Italian League Prediction Thread (Serie A)

[borovichok]

AC Milan are struggling so far against Newcastle in their Champions League Group F opener. So far 40 minutes of playing time have passed but neither team has been able to score a goal so far. Newcastle are playing well enough considering their opponents AC Milan. If new castle had played badly, Milan would have been able to score by this time.  

Since 40 minutes of the first 45 minutes are already over, I don't think any team can score in the fast half. The result of the game will be decided in the next 45 minutes. The way the 2 teams are playing, it looks like the game will stay this way. But if some half chances come then those half chances must be converted into full chances, the team which can convert the half chances into full chances will win.

It's second halve, 0-0 on the scoresheet, the game moving as I presume it to be. Both sides have not made the differences perhaps when it comes to attempts, AC Milan have the upper hand, let's see if they would be able to thrash the magpies. AC Milan having tough time to beat Newcastle in the opening leg of UEFA Champions League. I was expecting more pressure on Newcastle because these players are novice when it comes to elite football. While Eddie Howe is trying his possible best to match up strength with Stefano Pioli, challenging for them.

[savetheFORUM]

I don't agree with what you say. In my opinion Garcia made too many changes all at once at the beginning of the championship and it would have been better to take advantage of a proven team, which had won the previous championship many weeks before it ended (and this explains the decline towards the end of the championship when they had many points advantage over their direct competitors and therefore had an understandable drop in tension), and making small changes and modifications to the formation and game organization during construction and based on the form of its players.

I don't see any special thing with Rudi Garcia performance in four Serie A matches with Napoli, have remaining 5 points left from top standings team Inter Milan looks he can't show best performance from Napoli. Actually is not easy how to be defend champion teams manager with Spaletti success made Napoli winning Scudetto and get many points left from Lazio who stand 2nd placed last season. However very early to claim with bad reputation for Rudi Garcia and need few matches later to see Napoli keep in the winning tittle race or he don't has capacity make Napoli defend their tittle last season. Have several important player left make him need new scheme and build up again Napoli as the winner mentality team and keep fighting for defending domestic league tittle.

After just four matches things looking not suitable for the defending champions because their performance is having no consistency and Victor Osimhen is also not having aggression like last season if things keep going like this surely they could be suffered badly because right now at the top we have three teams which are giving their best and can create gape from them but still we can expect good changes from the Rudi Garcia because he is experienced campaigner and have ability to bring changes.

But, we need few quick and positive changes because if few other teams also able to have improvement then surely pressure will be on Napoli for the better performance, and they can suffer with this all situation right now Lazio, Roma and Atlanta are also had inconsistency which is helpful for the Napoli to regain their performance and spot as well.

[giammangiato]

AS Roma have amazing performance last night after winning over 7-0 from Empoli, its good recovery after have poor performance in last three matches and winning with bigger score will make AS Roma over confidence upcoming match in domestic league and Europe League. Special performance with Romelu Lukaku success opening first goals for AS Roma and he answers Roma fans have believing and give opportunity for him. Success got three points against Empoli make AS Roma move few position above after have been in relegated standings position before and right now move up until 12th standings placed. Good capital for AS Roma winning over Empoli for upcoming match in Europe League against Sheriff and Jose Mourinho have winning Europe League tittle for getting slot automatically to Champion League next season if fail finish on top fourth standing in domestic league.

Truly crazy performance by Roma, a result that makes it clear that Roma really exists
I think that Jose Mourinho`s detractors should now admit that they were wrong, he may not like him as a person, but as a coach he is really very good. 7-0 mean this.
Roma demonstrated uncompromising superiority over the opposing team, which went into total panic

Yes Jose is a great coach, he is rude but good.

Empoli defeat with a score of 7-0 is very humiliating and clearly highlights the importance of a solid defense in football. A real defence.

A robust defense is essential to protect your goal and limit your opponents opportunities to score. Empoli go mad with Roma play and without an effective defense, a team risks conceding goals frequently, and it happen for total 7.

I think that Empoli seriously risks going to Serie B if they dont reverse the trend.

[beerlover]

I don't agree with what you say. In my opinion Garcia made too many changes all at once at the beginning of the championship and it would have been better to take advantage of a proven team, which had won the previous championship many weeks before it ended (and this explains the decline towards the end of the championship when they had many points advantage over their direct competitors and therefore had an understandable drop in tension), and making small changes and modifications to the formation and game organization during construction and based on the form of its players.

