Post by supergas on Aug 28, 2015 13:30:29 GMT
Champions League:
Group A: Paris St-Germain, Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, Malmo
Group B: PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, CSKA Moscow, VfL Wolfsburg
Group C: Benfica, Atletico Madrid, Galatasaray, Astana
Group D: Juventus, Manchester City, Sevilla, Borussia Monchengladbach
Group E: Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen, AS Roma, BATE Borisov
Group F: Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Olympiakos, Dinamo Zagreb
Group G: Chelsea, Porto, Dynamo Kiev, Maccabi Tel-Aviv
Group H: Zenit St Petersburg, Valencia, Olympique Lyon, GentBorussia Monchengladbach
There's been a lot of comment in the media about how Man City have a tough group, but they really don't...Borussia Monchengladbach finished 3rd (13 points off the pace), haven't strengthened over the summer and are currently P2 L2 this season. Sevilla finished 5th (18 points off the pace) and (according to their wikipedia page) don't seem to have strengthened over the summer. Yes they won the Europa League last season, but given the England national team could *probably* make the quarter finals of that competition, it's not a real competition...speaking of real competitions, Juventus won the Italian League, but it's really not that hard to do that any more... in short, the media are (for some reason) allowing Man City to fail before they've started, which is nonsense. If they don't qualify top, that will be a failure and in my opinion they should relinquish their qualifying place for future seasons to teams who might actually give it a go...
In other news, Man Utd should qualify easily but will use it as excuse for a slow start in the league. Arsenal will blame being drawn with Bayern Munich for their failure to qualify hoping no-one notices the defeats to Olympiakos and Dinamo Zagreb along the way...Chelsea will qualify with ease and at that point it depends on what mood Jose wakes up with on any given match day as to how far they progress...
Onto the Europa League...
Group A: Ajax, Celtic , Fenerbahce, Molde
Group B: Rubin Kazan, Liverpool, Bordeaux, FC Sion
Group C: Borussia Dortmund, Paok Thessaloniki, Krasnodar, Gabala
Group D; Napoli, Club Brugge, Legia Warsaw, Midtjyllland
Group E: Villarreal, Viktoria Plzen, Rapid Vienna, Dinamo Minsk
Group F: Marseille, Braga, Slovan Liberec, Groningen
Group G: Dnipropetrovsk, Lazio, St-Etienne, Rosenborg
Group H: Sporting Lisbon, Besiktas, Lokomotiv Moscow, Skenderbeu
Group I: Basel, Fiorentina, Lech Poznan, Belenenses
Group J: Tottenham, Anderlecht, Monaco, Qarabag
Group K: Schalke, Apoel Nicosia, Sparta Prague, Asteras Tripolis
Group L: Athletic Bilbao, AZ Alkmaar, Augsburg, Partizan Belgrade
No detailed analysis here, just a simple thought. If Tottenham or Liverpool want to become one of the big four in England they need to win this. No matter who's in their group, or who they meet in the knockout phase. For too long English teams have been playing weakened sides in this competition. Play the same side you play to win league games! Because your squads are already psychologically weak because they're not top 4, you need to be winning week in, week out (and that includes Europa League games) to maintain a winning spirit in the squad. Plus, get to the end of the tournament and players you might want to sign become easier to sign because they hear about and respect your club more.
In short, I expect Man C to fail to qualify, Man U to qualify but be poor in the league whilst they do, Arsenal to fail to qualify whilst clinging onto 4th in the league, and Chelsea to qualify with one game to go. I expect Liverpool and Tottenham to be knocked out with one game still to go...
...discuss?
Group A: Paris St-Germain, Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, Malmo
Group B: PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, CSKA Moscow, VfL Wolfsburg
Group C: Benfica, Atletico Madrid, Galatasaray, Astana
Group D: Juventus, Manchester City, Sevilla, Borussia Monchengladbach
Group E: Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen, AS Roma, BATE Borisov
Group F: Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Olympiakos, Dinamo Zagreb
Group G: Chelsea, Porto, Dynamo Kiev, Maccabi Tel-Aviv
Group H: Zenit St Petersburg, Valencia, Olympique Lyon, GentBorussia Monchengladbach
There's been a lot of comment in the media about how Man City have a tough group, but they really don't...Borussia Monchengladbach finished 3rd (13 points off the pace), haven't strengthened over the summer and are currently P2 L2 this season. Sevilla finished 5th (18 points off the pace) and (according to their wikipedia page) don't seem to have strengthened over the summer. Yes they won the Europa League last season, but given the England national team could *probably* make the quarter finals of that competition, it's not a real competition...speaking of real competitions, Juventus won the Italian League, but it's really not that hard to do that any more... in short, the media are (for some reason) allowing Man City to fail before they've started, which is nonsense. If they don't qualify top, that will be a failure and in my opinion they should relinquish their qualifying place for future seasons to teams who might actually give it a go...
In other news, Man Utd should qualify easily but will use it as excuse for a slow start in the league. Arsenal will blame being drawn with Bayern Munich for their failure to qualify hoping no-one notices the defeats to Olympiakos and Dinamo Zagreb along the way...Chelsea will qualify with ease and at that point it depends on what mood Jose wakes up with on any given match day as to how far they progress...
Onto the Europa League...
Group A: Ajax, Celtic , Fenerbahce, Molde
Group B: Rubin Kazan, Liverpool, Bordeaux, FC Sion
Group C: Borussia Dortmund, Paok Thessaloniki, Krasnodar, Gabala
Group D; Napoli, Club Brugge, Legia Warsaw, Midtjyllland
Group E: Villarreal, Viktoria Plzen, Rapid Vienna, Dinamo Minsk
Group F: Marseille, Braga, Slovan Liberec, Groningen
Group G: Dnipropetrovsk, Lazio, St-Etienne, Rosenborg
Group H: Sporting Lisbon, Besiktas, Lokomotiv Moscow, Skenderbeu
Group I: Basel, Fiorentina, Lech Poznan, Belenenses
Group J: Tottenham, Anderlecht, Monaco, Qarabag
Group K: Schalke, Apoel Nicosia, Sparta Prague, Asteras Tripolis
Group L: Athletic Bilbao, AZ Alkmaar, Augsburg, Partizan Belgrade
No detailed analysis here, just a simple thought. If Tottenham or Liverpool want to become one of the big four in England they need to win this. No matter who's in their group, or who they meet in the knockout phase. For too long English teams have been playing weakened sides in this competition. Play the same side you play to win league games! Because your squads are already psychologically weak because they're not top 4, you need to be winning week in, week out (and that includes Europa League games) to maintain a winning spirit in the squad. Plus, get to the end of the tournament and players you might want to sign become easier to sign because they hear about and respect your club more.
In short, I expect Man C to fail to qualify, Man U to qualify but be poor in the league whilst they do, Arsenal to fail to qualify whilst clinging onto 4th in the league, and Chelsea to qualify with one game to go. I expect Liverpool and Tottenham to be knocked out with one game still to go...
...discuss?
