2016/17 Soccer/Football Thread

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No idea what Klopp is thinking; playing basically most of the regulars in a League Cup game against Burton Albion. We have squad players for that and have yet another away game at Spurs this weekend. I know we won comfortably but it might make our players too fatigued later on.
 
Champions league group predictions:
A: Paris, Arsenal, Basel, Ludogorets. Basel is a threat but Arsenal always qualify out of the group stage no matter how much of a hole they dig themselves.
B: Benfica, Besiktas, Napoli, Dynamo Kyiv. Not too easy to call, to be really honest any of the four sides can top the group. Benfica has the best side on paper but that didn't prevent them from finishing bottom of the group in 2014-15.
C: Barcelona, Man City, Borussia Monchengladbach, Celtic. I think Man City will push Barcelona hard for the top spot but Barcelona is Barcelona. I like Mönchengladbach but they're just not in the same league as Barcelona or Man City. Celtic probably getting three points at most here.
D: Bayern, Atletico, PSV Eindhoven, Rostov. Same order here too, Atletico Madrid have a solid chance to beat Bayern to top spot though. Rostov is full of surprises but they're up against three sides that are at least twice as good as other sides they have faced over the last however many years.
E: Bayer Leverkusen, Tottenham, Monaco, CSKA Moskva. All four teams are kinda evenly matched and can all win this group (except CKSA Moskva because they don't know what a clean sheet is and don't know how to finish higher than 4th).
F: Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Sporting CP, Legia. Real Madrid should win the group but Dortmund are still very threatening, while Sporting CP are also a strong side.
G: Porto, Leicester, Club Brugge, Kobenhavn. Rather easily the weakest group, Porto having the best players but not exactly improved from the last two seasons. Luckily for Leicester they don't have the most accommodating of opponents lol.
H: Juventus, Lyon, Sevilla, Dinamo Zagreb. Sevilla just love the Europa league too much and never seem to do as well outside of that competition. Lyon should do better than last year's disappointment while as long as Juventus don't drop points like last year they will be fine.
 
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Wait, so Benfica, CSKA Moscow and Leicester are Pot 1 while Atletico and Dortmund are Pot 2? I know the former 3 won their domestic leagues but the latter 2 have performed much better in Europe. At least it sets up a Bayern v Atletico tie in the Group stages.
 
Cl group predictions:

Group A: 1. PSG, 2. FC Arsenal, 3. FC Basel, 4. Rasgrad: Arsenal could beat PSG and win the first spot, but I think it's more likely that PSG gets out at the top. Rest is basically set in stone.

Group B: 1. Napoli, 2. Benfica, 3. Besiktas, 4. Dynamo: I see Napoli as the strongest team in this group, then Benfica. Besiktas and Kiev will fight for the Euro spot.

Group C: 1. Barca, 2. City, 3. Gladbach, 4. Celtic: Barca and City will probably dominate this group, but I see Barca stronger and I think they'll probably win the 1st spot. I also see Gladbach better than Celtic so I guess they'll take the 3rd spot.

Group D: 1. Bayern, 2. Atletico, 3. PSV, 4. Rostov: Bayern and Atletico will dominate this group easily and fight for the first spots, but I see Bayern a bit more constant over 6 matches. I don't really know Rostov so I can't say weather say I have a chance to take the 3rd spot or not.

Group E: 1. Leverkusen, 2. Tottenham, 3. AS Monaco, 4. C SKA: I see Leverkusen and Tottenham on a pretty similar level so I guess they'll challenge for the 1st spot. Monaca kicked Villarreal out of the qualification so I see the them definetely stronger than Moscow.

Group F: 1. Real, 2. BVB, 3. Sporting, 4. Legia: Real will probably be a bit more constant over 6 matches so I give the first spot before Dortmund to them. Sporting should be a bit stronger than Legia.

Group G: 1. Leicester, 2. Porto, 3. Bruges, 3. Kopenhagen: So this group is a joke of course. Can't say much about it.

