This season is just so unpredictable.

A fantastic year it will be.

If by going neutral, I'm kinda shamed Man Utd is out. Would've preferred them to meet somebody else and easily go through. But i hate them a lot so yeah lol.

AbraKebabra Alacalamb wrote:Rwo sounds like a great excuse for not playing well.

It's natural if any team need to, they'll turn it up on the big nights. But pretending to play poorly is up there with excuses such as "The Dog ate it, I didn't mean to shoot that person etc etc"

You obviously didn't see the PK of Klopp before the Shakhtar match. Of course he wasn't serious and said that with a big grin

Jack Daniels wrote:This season is just so unpredictable.

Definitely. Every team can, on their day, potentially win. It's really just a matter of consistency. If I had to pick one team that I think won't win instead of one that will, it would probably have to be Galatasary. They've had a great season but it's really just a fairy tale story that has to end somewhere, and it won't be with them lifting the CL trophy come May.

Galata, Malaga and PSG have no chances IMO. The rest is unpredictable.

With a manager like Ancelotti and a player like Ibra, PSG can surprise you.

Ibra isn't Atlas and he can't carry the world on his shoulders

RealGunner wrote:With a manager like Ancelotti and a player like Ibra, PSG can surprise you.

Ibra usually flops in UCL. They simply lack UCL experience. I love some of their players, like Verratti and Matuidi, but I simply can't see them winning it. They'll get trashed by any of the 5 big teams.

I am not super high on PSG YET, I think they lack a few things, but I still have no intrest in facing them in the next round.

Carlo knows the game too well, Ibra is a problem and with the players they have like Thiago Silva, Matuidi, Lavezzi....that group of 4 can really cause us problems in every area, wide, attack, midfield and penetrating the defence.

Yeah, I would rather someone else.

likeastar wrote:

RealGunner wrote:With a manager like Ancelotti and a player like Ibra, PSG can surprise you.

Ibra usually flops in UCL. They simply lack UCL experience. I love some of their players, like Verratti and Matuidi, but I simply can't see them winning it. They'll get trashed by any of the 5 big teams.

Ibra hasn't flopped in CL since his Inter days in which his multi-tasking role was vital for them within the groups along with a superb knockout round performance despite being knocked out.

For Barca he scored a brace vs Arsenal and got them through with his goal against Stuttgart.

For Milan he was outstanding, period.

For PSG he was once again excellent in the group stages.

Its a myth.

likeastar wrote:Galata, Malaga and PSG have no chances IMO. The rest is unpredictable.

I agree but I would also add Dortmund. I don't think they are good enough to win this.

I rate Dortmund higher than the likes of Gala, PSG and Malaga. Easily, too

I dont think he even flopped with Inter.

He went out to Man Utd and Liverpool, both times his team going down to 10 men with the game in the balance. Not his fault at all.

RedOranje wrote:Not sure how much can be read into Bayern's performance today. It's one match against two thirds of a season... and a match where they were missing several key players and were (over)confident of the end result of progression. Evidence so far would suggest this is the outlier, not the norm.

You forgot the part where unlike the other "favorites" they actually took care of business in the first leg and could afford to not show up in the second leg however stressful it may or may not have been for Bayern supporters.

Motogp69 wrote:

RedOranje wrote:Not sure how much can be read into Bayern's performance today. It's one match against two thirds of a season... and a match where they were missing several key players and were (over)confident of the end result of progression. Evidence so far would suggest this is the outlier, not the norm.

You forgot the part where unlike the other "favorites" they actually took care of business in the first leg and could afford to not show up in the second leg however stressful it may or may not have been for Bayern supporters.

And this mentality is why they won't win it

Lex wrote:

Motogp69 wrote:

RedOranje wrote:Not sure how much can be read into Bayern's performance today. It's one match against two thirds of a season... and a match where they were missing several key players and were (over)confident of the end result of progression. Evidence so far would suggest this is the outlier, not the norm.

You forgot the part where unlike the other "favorites" they actually took care of business in the first leg and could afford to not show up in the second leg however stressful it may or may not have been for Bayern supporters.

And this mentality is why they won't win it

without tonight's wake-up call I agree

Real Madrid it seems...

free_cat wrote:

likeastar wrote:Galata, Malaga and PSG have no chances IMO. The rest is unpredictable.

I agree but I would also add Dortmund. I don't think they are good enough to win this.

Maybe not, because of experience, which is vital in this competition, but they will be in the semis if they don't get Barca/Real/Juve, I think they can beat Bayern this time. Next year there will be a different story, all their young players will be better(the whole team actually).

this year is the first CL after some time, where all teams in the quarter finals have chances to win the trophy. a bit of luck through the quarters and semis is all you need to win the trophy because the final is only 1 game and frankly put... in football anything can happen especially if you have no 2nd game to correct ur mistakes.

spanky wrote:this year is the first CL after some time, where all teams in the quarter finals have chances to win the trophy. a bit of luck through the quarters and semis is all you need to win the trophy because the final is only 1 game and frankly put... in football anything can happen especially if you have no 2nd game to correct ur mistakes.

