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I'll also post Europa league and UECL (conference league) groups on here.
Champs League, here are my predictions, I'll do the Europa & Conference league predictions later, it's getting late here with the first Champs League game in a few hours time!
Group A:
1) Bayern Munich
2) Galatasaray
3) Manchester United
4) FC Copenhagen
Bayern Munich won't be challenged much here, especially with how bad United look at the moment, only thing to watch here is if they go a perfect 18 points out of a possible 18. Galatasaray, a team that is rolling in Turkey at the moment (I think winners of 8 of their last 10) have a squad filled with veteran names.
Group B:
1) Arsenal
2) PSV
3) Sevilla
4) Lens.
Arsenal will have a tad tougher time then Bayern, but I think the Gunners take this relatively easily. Sevilla and Lens are having a nightmarish start to the season with 1 win and 1 draw in 9 games combined between the 2, but Sevilla is more likely to figure it out of the 2.
Group C:
1) Real Madrid
2) Napoli
3) Braga
4) Union Berlin.
Another pretty straight forward group; Napoli isn't as strong as last year's team, but they will be a tough team to crack at the Diego Maradona, and Osimhen could be one the joint high scorers in the competition, especially if they make it out of the group and spring a couple of surprises in the knockouts. Union Berlin, in their first foray into European competition will find it tough to balance league & continent football.
Group D:
1) Inter
2) Salzburg
3) Benfica
4) real Sociedad.
Inter is the most explosive of the quintuple, and most dynamic, so I'd peg them to take top spot, but 2-4 can be had in any order. Salzburg has been a mainstay in this competition this last decade, and have been close to advancing, so I'll peg them to finish second and advance to the knockouts.
Group E:
1) Atletico Madrid
2) Feyenoord
3) Lazio
4) Celtic.
Everyone is picking Atlletico Madrid to advance first out of this group and rightfully so, but the last couple of seasons that have performed terribly in the group stages finishing last just last year, and everyone is looking past Feyenoord. They won the Dutch eredivisie last year and lost 2 games the entire year.....and one was on the final game of the year when they had already clinched the league title, so this team can play. It wouldn't be so out of the question if they finished 1st even.
Group F:
1) Dortmund
2) PSG
3) AC Milan
4) Newcastle.
Finally, the group of death! Newcastle has been a wreck so far early in the premier league stages, PSG has stumbled out of the starting block, and Milan just got pasted by Inter in the Milan derby this past weekend, so 3 of the 4, at least in the early going can be had. I think PSG can edge out Milan & Newcastle, but overall I think Dortmund is the most fluid of the 4 right now and they win a closely contested group tha comes down to like a 10-8-8-6 final group standing or something along that ilk.
Group G:
1) Man City
2) Leipzig
3) Crvena Zvezda
4) Young Boys.
You can flip-flop 3 & 4 if you want, but this looks most likely the most straightforward group. None of these 3 teams are beating City in Manchester, and the only reason I took Crvena Zvezda 3rd is because the second leg of that City/Red Star Belgrade tie is the last matchday in the middle of December in Serbia. By that point City probably would have already locked up the top spot (especially if Leipzig tumble to RSB or Young Boys which isn't out of the question) and they'll be in a stretch of playing 5 PL games in about a 3.5 week window that they may not even send their whole squad to Serbia to play that game; RSB might get the benefit of playing a second unit Man City and they may pull a draw out of that game which bumps them up to 3rd.
Group H:
1) Barcelona
2) Porto
3) Antwerp
4) Shakhar Donetsk.
Barcelona have failed to make it out of the last 2 group stages, but no excuse for them here. Tough luck on Shakhatr having to play "home" games in Germany. If they were actually able to play in Ukraine I might take a gamble on Shakhar finishing second, but Porto finishes second here.
Round of 16 draw:
Porto vs. Man City. Too much firepower for Porto to contend with. Barcelona vs. Galatasaray. This would be an interesting clash. I think Galatasaray can make a run of this by winning the first leg at home, put some pressure on the Catalans, but I think Barca would prevail over the 2 legs.
RB Leipzig vs. Arsenal. Any Arsenal fan would love not to see Bayern Munich, PSG, or Real Madrid which is what usually happens to the Gunners. PSG vs. Real Madrid. We'll get the mandatory "the UEFA draw" is rigged hot takes I'm sure. I'll take a gamble and say PSG wins this matchup this year. Dortmund vs. Napoli. Dortmund back line can neutralize Osimhen, and if you can slow him Napoli doesn't have a lot of other play makers to beat you.
