The Champions League continues this week, with the home-and-home games during Matchdays three and four. During these two weeks, teams always play the same opponent, with one game home and one game away. These games are often crucial in determining the final group standings. There are a number of mismatches in tomorrow's games but also some very interesting fixtures.
The early game features a Group B encounter between last-place CSKA Moscow and surprising first place Trabzonspor. This is a game CSKA desperately needs - they only have one point from their first two games and dropped their last game to struggling Inter at home. Trabzonspor has impressed, snatching a win in Milan while playing well in a draw against Ligue 1 high-fliers Lille. Trabzonspor have kept up their good form domestically and will certainly not be overmatched in Russia, but Russian teams are usually strong at home and CSKA will know that they need this game. I think the Russians will take a tight win going into the next fixture in Turkey.
I feel like I must write about Group A because of the dearth of talent between the four teams. Napoli takes on Bayern while City is home to Villarreal. I think City will take care of Villarreal without too much trouble, and while Bayern looks like the best team in the group, Napoli are very strong at home and have loads of attacking power. Bayern's backline has been shaky in the past, but they have not conceded a goal in eight straight domestic games - quite an impressive run of form. Having Manuel Neuer in goal certainly helped solidify the defense. Napoli has the talent to win here, but a 0-0 or 1-1 draw looks like the likely result.
Basel hosts Benfica tomorrow to begin the home-and-home, which is huge for both teams. Basel got a dream result in Manchester with the 3-3 draw, while the Portuguese are also off to a good start with four points from the first two games. This game is my upset pick - I think Basel wins this game to go three clear of Benfica before the teams head to Lisbon. Basel is in very impressive form and Benfica are not as strong away in Europe as they are at home. Here are all of my selections for tomorrow's games:
CSKA Moscow - Trabzonspor: HOME WIN
FC Basel - Benfica: HOME WIN
Dinamo Zagreb - Ajax: AWAY WIN
Lille - Inter Milan: DRAW
Manchester City - Villarreal: HOME WIN
Napoli - Bayern Munich: DRAW
Otelul Galati - Manchester United: AWAY WIN
Real Madrid - Lyon: HOME WIN
Monday, October 17, 2011
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Key Points to Look At For the Remainder of the Premier League Season
This week highlighted a few questions that will exist for the entire Premier League season:
Will any team punish Manchester United’s defensive weaknesses? It seems like nearly every week there is a discussion about United’s defense, and after the poor showing in a 3-3 draw against Basel midweek, United again looked fragile in defense during their 2-0 win over Norwich. A clean sheet doesn’t really tell the story – there were numerous chances (not just half-chances) that Norwich had to score, with Anthony Pilkington particularly culpable. Norwich is not one of the better teams in the league, but Chelsea and Tottenham have also failed to punish United’s faults in the back. Is it just luck that United are not giving up as many goals, or is their defensive scene not as bad as it looks at times? It will be interesting to see if they continue to get the breaks or if they are finally punished for their weak defending.
Can Manchester City put aside its off-field issues to win any trophies this season? Carlos Tevez struck again this week, as did Edin Dzeko, and the City formula seemed to be unraveling again. But a thumping 4-0 win over Blackburn over the weekend seemed to put the issues to the side, despite an injury to Sergio Aguero. With the great investment City’s owners have made in the team comes the egos of overpaid players. If Roberto Mancini can continue to get results from his side, they have the talent and experience to challenge for the top in every competition. If the other issues consume the side, they will likely endure another trophy-less season.
Who will take fourth place in the league? A common question for the past few years – however, this season presents only two real candidates for fourth: Tottenham and Liverpool. It looks like a three-horse race for the title between United, City and Chelsea; I don’t think Newcastle is a legitimate contender despite their blazing form, and Arsenal is still a ways away from being in serious contention. Tottenham looks very strong, with a flurry of attacking options in Adebayor, Defoe, Modric, Bale, and Van der Vaart. Liverpool have not been as impressive of late, but also have strong attacking options with Carroll, Suarez, Adam, and Gerrard on his return. This race could involve more teams if something unexpected happens, but it looks like a two-team duel for fourth.
