Association football (soccer)

All those Neuer supporters went to Messi, now that he's seemingly over his injury bug from last year. Funny how many people just looked over that when they declared CR7 suddenly the best player in the world.

Banter, my mate, banter!

Though, seeing the PoY lists all filled with players representing the same 3 or so teams is frankly disgusting. Reminds fans of lower tier clubs like Hertha Berlin (I have faith they will eventually make CL one day) that they have no chance to compete for titles in the current system. Even BvB is a glorified feeder club for Bayern, and they won back-to-back Bundesliga titles. More's the shame. Competition is good, to me, and there isn't nearly enough of it in this sport.

Along the flanks, Puncheon and Bolasie are usually deployed. Instead of Campbell, I wish Gayle would play upfront more often. He performed well against Liverpool, but came off injured against Swansea yesterday. I hope he recovers soon.

As for Boateng, I am not sure if he has played any premier league games for Crystal Palace thus far.



Crystal Palace was in a slump until the win against Liverpool (who was in a greater slump). Against Swansea yesterday, the team managed to secure a draw. Hopefully, Palace will be able to secure more points in the upcoming matches. Their work rate, determination and of course the fans, are incredible. Not saying just because I am a Palace supporter.

I imagine at this point in the season, EVERY other team in EPL looks at Liverpool as a winnable match. Amazing how dependent a team can be on one player, even moreso than Real with Ronaldo, or Barca with Messi.

Hoping that Basel puts LFC out of the Champions League (not just because I support Basel, but because Liverpool has no business in the competition without Suarez).

Real this season is a team, a very destructive team at that (Ronaldo score less than a half of their goal, and their insurgence has been dependent on the form of Isco and Kroos), the only one man teams this season in La liga is Sevilla with Carlos Bacca and Celta with Nolito. Barcelona is hitting a slump in morale since their engine is getting old and complacent.

Real looks as close to unstoppable as any squad I've seen in recent times. I would be shocked if they don't repeat as CL champions. The only team I think has a real chance to beat them is Chelsea, assuming they don't suffer any serious injuries. But even then, I think Madrid would be favored if they were to play.

To me the biggest surprise to close out the year is the massive struggles of BvB over in the Bundesliga. I wonder if there has been a team to make the knockout stages of CL then be relegated in domestic league. They are not showing many signs of pulling out of that position atm. They really miss Lewa's closing in front of goal.

They do seem to lack fire power, Immobile hasn't been proving himself as a replacement, and Reus needs to find a new start, the burden of being the "it" factor for a team seems to weigh in to heavy for him.

I just pray to all the Gods that exist in the sports universe that Reus doesn't end up sporting a Bayern shirt. I've heard Arsenal as a possible spot, which I would be alright with (since real life is not like FIFA, and he will never sport a Hertha shirt).

A bit sad to see Southampton beginning to fall off after running in 2nd place to this point. Looks like it will be the usual top-4 again this year in EPL: Chelsea, Man City, Man U then Arsenal will probably clinch it near the end, as usual. Want some new faces in there Dx

So that this is the matchups for the start of knockout rounds.

Which is your favorite matchup? Or what do you think is going to be the best one to tune in for? Any upsets?

I think PSG vs Chelsea will be the toughest of the matchups, but Man City and Barcelona can be a close second. Upset wise I really cannot see one outside maybe Monaco over Arsenal. Otherwise the matches seem rather even well outside of maybe the bye round for Bayern.

When they announced Schalke vs Real, I was like "Next time on Suprise Buttsecks: Round 2!"

Shakhtar vs Munich should be a good match to watch. Shakhtar have been scoring for fun in the CL this season and well, we all know what Bayern are capable of.

Looking forward to Chelsea against PSG (Not biased at all lol). We beat them last season and we're a better team now so I expect us to make it through. Though I shouldn't underestimate PSG, still a quality team.

It has been a while since I came into this thread.

In December, Crystal Palace sacked Neil Warnock and appointed Alan Pardew as manager. The latter has brought about a revival in Crystal Palace and I hope the form continues, at least until the team is safe from relegation.

And to avoid being too focused on Crystal Palace, I wonder what are everyone's predictions on the teams to finish in the top 4 positions of the English Premier League this season, thus qualifying for the Champions League next season? Southampton, Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham, and perhaps even West Ham are in the running.

I do love Arsenal but to me them and Liverpool I just never really have faith in. They just seem like teams that consistently drop towards the end of a season. ManU I think will have one of the other 2 cause they do have depth in their squad, but their main problem I think will be if they have enough on the defensive end. Also I cannot see West Ham making a big enough run to catch up....

So that puts between Southampton and Tottenham. To me Southampton is lacking that star player that can take over games down the stretch to pull out wins, especially against top clubs. Tottenham on the other hand has a good talent pool with players like: Eriksen, Adebayor, Soldado, Kane, Lamela. Not saying Southampton cannot do it because I think so far they shown they are getting there, but I just feel like Tottenham has that depth that should pushed them ahead.

It will definitely be refreshing to see a couple of new faces (or rather, teams) in the Champions League. When was the last time Tottenham and Southampton participated in the elite European competition?

Tottenham were in the Champions League in 2011. Southampton have never actually been in the Champions League equivalent though...it would be an amazing achievement should they make it, and I think they can if they keep their squad fresh and injury free. Though that's a difficult task. I think either Arsenal or Man United will beat them to it, Tottenham have a good chance of getting in given the form they have. Here's hoping they do.

Unfortunately, things are looking like the same old same old teams in the CL next season. Except maybe this is the first season in a while Arsenal doesn't quite make it. Man U on the rebound, unfortunately, especially if they land Reus in the offseason. Just excited to see Wolfsburg come out of the Bundesliga. Hope they can make a run.

Everyone loves a good underdog, but unless players over preform what people expect out of the, a small club comes into a lot of money to get some great players, or big clubs just need to have a terrible year; it will be rare sight to see a smaller Club in the top 4.


Well surprising events today in UEFA league round of 16.

PSG hosted Chelsea and was an overall even match ending in a 1-1 draw, but Chelsea heads back to England with an away goal and the advantage, same as last year. Great goal by Ivanovic and even a goal created solely by the defense of Chelsea. Cavani scored to tie it but sort of lucky after not getting a lot of it.

Of course the reason why I said surprising day was cause of the Shakhtar hosting Bayern. Not only did this game seem feisty but ended in a 0-0 draw? 8 yellows and a Red plus a blooded head seems like I missed a crazier game.

Good day and tomorrow we have:
Basel vs Porto
Schalke vs Real Madrid

CL semi draw result are Barca-Bayern and Juve-Madrid. Curious about what will Pep do against his former team.

Meanwhile Europa League draws Dnipro-Napoli and Sevilla-Fiorentina

Well Real and Juventes game was good and really don't see Real in trouble yet cause they are going home with a away goal and only need 1-0 win to really move on.

Bayern and Barca was a great game but in the end Messi took over by putting in 2 and Neymar putting it a 3rd. Down 3 goals going home isn't completely rule Bayern out cause they can score with the best of them, but their scoring chances in first game didn't encourage me to think they can come back.