Feyenoord vs. Inter. This has the potential to be a sneaky good game, but Inter and the Italian team edge the team from the Dutch.
Atletico Madrid vs. PSV. The Capital City team survived one Dutch outfit in the group (Feyenoord); they won't survive the other. PSV gets a shock leg 1 home win, and keeps Atleti out of the net in the second leg to go on winners.
Salzburg vs. Bayern Munich. Bayern might be able to call their own number in this one.
Quaterfinals:
Man City vs. Dortmund. I'm going to take another shot in the dark here and say Dortmund pulls this out. 2022 not withstanding Pep & Man City have had very underwhelming CL results from the quarterfinals onwards. Barcelona vs. Arsenal. Don't think Arsenal is going to be able to outscore them over 2 legs.
Bayern Munich vs. Inter. Another team I really like; they are rolling right now, and will continue rolling to the semifinals. PSG vs. PSV. PSG like Man City prior to 2022 have had underwhelming results once the knockouts kicked in, but unlike the Citizens don't have a trophy to make up for it. Will that change this year??
Semifinal: Dortmund vs. Inter. The Inter steam train runs into Dortmund and gets derailed off the tracks.
Barcelona vs. PSG. Nobodies expecting PSG to do anything this go around (hell they may not even make it out of their group) but that would be a good time to go on a run, when no one believes in you.
Final:
PSG over Dortmund 3-1. They have 2 draws in the 2 group stage games, but someone is going to walk out winners at Wembley. There are doubts PSG may not even make it out of the group of death, and some 9 months later they'll walk out of Wembley as European champions like Man City last year making up for years of heartache and frustration with a European title.....finally in their name.
Group A: 1) Bayern Munich
2) Galatasaray
3) Manchester United
4) FC Copenhagen
Group B: 1) Arsenal
2) PSV
3) Sevilla 4) Lens.
Group C: 1) Real Madrid
2) Napoli
3) Braga
4) Union Berlin.
Group D:
1) Inter 2) Salzburg 3) Benfica
4) real Sociedad.
Group E: 1) Atletico Madrid
2) Feyenoord 3) Lazio
4) Celtic.
Group F:
1) Dortmund 2) PSG
3) AC Milan 4) Newcastle
Group G:
1) Man City
2) Leipzig
3) Crvena Zvezda
4) Young Boys.
Group H: 1) Barcelona
2) Porto
3) Antwerp
4) Shakhar Donetsk.
I've bolded who I think will advance. I think you've overestimated Dortmund and PSV. The Eredivisie in particular is weak at the moment as Ajax are atrocious, PSV just happen to be slightly better. For that same reason I've picked Lazio over Feyenoord to advance. Inter are a mess currently, don't expect them to do well.
Lens will be a surprise package, such a young exciting team - and I think Newcastle will squeeze through based on their home form, no other European team will want to go to Saint James' Park.
Newcastle salvaged a point. They were very much outplayed by AC Milan. I watched the second half. Other than when they got a shot off in extra time, Newcastle didn’t threaten at all.
Euro league preview: As a reminder from yesterday these 8 teams will drop down into the Euro League playoffs (based on my predictions anyways): AC Milan, Antwerp, Benfica, Braga, Crvena Zvezda, Lazio, Manchester United, Sevilla.
Group A:
1) West Ham
2) Olympiacos
3) Freiburg
4) TSC.
West Ham would be a good pick coming off the UECL title last year. Olympiacos will be tough to beat in Greece, and no idea where TSC is located, Wales maybe?? They should bring up the rear.
Group B:
1) Brighton
2) Marseille
3) Ajax
4) AEK Athens.
Group of death in the Europa League!! Brighton is playing well at the moment, Marseille and Ajax aren't playing well at the moment, and AEK won the Greece league last year. This will be a fun group.
Group C:
1) Betis
2) Rangers
3) Sparta Prague
4) Aris.
I think Betis will take this one. Whoever gets more points in the Rangers/Sparta match takes second.
Group D:
1) Sporting Portugal
2) Atalanta
3) Sturm Graz
4) Rakow.
Sporting & Atalanta will battle for the top spot with Sturm a distant 3rd.
Group E:
1) Liverpool
2) Toulouse
3) LASK-Linz
4) Royale Union SG.
Liverpool should win this running away, assuming they don't throw away one of the last couple match days they should go a perfect 6-6, 18 points here.
Group F:
1) Villarreal
2) Rennes
3) Panathinaikos
4) Maccabi Haifa.
Haifa is going to find this tough sledding. Up to down , 1 through 4, group B has better teams, but this may be closer 1-3 than Group B turns out.