Which relegation contenders will stay consistent enough to stay up? This is shaping up to be one of the best relegation battles of recent years, as the promoted teams are all playing well so far. Many years the key to survival is consistency, and avoiding long stretches without taking three points from a game. Bolton are currently in a six-game slide, while Blackburn and Wolves have also endured stretches in the early season without gaining points. The biggest games for lower-table sides are the games in which they play each other, while points gained against the top sides are “bonuses.” Early losses against Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City are of little concern to sides like Norwich and Swansea, but the final standings will likely be decided when they face off against each other.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
UCL Matchday 2 - Part II
The first matchday brought a lot of excitement and controversy - primarily surrounding Manchester clubs United and City, who both fared poorly in the day's action. Despite missing many of their first team stars, many people, including myself, thought United would take all three points at home to Basel without a problem. In the end, they were fortunate to gain a point, with Young's late header saving the day. United's major problem is their weakness at the back, and their enormous scoring output at the beginning of the season only masked their defensive weaknesses. Conceding three goals to an unfancied Basel side at home is a very poor result, and as SAF said, is a true wake-up call to United. They cannot defend like this much longer and expect to continue to sit at the top of the table. City's problems are both on the field and off it, and it's such a dramatic mess that I don't even want to talk about it much. All I have to say is, Tevez needs to go, and I would kick Mancini out the door with him if I could get Mourinho. That all remains to be seen though.
I surprised myself a bit by getting six out of eight positive selections from yesterday's games, only foiled by United's stinker and Inter's win in Russia. I thought that slate of games was a bit more unpredictable, but we'll see. Headlining the day's action is Valencia and Chelsea in Spain, which marks Juan Mata's return to his former employers. The Blues should be far too strong for this Valencia side, despite their good form. Arsenal - Olympiakos has upset potential because of the Gunner's recent weak form, but it's going to be tough for the Greeks to get a point. BATE is 21-1 odds to take down Barcelona, and while I think the Catalans will win, I think it could be far closer than the odds suggest. Here's the picks for Wednesday:
Zenit - Porto: DRAW
AC Milan - Viktoria Plzen: HOME WIN
Arsenal - Olympiakos: HOME WIN
BATE Borisov - Barcelona: AWAY WIN
Bayer Leverkusen - Genk: HOME WIN
Marseille - Dortmund: DRAW
Shakhtar - APOEL: HOME WIN
Valencia - Chelsea: AWAY WIN
I surprised myself a bit by getting six out of eight positive selections from yesterday's games, only foiled by United's stinker and Inter's win in Russia. I thought that slate of games was a bit more unpredictable, but we'll see. Headlining the day's action is Valencia and Chelsea in Spain, which marks Juan Mata's return to his former employers. The Blues should be far too strong for this Valencia side, despite their good form. Arsenal - Olympiakos has upset potential because of the Gunner's recent weak form, but it's going to be tough for the Greeks to get a point. BATE is 21-1 odds to take down Barcelona, and while I think the Catalans will win, I think it could be far closer than the odds suggest. Here's the picks for Wednesday:
Zenit - Porto: DRAW
AC Milan - Viktoria Plzen: HOME WIN
Arsenal - Olympiakos: HOME WIN
BATE Borisov - Barcelona: AWAY WIN
Bayer Leverkusen - Genk: HOME WIN
Marseille - Dortmund: DRAW
Shakhtar - APOEL: HOME WIN
Valencia - Chelsea: AWAY WIN
Monday, September 26, 2011
Premier League - Week 6; Champions League Matchday 2
Not much time to write this week, luckily there wasn't too much to write about. United finally dropped their first points of the season at Stoke, who is getting better and better every day. If this club continues on the course it's on, it could be a powerhouse in England in the future, while also having done it the "right" way. Everyone's favorite #9, Fernando Torres, managed to do his second inexplicable thing in two weeks to cancel out a well taken goal, receiving a red card towards the end of the first half against Norwich. The result was never in doubt - it's just puzzling what goes on in Torres' head sometimes. The major positive for Chelsea is that he seems to be back on track with his finishing. There weren't too many other exciting games this weekend, although I thought Norwich looked very good today against a disappointing Sunderland side that should be much better. Sunderland has experience in the back with Brown and O'Shea, brought in Bendtner to fill the holes up top left by Gyan and Welbeck, and Sessegnon to provide explosiveness in midfield. The Black Cats should be much better, and Steve Bruce will have to start worrying about his job if the results do not improve.