I agree with most of your post, but I also think that sometimes as outsiders it is easy for us to have opinions. I actually have the same opinion like you, but we have to admit that we don't see the team at training sessions. Signaling to the team that the first eleven is set in stone because of what they achieved last season isn't necessarily the right path of action for a new manager. If it works out when he changes a lot, then he is the hero but if it doesn't he will immediately have to deal with repercussions from the public, the fans and perhaps the team itself. It's often a fine line for new managers and really, a manager taking over a team that just won the title with 16 points ahead of the 2nd can essentially only lose. What is left there for Garcia to win?

That's true, there are situations where people could only make predictions and assumptions and we could not really know what's going on. This is why I keep telling people that Maguire could be actually better than what we think as well.

Think about it, that dude played under 3-4 different managers at United, and all of them kept him, if he was as bad as we think he was, don't we think that managers would just cut him from the squad the moment they get a chance to do it? They would all tell the team to get a defender urgently and get rid of him. He must be great at training to keep getting a chance, obviously injuries to other players matters in that sense too. We will never be able to understand what a manager thinks when they do something.

[tusandii]

Inzaghi is really very calm in various conditions and what's great is that he doesn't show excessive gestures of confidence even though he is on the right track. He is aware that it is still very early to forget the euphoria because the challenges are still quite long at both domestic and European levels. But I am sure that if all Inter players are able to maintain a conducive team situation and have full trust in Inzaghi, then it is very possible for them to win the Scudetto title.

Yes i agree with you about Inzaghi.

Inter victory against Milan 5-1 shows how essential it is for the players of a football team to work together. When each player passes the ball accurately, defends with determination and supports each other, the team becomes stronger.

This collaboration is essential to score goals and prevent opponents goals. In essence, football teaches us that the success of a team depends on the ability of different players to work together towards a common goal. Inzaghi join all players togheter in a strong team

It can be said simply that Inter Milan has players who are able to work together strongly without relying on other players, but all the players in this club play an important role in being able to play optimally to score a score that can give victory at the end of the match and I really like Inter Milan performance against Milan's brother in yesterday's derby match, it was very clear that the two clubs had differences and it was just that Inter was superior to the strength of the teamwork of players who were always looking for ways to score.

[hahay]

Inzaghi is really very calm in various conditions and what's great is that he doesn't show excessive gestures of confidence even though he is on the right track. He is aware that it is still very early to forget the euphoria because the challenges are still quite long at both domestic and European levels. But I am sure that if all Inter players are able to maintain a conducive team situation and have full trust in Inzaghi, then it is very possible for them to win the Scudetto title.

Yes i agree with you about Inzaghi.

Inter victory against Milan 5-1 shows how essential it is for the players of a football team to work together. When each player passes the ball accurately, defends with determination and supports each other, the team becomes stronger.

This collaboration is essential to score goals and prevent opponents goals. In essence, football teaches us that the success of a team depends on the ability of different players to work together towards a common goal. Inzaghi join all players togheter in a strong team

It can be said simply that Inter Milan has players who are able to work together strongly without relying on other players, but all the players in this club play an important role in being able to play optimally to score a score that can give victory at the end of the match and I really like Inter Milan performance against Milan's brother in yesterday's derby match, it was very clear that the two clubs had differences and it was just that Inter was superior to the strength of the teamwork of players who were always looking for ways to score.

But, because Milan seems to get a closer schedule too meaning, Milan only has a few days break to prepare his team to play in the Champions League. Then maybe, that factor also makes Milan get a little more difficult pressure because of the fact, Milan also only draw 0-0 in the Champion League. With results like that, then I might say that Milan still don't have good preparation to face a schedule like this, so it has a bad impact on their performance too. But yes anyway, I also still recognize that Inter are basically better than Milan, and I think Simone Inzaghi has really succeeded in forming a great team for Inter.

[temple]

But, because Milan seems to get a closer schedule too meaning, Milan only has a few days break to prepare his team to play in the Champions League. Then maybe, that factor also makes Milan get a little more difficult pressure because of the fact, Milan also only draw 0-0 in the Champion League. With results like that, then I might say that Milan still don't have good preparation to face a schedule like this, so it has a bad impact on their performance too. But yes anyway, I also still recognize that Inter are basically better than Milan, and I think Simone Inzaghi has really succeeded in forming a great team for Inter.

