Topic: UEFA Champions League Discussion Thread - page 987. (Read 129814 times)

Of course not, no opposition can consider a match against Real Madrid a walk in the park, we're talking about one of the best team in the world, but i'm rooting for city to win because of how many goals city usually scores at the Etihad, if the first leg had prolly ended in a draw or a win for the Spanish champions, then imo, city will be knocked out. But now Madrid have to outscore Manchester City at the Etihad and you know how difficult that is to do, City will definitely score goals, that's why i'm also firmly in the belief that they'll progress to the next round.

They really got a huge boost from the break too, so I agree. They should just focus in on the Champions League, they may never get such an "easy" chance again to win it. They can probably shock opponents right now with their attack, I would LOVE to see this happen.

What's the best odds right now to bet on? I don't mind putting $10 on Atalanta!

Yeag Mbappe is out for 3 weeks to recover his ankle ligament injury. This could miss him the championship games if team could make it to that day. This is a chance and opportunity for him to keep up with a good record of goals in his previous matches. Anyway, still the team got some good players. Hopefully that it will not be lthat ong before Mbappe recovers his leg injury. I am having a high hopes in this team that could win in a championship match.

Manchester City is only strong in the premier league. When they compete against other champions in the UCL, they're usually lacking. That's the main reason why they haven't won a champions league title till date. It's true that they have one of the best teams in europe but always end up not winning the title on each iteration.

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Do you all think that Real Madrid will  easily let go of the title? What's stopping them from beating Man city by a solid goal margin when they come to the UCL? Considering they've improved significantly recently, that game wouldn't be a walk in the park for city.

City are favourites to win the CL, I have a feeling for Bayern though, they just look a really well balanced unit. I would say PSG could go far but Mbappe suffered a bad injury on the weekend.

Man City is really a good team. I was impressed with their last match against Norwich City, you know they won the match by 5-0. they attacked a total 31 times. on the other hand, Man City is the best scorer team on season 19-20. I am being a fan of Man City by watching their game-play and strategy on this season, hopefully next season they will be able to beat Liverpool and win the cup.

The losses are big with Dybala and De Ligt. They are key players of Juventus at the moment. Douglas Costa is another important loss for Juventus in the match with Lyon. They need to have a win to go forwards.
It does not make sense. Records are born to be break by someone else, by some team. Do you remember how Rooney broke the undefeated record of Arsenal years ago? That is what usually happens in life. And Real Madrid has their strength to do this.

Honestly I watched the last match of Man City in Premier League and I agree that they are so strong. But let's see and surprises are what we wait for in football. It is a beauty of football.

Dybala got a muscular problem yesterday and it is not clear his recovery.

They will look day after day if he can recover for Juventus-Lyon 

At the moment:

Chiellini Broken
Demiral Broken
DeLigt almost Broken, need a shoulder surgery
De Sciglio Broken
Douglas Costa Broken, can't recover
Khedira Broken
Dybala Broken
Higuain problem on his back

Not a good shape 

I may agree on Bayern as Bayern is no doubt a superior team to Barcelona at this moment and me being supporter of Barcelona is surely being irrational on this pick but Real Madrid to semi-final is almost impossible. You are putting too much faith on Real Madrid. It's been over 8 months since Man City last lost at Etihad and you are telling me that Ramos-less Real Madrid will not only defeat Man City at Etihad but will do so by the margin of two goals!!

Just a quick stat for you:
Manchester City have scored 32 goals at Etihad in their last 9 matches while conceded only one goal in those 9 matches!!

You seem to be right.
According to this article in Marca, ]https://www.marca.com/en/football/real-madrid/2020/07/26/5f1d554846163fb74c8b45c6.html[url][/url] it seems that it has already been agreed that an exception will be made in the case of Real footballers.
''Oliver Dowden is the UK's secretary of state for sport and he previously stated that Champions League and F1 events should be able to go ahead as planned.It is believed that Dowden hasn't changed his tune on this, with Sky Sports reporting that elite sportspeople will not have to follow this new measure if they travel to the UK for competition''

Anyway, good news for both Real and all football fans.

The return matches of the round of 16 will be played according to the original UEFA schedule.
Only from the quarterfinals, only 1 game will be played in the tournament in Portugal.
And I also believe that Real still have a chance regardless of the defeat in the first match.

Wait, didn't I read somewhere that the remaining matches were to be played in Portugal? Or that only applies to matches from the next qualification round?
I do hope Real Madrid turn up positively and win the match to go into the next round thou it will be a serious uphill task with our Captain being suspended from playing the match.