Tomorrow brings Matchday 2 of the Champions League. There are some great matchups, headlined, as will be throughout this year's group stage, by Group A. Bayern and Manchester City square off in Munich tomorrow, with City sitting joint top in the EPL and Bayern top of the Bundesliga with six straight wins. CSKA-Inter should be interesting as well, with Russian teams typically very strong at home and Inter finally beginning to end their swoon. Trabzonspor-Lille could be interesting as well - the Turks are top of the group with the opening win in Italy. Here's my picks for tomorrow:
CSKA Moscow - Inter Milan: DRAW
Bayern Munich - Manchester City: HOME WIN
Lyon - Dinamo Zagreb: HOME WIN
Manchester United - FC Basel: HOME WIN
Napoli - Villarreal: HOME WIN
Otelul - Benfica: AWAY WIN
Real Madrid - Ajax: HOME WIN
Trabzonspor - Lille: DRAW
Tomorrow brings Matchday 2 of the Champions League. There are some great matchups, headlined, as will be throughout this year's group stage, by Group A. Bayern and Manchester City square off in Munich tomorrow, with City sitting joint top in the EPL and Bayern top of the Bundesliga with six straight wins. CSKA-Inter should be interesting as well, with Russian teams typically very strong at home and Inter finally beginning to end their swoon. Trabzonspor-Lille could be interesting as well - the Turks are top of the group with the opening win in Italy. Here's my picks for tomorrow:
CSKA Moscow - Inter Milan: DRAW
Bayern Munich - Manchester City: HOME WIN
Lyon - Dinamo Zagreb: HOME WIN
Manchester United - FC Basel: HOME WIN
Napoli - Villarreal: HOME WIN
Otelul - Benfica: AWAY WIN
Real Madrid - Ajax: HOME WIN
Trabzonspor - Lille: DRAW
Monday, September 19, 2011
Premier League - Week 5 Recap
This week was a very interesting one in the Premier League. There were a lot of goals, and we had the year's best game so far in Manchester United's 3-1 win over Chelsea. Arsenal and Liverpool struggled again and Manchester City finally dropped points.
There were many things to take from Sunday's game between United and Chelsea, the most important being that, despite the opinions of many writers, there are three contenders for the title this year. Chelsea lost the match but dominated the game, which as a Chelsea fan, leaves me disappointed but encouraged. It wasn't clear that Chelsea had the quality to contend with the heralded "Manchester clubs" at the top, but the Blues played their best game even though the result was a loss. Two of Manchester United's goals were scored from offside positions, and Rooney's goal was an unfortunate deflection, while Chelsea missed numerous glaring chances, most notably Torres and Ramires. United played very well in the attacking third, and could have scored more themselves, so I am not going to argue that the win was completely undeserved. On another day, this is a Chelsea win, but Sunday they simply were not good enough in front of goal, and United took the chances they had. Nani played the best game I'd ever seen from him, even though he threw in a theatrical fall to earn the penalty. From United's point of view, they should hail the result, but realize the midfield is weak defensively and the back four have quite a bit of work to do. Chelsea can look at this game as further evidence that they are a true contender, but they must finish in front of goal much better if they are to survive all season.