What is the point of talking about a game when you only look at the result and do not mention that AC Milan played physically and mentally strong against Newcastle United and was by far the better team? It is sometimes that no goal is scored and this was one of those games, but that doesn't mean they played a bad game and they were tired or anything. If you look at how the Champions League game went, you would normally say that it was the opposite, that AC Milan really bounced back from their disappointment against Inter. This game was encouraging in my opinion and the result was bad and disappointing because these three points could have been theirs if they wouldn't have been totally out of luck with their shots on target.

[lalabotax]

Empoli defeat with a score of 7-0 is very humiliating and clearly highlights the importance of a solid defense in football. A real defence.

Yes, Empoli is actually not doing well this season. Since the start of the season, they have always lost, never drawn or won in Serie A. The peak of their misery was when they lost badly to Roma yesterday. Yes, this is really sad. In fact, in the past, even though the club wasn't a favorite club, it wasn't this bad, right? They seemed to have to try to be more optimal, at least occasionally achieving a win or a draw. With such bad results, this really brought down the players' mentality, so that they increasingly had very low motivation. Zanetti must be able to immediately end this series of defeats and restore Empoli's mentality and performance to the best possible level. If not, he deserves to be replaced. But the problem is whether it will be different if the coach changes, and whether they have enough funds for that. On the other hand, players must also be able to optimize their performance and the tactics given by their coach well. This is a quite complex problem for Empoli. A small club that is really in danger of relegation if it continues like this.

[Leviathan.007]

Inzaghi is really very calm in various conditions and what's great is that he doesn't show excessive gestures of confidence even though he is on the right track. He is aware that it is still very early to forget the euphoria because the challenges are still quite long at both domestic and European levels. But I am sure that if all Inter players are able to maintain a conducive team situation and have full trust in Inzaghi, then it is very possible for them to win the Scudetto title.

Yes i agree with you about Inzaghi.

Inter victory against Milan 5-1 shows how essential it is for the players of a football team to work together. When each player passes the ball accurately, defends with determination and supports each other, the team becomes stronger.

This collaboration is essential to score goals and prevent opponents goals. In essence, football teaches us that the success of a team depends on the ability of different players to work together towards a common goal. Inzaghi join all players togheter in a strong team

It can be said simply that Inter Milan has players who are able to work together strongly without relying on other players, but all the players in this club play an important role in being able to play optimally to score a score that can give victory at the end of the match and I really like Inter Milan performance against Milan's brother in yesterday's derby match, it was very clear that the two clubs had differences and it was just that Inter was superior to the strength of the teamwork of players who were always looking for ways to score.

But, because Milan seems to get a closer schedule too meaning, Milan only has a few days break to prepare his team to play in the Champions League. Then maybe, that factor also makes Milan get a little more difficult pressure because of the fact, Milan also only draw 0-0 in the Champion League. With results like that, then I might say that Milan still don't have good preparation to face a schedule like this, so it has a bad impact on their performance too. But yes anyway, I also still recognize that Inter are basically better than Milan, and I think Simone Inzaghi has really succeeded in forming a great team for Inter.

AC Milan is not in bad form and I can't understand why some people think after the game they lost against Inter Milan, and because of the results they got in that game we should say AC Milan is in danger.
AC Milan is still racing on top of the table in Serie A which is good enough for them, also they got a 0-0 result against Newcaslte while we know Newcaslte is not a weak team.,
Regarding the game between Inter Milan and AC Milan, we should not forget some layers in AC Milan were in bad form and injured.

[ingiltere]

AC Milan is not in bad form and I can't understand why some people think after the game they lost against Inter Milan, and because of the results they got in that game we should say AC Milan is in danger.
AC Milan is still racing on top of the table in Serie A which is good enough for them, also they got a 0-0 result against Newcaslte while we know Newcaslte is not a weak team.,
Regarding the game between Inter Milan and AC Milan, we should not forget some layers in AC Milan were in bad form and injured.

