Champions League Predictions

[Wanlie Tong]

Anyone want to share their predictions for the Champions League round of 16? My picks:

Internazionale over Manchester United
Arsenal over Roma
Barcelona over Lyon
Atletico Madrid over FC Porto
Chelsea over Juventas
Villarreal over Panathinaikos
Real Madrid over Liverpool
Bayern Munich over Sporting Lisbon

[Guo Xiang ( :]

Internazionale over Manchester United
Arsenal over Roma
Barcelona over Lyon
FC Porto over Atletico Madrid
Chelsea over Juventas
Panathinaikos over Villarreal
Real Madrid over Liverpool
Sporting Libson over Bayern Munich

[Guo Xiang]

I don't have a good feeling of the Inter-ManUtd match too... But I do hope Man Utd will win!

For the other fixtures,

Roma over Arsenal (sorry but Arsenal really sucks now. Can't see how they are going to pass this)

Barcelona over Lyon

Atletico Madrid over FC Porto

Juventus over Chelsea (Chelsea sucks now too, and I hate Chelsea)

Villarreal over Panathinaikos

Real Madrid over Liverpool

Bayern Munich over Sporting Lisbon

[Wanlie Tong]

After the first game the only Sporting Lisbon is definitely finished having been crushed by Bayern Munich. Panathinaikos has put themselves in a good position to advance with the 1-1 draw at Villarreal. Given the way the two teams have been playing lately the surprise for me was Liverpool beating Real 1-0 at Real. Arsenal hasn't played great this season but they are undefeated in their last 12 league games. With the 1-0 win at home they only need to tie Roma to advance. For the second game in a row a bad mistake by Valdes hurt Barca, but I can't see Lyon winning or even drawing at Camp Nou. The most interesting match up remains Inter and Man U. Man U dominated but couldn't score and I get the impression that even though the next game is at Old Trafford that Mourinho has accomplished what he set out to do which was not concede an away goal. Chelsea hasn't been very good lately, but then neither has Juve. I think that the new coach will be enough to get them past Juve, especially since all they need to do is now is draw to advance.

[Guo Xiang]

Indeed. I was surprised by the Arsenal and Liverpool results. But then again, Liverpool has got a record of doing well in European football but not so in domestic league...

[yongbifan]

Indeed. I was surprised by the Arsenal and Liverpool results. But then again, Liverpool has got a record of doing well in European football but not so in domestic league...

the Inter-United 2nd leg is a toss up..could go either way but i think the red devils will win it comfortably(they played very defensively in San Siro)..i think if Lyon are a bit more adventurous they can beat Barcelona(worst defensive unit among any top team..they just outscore their opposition which is entertaining)..i think Bayern is the dark horse along side Panathinaikos...


go!!!

[Wanlie Tong]

the Inter-United 2nd leg is a toss up..could go either way but i think the red devils will win it comfortably(they played very defensively in San Siro)..i think if Lyon are a bit more adventurous they can beat Barcelona(worst defensive unit among any top team..they just outscore their opposition which is entertaining)..i think Bayern is the dark horse along side Panathinaikos...


go!!!

Man U has won very few games comfortably this season. I wouldn't be surprised to see another 0-0 draw. If Inter should score first I think Man U is in a lot of trouble, but then I thought Inter was going to win at home.

Not suprisingly I disagree with your analysis of Barca vs Lyon. Barca's style of play gives opponents opportunities but with Iniesta due back from injury their midfield will be improved which will ease the pressure on the back four. I don't believe you will see the type of awful defensive performance they showed against Atletico Madrid again this season. I don't think Lyon has a chance no even if they play a more offensive minded game.

[kenixgoh]

My guess :

ManU over Inter
Arsenal over Roma
Barcelona over Lyon
Porto over Atletico Madrid
Juventus over Chelsea
Panathinaikos over Villarreal
Liverpool over Real Madrid
Bayern Munich over Sporting Lisbon

[yongbifan]

ya i agree barca will make it past Lyon but i believe their defense is suspect...i mean Puyol isnt what he was and Marquez and Abidal are way overrated..Pique is talented but just isn't there yet...it looks like an all english final again depending on who draws Barca..

[Wanlie Tong]

ya i agree barca will make it past Lyon but i believe their defense is suspect...i mean Puyol isnt what he was and Marquez and Abidal are way overrated..Pique is talented but just isn't there yet...it looks like an all english final again depending on who draws Barca..

