⚽UEFA Champions League Discussion Thread -- 2021/22 winner - Real Madrid!

[LTU_btc]

Tonight I'm going with Benfica win. Both teams looking very solid in start of season, but I'm giving advantage to home team.
Malmo - Ludogorets. Here I go with under 2.5 goals @1.70.
Young Boys - Ferencvaros. Young Boys should win, but odds isn't something exciting for it, so I take over 2.5 goals @1.80

But yes, I wonder if we might see a surprise contestant for UCL group stages. Shakhtar maybe gaining more experience than I thought from their previous campaign -- improving every time for the past 4 seasons. So time for me not to underestimate them.

Shakhtar failed last season in domestic league ending in 2nd place after dominance in recent years. So, their owner opened his wallet and bought some solid players like Pedrinho, Marlon or Traore. Also, they have new interesting coach De Dzebri who managed Sasuolo last season.

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[casperBGD]

~snip

Brondby still have a shout... last time they were at Group Stage was in 98/99, before I started watching =)

yeah, on link is an epic one from Ravn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLJnd1kJRss in 98/99, when they won over Bayern at home, scoring in '87 and '89 to win 2:1 in the end, Babbel scored for Bavarians

it was a first round, with Barcelona and Manchester in the group as well
they hold for another round, but third and fourth brought matches with United, and they conceived 11 goals, with 8 different goal-scorers from United, to end up miserably on last place with 5 loses in a row

this could their revival, but I doubt that Salzburg will allow that

[W Jr.]

Shakhtar Donetsk managed to beat Monaco 1-0 in France. To pass the tour one step ahead. Salzburg beat Brondby 2-1 in the match where they were  favourites i think. The surprise of the day, I think, was that Sheriff beat Dinamo Zagreb with a clear score of 3-0. Play-off matches continue with three matches tonight.

[slaman29]

Wow, Sheriff! 3:0. And Dinamo should be happy that they conceded just 3, Sheriif had plenty of chances to score more. Sorry Croatian folks, but I don't see Dinamo making comeback in 2nd leg.

I don't think so either. 3 goals is a lot to ask for and if they try for it Sheriff can hit back even more. They should be relieved no more away goals though.

Lost many bets last night as I took a lot of specials and boosts from a few sites and both of the bookie favorites I picked in the qualifiers lost. didn't even pick Salzburg as odds were too low.

Brondby 13/1 to win the first half is my pick of the day;)

But Sheriff is a bad team and considering the importance of the game, I feel that Dinamo will want to get a win today.

We all thought Sheriff was the worst team in the round and yet they got the biggest score. Football...

As usual buwaytress made the right call on the big odds of 13x for Brondby half time who were leading 1-0 since 5th minute.

[NotATether]

By the way did you guys knew that Dinamo player couldn't play today because the did not let him in the country? He is from Kososvo and Moldova does not recognize them as sovereign country. I couldn't believe stuff like this is happening, sports and politics should not mix.

This is why UEFA always moves Ukraine and Russia to separate groups in European nation championships.

Unfortunately, this kind of separation cannot be carried out with league clubs because they take several months to draft, and particularly during a transfer season, the nationality of the registered squad players you have to deal with is unpredictable. Only for the final is the place chosen with meticulous care.

Tonight I'm going with Benfica win. Both teams looking very solid in start of season, but I'm giving advantage to home team.
Malmo - Ludogorets. Here I go with under 2.5 goals @1.70.
Young Boys - Ferencvaros. Young Boys should win, but odds isn't something exciting for it, so I take over 2.5 goals @1.80

I'll take PSV - Malmo - Ferencvaros all to win, thanks 

[Barcode_]

PSV Eindhoven did not faced much resistance from Galatasaray and Midtjylland to get to the final stage of the Uefa Champion League qualification round. I think it will be an interesting match between PSV Eindhoven and Benfica today, PSV Eindhoven have scored many goals against Galatasaray and Midtjylland but I think it would not be easy to break down the defense of Benfica when they are playing in their home stadium, I guess this game might ends up with a draw today.

[Kusman]

I must say that Monaco got a really shocking result against Shakhtar Donetsk today. The match was in Monaco but they lost 0-1. I think that they are actually a much better team than Shakhtar. But something must really be going wrong for them lately. They couldn't start the Ligue 1 well either. It looks like they can be eliminated by Shakhtar in the CL if they don't pull themselves together immediately.

As I expected, Shakhtar Donetsk and Red  Bull Salzburg won their match. And I won my bet. I agree with you that Monaco is a good team. But their defeat was expected. I have been watching for quite some time, they have no rhythm. I said it would be hard for Dinamo to win the match, but I thought they would be managed to win. But they have been defeated in a very bad way. They lost 3-0. I expected better gameplay from them.