The next tier of teams, which to me contains Arsenal, Liverpool, and Tottenham, is looking like a season-long saga of the battle for fourth. Tottenham look front-runners right now after demolishing Liverpool 4-0, but also because their squad looks the deepest and most likely to endure the whole season. They have strong attackers in Van der Vaart, Defoe, Adebayor and Bale, spectacular midfielders in Modric and Parker, and a decent enough back line to not leak in too many goals. This is the major problem for both Liverpool and Arsenal, even though I think that Liverpool's defensive issues stem more from their shoddy midfield play. Liverpool simply isn't getting enough from Charlie Adam or Jordan Henderson, and unfortunately for the Reds, Luis Suarez can't win them every game on his own. Carroll looks lost up top and their defensive record looks like it did in the preseason. However, it is not as bad as Arsenal's, which is worst in the Premier League after conceding four more goals at Blackburn. It's time to get serious for Arsenal - these type of performances cannot continue if they are to contend in any competition. The defending is dreadful, and it seems like whenever the opposing team has the ball in Arsenal's final third there is going to be a goal. They surely miss Vermaelen, but his absence is not the only problem. Every game is huge for the Gunners now as they try and regain their form.
All three promoted clubs won on Saturday, and while none of them played particularly strong opposition, it gives them hope of staying up this year. Swansea's win was the most important, as they finally scored their first goals of the season in earning their first ever Premier League win. How Newcastle is yet to lose this season is beyond me, as their squad is constantly being depleted, but they have continued a strong start with a 1-1 draw at Villa. QPR looks like they could be for real, with the new signings proving their worth. They could contend for a top-half spot if they avoid injuries.
Carling Cup games this week won't be too interesting, then we're back to the Champions League next week. Next weekend's games are also pretty unappetizing, but Stoke-Manchester United should be interesting, as well as QPR-Aston Villa.
There were many things to take from Sunday's game between United and Chelsea, the most important being that, despite the opinions of many writers, there are three contenders for the title this year. Chelsea lost the match but dominated the game, which as a Chelsea fan, leaves me disappointed but encouraged. It wasn't clear that Chelsea had the quality to contend with the heralded "Manchester clubs" at the top, but the Blues played their best game even though the result was a loss. Two of Manchester United's goals were scored from offside positions, and Rooney's goal was an unfortunate deflection, while Chelsea missed numerous glaring chances, most notably Torres and Ramires. United played very well in the attacking third, and could have scored more themselves, so I am not going to argue that the win was completely undeserved. On another day, this is a Chelsea win, but Sunday they simply were not good enough in front of goal, and United took the chances they had. Nani played the best game I'd ever seen from him, even though he threw in a theatrical fall to earn the penalty. From United's point of view, they should hail the result, but realize the midfield is weak defensively and the back four have quite a bit of work to do. Chelsea can look at this game as further evidence that they are a true contender, but they must finish in front of goal much better if they are to survive all season.
The next tier of teams, which to me contains Arsenal, Liverpool, and Tottenham, is looking like a season-long saga of the battle for fourth. Tottenham look front-runners right now after demolishing Liverpool 4-0, but also because their squad looks the deepest and most likely to endure the whole season. They have strong attackers in Van der Vaart, Defoe, Adebayor and Bale, spectacular midfielders in Modric and Parker, and a decent enough back line to not leak in too many goals. This is the major problem for both Liverpool and Arsenal, even though I think that Liverpool's defensive issues stem more from their shoddy midfield play. Liverpool simply isn't getting enough from Charlie Adam or Jordan Henderson, and unfortunately for the Reds, Luis Suarez can't win them every game on his own. Carroll looks lost up top and their defensive record looks like it did in the preseason. However, it is not as bad as Arsenal's, which is worst in the Premier League after conceding four more goals at Blackburn. It's time to get serious for Arsenal - these type of performances cannot continue if they are to contend in any competition. The defending is dreadful, and it seems like whenever the opposing team has the ball in Arsenal's final third there is going to be a goal. They surely miss Vermaelen, but his absence is not the only problem. Every game is huge for the Gunners now as they try and regain their form.
All three promoted clubs won on Saturday, and while none of them played particularly strong opposition, it gives them hope of staying up this year. Swansea's win was the most important, as they finally scored their first goals of the season in earning their first ever Premier League win. How Newcastle is yet to lose this season is beyond me, as their squad is constantly being depleted, but they have continued a strong start with a 1-1 draw at Villa. QPR looks like they could be for real, with the new signings proving their worth. They could contend for a top-half spot if they avoid injuries.