You can't say that a team that conceded 5 goals from their biggest rival in the derby is not in bad form. As a result of this score, they experienced a serious demoralization. In order for this not to turn into a crisis, they must win their next match and show that they have forgotten this match. Otherwise, the bad situation will continue for Milan. They finished today's Champions League match goalless and the performance was poor. Only Leao could score a goal in the Inter match and now they finished a match without scoring. Milan needs goals from Pulisic and Giroud and other players have to push harder to score as well.

[Google+]

Yes Jose is a great coach, he is rude but good.

Empoli defeat with a score of 7-0 is very humiliating and clearly highlights the importance of a solid defense in football. A real defence.

A robust defense is essential to protect your goal and limit your opponents opportunities to score. Empoli go mad with Roma play and without an effective defense, a team risks conceding goals frequently, and it happen for total 7.

I think that Empoli seriously risks going to Serie B if they dont reverse the trend.

Jose Mourinho has a rough character, but the appearance of that character will be seen if his team loses because he is like that. Indeed, this big victory made Roma stop bad trend and return to winning ways. However, can they maintain their pace consistently in every match because Roma is often unstable in their playing performance. Sometimes they can play quite well but they have great difficulty scoring goals.

This season Roma will not be able to compete with Inter Milan in the race for the title, because Inter Milan has progressed quite well this season by sweeping the first 4 matches with wins. I think that since Roma succeeded in bringing in Lukaku, their front line strength has become more aggressive and I hope that Jose Mourinho can polish Lukaku into a truly aggressive player who can score lots of goals this season.

[asriloni]

AC Milan are struggling so far against Newcastle in their Champions League Group F opener. So far 40 minutes of playing time have passed but neither team has been able to score a goal so far. Newcastle are playing well enough considering their opponents AC Milan. If new castle had played badly, Milan would have been able to score by this time. 

Since 40 minutes of the first 45 minutes are already over, I don't think any team can score in the fast half. The result of the game will be decided in the next 45 minutes. The way the 2 teams are playing, it looks like the game will stay this way. But if some half chances come then those half chances must be converted into full chances, the team which can convert the half chances into full chances will win.

It's second halve, 0-0 on the scoresheet, the game moving as I presume it to be. Both sides have not made the differences perhaps when it comes to attempts, AC Milan have the upper hand, let's see if they would be able to thrash the magpies. AC Milan having tough time to beat Newcastle in the opening leg of UEFA Champions League. I was expecting more pressure on Newcastle because these players are novice when it comes to elite football. While Eddie Howe is trying his possible best to match up strength with Stefano Pioli, challenging for them.

Newcaslte's goal keeper was man of the match. I must admit how great the performance from newcastle's goal keeper is by blocking so numerous attacks from acmilan. The groupstage becomes even harder, caued by acmilan and newcastle are equal even though milan had advantage to play as sansiro. It's a very good result for newcastle caused by milan unable to get full points against it.

It's amazing to see that how newcastle's goal keeper was always punching the ball. Newcastle's defender seem still awkward to play in UCL competition. I saw that how they were not able to play as usual like in EPL.

[Leviathan.007]

Yes Jose is a great coach, he is rude but good.

Empoli defeat with a score of 7-0 is very humiliating and clearly highlights the importance of a solid defense in football. A real defence.

A robust defense is essential to protect your goal and limit your opponents opportunities to score. Empoli go mad with Roma play and without an effective defense, a team risks conceding goals frequently, and it happen for total 7.

I think that Empoli seriously risks going to Serie B if they dont reverse the trend.

Jose Mourinho has a rough character, but the appearance of that character will be seen if his team loses because he is like that. Indeed, this big victory made Roma stop bad trend and return to winning ways. However, can they maintain their pace consistently in every match because Roma is often unstable in their playing performance. Sometimes they can play quite well but they have great difficulty scoring goals.

This season Roma will not be able to compete with Inter Milan in the race for the title, because Inter Milan has progressed quite well this season by sweeping the first 4 matches with wins. I think that since Roma succeeded in bringing in Lukaku, their front line strength has become more aggressive and I hope that Jose Mourinho can polish Lukaku into a truly aggressive player who can score lots of goals this season.

This time Jose Mourinho got what wanted to get.  
Jose Mourinho is a great coach for any team but in the last season he didn't have a player to fill Dybala's place when he got injured and that's why this team couldn't have the good performance we were expecting to see from them in Europe League, but this time they got Lukaku in their teams. However, I think Lukaku is not in good form and made many mistakes this summer but I'm sure this palyer can help Roma in this season.

