⚽UEFA Europa League Discussion Thread -- 2021/22 Winners: Eintracht Frankfurt!

[Juggy777]

The matchups in the next stage are closing in. And I have still not changed my opinion about the Barcelona - Napoli matchup. I still think that Barcelona don't have much chance against Napoli. They are newly trying to get better day by day. But I still don't see their performance good enough to beat big teams. Napoli are much better than them now considering their performances in the Serie A. They started to pull themselves together. If it goes on like this, I think that Napoli won't have a so big difficulty in eliminating them.

@coderben indeed Barcelona hasn’t really kicked off to a flying start under Xavi, but to be honest he needs more time and backing in the transfer window to turn Barcelona back into champions. Lastly Napoli should win their fixtures against Barcelona, but I hope Barcelona will give some fight at least to make these fixtures more interesting to watch.

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[joker_josue]

Lastly Napoli should win their fixtures against Barcelona, but I hope Barcelona will give some fight at least to make these fixtures more interesting to watch.

They fight must give. Now, I believe that Barcelona's focus should not be on this competition, but on trying to improve its classification in the Spanish league.

But, of course, they won't make life easier for Napoli. I believe Napoli can win, but it won't be easy.

[KTChampions]

@coderben indeed Barcelona hasn’t really kicked off to a flying start under Xavi, but to be honest he needs more time and backing in the transfer window to turn Barcelona back into champions. Lastly Napoli should win their fixtures against Barcelona, but I hope Barcelona will give some fight at least to make these fixtures more interesting to watch.

I also hope for an interesting game, but I have a presentiment that we will actually see the old scenario: Napoli in a massive defense, Barcelona makes a million stupid passes across the field and during counter attacks conceded balls. I would be glad to be wrong, but this scenario is very likely. However, if you evaluate the match from the point of view of betting, then it will be good - a bet on Napoli looks profitable.

[terrorJR]

The chances of Napoli winning should not be underestimated either. If they can beat Barcelona, ​​they can become champions.

All teams do have a chance to win the european league including Barcelona and Napoli, Barcelona is indeed a team that european clubs feared before, but not for now, so Napoli must believe that now there is nothing to fear from Barcelona, ​​because Barcelona are in a phase drastic decline in performance, I think for now Napoli are still better than Barcelona so their chances of going to the next round are bigger than Barcelona.

I agree with what you say because that's what scares them right now.
their current performance is very, very inversely proportional to their performance a few years ago and indeed barcelona at this time is still not in a good consistency and even their current performance still tends to be monotonous I think.
Regarding the match against Napoli, I still have a lot of hope to be able to win the match, I think.
at least the bet will be even

[hahay]

@coderben indeed Barcelona hasn’t really kicked off to a flying start under Xavi, but to be honest he needs more time and backing in the transfer window to turn Barcelona back into champions. Lastly Napoli should win their fixtures against Barcelona, but I hope Barcelona will give some fight at least to make these fixtures more interesting to watch.

I also hope for an interesting game, but I have a presentiment that we will actually see the old scenario: Napoli in a massive defense, Barcelona makes a million stupid passes across the field and during counter attacks conceded balls. I would be glad to be wrong, but this scenario is very likely. However, if you evaluate the match from the point of view of betting, then it will be good - a bet on Napoli looks profitable.

I personally am not so sure about Napoli because their declining performance looks like it will make the game more even and also, I believe it looks like Napoli will take the lead in ball possession or at least apply aggressive play. The current Barcelona is still not strong enough to be able to lead in ball possession because the current Barcelona squad is different from the Barcelona of the past, Xavi still needs time to make Barcelona like that and certainly will not be able to do it quickly when the situation is unstable.

[KTChampions]

I also hope for an interesting game, but I have a presentiment that we will actually see the old scenario: Napoli in a massive defense, Barcelona makes a million stupid passes across the field and during counter attacks conceded balls. I would be glad to be wrong, but this scenario is very likely. However, if you evaluate the match from the point of view of betting, then it will be good - a bet on Napoli looks profitable.

I personally am not so sure about Napoli because their declining performance looks like it will make the game more even and also, I believe it looks like Napoli will take the lead in ball possession or at least apply aggressive play. The current Barcelona is still not strong enough to be able to lead in ball possession because the current Barcelona squad is different from the Barcelona of the past, Xavi still needs time to make Barcelona like that and certainly will not be able to do it quickly when the situation is unstable.

