Of the 24 clubs that advanced, 10 came from Pot 1, 8 came from Pot 2, 3 came from Pot 3, and 3 came from Pot 4. 3 of the 6 worst clubs accodring to the club coefficients advanced. Here are some average club coefficients by Group Stage performance: Clubs that advanced: 46.838 Clubs that were eliminated: 21.979 First place clubs: 51.202 Second place clubs: 42.474 Third place clubs: 25.946 Fourth place clubs: 18.011
Here's my predictions Athletic Bilbao - APOEL Legia Warsaw - Ajax Anderlecht - Zenit St. Petersburg Astra Giurgiu - Genk Manchester United - St. Etienne Villarreal - Roma Ludogorets Razgrad - Copenhagen Celta Vigo - Shakhtar Donetsk Olympiacos - Osmanlispor Gent - Tottenham Hotspur Rostov - Sparta Prague Krasnodar - Fenerbahce Borussia Mönchengladbach - Fiorentina AZ - Lyon Hapoel Be'er Sheva - Besiktas PAOK - Schalke 04
I have a feeling Legia Warsaw will advance. Here are Mine: Athletic Bilbao - APOEL Legia Warsaw - Ajax Anderlecht - Zenit St. Petersburg Astra Giurgiu - Genk Manchester United - St. Etienne Villarreal - Roma Ludogorets Razgrad - Copenhagen Celta Vigo - Shakhtar Donetsk Olympiacos - Osmanlispor Gent - Tottenham Hotspur Rostov - Sparta Prague Krasnodar - Fenerbahce Borussia Mönchengladbach - Fiorentina AZ - Lyon Hapoel Be'er Sheva - Besiktas PAOK - Schalke 04
APOEL - Anderlecht Copenhagen - Ajax Rostov - Manchester United Celta Vigo - Krasnodar Gent - Genk Lyon - Roma Olympiacos - Besiktas Schalke 04 - Borussia Monchengladbach
Schalke 04 and Borussia Monchengladbach are in the bottom half of the Bundesliga (although that could change this weekend). I wonder if there has ever been a Champions League, Europa League, or UEFA Cup game between clubs from the bottom half of the same league.
Juventus vs Sevilla last season. Juventus and Sevilla were in terrible league positions at that time last season. Also remember Dortmund 2014-15, although I am not sure if they faced anyone else in that position. Actually the whole Group D last season in UCL was all bottom in league except Man City. Juve, Sevilla, and Monchengladbach all started the season in their leagues terribly.
I was talking about two clubs in the same domestic league (like Schalke 04 and Borussia Monchengladbach), who can only meet in the Knockout Rounds.
Aren't seeing Ajax winning away against Copenhagen ... Ajax is a shadow of its historical self (even recent history) and other than a few star players they're feel rather average. Ajax comes directly from a badly played draw, where they were unable to rest their key players Copenhagen might well have their strongest team ever. Copenhagen comes fresh from a 5-0 fleecing where their key players were rested for half the match Its over 1100 minutes ago that someone scored on Copenhagen when they had home advantage. Sure, Ajax might well be better over 2 matches (frankly I'd be surprised if they doesn't win in Amsterdam, and then its only a question about how well they do that), but in Denmark I'd say that its Copenhagen's match to lose.
Get a bet on Man U winning this. Free entry into next seasons Champs League they aint going to miss. 11/8 buy some money
It will likely either be Man Utd, Lyon, or Schalke. Even if Man Utd are serious about it, I am honestly not sure if they could overcome Lyon and Schalke especially over 2 legs. I am still not convinced by them in the EPL. They are still dropping silly points. Lyon appears to be a strong contender. I was especially impressed with their performance against Roma. Even though they lost the second leg, they had 2 open goals that they missed. Lacazette, Fekir, Tollisso, and a few others can be really hard to play on their day. They also have extreme team spirit which is something Man Utd don't have. Schalke is another team that is not to be underestimated and have great team spirit. Konoplyanka, Caligiuri, and Huntelaar are good players. Their defense is also solid as well. Can be extremely strong at home, and seem to really be prioritizing the Europa League. I expect it to be one of those three.
The only way Man Utd win the EL is if they put all their eggs in that basket. They have too many injuries and too many difficult matches coming up in England to battle effectively on two fronts.
So you're saying they will try to go as far as possible in the CL and try to make it in the top 4 of the league, but to do the same while being in the Euro league is to heavy a burden. While the chance to win the EL with automatic access to the next season's CL plus successfully fighting for a CL top 4 spot is far bigger than to do the same as a CL contender. Then it comes down to only one reason to get into the CL and do nothing whatso ever to win it....the big pay out cheque for being in it.
Schalke totally outplayed by Ajax. 90 minutes of domination. It's a miracle it only stayed 2-0 in the end. Schalke's goalkeeper did well.
Well, Ajax sofar this season, has been iffy when converting chances into goals. I hope it doesnot cost them against Schalke. The good thing is they kept a clean sheet, so Schalke has to score 3 more than Ajax. When Ajax manages to score 1, it almost becomes impossible, given the form of Schalke this season.
True, if they manage to give this lead away they have only themselves to blame. Schalke at home will be another story so I hope Ajax wil take the return very serious.
Man U got lucky drawing Celta, but I suspect even that matchup might be harder than they anticipate. The Lyon-Ajax match should be really entertaining. I remember about 10-15 years ago being in Amsterdam as a tourist and attending an Ajax-Lyon CL match. The atmosphere was incredible.
I really regret Ajax didnot get ManU as they are far the weakest of the three. Koeman had a go at the quality of ManU and I think MoMo will hate him now With ManU I would set a Final for Ajax at 65%. With Lyon I donot have that confidence, as FCS04 managed to score 3 times while being far less in quality compared to Lyon. Hope for the best though.
Europa league Semi Finals Predictions : Celta Vigo vs Manchester United My Prediction is Manchester Will Win 0-1 what is your's ??
Wow, Ajax beat Lyon 4-1 with a team consisting of an average age around 21/22. Biggest chance for them to reach an European final since 1996. Would really be great! I think United will beat Celta so that would make a great final with 2 big historical teams.
Probably 1-1 for first leg, and Man Utd to win the second leg somehow. However I hope Celta Vigo goes through.