2014/15 Association Football (Soccer) thread

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destinyunknown

Banned deucer.
Leverkusen vs Atlético
Atletico should win this but leverkusen should be able to match them for at least one tie. Hopefully Atletico do what they are good at and press the living hell out of leverkusen so it is at least interesting or fun to watch because one thing is for sure, Leverkusen aren't going to sit back in both matches.
The key point of this pairing will be whether Leverkusen is able to adjust to defend counterattacks or not. Both teams are powerful at set pieces and pressing high up the pitch, but Leverkusen have lost many points in the Bundesliga and the UCL due to being caught up on counters (see both games vs Monaco, or last weekend against Mönchengladbach), and Atletico is great at that. Should be an interesting tie nonetheless, and I will try to watch it live at Vicente Calderon :)
 
Barcelona should win against City, it's a no contest really. I have a feeling that Juventus might just edge it against Dortmund, it's a very good matchup. Arsenal got nice and lucky this time, Monaco have some decent players but you wouldn't bet on them to go through at all!
 
Since we are all doing CL Round of 16 predictions...

(NOTE: a lot can happen from now till February which will be the CL Round of 16, so this can easily go the other way for some cases)

Paris Saints-Germaine vs Chelsea - This is will be a really close matchup in all honesty and anything can happen, but I see Chelsea having the upper hand and will take this round in the end. I believe PSG and Chelsea are probably the two best defensive teams, so it is possible we could see some bus parking, but I foresee a highly tactical game between the teams.

Manchester City vs Barcelona - Oh man, this matchup is pretty hard to say, but I am going with Barcelona here. Man City has demonstrated some capability without their top tier players in their game against Roma to take them into the Round of 16, but this is Barcelona with the Suarez-Neymar-Messi trio. Joe Hart will probably have to have the best two games to stop the onslaught and Aguero needs to be healthy. Depending on circumstances, I see Barcelona coming out with the victory most likely.

Bayer Leverkusen vs Atlético Madrid - I can see Leverkusen at least getting a tie or even a win against Atletico in Germany, but I don't see them doing super well in the away leg. I expect a highly physical game (hey, it's Atletico) and it could be a pretty fun match to see since both teams love to play very offensive football. It'll be a matter of which teams has the better stamina and currently I think that team is Atletico Madrid.

Juventus vs Borussia Dortmund - Ah, the rematch of the 1997 Champions League Final matchup. Both teams doing fantastically well in the CL and it is another close matchup, but I think Dortmund is the better team (assuming they have all their players, which...who knows come February).

Schalke vs Real Madrid - Schalke could pull off a miracle at home, but it'll be over when it goes to the Bernabeu like everyone else is thinking. There's always next season.

Shakhtar vs Bayern Munich - Shaktar has some pretty fantastic players otherwise they wouldn't be in the Round of 16, but Bayern Munich is Bayern Munich, so yeah. I am surprised Bayern didn't draw Arsenal again this year. #MiaSanMia

Arsenal vs Monaco- Ah, the English team that lucks out with the draw matchups. Arsenal has been inconsistent this season and injuries have been plaguing them, but I think they will be able to pull out a win in aggregate and might concede a few extra goals in one of the legs.

Basel vs Porto - no one really knows either team, but I am gonna go with Porto simply because Basel should have capitalized a lot more in their game against a 10 man Liverpool squad, but hey, should be good?
 
How..did..we...avoid...them all...

Monaco!

We might possibly make it 1 step further into the CL. Which will be more than enough to secure Wenger's job regardless of PL performance!

I'm exctied about the draw though..the stars have aligned and we avoided the 2 clubs that constantly badger us.
I was honestly expecting Bayern and Arsenal to play each other again this year xD
 

HBK

Subtlety is my middle name
It's annoying to see Drogba continue to start games ahead of Rémy. He has performed well whenever he's been called upon and he deserves to start when Costa's being rested. Decent performance today, Luis scored a cracking free kick, who knew? We should be able to win the whole thing, making a league and cup double very likely.
 

HBK

Subtlety is my middle name
Lee Mason got it horribly wrong, that foul was not deserving of a red. But, of course, you can always count on Young to make the most of such situations with his theatrics. Fucking prick.
 
Just what is happening to Dortmund? UCL Finalists to last in the Bundesliga (which is now a joke, I'm pretty sure Bayern could be sued for monopoly practices if someone has the patience), this is the most astonishing stuff I've seen in the football world in years...
 
Maybe they had good players and overperformed at the same time, now they lost some good players and are underperforming at the same time. I guess it also shows how competitive the German league is. Honestly I think Dortmund were a fairytale story that people kinda wanted to be true and the media and everyone held on to that belief when the results were good (kind of a perfect storm of top players, top manager, and few injuries) but deep down you know that they don't yet have the necessary resources to keep up and now they crashed (losing top players, manager maybe a bit tired out, really unlucky with injuries) but should pick up again.

Also I miss Berbatov in the PL
 
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Sapientia

Wir knutschen
is a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Dedicated Tournament Host Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnusis a Past SPL Champion
Shortcut: Klopp led to a tactical revolution in the Bundesliga which killed himself in the end.

It's a very polemic argument, but the football in the Bundesliga changed a lot in the last year and therefore Klopps ideas don't work very goiod anymore. Most teams are afraid of Dortmund's pressing and are therefore trying to avoid holding the ball in dangerous areas. So they try to stand high up the pitch or on the wngs to make it impossible for Dortmund to get to their box within few seconds after losing theball
There qre also plenty of other reason vut i dont feel like going more into detail now due to being on the phone
 
Dortmund going down would make for a fun transfer window.

and I put Austin in my Fantasy team :D

and Everton ffs ruin my accumulator :(
 

Lee

@ Thick Club
is a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnus
i am stuck in fucking bolton for the biggest game of the season, this pub has less atmosphere than a funeral...Braaaap, get your arse down to the Red Lion and i'll get you a pint.
 
Terrible stuff from michael oliver in this first half

pussied out of sending flamini and gave a non existing foul for arsenal's set piece equalizer
 
Newcastle lose to Sunderland

Liverpool battering Arsenal.. score in last minute of the first half.. Arsenal score in added time.. almost trolling that
 

HBK

Subtlety is my middle name
Lol @Borini, the super sub. Fun game for the neutrals, frustrating for the supporters. Sczeczny was the man of the match but couldn't do anything about Squirtle's goal, that was just lazy marking.
 
I only watched the first half but basically Liverpool played lovely triangles but had absolutely no one near the box to finish chances while Arsenal kept passing it back to Liverpool to have another go.

Arsenal had too many headless chickens and not enough composure, and it's understandable because Welbeck and Giroud haven't played much together and their understanding was non-existent. Sanchez just looks tired, but Cazorla has been reborn and he's holding the ship together at the moment.

I liked Liverpool's formation, but it won't work unless they have a striker at the top who is willing to run into the box and have the composure to finish chances. Sterling was anonymous.
 
todays mid-table game was alright.
bloody squirtle, someone at work I am right behind always has him on a day he does stuff other then leak goals :(
 
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