The backs are the weakest part of the team no doubt. Alves is their best back. I agree about Marquez. I think Abidal has played pretty well this year but he is out for two months. Puyol has been suffered from a variety of leg injuries so it has been difficult to assess how much he has actually declined.

It will be interesting to see how it plays out. The final I want to see is Man U vs Barca as I think they are probably the best two teams in Europe.

[KeongJai]

Man Utd. for the quintuple

[Wanlie Tong]

It seems like the optimal strategy for this round would have been to pick all four English teams first and then make your choice for the rest. For me Porto was the biggest surprise of the the teams advancing. I found the ease with which Liverpool crushed Real astonishing. Anyway, kenixgoh did the best with six correct out of eight, I had five out of eight, while the two Guo Xiangs each had four correct.

[Guo Xiang]

Man Utd. for the quintuple

Would love to see them do that, but Liverpool could still be a threat in CL. Liverpool may be a toothless tiger in EPL, but they are really good in CL.

[KeongJai]

Would love to see them do that, but Liverpool could still be a threat in CL. Liverpool may be a toothless tiger in EPL, but they are really good in CL.

Liverpool might have had a good chance in the EPL this year if Torres wasn't injured.

[Guo Xiang]

Liverpool might have had a good chance in the EPL this year if Torres wasn't injured.

Man Utd has got a truckload of injuries too.

Rafa's tactics in the EPL are sometimes of suspect.

[Sparky ( :]

Man Utd has got a truckload of injuries too.

Rafa's tactics in the EPL are sometimes of suspect.

They appeared to work well today. With consecutive thrashings of Real in the CL & Man U in the EPL they look to be the hottest team in Europe right now. They won't win the Premiership but the CL seems to be a real possibility.

[Guo Xiang]

They appeared to work well today. With consecutive thrashings of Real in the CL & Man U in the EPL they look to be the hottest team in Europe right now. They won't win the Premiership but the CL seems to be a real possibility.

Impressive work from Liverpool, even though I'm upset by the crushing defeat.

But to win the Premiership, Liverpool have to maintain this form while hoping Man Utd continue dropping points which I do not think is likely.

I'm not even sure if Rafa's going to stay for the next season. It's strange how he's such a failure in EPL but has achieved such success in CL. But if he leaves at the end of the season, makes one wonder what's the point of driving Rick Parry out then.

[Wanlie Tong]

Impressive work from Liverpool, even though I'm upset by the crushing defeat.

But to win the Premiership, Liverpool have to maintain this form while hoping Man Utd continue dropping points which I do not think is likely.

I'm not even sure if Rafa's going to stay for the next season. It's strange how he's such a failure in EPL but has achieved such success in CL. But if he leaves at the end of the season, makes one wonder what's the point of driving Rick Parry out then.

I can't see Liverpool catching Man U either. Man U has a game in hand, and the the better goal differential. Even if Man U loses the game in hand, they would have to drop five points while Liverpool would have to be perfect. I think the interesting race is between Aresenal & Villa for the final CL spot for next year. Since those are my two favorite teams after Barca I don't know who to root for.

The situation with Rafa's contract is interesting. A couple of weeks ago
I was sure he would be gone after this season. I would think that the last couple of weeks would have stregthened his bargaining position so mabe he will get the type of control he wants.

[Wanlie Tong]

Here is the draw for the next round of the CL:
Villarreal Arsenal
Man U Porto
Liverpool Chelsea
Barcelona Bayern

Man U fans should be pleased having drawn probably the weakest remaining team, Liverpool & Chelsea fans surely didn't want their teams to meet in this round. With the exception of Man U vs Porto these have the potential to all be interesting ties. My picks:
Aresnal over Villareal
Man U over Porto
Liverpool over Chelsea
Barcelona over Bayern

Arsenal is playing well right now, I think Villareal gives up too many goals to be able to stop Arsenal from scoring enough to win.
Under Hiddink, Chelsea's playing has improved but Liverpool has looked even better.
Barcelona has settled down after a hitting a little rough patch, though they continue to show some vulnerability in the back. I haven't seen any Bundesliga games this season so I don't know how Bayern has been playing but Barca is my favorite team so I'll go with them.

[Guo Xiang ( :]

Aresnal over Villareal
Porto over Man U
Liverpool over Chelsea
Barcelona over Bayern

Wanlie Tong: There. Now you have to read my poem.