Author: Cody Aceveda

Cody Aceveda is a freelance writer based in Porto, Portugal. He has written for The Trivela Effect since February 2023. Cody is a fan of the Brighton, Portland Timbers, Portland Thorns, and Rayo Vallecano. He is also an experienced iGaming writer with over two years experience writing about sports betting and the sports betting industry for a variety of outlets.
Every Premier League Club’s Best Bargain Signing Of All-Time
All-Time Lists

Every Premier League Club’s Best Bargain Signing Of All-Time

The 2025 summer transfer window is fully underway. While everyone is focusing on the players with massive fees like Florian Wirtz and Martin Zubimendi to Arsenal, I wanted to focus on bargain signings and underrated players. It’s too early to say who will be the bargains of this transfer window, but there have been tons of great examples in recent history. Let’s dive into the best bargain signings in Premier League history for every club. Arsenal – Kolo Touré Of all the Premier League clubs on this list, Arsenal might be the hardest to choose a top bargain signing for. And it’s not because there aren’t a lot of options to choose from —it’s because there are so many. The Gunners bought exceptionally well during both George Graham and Arsene Wenger’s eras at the club. Pretty much every ...
Boavista: The Rise And Fall Of Portugal’s Last Champion Outside The Big Three
Analysis

Boavista: The Rise And Fall Of Portugal’s Last Champion Outside The Big Three

Boavista Futebol Clube, once crowned champions of Portugal, now teeter on the edge of extinction. Relegated from the Primeira Liga at the end of the 2024-25 season, the storied club faces an uncertain future marred by financial ruin, mismanagement, and scandal. From training without electricity to sabotaged transfer deals and unpaid wages, Boavista’s downfall is a case study in how bad ownership can destroy a historic institution. This is the tragic, cautionary tale of how one of Portugal’s oldest clubs fell from grace—and why its very survival now hangs in the balance. Boavista's Luck Has Finally Run Out The Panthers’ 4-1 loss to Arouca on the final day of the 2024-25 season confirmed their relegation from the Primeira Liga. Next year will be their first season playing outside of Port...
EPL Predictions: Tottenham take care of West Ham, Brighton threaten Newcastle, Liverpool dominate Chelsea
Analysis

EPL Predictions: Tottenham take care of West Ham, Brighton threaten Newcastle, Liverpool dominate Chelsea

Tottenham vs. West Ham Tottenham’s devastating 3-2 loss to Brighton was the worst result for any Premier League team on Matchday 7 before the international break. The North London club blew a 2-0 lead to the Seagulls in the second half.  Manager Ange Postecoglou looked despondent after the match, and stressed that what he saw from his side was unacceptable. Admittedly, it’s a bit silly to say, but I can’t see this Tottenham side losing again after such an embarrassing loss. I don’t think ‘Big Ange’ will let them. It’s not just that though.  Son Heung-min is back from injury. Having their club captain back makes Spurs a totally different team on both sides of the ball. Tottenham’s opponents are another reason I’m confident about the Lilywhites’ chances this weekend.  West Ham have...
Grading All Brighton’s 2024 Summer Transfers: Rutter dazzles, Yalcouye surprises
Analysis

Grading All Brighton’s 2024 Summer Transfers: Rutter dazzles, Yalcouye surprises

Brighton were one of the biggest spenders in all of world football this summer. The Seagulls spent nearly £200m on some of the most in demand players in Europe. Now that we’ve actually seen most of these players in action, let’s rank all of Brighton’s summer transfers. Georginio Rutter: A Fabian Hürzeler took his time bedding in Georginio Rutter after Brighton signed him for a club record fee of £40m from Leeds. It’s still early, but now that we’ve seen what the Frenchman can do, it’s looking like he's worth every penny. Rutter’s technical ability, work rate, versatility has been essential to making Brighton’s attack work while João Pedro has been injured. We saw all three aspects of his game on full display against Tottenham, where he scored a goal and later fought free from three Sp...
EPL Predictions: Aston Villa embarrass Man Utd, Chelsea on upset watch, Tottenham outclass Brighton
Analysis

EPL Predictions: Aston Villa embarrass Man Utd, Chelsea on upset watch, Tottenham outclass Brighton