After today's game Barcelona - Real, I'm not sure either  Although in fact, if you look objectively, even today Barcelona showed that they have a disgusting defense and a weak attack, Real relaxed too early and had to play an additional 30 minutes because of this. I think Napoli will be more focused when playing against Barcelona.

[baeva]

I didn't say porto was unstable, I said I don't see them as a contender, I don't think they will make it to 1/2 - 1/4,

Knowing Porto well, it will depend a lot on the opponents you pick up. I don't see them as candidates for the title either, but I wouldn't be surprised if they reached the semi-finals.

Then Porto has to be very attentive to the national championship, as it may seem that they have some advantage, but 2 less good games are enough to be quickly achieved.

Well, yes, first of all, which teams they will be playing in the Europa League, of course, a lot depends on it. In the match against Lazio they are likely to win, I think so. I can't say that Lazio are in great form at the moment.  I don't know who they will play in the 1/8 in case they win, so it's hard to say exactly what happens next in terms of matches

[nelson4lov]

The matchups in the next stage are closing in. And I have still not changed my opinion about the Barcelona - Napoli matchup. I still think that Barcelona don't have much chance against Napoli. They are newly trying to get better day by day. But I still don't see their performance good enough to beat big teams. Napoli are much better than them now considering their performances in the Serie A. They started to pull themselves together. If it goes on like this, I think that Napoli won't have a so big difficulty in eliminating them.

We'll have to see about that. I feel like your underestimating this Barcelona team and not taking into account that have been a change in the team (relatively new manager). So they might stand a chance against Napoli. Let's not forget that Napoli hasn't been completely invisible this season despite starting as one of the strongest teams and title leaders for a while.

[KingsDen]

The matchups in the next stage are closing in. And I have still not changed my opinion about the Barcelona - Napoli matchup. I still think that Barcelona don't have much chance against Napoli. They are newly trying to get better day by day. But I still don't see their performance good enough to beat big teams. Napoli are much better than them now considering their performances in the Serie A. They started to pull themselves together. If it goes on like this, I think that Napoli won't have a so big difficulty in eliminating them.

We'll have to see about that. I feel like your underestimating this Barcelona team and not taking into account that have been a change in the team (relatively new manager). So they might stand a chance against Napoli. Let's not forget that Napoli hasn't been completely invisible this season despite starting as one of the strongest teams and title leaders for a while.

I was thinking same with @Coderben. But my mindset and prediction changed this night after watching Barcelona vs Real Madrid in Spanish super cup.
Barcelona played more than Real Madrid both in possessions, passes completed and attacks.
Honestly, Xavi has improved those boys .
With what I saw this night, Barcelona has a good chance against Napoli.

[joker_josue]

But my mindset and prediction changed this night after watching Barcelona vs Real Madrid in Spanish super cup.
Barcelona played more than Real Madrid both in possessions, passes completed and attacks.
Honestly, Xavi has improved those boys .
With what I saw this night, Barcelona has a good chance against Napoli.

Still lost. And I think this has happened in several games this time. Barcelona even have good moments throughout the match, but then they can't win.
Of course it is improving a lot. A couple of months ago we weren't able to see them score 2 goals against Real Madrid.

Barcelona are a sleeping monster. Certainly, Xavi will continue to improve the team's performance. In a month, Napolis will have to work harder to win.

[kro55]

But my mindset and prediction changed this night after watching Barcelona vs Real Madrid in Spanish super cup.
Barcelona played more than Real Madrid both in possessions, passes completed and attacks.
Honestly, Xavi has improved those boys .
With what I saw this night, Barcelona has a good chance against Napoli.

Still lost. And I think this has happened in several games this time. Barcelona even have good moments throughout the match, but then they can't win.
Of course it is improving a lot. A couple of months ago we weren't able to see them score 2 goals against Real Madrid.

Barcelona are a sleeping monster. Certainly, Xavi will continue to improve the team's performance. In a month, Napolis will have to work harder to win.

Even though they lost, I have to say and many might disagree with me, Barcelona played better football than RMA in this Classico.

Yes RMA won the game, that too from a winner from Fede Valverde in the 98th minute, but overall Barca played better football than Real Madrid.

