ljkeane Posted December 14, 2020 Share Posted December 14, 2020 Well shit. I came here to complain about the Champions League draw but it seems unimportant now. He wasn’t quite able to take Liverpool to the title win but, really, he did a pretty decent job winning all those trophies. Some of best times I’ve had as a fan were watching those cup runs. RIP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mexal Posted December 14, 2020 Share Posted December 14, 2020 Arsenal v Benfica. Love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted December 14, 2020 Share Posted December 14, 2020 Oof. Drawn against Real Sociedad. That's going to be a tough one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Horse Named Stranger Posted December 14, 2020 Share Posted December 14, 2020 As for the CL draw. Gladbach wanted Liverpool for historical reasons (and arguably having a bigger pull than City (should be sold out anyway (assuming fans are allowed back in by then)) and got City. City should win this, but again, Gladbach are not a bad team, and if not taken seriously, can cause them some calamities. Liverpool have to play Leipzig. One of the tougher teams from pot 2. Should also be a win for the EPL team, but also not an easy game. Chelsea with arguably the toughest draw of the EPL teams with Atletico. Bayern with their usual luck got Lazio, one of the easier draws. Dortmund should also be able to make it against Sevilla. Real Atlanta is a nice draw. And PSG Barca is the big name match up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted December 15, 2020 Share Posted December 15, 2020 Dortmund/Sevilla should be a tight game. Sevilla have had some indifferent results up to now but they, like the other teams that participated in European comps in August, had no preseason and it's taken time to get the squad up to speed. The no preseason hurt teams like Sevilla who rely a lot on intensity and aggressive pressing. Chelsea have definitely gotten the toughest draw out of all English teams - Atleti and Barca were easily the two strongest runners up. I think Atleti will take this one. Real/Atalanta has the potential of an upset but I expect Real will be better by Feb and they have a lot of big match players who tend to raise their games when the knockouts come around. There's also some drama at Atalanta as one of their key players (Papu Gomez) has had a very public falling out with Gasperini. PSG/Barca. I expect PSG will get through that one so long as 4 key players are fit for the tie - Neymar, Mbappe, Verratti and Marquinhos. Barca's only hope is for Messi to play a blinder. Leipzig/Liverpool. Normally I'd say Liverpool would romp to victory here but with the injuries they are constantly being hit with, this could be a close game. However if Liverpool end up a full or close to full squad (minus VVD) to pick from by the time this game comes around, they will win easily. Gladbach/City. On paper City should have no trouble here but we all know how City tend to shit the bed in CL knockouts so another potential upset is on the cards with this one. Bayern/Lazio and Porto/Juve look to be the least interesting matchups. Can't see anything other than regulation wins for Bayern and Juve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted December 15, 2020 Share Posted December 15, 2020 1 hour ago, Consigliere said: Leipzig/Liverpool. Normally I'd say Liverpool would romp to victory here but with the injuries they are constantly being hit with, this could be a close game. However if Liverpool end up a full or close to full squad (minus VVD) to pick from by the time this game comes around, they will win easily. From a Liverpool point of view I think how the rest of the season is going to go is going to depend on Thiago's fitness. With both of Van Dijk and Gomez out I think the best case scenario for the defence is it being okay-ish. If we can dominate midfield enough to not expose it much it might not matter, if we're going to see regular performances like the first half against Fulham it's going to be a big problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted December 15, 2020 Share Posted December 15, 2020 Lampard giving every oppponent a two-player advantage by insisting on playing Havertz and Werner is some bold management. I'm not saying neither will come good for Chelsea but at the moment they are bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted December 15, 2020 Share Posted December 15, 2020 Didn't watch the game but I see that Wolves pulled off a win against Chelsea with a 95th minute winner. Just reading some reports, it seems it was another flat performance from Chelsea with Havertz and Werner having poor games. Havertz has been struggling more post Covid though. Could be he is still feeling the effects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soylent Brown Posted December 15, 2020 Share Posted December 15, 2020 If he is he wouldn't be playing, surely? More likely he's just taking time to adjust to his new environment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 Before contracting Covid, Havertz looked like he was starting to settle but since coming back he's looked knackered and struggles to get around the pitch. It's just speculation but he's moving around the pitch the way Pogba was earlier in the season and Pogba has said that even after he recovered from Covid he was getting tired and was out of breath quickly. He probably should be given more time to properly regain his fitness just as Pogba should have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soylent Brown Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 OGS doesn't really have the best track record of allowing players to recover properly. You'd assume fitness and stamina is tracked during regular training to some degree though, and that players would discuss any issues with coaches / medical staff. Has Havertz been getting subbed off, or has he been playing full matches consistently? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heartofice Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 This is my thinking too. Surely modern clubs pay super close attention to a players fitness levels. If a player has a reduced capacity then the clubs medics and coaches would know about it. What benefit can there really be to start such a player, it's not really that their performance would drop off after an hour, it would probably be reduced the entire game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 Doesn't rule out Lampard rushing Havertz back. I find this line of argument to be rather silly. We see time and again season after season cases of players being rushed back when they aren't fully fit or being played even though they are carrying an injury. I don't watch all Chelsea games but I had a look and Havertz has been substituted in each of Chelsea's last 5 games. Reports that Bilic is on the verge of being sacked and West Brom are preparing to replace him with Sam Allardyce who will be given a 6 month contract. ETA. West Brom confirm the departure of Bilic. https://www.wba.co.uk/news/club-statement-slaven-bilic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rorshach Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 West Brom making a ..... bold .... yes, indeed, bold, has to be the word here ... desicion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFatCoward Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 Anyone watching, are Saints good or Arsenal shite? Or both? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AncalagonTheBlack Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 oh dear, i think Arsenal need Big Sam more than WBA! Walcott scores...that must hurt a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soylent Brown Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 I've got a bad feeling about the game tonight. It would be very, very Mourinho to get us back for ruining Chelsea's unbeaten home run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AncalagonTheBlack Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 3 minutes ago, Soylent Brown said: I've got a bad feeling about the game tonight. It would be very, very Mourinho to get us back for ruining Chelsea's unbeaten home run. I'd take a draw now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Antony Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 Saka Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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