We were so close to having Juve and PSG drop down into the 2nd seeds which would have made the draw even more tense. Just give me the easiest team so we can move on and worry about the harder ones later. I think LPB will draw a tough opponent.
Well, if by screwed you mean they're in for a real dog fight which either team could win you are right. But as those odds clearly indicate they will in fact be favored to beat any of Bayern, Juventus, and ManU. I certainly do hope they do renew there old habit of getting bounced at this very next round - as they did for SIX years in a row till Mou arrived (bounced in round of 16 by Juventus, Arsenal, Bayern, Roma, Liverpool and Lyon in successive years from 2004/5 - 2009/10), but it is far from a given even if they draw one of those 3 tough opponents (on the flip side PSG could perhaps give them a fight as well, less sure about Schalke but that would sure be sweetest of all if it happened).
LPB will be playing the second leg away. So knowing Mourinho he won't care about grabbing a first leg lead. His priority will always be not to concede in a home first leg. Achieve that, then grab the lead away and counter attack the rest of the way. No matter who the opponent is.
I can see Bayern and Juve. But ManU are garbage like all English teams at the moment. Don't think Real would have a hard time with them.
Europa League group stage is complete. ...... almost. The Group G tie Sporting v Videoton was postponed due to heavy downpour. Match will be played on Friday. For the Round of 32 draw same parameters will apply as for the CL draw: Clubs from same group cannot play each other nor can clubs from the same country/league. It is possible for two third-placed CL clubs to play each other in the Round of 32. Seeded clubs, will host second leg Unseeded clubs, will host first leg Group A: Liverpool, Anzhi Makhachkala Group B: Viktoria Plzen, Atlético Madrid Group C: Fenerbahçe, Borussia Mönchengladbach Group D: Bordeaux, Newcastle United Group E: Steaua Buchareşt, VfB Stuttgart Group F: Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, Napoli Group G: KRC Genk, FC Basel, Videoton Group H: Rubin Kazan, Inter Milan Group I: Olympique Lyon, Sparta Prague Group J: Lazio, Tottenham Hotspur Group K: Metalist Kharkiv, Bayer Leverkusen Group L: Hannover 96, Levante CL Group A: Dynamo Kyiv CL Group B: Olympiacos CL Group C: Zenit CL Group D: Ajax CL Group E: Chelsea CL Group F: BATE Borisov CL Group G: Benfica CL Group H: CFR Cluj
I wish I felt the same confidence since they have a roughly 60% chance of drawing one of those 3 squads but I think that they'll be in the quarterfinals. Hope you are right. After the draw you could make some money betting on your instinct as it certainly appears they'll be the favorites against even those 3 teams.
Europa oddsmakers say these are the favorites: Atl Madrid 71) to win outright (far better payout than for betting Barca or R Madrid to win it all in CL meaning a more open field, not to mention twice as many teams at this stage) Chelsea 9 Inter 12 Tottenham, Anzhi & Zenit each 14 Liverpool, Lyon & Leverkeusen each 16 Napoli & Lazio 20 Benfica, Ajax, Rubin & Metalist 25
UEFA Super Cup rematch could happen in Round of 32. lol Possible pairing of Liverpool v Moenchengladbach will bring about lots of nostalgia.
Hard to bet against the La Liga teams in this competition but think I'd have to go for Leverkusen based on those odds. I don't think Falcao has played a single Europa League match this season, is that correct? It's just not a high priority for Atleti.
Glad that Ajax made it in. Partly because it put Man City out but mainly because they'll be hosting the final, so it's possible that they may put priority on this tournament. (No idea how they're doing in Eredivisie)
Lots of intriguing matches around Europe this weekend. Unfortunately a couple of them occur at the same time as Barca's match: #3 Inter v #2 Napoli Sun 2:45 ET #3 St. Etienne v #1 Lyon (also a local derby) Sun 3:00 #3 PSV v #1 Twente Sun 10:30 #2 Man City v #1 Man Utd (also a local derby) Sun 8:30 #3 Zenit v #2 Anzhi (Monday) Lisbon derby (Monday) Five matches involving top 3 teams among the top 8 leagues in Europe plus 3 big local derbies. And oh yeah, Betis v Barca is #4 v #1.
"Being third ain't easy...The Other Teams Thread" "From CL winner to Europa league contender....The Other Teams Thread"
"From champs to chumps... The Other Teams thread" "The Guardiola Sweepstakes thread (aka Other Teams)" "The Beckham Sweepstakes thread (aka Other Teams)" "Who cares? - The Other Teams thread"