Group H: 1. Juve, 2. Sevilla, 3. OL, 4. Dinamo: Juve will definetely win that group and Sevilla will probably fight with Lyon for the 2nd spot. I don't think Zagreb has much of a chance here.
 
What are your opinions about Arsenal?
I'm brazilian, and here, from what I've been reading at some independent websites and at EspnFC, they do not have what it takes to be regular until end of the season.

There are talent in the name of Cech, Bellerin, Kolscieny, Xhaka, Özil and Sanchez, but still... But there players for key roles are still absent.

I can see, for example, they being steamrolled by Man. Utd at EPL and PSG in this group stage.
I don't think they are going far in this UCL - again. :[
 
Wait, so Benfica, CSKA Moscow and Leicester are Pot 1 while Atletico and Dortmund are Pot 2? I know the former 3 won their domestic leagues but the latter 2 have performed much better in Europe. At least it sets up a Bayern v Atletico tie in the Group stages.
Because that would mean Arsenal always gets pot 1 for getting eliminated in the round of 16 every year. It probably also gives more incentive for each team to win their leagues to get the benefit.
 

shade

be sharp, say nowt
is a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnus
Wait, so Benfica, CSKA Moscow and Leicester are Pot 1 while Atletico and Dortmund are Pot 2? I know the former 3 won their domestic leagues but the latter 2 have performed much better in Europe. At least it sets up a Bayern v Atletico tie in the Group stages.
the premier league champions always get pot 1, same with the other top leagues
 
R. Madrid - BvB / Barça - City / Juve - Sevilla and Bayern - Atlético.

We have given some very nice matches in group stage can be given either in the quarter-finals. Hype.
 
West Ham set to bid 24 mil for Simone "Penalty" Zaza.
yet it loses to Astra Giurgiu.


Which I'm proud of, as I'm from Romania.

Time to predict.
A: Paris, Arsenal, Basel, Ludogorets. Wouldn't discount Ludogorets from the Euro spot tbh, I actually see Basel getting the last place. PSG and Arsenal win the first two spots.
B: Benfica, Besiktas, Napoli, Dynamo Kyiv. I'd say Napoli wins this group with Benfica grabbing the 2nd place but Dynamo Kyiv could be dangerous as well. Don't expect much from Turkish teams.
C: Barcelona, Man City, Borussia Monchengladbach, Celtic. Either Man City or Barca wins the group, and Gladbach gets the 3rd spot. Celtic probably is a top 32 Europa League team but it got a HORRIBLE match-up...
D: Bayern, Atletico, PSV Eindhoven, Rostov. Atletico and Bayern normally get the first two spots, but the fight for the Europa League spot is very interesting tbh. I think Rostov has a slightly higher chance as Russia has a stronger championship than Netherlands + Rostov wiped the floor with Ajax.
E: Bayer Leverkusen, Tottenham, Monaco, CSKA Moskva. Moskva is out imo, I see Leverkusen winning this, and either Monaco or Spurs grabbing the 2nd place.
F: Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Sporting CP, Legia. Real Madrid and Dortmund are easily favourites, and Sporting CP normally gets the 3rd place, but Legia Warsaw could snatch some points at home...
G: Porto, Leicester, Club Brugge, Kobenhavn. This group is just lol. Leicester wins, probably Club Brugge gets the 2nd place but could see Porto grabbing it as well.
H: Juventus, Lyon, Sevilla, Dinamo Zagreb. Juventus normally wins this group, but honestly not sure what to expect between the others - Lyon is just horrible, Sevilla can't do well in Champions League, and Dinamo Zagreb just not being strong enough... I'd say Sevilla but barely.
 
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HBK

Subtlety is my middle name
Perfect performance tonight, was a little worried going into the game what with them having beaten Liverpool in their last game but they were harmless for the most part. Hazard seems to be back to his best too, took his goal really well, hope to see him continue scoring as it's the only thing missing from his game. A clean sheet is always good to have but more importantly, we looked to have put Mourinho's negative tactics behind us and that's what I'm most excited about.
 
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