I was sure that Barca will lose badly but they have shown very good resistance and resilience and I'm optimistic about the game against Napoli in EL. Napoli is a strong squad but no better than Real Madrid in my opinion.

So, if Barca do well against RMA, if they do their homework well and Xavi can execute his tactics well, I think they will get a good result against Napoli.

[poldanmig]

The chances of Napoli winning should not be underestimated either. If they can beat Barcelona, ​​they can become champions.

All teams do have a chance to win the european league including Barcelona and Napoli, Barcelona is indeed a team that european clubs feared before, but not for now, so Napoli must believe that now there is nothing to fear from Barcelona, ​​because Barcelona are in a phase drastic decline in performance, I think for now Napoli are still better than Barcelona so their chances of going to the next round are bigger than Barcelona.

I agree with what you say because that's what scares them right now.
their current performance is very, very inversely proportional to their performance a few years ago and indeed barcelona at this time is still not in a good consistency and even their current performance still tends to be monotonous I think.
Regarding the match against Napoli, I still have a lot of hope to be able to win the match, I think.
at least the bet will be even

Barcelona performance this season may indeed be in the worst phase of their last 10 seasons in Europe, but I see Barcelona now starting to improve a little under Xavi management, and to be honest if Barcelona play like they did against Real madrid yesterday in the El Classico match, Of course Napoli must be wary of their game which is starting to become attractive and begin to adapt to the game system used by Xavi by depend on the ball from foot to foot.

[joker_josue]

I was sure that Barca will lose badly but they have shown very good resistance and resilience and I'm optimistic about the game against Napoli in EL. Napoli is a strong squad but no better than Real Madrid in my opinion.

On this I have to agree. Real Madrid is far superior to Napolis. So, if Barcelona played even better than Real Madrid, despite losing, they have every chance of winning against Napolis.

Napolis would have had better chances if the game had already taken place. The fact that it's only a month away is going to help Barcelona get better and better.

[KTChampions]

Barcelona performance this season may indeed be in the worst phase of their last 10 seasons in Europe, but I see Barcelona now starting to improve a little under Xavi management, and to be honest if Barcelona play like they did against Real madrid yesterday in the El Classico match, Of course Napoli must be wary of their game which is starting to become attractive and begin to adapt to the game system used by Xavi by depend on the ball from foot to foot.

I think this is a subjective impression due to the fact that El Clasico always has a historical background and is not an ordinary match. But if you look aloof, then yesterday Barcelona did not show anything special - Real Madrid won in the format of "a labor victory against the middle peasant who resisted, but the result turned out to be the one that everyone expected."

[terrorJR]

I agree with what you say because that's what scares them right now.
their current performance is very, very inversely proportional to their performance a few years ago and indeed barcelona at this time is still not in a good consistency and even their current performance still tends to be monotonous I think.
Regarding the match against Napoli, I still have a lot of hope to be able to win the match, I think.
at least the bet will be even

Barcelona performance this season may indeed be in the worst phase of their last 10 seasons in Europe, but I see Barcelona now starting to improve a little under Xavi management, and to be honest if Barcelona play like they did against Real madrid yesterday in the El Classico match, Of course Napoli must be wary of their game which is starting to become attractive and begin to adapt to the game system used by Xavi by depend on the ball from foot to foot.

i don't know why they were so different in that game even though they lost but their fight and even going to win against madrid is something good.
but their performances sometimes drop against teams below them.
Napoli on the other hand are also doing quite well at the moment especially seeing them at the start but lately they have been a bit shaky

[KingsDen]

i don't know why they were so different in that game even though they lost but their fight and even going to win against madrid is something good.
but their performances sometimes drop against teams below them.
Napoli on the other hand are also doing quite well at the moment especially seeing them at the start but lately they have been a bit shaky

Napoli started well and was formidable. I have monitored them recently, they are technically on decline but people are not noticing because they are still sitting well on top4.
Barcelona has struggled enough and I think they are now on recovery row.
By February, the point of decline will meet the point of recovery at a certain stage.
I believe Barcelona will qualify.  This is the trophy they will use to give their fans a resounding hope and believe. Xavi and his boys will not play with it.