Group G:
1) Roma
2) Slavia Prague
3) Servette
4) Sherriff Tiraspol.
This looks like a race at the top between Roma & Slavia which Roma should win.
Group E:
1) Bayer Leverkusen
2) Qarabag
3) Molde
4) Hacken.
Leverkusen should easily win this group, but the road games might be tough spots, especially in match day 6 when they'll have to go up to Sweden in the middle of December; 2-4 can go in any order I went with Qarabag because they have the most continental experience of the remaining trio.
Knockout round draw: AC Milan vs. Rangers. AC Milan too much for Rangers.
Antwerp vs. OPlympiacos. This would be an interesting tie, the Greek outfit will make it a defensive slugfest and outlast the team from Belgium. Benfica vs. Qarabag. Benfica should win this pretty easily, though the first leg in Azerbaijan, if Qarabag were to actually win it, could turn the tie on it's head.
Braga vs. Marseille. This would be a good match, I like Marseille.
Crvena Zvezda vs. Atalanta. Don't think RSB will have much of a chance here. Lazio vs. Rennes. Serie A vs. Ligue 1, I'll take the Serie A team to advance.
Manchester United vs. Slavia Prague. United look like a dumpster fire at the moment, I'll take Slavia to advance. Sevilla vs. Toulouse. Sevilla is having a nightmare season so far, but they are in the Euro League where they thrive, so I look for them to make another deep run.
Round of 16:
West Ham vs. Lazio. I'll take Lazio in this tie. Brighton vs. Atalanta. I'll take Brighton, but this will be a good tie as well.
Betis vs. Slavia Prague. I'll take Slavia to pull off another shock result. Sporting Portugal vs. Olympiacos. Sporting CP should be able to break the Olympiacos back line better than Antwerp will. Liverpool vs. Benfica. This will not be an easy draw for Liverpool, Benfica will give Liverpool everything they have.
Villarreal vs. Marseille. I'll take Marseille in this Ligue 1 vs. La Liga matchup.
Roma vs. Sevilla. The Sevilla Euro league run continues as they knock out Jose Mourinho's team yet again.
Bayer Leverkusen vs. AC Milan. Last year Leverkusen got knocked out in the semifinals by Roma, this year another Italian team will take tham out in the round of 16.
Quaterfinal:
Lazio vs. AC Milan. This will be a great tie, Milan's offensive prowess and shrewd defense will get them though this all Italian quarterfinal. Brighton vs. Slavia Prague. Slavia's run ends against a hot Brighton team. Sporting Portugal vs. Liverpool. By this point, I think Liverpool is near the top of the Premier League, so Jurgen Klopp will prioritize the Premier League over a Euro League title, so Sporting pulls the shock.
Marseille vs. Sevilla. There's some that love playing in the Euro League, and Sevilla is one of those teams.
Semifinals: AC Milan vs. Sevilla. Sevilla might like playing in the Euro League, but AC Milan is hot and cruising.
Sporting vs. Brighton. Another team that is hot and cruising at the moment is Brighton.
Finals:
Brighton beats Milan 3-2 in penalties. A high scoring affair, 1-1 after regulation, 2-2 after extra time, with PK's to decide, and Brighton beats Milan after 8 rounds of PK's.
UECL preview: Just like yesterday the 8 teams that will be dropping down to the playoffs include: Ajax, Freiburg, LASK-Linz, Molde, Panathinaikos, Servette, Sparta Prague, Sturm Graz.
Group A:
1) Lille
2) Slovan Bratislava
3) Lubljana
4) Klaskvik.
Good for Klasksvik of the Faroe Islands to get this far, the first Faroese team to make it to Europe.
Group B:
1) Gent
2) Maccabi Tel-Aviv
3) Zorha Luhansk
4) Breidablik.
Gent is the clear favorite here, and Maccabi is a second.
Group C:
1) Dianmo Zagreb
2) Plzen
3) FC Astana
4) Ballkini.
Ballkini the team from Montenegro will bring up the rear. Zagreb has the most experience so I'll pick them to finish top of the group. Not sure Astana can win outside of Kazakhstan, while I think Plzen can manage a win outside of the Czech, so that's why they are second.
Group D:
1) Besiktas
2) Cub Brugge
3) Lugano
4) Bodo/Glimnt.
Besiktas, one of the Turkish giants should nab one of the 2 slots, and Club Brugge is one of the better clubs in Belgium.
Group E:
1) Aston Villa
2) AZ Alkmaar
3) Legia
4) Zrinjski.
Aston Villa will cruise to the top spot here, and probably one of the favorites to walk away with the title, and I'll take Alkmaar to place second over Legia.