I was also surprised to see that Dinamo Zagreb lost to Sheriff Tiraspol with a score like 3-0 away. They are a much better team than their opponent normally. But I see that their performance was really poor. And now, things are going to be very very difficult for Dinamo. I guess they will be eliminated in this final qualification round.

[3meek]

Benfica are a class above PSV... Probably the only reason (apart from the home game) why bookmakers give such odds - Benfica (2.1) PSV (3.... Although according to the statistics of the last games these teams are almost the same!
Still, I think PSV can win this match! Anyway, odds on a draw or PSV (1. looks attractive...

[tomahawk9]

BSC Young Boys to get more corners than Ferencváros at 1.9...i'll take it (:

I'm strongly considering to place a max bet on the rematch in Zagreb on both teams to score (odds will probably range between 1.7 to 1.8x).

hmm, i might not max it but i'm willing to place at least 3 units on it if the odds are somewhat decent. They could go as low as 1.5 if everyone expects a high scoring second leg. I'm waiting for more markets to go live, Pinnacle already have Over 2.5 goals at 1.6

Did not watch any of the games today but really surprised with Dinamo loosing 3:0. Not game over yet, if they managed to turn 2:0 from Spurs they can turn 3:0 from Serif for sure.

yo, i forgot the away goal rule was abolished this season. I was thinking that one goal from Sheriff meant Dinamo had to score 5 to advance to group stage...huh, this changes everything 🤔

[Spack17]

Benfica are going to play a home game against PSV in the first leg. These teams both are really qualified. They are one of the best teams of their league. And I can say that Benfica are actually more successful than PSV in European tournaments. So, I think that Benfica will be able to win the first game and capture the advantage before playing in the second leg.

[hahay]

Benfica are going to play a home game against PSV in the first leg. These teams both are really qualified. They are one of the best teams of their league. And I can say that Benfica are actually more successful than PSV in European tournaments. So, I think that Benfica will be able to win the first game and capture the advantage before playing in the second leg.

I think lately both teams are on the same level and in fact, these two teams in the Europa League last season were both eliminated in the round of 16. That way, I personally still don't believe Benfica will win in this first leg even though they play at home, maybe to bet I'm a little sure both teams to score @1.8x or over 1.5 goals to 2.5 goals maybe still a good bet and don't take risks too high.

[KTChampions]

Shakhtar Donetsk managed to beat Monaco 1-0 in France. To pass the tour one step ahead. Salzburg beat Brondby 2-1 in the match where they were  favourites i think. The surprise of the day, I think, was that Sheriff beat Dinamo Zagreb with a clear score of 3-0. Play-off matches continue with three matches tonight.

In fact, Shakhtar's advantage, given the cancellation of the importance of goals scored on a foreign field, is not as obvious as it would be if the previous rules were in effect. In fact, Monaco needs to win with any minimum score and this guarantees a draw. I think no one will be surprised if we see extra time and a penalty shootout in this pair.

[joker_josue]

I think lately both teams are on the same level and in fact, these two teams in the Europa League last season were both eliminated in the round of 16. That way, I personally still don't believe Benfica will win in this first leg even though they play at home, maybe to bet I'm a little sure both teams to score @1.8x or over 1.5 goals to 2.5 goals maybe still a good bet and don't take risks too high.

Benfica is under very great internal pressure to enter the Champions League. Last season, they invested a lot and didn't get in, so this season they have to give everything to get in. But it won't be easy.

[buwaytress]

yeah, on link is an epic one from Ravn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLJnd1kJRss in 98/99, when they won over Bayern at home, scoring in '87 and '89 to win 2:1 in the end, Babbel scored for Bavarians

this could their revival, but I doubt that Salzburg will allow that
[/quote]
Thanks for that link, I really enjoy these classic moments, especially from the late 90s when I was just getting to know European football (or rather, at first only English football). My first World Cup was in 98 and then EURO after that, so Zidane and Ronaldo (teethy one) were the best memories before I finally was able to watch club football in 2001 onwards.

Heroes probably never dim in the memories of fans, but you never know with Salzburg, too good to lose and watched first half bits and pieces, they need only keep that pace and they should win comfortably. Should give value odds away too!

[jaberwock]

I do agree that PSV and Benfica do not look too much apart from each other, I do not care what the odds say, I believe that they are close to each other very much. There were periods in history when PSV was much better, and there were moments when Benfica was much better, just because there is a history there that doesn't mean that we should be doing too much of a fanboi approach to these teams, we should be simply focusing on what it has right now and what the result could be.