[Raflesia]

This time Jose Mourinho got what wanted to get.  
Jose Mourinho is a great coach for any team but in the last season he didn't have a player to fill Dybala's place when he got injured and that's why this team couldn't have the good performance we were expecting to see from them in Europe League, but this time they got Lukaku in their teams. However, I think Lukaku is not in good form and made many mistakes this summer but I'm sure this palyer can help Roma in this season.

Roma this week did play very well and I like the performance they put in this week but on the other hand don't let this become a condition where they are complacent because this week's match may not apply to them next week if they are complacent. Now, especially if you look at the current schedule, they definitely have to rotate so that the players don't experience fatigue and the worst possibility of injury because they also have to prepare to face Sherif in the Europa Legaue with a gap of 2 days.

I still hope for a good finish from them in the next match so that I can be sure they can be able to compete again at least for the Europa League next season.

[arimamib]

This time Jose Mourinho got what wanted to get.  
Jose Mourinho is a great coach for any team but in the last season he didn't have a player to fill Dybala's place when he got injured and that's why this team couldn't have the good performance we were expecting to see from them in Europe League, but this time they got Lukaku in their teams. However, I think Lukaku is not in good form and made many mistakes this summer but I'm sure this palyer can help Roma in this season.

Roma this week did play very well and I like the performance they put in this week but on the other hand don't let this become a condition where they are complacent because this week's match may not apply to them next week if they are complacent. Now, especially if you look at the current schedule, they definitely have to rotate so that the players don't experience fatigue and the worst possibility of injury because they also have to prepare to face Sherif in the Europa Legaue with a gap of 2 days.

I still hope for a good finish from them in the next match so that I can be sure they can be able to compete again at least for the Europa League next season.

Roma have a busy schedule this week and I think they must be able to manage as well as possible to maintain fitness in each game. Roma will face Sheriff in tomorrow's match with the capital of a big win which will be a big motivation for Roma players to steal points in tomorrow's match.

The big win over Empoli did not show Roma's full strength because the opponents they faced were indeed a weak team. Well, when they were beaten by AC Milan in front of their supporters, it gave a big meaning that they haven't been very strong this season but they can do that if they can maintain their best form. Even Roma has strong competition this season such as Juventus, AC Milan and Napoli. So Roma must be able to maintain their chances by getting 3 points in the upcoming match

[UchihaSarada]

Roma have a busy schedule this week and I think they must be able to manage as well as possible to maintain fitness in each game. Roma will face Sheriff in tomorrow's match with the capital of a big win which will be a big motivation for Roma players to steal points in tomorrow's match.

Roma squad was improved with summer transfer as they got some good players like Lukaku, Azmoun, Paredes, Renato, Christensen, Auoar to have a deeper squad. Unfortunately they still have some injured players like their captain Pellegrini or Abraham. Roma will need those players to come back if they go far in Europa League.

The big win over Empoli did not show Roma's full strength because the opponents they faced were indeed a weak team. Well, when they were beaten by AC Milan in front of their supporters, it gave a big meaning that they haven't been very strong this season but they can do that if they can maintain their best form. Even Roma has strong competition this season such as Juventus, AC Milan and Napoli. So Roma must be able to maintain their chances by getting 3 points in the upcoming match

The emphatic win is important for Roma. It helps them to stop the crisis and it boosts Roma confidence up a lot. The coming match in Europa League will be a home-away match but with an opponent like Sheriff, Roma are able to take three points even at a home-away stadium. Mourinho and many Roma players will want to repeat their success in the past season, have another Europa League final match and complete it better, take another cup from Europe to the club.

Mourinho will finish his current contract with Roma after this season and I don't know he will sign a new contract with them or leave but it will be a happy ending for this contract if they can win Europa League.

[Arenga pinnata]

AC Milan is not in bad form and I can't understand why some people think after the game they lost against Inter Milan, and because of the results they got in that game we should say AC Milan is in danger.
AC Milan is still racing on top of the table in Serie A which is good enough for them, also they got a 0-0 result against Newcaslte while we know Newcaslte is not a weak team.,
Regarding the game between Inter Milan and AC Milan, we should not forget some layers in AC Milan were in bad form and injured.