Group F:
1) Ferencvaros
2) Fiorentina
3) Genk
4) Cukaricki.
This and group H probably the 2 best groups. Cukaricki will definitely finish last, but Ferencvaros, Fiorentina & Genk could all place 1-3. One thing to watch with Ferencvaros: they are used to playing in the Champions League. They do have a good chance of winning the UECL, but when you are consistently playing in the champions league, and all of a sudden you drop down to a 3rd tier competition, do you take it as seriously?? If you don't you probably get eliminated at the group stage.
Group G:
1) PAOK
2) Eintracht Frankfurt
3) HJK
4) Aberdeen.
Aberdeen is making it's maiden voyage out of Scotland, but the other 3 are all perennial players on the European stage with Finnish champion HJK competing for like the 30th time.
Group H:
1) Fenerbahce
2) Ludogorets
3) Nordsjaelland
4) Trnava.
Feberbahce out of Istanbul should cruise to top spot here, and Ill take Ludogorets a perennial European player to finish second.
Knockout round draw: Ludogorets vs. Ajax. Ajax is struggling to find form currently, I'll take Ludogorets. Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Molde. The Eagles should cruise in this one.
Fiorentina vs. Sparta Prague. This will be a very good & fun matchup, I'll take Sparta.
AZ Alkmaar vs. Freiburg. Another interesting matchup, I'll take the German side over the Dutch side.
Club Brugge vs. Panathinaikos. Another interesting tie, I trust the Greek side more than the Belgium outfit. Plzen vs. Servette. 2 teams that have surprised up to this point, one of these surprise entrants will make it to the round of 16 draw.
Maccabi Tel Aviv vs. Sturm Graz. Two teams that have been to Europe a lot without a lot of success; someone will take a step forward. Slovan Bratislava vs. LASK-Linz. Slovan I think is the better side.
Round of 16 draw:
Slovan Bratislava vs. Ferencvaros. Ferencvaros gets the tie over Slovan Bratislava
Sturm Graz vs. Lille. Lille should withstand Sturm Graz.
Plzen vs. Fenerbahce. Plzen would have had a good run up to this point, but it would end against the Istanbul giants. Panathinaikos vs. Dinamo Zagreb. One of the better ties of the round of 16; Panathinaikos gets a narrow win at home, and does enough to get a draw on the road to advance. Freiburg vs. Gent. Germany should win over Belgium. Sparta Prague vs. PAOK. Another good tie, Sparta will breach the Greece, and send PAOK home earlier than they would like.
Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Besiktas. Another very good tie here which the Turkish prevail in.
Ludogorets vs. Aston Villa. Aston Villa should roll in this one.
Quaterfinal draw: Aston Villa vs. Panathinaikos. Villa won't have it nearly as easy here, but they should still get it done and advance to the semifinal. Beskitas vs. Lille. I'll take Besiktas to knock out the last remaining team from France. Sparta Prague vs. Feberbahce. This will be a very underrated matchup, 2 teams that could end up lifting the trophy, and only one will advance.
Freiburg vs. Ferencvaros. Ferencvaros beats the team from germany, and advances to a semifinal.
Semifinal:
Ferencvaros vs. Sparta Prague. Ferencvaros run ends in the semi's while Sparta makes it to the final.
Besiktas vs. Aston Villa. Aston Villa should be able to take out Besiktas.
Final:
Aston Villa beats Sparta Prague 3-0. Gonna be tough for Sparta to keep Villa out of the net as the UECL is won by a Premier League team for the second straight year.
In Europe, Manchester United losing wasn’t a surprise since they’re in such turmoil but I was surprised by the Brighton and AVL losses.
I watched Liverpool come out flat in Linz Austria, concede on a corner, and then wake up in the second half to win. Everyone but the CBs were rotated. Mo Salah came on at around 74’. Szoboszlai came on at around 60’. It’s a different team when they are on the pitch. Mac Allister is in poor form. Wararu Endo was invisible.
In Europe, Manchester United losing wasn’t a surprise since they’re in such turmoil but I was surprised by the Brighton and AVL losses.
Apparently the media were surprised by Manchester United losing away at Bayern. I found that reaction really strange, it was like "the crisis continues", and I thought, who else would go away to Bayern and expect to win, Man City, Real Madrid, Barca (maybe)? - that's about it. I thought they gave a good account of themselves honestly.
Manchester United lost again to a Turkish club ranked around #60. I imagine the world has ended. I was watching Luton-Burnley and flipped over as Arsenal conceded the winning goal. It wasn’t a good day for Premier League clubs.
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