The main reason why exception are made is because professional athlete have received serious monitoring from the health team on a regular basis. Those who will be sent to England have passed medical test and it is very unlikely that Madrid will bring ailing player to England along with the whole team and that is not possible. All team involved in the tournament must receive special attention from the medical team even without Covid-19. They must have their health checked, especially since Covid-19 is still there and ensures health before departure.

No doubts that exception for professional athletes will be made. I already read that F1 racers won't have to stay in 14 days quarantine, their race will be held next weekend. It was confirmed by BBC journalist that it applies to "other elite sports"
https://mobile.twitter.com/andrewbensonf1/status/1287095290525372416

It seems to me Atalanta now is a downhill, they have nothing more to ask in the Seria A (the only difference between second and 4th place are 10ish million € in prizes.
They can also maybe saving strength to do an all-in in the Champions League.

1 game turns are "lottery" everything can happen.

I actually know of someone from Spain who's just arrived in the UK. They were recommended to self-isolate but no actual measure to enforce this. I'm pretty sure the same will be for professional sports, or perhaps indeed they will be "semi-self isolated" who knows? FA will get this sorted though, so no problem.

Meanwhile, all eyes on England now for the coming games!

Will the match between Manchester City and Real Madrid be played according to the original plan?
In today's article, Marca writes that the fate of this match is in the hands of British Prime Minister Johnson.

From the article:
''Anyone arriving to the UK from Spain is now being told to self-isolate for 14 days, so this could affect Real Madrid if they travel for the game.There may be an exception made for professional sportspeople, but this is in the hands of UK prime minister Boris Johnson and his government.''

Source: https://www.marca.com/en/football/real-madrid/2020/07/26/5f1d554846163fb74c8b45c6.html

The Atalanta's forwards and strikers are playing amazingly this season. Together they have score lots of goals in Serie A and Champions League. With the injury that looks serious for KM7 and the ageing of Thiago Silva, I see big challenge for them to prevent Atalanta scoring. With fear always exists in mind, PSG's players will go panic if Atalanta score first.
I don't think Man City will get easy win. They will be challenged by Real Madrid and might lose.
I would prefer to see Atalanta, Atletico, Bayern and Real Madrid go to the semi-final round. With Lewy in squad, Bayern will beat Barcelona.

Eff me I forgot about that Ramos card. So that's why the bookies don't have them on good odds haha. I still want to get back at Real for 18/19 (just a friendly bout of getting one back) but I'd rather they progress than Citeh, just because!

City deserves where they get for sure, and you'd think they'd have gotten farther but I wonder if their chinks are showing now after losing to Arsenal. But @webtricks is right, they'll probably whip the boys from Madrid if you let them have it. Still, whoever got 30/1 on Real to win must be really happy!

PSG is actually not even good as a team. We all know the personal brilliance of players like Mbappe, Neymar, Icardi, Di Maria and that's usually enough for PSG to win the Ligue 1 title every year but PSG as a team will not even make to Top 5 in Premier League or Top 3 in La Liga. Their midfield sucks and every attack has to come from wings. Forwards like Neymar and Di Maria have to play as wide-midfielders to compensate for weak midfield. Thiago Silva is aging thus only Marquinhos is quality player in back-line for them. On the other side, Atalanta is playing on whole different level as a team. Trio of Ilicic, Gomez and Zapata is most deadly attack in the Europe right now (maybe Bayern is better a bit). Let's see how PSG with injured Mbappe performs against Lyon in Coupe De France. That match going to be very important in deciding odds for Atalanta vs PSG clash. I am taking anything above 3 for Atalanta.


Also, Man City have a habit of giving nasty guard of honour. They gave one with 4-0 to Premier League winners, let see what they got for La Liga champions.

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It may be little sooner but here are my picks for remaining Champions League fun:

Juventus vs Lyon (draw. maybe 1-1 or 2-2)
Man City vs Real Madrid (easy win for Man City)
Bayern vs Chelsea (draw or win for Bayern)
Barcelona vs Napoli (win for Barcelona)

Quarter Finalists (teams I expect to win in bold):
Atalanta vs PSG
Leipzig vs Atletico
Barcelona vs Bayern
Manchester City vs Lyon

Leipzig before lockdown was exceptional but lost rhythm post-lockdown just like Lazio. Won't be a tough job for Atletico with the addition of in-form Carrasco with them.

I am going big with above picks on sportsbooks. Let see how fruitful it going to be.