Carling Cup games this week won't be too interesting, then we're back to the Champions League next week. Next weekend's games are also pretty unappetizing, but Stoke-Manchester United should be interesting, as well as QPR-Aston Villa.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Champions League - Day 1 Matchday 1
Day 1 featured all close, exciting contests. Many of the underdogs in today's contests played far better than expected, with AC Milan snatching a 2-2 draw in Barcelona, and Genk holding Valencia 0-0 at home. I picked mostly favorites for the matches, leaving me with only two correct selections out of the eight games. Oh well, I never said they were going to be right. My team of the day is APOEL, as they came from behind to take a 2-1 victory over Russian power Zenit. Zenit is backed by international experience and expectation, as well as finances, making them favorites in the match. As has proven in the last few years, Cypriot teams are well trained, and while they are not the most talented, they are organize and difficult to break down. Many of the "minnows" in the Champions League each year are pounded when facing larger sides because of a lack of discipline in the back. Through thirteen Champions league matches, a Cypriot side has yet to lose a match by more than one goal. Extremely impressive. As clear underdogs in Group G, APOEL have given themselves a great start by gaining the win today.
Tomorrow's games are not nearly as appetizing, but Manchester City - Napoli will feature some of the world's best attacking players, while Villarreal - Bayern also features two European giants. Every game in Group A should be fantastic this year. Benfica - Manchester United could be interesting if Benfica can continue the typical Portuguese play at home, but United should be far too much to handle. Here's my predictions for Day 2, hopefully they go better than Day 1:
Ajax - Lyon: DRAW
Basel - Otelul: HOME WIN
Benfica - Manchester United: AWAY WIN
Dinamo Zagreb - Real Madrid: AWAY WIN
Inter - Trabzonspor: HOME WIN
Lille - CSKA Moscow: DRAW
Manchester City - Napoli: HOME WIN
Villarreal - Bayern Munich: AWAY WIN
Tomorrow's games are not nearly as appetizing, but Manchester City - Napoli will feature some of the world's best attacking players, while Villarreal - Bayern also features two European giants. Every game in Group A should be fantastic this year. Benfica - Manchester United could be interesting if Benfica can continue the typical Portuguese play at home, but United should be far too much to handle. Here's my predictions for Day 2, hopefully they go better than Day 1:
Ajax - Lyon: DRAW
Basel - Otelul: HOME WIN
Benfica - Manchester United: AWAY WIN
Dinamo Zagreb - Real Madrid: AWAY WIN
Inter - Trabzonspor: HOME WIN
Lille - CSKA Moscow: DRAW
Manchester City - Napoli: HOME WIN
Villarreal - Bayern Munich: AWAY WIN
Monday, September 12, 2011
Premier League Week 4
Week 4 in the Premier League saw more of the same, as the Manchester clubs romped to easy wins. Chelsea had their first solid performance of the year in defeated Sunderland away, while Arsenal and Liverpool struggled. Wolves lost their first game of the year home to Tottenham while West Brom picked up their first win away to Norwich.
The beginning of this season has been marked by the attacking prowess of Man City and Man United, both winning all four of their opening games with large goal differences. Wayne Rooney and Sergio Aguero have been particularly prolific, and both teams have played fluent, clinical attacking football. The two clubs look the deepest and most talented in the league, but after seeing Chelsea collapse after a similar start last year, I will not declare those two the only two contenders. Chelsea finally put in a total performance on Saturday, defeating Sunderland 2-1. Danny Sturridge was a spark for the offense, scoring a great goal to give Chelsea a two-goal advantage. Torres again looked uninterested, and I am beginning to think more and more that he does not deserve a place on this team. With attacking options in Drogba, Anelka, Sturridge, and Lukaku, Torres must return his play - and his attitude - to form, or Villas-Boas should not even consider starting him. With this performance, I see Chelsea as a serious contender - leaving three for the time being.
