Kickoff from the Allianz Stadion in Vienna takes place at 5:55PM BST, 12:55PM EDT and 6:55AM HST. Live pictures will stream on CBS All Access in the States. Not much to say about this one. Just win, please.
Thanks for making this thread @Tonerl. I’d have done it but I’m on vaca thru Saturday, and the idea of making 2 threads during this time is less than ideal. See what I did there? Anyway, I also wanted to say that it’s being aired/streamed on TUDN en Espanol, if your lineup includes that. For me, the main questions for this one are: Decisions on who plays, and... Whether Rapid’s home crowd is a factor, the first one we’ve had to face in 7 months, and without any of our own supporters to counteract.
I have never ever done anything remotely possible worth of being banned, but this might be it. (probably be worth it). The name reminds me of: Comedy. NSFW.
Mustafi is apparently fit to be in the squad which is good because with Holding, Chambers and Mari injured and Sokratis and Saliba ineligible, that leaves Gabriel and Luiz as the only CB's available. Ceballos and Willian are out. Hopefully younger players like Nelson and Willock get a start. Might see the Partey start.
Partey time! Confirmation Cedric exists. Fairly strong team. Not sure why there are two goalies on the subs bench. Surprised AMN, Willock and Nelson don't get the start, hopefully they play since I believe EL has the 5 subs rule.
My first reaction to the team was a little bit of disappointment because it seems like too strong of a lineup. But it's really only, what, 5 starters? Maybe 5.5 depending on how you view Elneny. Correct on the 5 subs. Hopefully this is a rout so we can sub early and often.
Someone should go to prison over the Cedric signing. Partey, on the other hand, has been a pleasure to watch so far. Every time he gets the ball, he's looking forward and, more importantly, moving forward. Granted, it's Rapid Wien and not Liverpool, but it's a welcome change from Xhaka.
I'm not a fan of how Saka and Nketiah are playing together. Saka's nominally the left mid, but he's usually underlapping Nketiah in transition rather than overlapping. That leaves Nketiah isolated out on the touch line, and he isn't dynamic enough to do much from there. I get the idea of playing Nketiah wide, because he needs to add some variety to his game if he's going to make it at Arsenal, but I don't think this structure is going to be successful today.
This ref is having some kind of game. Sheesh. 39 minutes in, 1 shot on target for us. And now Saka's down.
Not sure how we're supposed to create a chance with this setup other than a long ball over the top or a piece of great individual dribbling.
Sorry for arguing that Leno was a better keeper than Emi last week. ********'s sake. One step forward, three steps back.