I would say that if you are betting on a draw, you have a bigger chance than any other game for today and any other day prior, teams are close enough to have some sort of draw game, probably 0-0 as well so no goal is a bet as well if you want to play. I will probably do those two and hope for the best, not going to be easy but it is not going to be impossible neither.

[Iranus]

I do agree that PSV and Benfica do not look too much apart from each other, I do not care what the odds say, I believe that they are close to each other very much. There were periods in history when PSV was much better, and there were moments when Benfica was much better, just because there is a history there that doesn't mean that we should be doing too much of a fanboi approach to these teams, we should be simply focusing on what it has right now and what the result could be.

I would say that if you are betting on a draw, you have a bigger chance than any other game for today and any other day prior, teams are close enough to have some sort of draw game, probably 0-0 as well so no goal is a bet as well if you want to play. I will probably do those two and hope for the best, not going to be easy but it is not going to be impossible neither.

The two teams are almost equally strong. The outcome of this match is very difficult to predict. The match is more likely to be a draw. I think the match could be a 1-1 draw. Both teams are in form now. PSV and Benfica have been able to win every match played this month. It is easy to assume that both the teams are in a good position and we will be able to enjoy an exciting match.

[Swordsoffreedom]

My guess is that Dinamo Zagreb, Shakhtar Donetsk and Red Bull will win today. Although Monaco is not a bad team, Shakhtar is more stable than them. Salzburg's opponents on the other hand are easy. Hope for an easy win for Salzburg. However, winning Dinamo Zagreb's match today will be a bit difficult. Dinamo would be wrong to think the Sheriff Tiraspol team is an easy team.

Dynamo Zagreb received three goals from the Sheriff and failed to score a single goal in return. This is a very unexpected result. Perhaps the Sheriff has become much stronger than he was once. The team that beats such strong teams as Crvena Zvezda and Dynamo Zagreb, one after another, deserves attention. And the fact that Crvena Zvezda beat Cluj 4-0 shows that it is still a good team, but it looks like Sheriff is stronger now.

I agree with you, the Sheriff Tiraspol team has been able to make their unimaginable improvements. Dinamo Zagreb was not an easy opponent for them. Yet the Sheriff has won this match very easily but in this match, we have seen very few attacks from both teams. Dinamo's players hold the ball 61% of the time, yet they had not able to score.

[Harkorede]

I think lately both teams are on the same level and in fact, these two teams in the Europa League last season were both eliminated in the round of 16. That way, I personally still don't believe Benfica will win in this first leg even though they play at home, maybe to bet I'm a little sure both teams to score @1.8x or over 1.5 goals to 2.5 goals maybe still a good bet and don't take risks too high.

Benfica is under very great internal pressure to enter the Champions League. Last season, they invested a lot and didn't get in, so this season they have to give everything to get in. But it won't be easy.

It's a tough fixture for Benfica, PSV are definitely not slouch, they've won every qualifying convincingly against Galatasaray and Midtjylland. Befinca are still the slight favourites, but my bet would for both teams to score and Over 2.5.

[Joca97]

My guess is that Dinamo Zagreb, Shakhtar Donetsk and Red Bull will win today. Although Monaco is not a bad team, Shakhtar is more stable than them. Salzburg's opponents on the other hand are easy. Hope for an easy win for Salzburg. However, winning Dinamo Zagreb's match today will be a bit difficult. Dinamo would be wrong to think the Sheriff Tiraspol team is an easy team.

Dynamo Zagreb received three goals from the Sheriff and failed to score a single goal in return. This is a very unexpected result. Perhaps the Sheriff has become much stronger than he was once. The team that beats such strong teams as Crvena Zvezda and Dynamo Zagreb, one after another, deserves attention. And the fact that Crvena Zvezda beat Cluj 4-0 shows that it is still a good team, but it looks like Sheriff is stronger now.

I agree with you, the Sheriff Tiraspol team has been able to make their unimaginable improvements. Dinamo Zagreb was not an easy opponent for them. Yet the Sheriff has won this match very easily but in this match, we have seen very few attacks from both teams. Dinamo's players hold the ball 61% of the time, yet they had not able to score.

No body expected from a team from Moldovia to make such a big step in the europe competitions. To knockout Crvena Zvezda and now to be one step away to knockout Dinamo Zagreb as well is a huge achievement and to join the group stage. Unbeliveble,everybody betted against them

[arallmuus]

It's a tough fixture for Benfica, PSV are definitely not slouch, they've won every qualifying convincingly against Galatasaray and Midtjylland.

The bookies favour Benfica a little bit though probably due to the home team advantage but overall statistic for both teams are pretty even. The score is currently 1-0 for Benfica but PSV is pretty good as a home team so even if they lose in this match, I think they will overturn on the 2nd leg. This is pretty much worst case scenario if PSV lose though but its still 18th minutes right now