As for Arsenal and Liverpool, it was a weekend for forget. Arsenal finally obtained their first win of the season, albeit on a mistake by Swansea's goalkeeper, and were far from dominant in a home match against arguably the worst team in the league. There are still injuries and suspensions for Arsenal, so it will get better, but the team looks in shambles heading to Dortmund tomorrow. Liverpool put in a better performance, but failed to get a point away to Stoke. The Reds created numerous chances but failed to put any away, and Carragher gave away a silly penalty for the game's only goal. Liverpool have less to worry about than Arsenal, but if they think they can seriously contend for the title, they must be able to grind away at least a point in tough road games. Liverpool have the depth and quality to challenge for the Champions League places, but their performance in games like Saturday will define their season.
Tomorrow is one of my favorite days of the year: the beginning of the Champions League group stages. There are plenty of great matchups as well, with many of the top teams in each group playing each other. I'm going to venture some predictions for each matchday, starting with the games tomorrow. The home team is listed first.
APOEL - Zenit : DRAW
Barcelona - AC Milan: HOME WIN
Chelsea - Bayer Leverkusen: HOME WIN
Dortmund - Arsenal: HOME WIN
Porto - Shakhtar: HOME WIN
Genk - Valencia: AWAY WIN
Olympiacos - Marseille: DRAW
Plzen - BATE: HOME WIN
I expect Porto - Shakhtar to be the closest game of the day, while Dortmund - Arsenal and Olympiacos - Marseille to be very close as well. I'm looking forward to seeing Chelsea tomorrow, hopefully in a win. All games start at 2:45 EST.
The beginning of this season has been marked by the attacking prowess of Man City and Man United, both winning all four of their opening games with large goal differences. Wayne Rooney and Sergio Aguero have been particularly prolific, and both teams have played fluent, clinical attacking football. The two clubs look the deepest and most talented in the league, but after seeing Chelsea collapse after a similar start last year, I will not declare those two the only two contenders. Chelsea finally put in a total performance on Saturday, defeating Sunderland 2-1. Danny Sturridge was a spark for the offense, scoring a great goal to give Chelsea a two-goal advantage. Torres again looked uninterested, and I am beginning to think more and more that he does not deserve a place on this team. With attacking options in Drogba, Anelka, Sturridge, and Lukaku, Torres must return his play - and his attitude - to form, or Villas-Boas should not even consider starting him. With this performance, I see Chelsea as a serious contender - leaving three for the time being.
As for Arsenal and Liverpool, it was a weekend for forget. Arsenal finally obtained their first win of the season, albeit on a mistake by Swansea's goalkeeper, and were far from dominant in a home match against arguably the worst team in the league. There are still injuries and suspensions for Arsenal, so it will get better, but the team looks in shambles heading to Dortmund tomorrow. Liverpool put in a better performance, but failed to get a point away to Stoke. The Reds created numerous chances but failed to put any away, and Carragher gave away a silly penalty for the game's only goal. Liverpool have less to worry about than Arsenal, but if they think they can seriously contend for the title, they must be able to grind away at least a point in tough road games. Liverpool have the depth and quality to challenge for the Champions League places, but their performance in games like Saturday will define their season.
Tomorrow is one of my favorite days of the year: the beginning of the Champions League group stages. There are plenty of great matchups as well, with many of the top teams in each group playing each other. I'm going to venture some predictions for each matchday, starting with the games tomorrow. The home team is listed first.
APOEL - Zenit : DRAW
Barcelona - AC Milan: HOME WIN
Chelsea - Bayer Leverkusen: HOME WIN
Dortmund - Arsenal: HOME WIN
Porto - Shakhtar: HOME WIN
Genk - Valencia: AWAY WIN
Olympiacos - Marseille: DRAW
Plzen - BATE: HOME WIN
I expect Porto - Shakhtar to be the closest game of the day, while Dortmund - Arsenal and Olympiacos - Marseille to be very close as well. I'm looking forward to seeing Chelsea tomorrow, hopefully in a win. All games start at 2:45 EST.
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