich after recalling Marc Guiu from his loan at Sunderland to replace him, while London rivals Tottenham added depth at the striker position with the loan acquisition of PSG's Randal Kolo Muani. And finally, Manchester City wra...
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