[baeva]

i don't know why they were so different in that game even though they lost but their fight and even going to win against madrid is something good.
but their performances sometimes drop against teams below them.
Napoli on the other hand are also doing quite well at the moment especially seeing them at the start but lately they have been a bit shaky

Napoli started well and was formidable. I have monitored them recently, they are technically on decline but people are not noticing because they are still sitting well on top4.
Barcelona has struggled enough and I think they are now on recovery row.
By February, the point of decline will meet the point of recovery at a certain stage.
I believe Barcelona will qualify.  This is the trophy they will use to give their fans a resounding hope and believe. Xavi and his boys will not play with it.

Yeah, that's what I thought too and I still think if barça lose straight into the 1/16 finals, they will be morally crushed by their own fans. And what about the fans? The whole world will be looking at them sideways. It's really disappointing to see two good teams already at this stage, would have liked to see them in the 1/4 or final, but alas, one of them will leave the tournament at the very beginning

[asus09]

The matchups in the next stage are closing in. And I have still not changed my opinion about the Barcelona - Napoli matchup. I still think that Barcelona don't have much chance against Napoli. They are newly trying to get better day by day. But I still don't see their performance good enough to beat big teams. Napoli are much better than them now considering their performances in the Serie A. They started to pull themselves together. If it goes on like this, I think that Napoli won't have a so big difficulty in eliminating them.

The results of the European League draw will bring together Napoli versus Barcelona in the play-off round, so far Napoli can be said to be a good team, Napoli's performance is very consistent, now Napoli are ranked 3rd in the standings, while Barcelona's appearance is still not consistent, Barcelona still needs time To improve their game, according to my prediction Barcelona will have difficulty facing the Napoli game, Barcelona's chances of winning are very slim, I am optimistic that Napoli will be able to beat Barcelona in the European League play-off round.

[Juggy777]

The matchups in the next stage are closing in. And I have still not changed my opinion about the Barcelona - Napoli matchup. I still think that Barcelona don't have much chance against Napoli. They are newly trying to get better day by day. But I still don't see their performance good enough to beat big teams. Napoli are much better than them now considering their performances in the Serie A. They started to pull themselves together. If it goes on like this, I think that Napoli won't have a so big difficulty in eliminating them.

The results of the European League draw will bring together Napoli versus Barcelona in the play-off round, so far Napoli can be said to be a good team, Napoli's performance is very consistent, now Napoli are ranked 3rd in the standings, while Barcelona's appearance is still not consistent, Barcelona still needs time To improve their game, according to my prediction Barcelona will have difficulty facing the Napoli game, Barcelona's chances of winning are very slim, I am optimistic that Napoli will be able to beat Barcelona in the European League play-off round.

@asus09 Barcelona are having a crisis with the situation of Dembele, and if he stays back then it’s going to hurt them financially and maybe psychologically too hence they won’t be at their best to face Napoli. However if he leaves then they can buy one or two player’s and only then can we can see a good game between these two sides, but with the current squad I doubt that Barcelona can win these fixtures.

[poldanmig]

The matchups in the next stage are closing in. And I have still not changed my opinion about the Barcelona - Napoli matchup. I still think that Barcelona don't have much chance against Napoli. They are newly trying to get better day by day. But I still don't see their performance good enough to beat big teams. Napoli are much better than them now considering their performances in the Serie A. They started to pull themselves together. If it goes on like this, I think that Napoli won't have a so big difficulty in eliminating them.

The results of the European League draw will bring together Napoli versus Barcelona in the play-off round, so far Napoli can be said to be a good team, Napoli's performance is very consistent, now Napoli are ranked 3rd in the standings, while Barcelona's appearance is still not consistent, Barcelona still needs time To improve their game, according to my prediction Barcelona will have difficulty facing the Napoli game, Barcelona's chances of winning are very slim, I am optimistic that Napoli will be able to beat Barcelona in the European League play-off round.

I think the condition napoli is not doing well right now, even though Napoli are ranked 2nd in Serie A but in their last few matches, they seem inconsistent at all and made those who started the season at the top of the Italian league table have to go down to 2nd position now it's a because of dropping a lot of points.
While barcelona, right now their is starting to improve a little after being taken over by xavi, they are starting to show a positive performance and slowly getting back to the path of the top 4.
I personally really really want to see Napoli can qualify for the next round, but for the 1st leg it looks like we will see a draw between Barcelona and Napoli at Camp Nou.