Not true. Malaga, PSG, and Gala have no chance.

I wouldnt say PSG have no chance of winning it. They have a very talented squad and with guys like Ibra anything can happen. And Dortmund have a very good chance to win it in my opinion. They outplayed Real Madrid home and away and just destroyed a very strong Shakhtar side. If you dont think they have a chance to win it youre crazy. Gala and Malaga not having a chance i agree with you though.

As for who i think will win, i think Bayern are the favorites, but its one of the most competitive CLs in revent memory, and anything can happen. I believe in Juve.

Paris Saint German:
A team too reliant on Ibrahimović. Every time I've watched PSG with no Ibra up front they have looked so average that I don't think they could win Ligue 1 without him. Playing in Champions League knock outs is going to be a massive step up for them from the French league and it is very, very unlikely that they'll win it this season.

Juventus:
A lot has been said about Juventus and their fantastic domestic form, but for me, while they are the greatest Italian side by a margin right now, the poor state of Serie A makes Bianocineri's superiorty mean almost nothing. I do like Conte, he is a great tactician and a brilliant motivator and Juventus will be up there with the rest, however they lack a top striker to go that step higher and I don't think they are ready to win a big trophy such as Champions League...yet. On a plus note, they are a very united team and have many players who can score goals so not having a goal machine up front is less of an issue for them.

Real Madrid:
For me Madrid were almost good enough to win CL last season, but not quite there. Unfortunately for them, this season they are certainly worse than last season. Their inconsistent league run, along with the sub-par form of their better players, such as Özil, Higuaín and Benzema and Marcelo's injury isn't something you can ignore. These guys were on fire last season but they have gone too long without finding their brilliant form and Cristiano can only bail Madrid a number of times. The one thing they have done very well this season, however, is beating Barcelona multiple times and in a comfortable manner - however the positives pretty much end here. Most would say they are lucky to even be in the quarter finals after what happened in Old Trafford.

Dortmund:
For me, Dortmund play the most attractive football right now and their young squad and coach deserve a lot of credit for that. Despite losing their best players every year, they have kept it going and this year they topped their CL group in the group of death, above Madrid and City. You already know they got what it takes to give every team a big headache. However, there's a big difference between having the potential to win something and actually doing it. As a young team with not a lot of experience in CL, the competition will get harder and harder for them on a mental level. Having said that, with someone like Klopp on the bench, and on their good day, they can absolutely beat every team by playing good football. Their league form makes me put a big question mark over their performances.

Barcelona:
Until a day ago, they were out of the competition, and suddenly they are labelled the favourites again. Mesmerising passing? Pressing like a pressure cooker? I think not. Barcelona have lost a lot of their grit and flair when compared to 2 seasons ago and that tactical disaster from Allegri shouldn't make you change your mind about this team. Personally, a lack of plan B and persistent problems with defence and aerial problems will be too much for them at this grand stage.

Galatasaray:
The real underdogs here, I don't think anyone would put their money on them. Out of their starting line-up only 4 players have had CL experience. I personally don't know an awful lot about Gala, but they have an average squad with a few superstars and a legendary coach. Let's not forget, someone like Drogba pretty much single-handedly won Chelsea the title last season and with quite a bit of luck, Gala can win it too. But it will be extremely unlikely.

Bayern:
Mirror what happened to Barcelona: Until a few hours ago, they were the favourites and now they're deemed a very average side by a lot of people here. Regarding the return leg vs Arsena, one thing you cannot deny is that it is very difficult to motivate a team that's won 1-3 away at Arsenal to come out and play an intense match again. It has happened before to every team and will happen again and it is us being humans. Their lead in Bundesliga and their CL record is for everyone to see; they have mesmerising wingers, a solid midfield and top wingbacks but I think not having a top striker can really hurt them, as it did last season. Also I'm not convinced by their defenders, especially the rusty Van Buyten - who lets face it, was he even that good when he was at his peak?

Málaga
Not much can be said about the team from the sunny southern Spain apart from the fact that, despite their ongoing financial problems and losing their best stars, their players and manager should be given a standing ovation already for reaching this stage of the competition. Can they compete with the best though? They certainly gave both Madrid and Barcelona a headache in La Liga games, but quite frankly they are not good enough to compete at this high level. And unfortunately they'll be one of those teams that we will most likely never see in the Champions League ever again.

cant say i disagree, good read

although im surprised with what you wrote for barca

I'm not going to say too much but it could be argued the change in tactics against Milan was a plan B tbf.

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:I'm not going to say too much but it could be argued the change in tactics against Milan was a plan B tbf.

Which was supposed to be plan A. lol

Well you know how backwards they are JD lol.

Fino alla fine Forza JUVENTUS !

my pick ^