RE: Football Banter
I know ye probably know already, but here is the Champions League draw for the last 16:
Real Madrid v Manchester United
Arsenal v Bayern Munich
Celtic v Juventus
Milan v Barcelona
Shakhtar Donetsk v Borussia Dortmund
Valencia v Paris Saint-Germain
Galatasaray v Schalke
Porto v Málaga
The teams in bold are the ones, I'm predicting to get through to the quarter finals.
I think its a tough draw for Man United, Arsenal and Celtic. I would say out of those three teams, Celtic got the best draw, but its still going to be a tough ask for them to get past Juventus. We could have the prospect of there being no Premier League team in the quarter finals.
First of all about Man United facing Real Madrid. Like I said its a tough draw for Man United, but its also a difficult draw for Real Madrid as well. I'm going to stick my neck out there and say Man United will get past Real Madrid. Man United are in better form and there is also more unity in their squad compare to Real Madrid's squad. If Man United can keep it tight at the back then they should go through. This is a completely different Mourinho team compared to what Ferguson saw at him Chelsea. Real Madrid are very open at the back and struggle with set pieces, but are ruthless in attack, which is so usually for a Mourinho team. Ferguson though better hope that Man United midfield can cope with the likes of Ozil, Khedira and Alonso compared to what Man United have in Carrick, Anderson and I suppose Rooney will come into that equation. Although maybe Fergie will deploy Rooney in centre midfield and play Kagawa behind Van Persie. It should be a great game for the neutrals though for certain.
Arsenal on the other hand got the toughest draw compared to what Man United and Celtic got. Besides Barcelona, Bayern Munich were most likely the team they wanted to avoid in the last 16. I originally tipped Real Madrid to win the Champions League, but I think Bayern Munich will win it now. They have an unbelievable team and if one or two players get injured, they have another world class player on the bench to replace them. They have been fantastic in the Bundesliga so far scoring 64 goals and only conceding 8. Arsenal will have to do some business in the January transfer window to get past Bayern Munich. I suggest they go and buy Huntalaer and M'Vila to strengthen their squad. If Arsenal play like they are now, then I fear they could get thrashed by Bayern Munich.
Celtic on the other hand will enjoy the glamour tie with Juventus. I don't think they will get hammered, as many people will expect. I think they will surprise a few and compete well in this game. This is a completely different game to what they faced at Barcelona though, as they will find it more difficult to break this Juventus defence down, which in my opinion is arguably the best in Europe. Juventus are not weak at set pieces like Barcelona are, so Celtic will have to do their homework and come up with a master plan if they want to beat Juventus. Juventus are good in attack, but they are missing a world class striker to score them 20 goals a season, so perhaps they may go for Llorente in the January transfer window or wait till the summer transfer window and depending if Napoli qualify for the Champions League could go for Cavani. It should be a good game though and it will be interesting to watch.
I know this may surprise a few people, but after Man United v Real Madrid, I would say Shakhtar Donetsk v Borussia Dortmund could be the tie of the round. There will be plenty of goals and sexy football in this game thats for sure.
Heres the Europa League last 32 draw:
BATE vs Fenerbahce
Inter Milan vs CFR Cluj-Napoca
Levante vs Olympiacos
Zenit St Petersburg vs Liverpool
Dynamo Kiev vs Bordeaux
Bayer Leverkusen vs Benfica
Newcastle vs FC Metalist Kharkiv
VfB Stuttgart vs Genk
Atletico Madrid vs Rubin Kazan
Ajax vs Steaua Bucuresti
Basle vs Dnipro
Anzhi Makhachkala vs Hannover 96
Sparta Prague vs Chelsea
Borussia M'gladbach vs Lazio
Tottenham vs Lyon
Napoli v Plzen
Again the teams in bold are the teams, I expect to the through to last 16.
Also heres the Europa League last 16 draw:
Napoli/Plzen vs BATE/Fenerbahce
Bayer Leverkusen/Benfica vs Dynamo Kiev/Bordeaux
Anzhi Mackhachkala/Hannover 96 vs Newcastle/FC Metalist Kharkiv
VfB Stuttgart/Genk vs Borussia M'gladbach/Lazio
Tottenham/Lyon vs Inter Milan/CFR Cluj-Napoca
Levante/Olympiacos vs Atletico Madrid/Rubin Kazan
Basle/Dnipro vs Zenit St Petersburg/Liverpool
Ajax/Steaua Bucuresti vs Sparta Prague/Chelsea
Well I think its fair to say Liverpool and Tottenham got the shit of the stick in this draw. Newcastle got a tough draw and considering how we have been playing this season so far regardless of who we bring in January, I don't think we will beat Metalist Kharkiv. I think Chelsea will be happiest of the four Premier League teams with their draw. I expect Tottenham and Chelsea to go through and for Liverpool and Newcastle to go out in the next round.
(This post was last modified: 21-12-2012 22:28 by dan g 27.)
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