Premier League Matchday 7 features a full slate of matches, including Aston Villa vs. Manchester United, Chelsea vs. Nottingham Forest, and Brighton vs. Tottenham. To help you get ready for all the action, here are our EPL predictions for these big matches. Aston Villa vs. Manchester United  After beating Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday, Aston Villa are flying. Unai Emery has brought the club to a level many Villa fans probably thought they would never see again.  Things couldn’t be more different at Manchester United. The Red Devils were embarrassed by Tottenham last week. They are in 13th place and have won just one of their last five Premier League matches.  Despite this poor run, Erik ten Hag told Sky Sports that there’s nothing to worry about at Man Utd. I c...
The 5 best Brighton players you need to know for the 2024/25 season
Analysis

The 5 best Brighton players you need to know for the 2024/25 season

After qualifying for the Europa League in the 2022/23 season, Brighton took a massive step back last season, finishing 11th in the league. The Seagulls have their eyes on qualifying for Europe again this season with new manager Fabian Hürzeler.  People have talked enough about Brighton’s 31-year-old manager; it’s time to look at the players who could take the club back to Europe this season. Here are the five Brighton players you need to know: RW Yankuba Minteh In typical Brighton fashion, the Seagulls may have pulled off the best signing of summer with their purchase of Yankuba Minteh from Newcastle for £30m.  The 20-year-old winger spent all of last season on loan with Arne Slot’s Feyenoord, where he had 10 goals and 5 assists in 27 league matches. He averaged 0.93 goal contribut...
Euro 2024 Team of the Tournament
Analysis

Euro 2024 Team of the Tournament

Spain capped off the Euro 2024 tournament with a 2-1 win over England on Sunday. La Roja became the first team to ever win four Euros, while England became the first team to lose back-to-back European Championships.  Now that it’s all over, let’s look at the best players from Euro 2024. Here is our Euro 2024 Team of the Tournament. Defense GK: Giorgi Mamardashvili (Georgia) As much as Georgia dazzled fans with their swashbuckling attacking play, their defense is why they made it to the Round of 16. Goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili had an unbelievable 30 saves in just four matches. This was almost twice as many as the next-best player, Jordan Pickford.  Mamardashvili also allowed more goals than any keeper at the tournament, but it could have been much, much worse for Georgia withou...
Ranking the 5 best France national team players at Euro 2024
Analysis

Ranking the 5 best France national team players at Euro 2024

England may be the favorites according to the Euro 2024 betting odds, but we all know France are the real main contenders. Les Bleus are two deep at almost every position.  That kind of depth plus genuine world class talent up front and a winning pedigree make France a team no one wants to play.  Here are the five best France national team players you should be watching at Euro 2024. 5. William Saliba Arsenal’s William Saliba was probably the best defender in Europe this season. The 23-year-old played every single minute for the Gunners in the Premier League this season.  He finished fifth in the league for touches and in the top ten for dribbler tackle percentage and pass completion percentage. Only three center backs in the Premier League completed more passes into the opposit...
Ranking the 5 best England players at Euro 2024
Analysis

Ranking the 5 best England players at Euro 2024

England come into the 2024 UEFA European Championship as huge favorites to win it all. When you look at the talent available for the Three Lions, it’s no question why this is the case.  Here are the five best England national team players who will make the difference for England at Euro 2024. If England do finally get the job done and win a major international tournament, it will be because of these players.  5. Bukayo Saka Arsenal’s ‘Star Boy’ has gone from strength to strength since missing a key penalty in England’s loss in the Euro 2020 Final to Italy on penalties.  Saka has been instrumental to Arsenal’s improvement under Mikel Arteta. Without the tricky winger, the Gunners would not have finished second in the Premier League in the last two seasons.  The 22-year-old scored...
Ranking the 5 best Spain players at Euro 2024
Analysis

Ranking the 5 best Spain players at Euro 2024

Spain are one of the biggest favorites heading into Euro 2024. Under manager Luis de la Fuente, La Roja have maintained the dominant possession style they used so well when Luis Enrique was still in charge.  However, this Spain team can play direct, attacking football when they need to. This makes them a much more versatile and dangerous side than the Spain we saw get knocked out by Morocco at the 2022 World Cup.  None of this matters if the players don’t perform well. Here are the best Spain players we’ll be watching at Euro 2024.  5. Álvaro Morata (FW, Atlético Madrid) Álvaro Morata has not had the best of seasons for Atlético Madrid this year. He scored 21 goals, but never truly looked like he deserved being the Colchoneros’ number one option up front. As a result he played jus...