You can't say that a team that conceded 5 goals from their biggest rival in the derby is not in bad form. As a result of this score, they experienced a serious demoralization. In order for this not to turn into a crisis, they must win their next match and show that they have forgotten this match. Otherwise, the bad situation will continue for Milan. They finished today's Champions League match goalless and the performance was poor. Only Leao could score a goal in the Inter match and now they finished a match without scoring. Milan needs goals from Pulisic and Giroud and other players have to push harder to score as well.

AC Milan's performance is still better compared to other teams in Serie A which are ranked below the top 5. It's just that the defeat by Inter Milan with a score of 5-1 will definitely have a big impact on the mentality of the AC Milan players. And as you said, another victory is needed to improve the mentality of the players so that they are more motivated after the quite painful defeat by Inter Milan.

And in the UCL match against Newcastle, I actually saw AC Milan still playing quite well. It's just that the sharpness of AC Milan's attack line has indeed decreased. Or maybe it happened as a result of Newcastle's strong defense. In essence, I don't see any serious problems occurring with the AC Milan squad. And I'm sure AC Milan will still be in the race for the title in Serie A.

[borovichok]

AC Milan is not in bad form and I can't understand why some people think after the game they lost against Inter Milan, and because of the results they got in that game we should say AC Milan is in danger.
AC Milan is still racing on top of the table in Serie A which is good enough for them, also they got a 0-0 result against Newcaslte while we know Newcaslte is not a weak team.,
Regarding the game between Inter Milan and AC Milan, we should not forget some layers in AC Milan were in bad form and injured.

AC Milan flop against Inter Milan and conceded 5 goals because of the blunders they committed in the game. Most gamblers used this medium to predict in favour of Newcastle, everyone was shocked by the superb performance portrayed by these Stefano Pioli men, they actually missed out on big chances specifically pointing to Rafael Leao and Olivier Giroud, perhaps they did their best. Newcastle boss, Eddie Howe got a good results at San Siro in the opening R1. It's definitely not easy to watch EPL club competiting with an elite team in Seria A and holding them to a draw points means improvement on the side of the magpies.

[len01]

-snip

Yes Jose is a great coach, he is rude but good.

Empoli defeat with a score of 7-0 is very humiliating and clearly highlights the importance of a solid defense in football. A real defence.

A robust defense is essential to protect your goal and limit your opponents opportunities to score. Empoli go mad with Roma play and without an effective defense, a team risks conceding goals frequently, and it happen for total 7.

I think that Empoli seriously risks going to Serie B if they dont reverse the trend.

Mourinho is an experienced coach who has contributed to other teams with very perfect achievements and currently Mourinho has a new challenge to bring Roma to a better place which is more worthy of improving the performance of his players who should be more solid as you said. even if the victory against Empoli was not very impressive because Empoli was only a weak team, at least with this big score, Roma was able to feel proud of their good achievement in yesterday match.
with yesterday match I became more convinced that it was time for Mourinho to contribute his best strategy to relieve this bad performance.

[Hirose UK]

This time Jose Mourinho got what wanted to get.  
Jose Mourinho is a great coach for any team but in the last season he didn't have a player to fill Dybala's place when he got injured and that's why this team couldn't have the good performance we were expecting to see from them in Europe League, but this time they got Lukaku in their teams. However, I think Lukaku is not in good form and made many mistakes this summer but I'm sure this palyer can help Roma in this season.

Roma this week did play very well and I like the performance they put in this week but on the other hand don't let this become a condition where they are complacent because this week's match may not apply to them next week if they are complacent. Now, especially if you look at the current schedule, they definitely have to rotate so that the players don't experience fatigue and the worst possibility of injury because they also have to prepare to face Sherif in the Europa Legaue with a gap of 2 days.

I still hope for a good finish from them in the next match so that I can be sure they can be able to compete again at least for the Europa League next season.

Roma game has always improved quite quickly but this is not the time for them to relax and celebrate their previous victory because there is still a long way to go and Mourinho will continue to encourage his players to get better and develop even more significantly because for almost 3 seasons Mourinho has been very successful slowly returning Roma performance.

In the Europa League group stage match it was actually not difficult for Roma to beat Sherif even though they only had a gap of a few days because Sherif was not a team that could be said to be very strong so Mourinho and his players could be sure of winning that match.

Yes there will still be a big chance for Roma to survive and return to being a team that can qualify for the final like last season.