⚽ Sportsbet.io ⚽ Spanish La Liga ⚽ Football Pool Discussion Thread 2023/2024

[slaman29]

It seems Barca came out with all guns blazing but I am still waiting for their first away game before accepting they will do good this season. I liked their game and they did better than I excepted or maybe it would be better to say that Villareal was very bad tonight. That Kubo guy did more for them after coming on around 75th minute then their whole team before that.

Few things about Barca I noticed and could be important going forward:
- Messi let Pjanic take a free kick so maybe he will be a bit more team player this season, we shall see. Or he lost some of gravitas in the dressing room, still captain though.
- Pique looked sharp and had great game, very important for Barca
- All the Barca kids looked good and hopefully we will see more of them
- Griezman was again terrible, don't know what is happening with him

You said everything on my mind and much more. I was really not hoping for much at all. Got a lot of money bet on the game so I was just wanting to be quietly watching it but by the time we had the 2nd goal I was a lot more relaxed.

But like you said, Villareal were terrible so we can't base this season on this game (although to be fair, this was not supposed to be an easy game).

Pique definitely looks like he has got some rest. Coutinho reminds them he is an option always. Griezmann well. I hope it's just rust.

[webtricks]

oops! i've overestimated Villareal and couldn't get a single point off this match. Congrats, @webtricks and @big_daddy, for winning the yellow cap (:

Thanks! It was another good week for me. As I claimed before the round, so thus I delivered. 8 out of 10 correct predictions! Only if I have been more serious in the first round, I would be leading with 30+ points by now.

It seems Barca came out with all guns blazing but I am still waiting for their first away game before accepting they will do good this season. I liked their game and they did better than I excepted or maybe it would be better to say that Villareal was very bad tonight. That Kubo guy did more for them after coming on around 75th minute then their whole team before that.

Few things about Barca I noticed and could be important going forward:
- Messi let Pjanic take a free kick so maybe he will be a bit more team player this season, we shall see. Or he lost some of gravitas in the dressing room, still captain though.
- Pique looked sharp and had great game, very important for Barca
- All the Barca kids looked good and hopefully we will see more of them
- Griezman was again terrible, don't know what is happening with him

Yeah! It was unexpected for me as well. Barca was surprisingly good, way better than my expectations. Special mention to Jordi Alba. Yesterday, he was looking way more fit and sharper than the entire last season. If he could deliver this kind of performance in every game then he is easily the best LB in the world. Better than Robertson and Davies anyday.

Pique had a good game. He was able to intercept and stop Villarreal's attacks at several occasions. Great defensive awareness from him. Pjanic was excellent. His minutes against Elche in friendly weren't so convincing last week but yesterday he simply showed why he's one of the best midfielder in just 30 minutes. His reading of the game, interceptions and forward balls are going to be very helpful for Barca throughout the season. I want him to replace Busquets as the starter.

I don't agree with you on Griezmann. Although, he was ordinary with the ball yesterday but his off-the-ball contribution was spectacular. First, he provided that additional layer of defense on the right side of the pitch. I saw him defending in the box many times which is uncommon for a forward (Simeone's effect). Second, his runs took 1-2 Villarreal defenders with him, thus creating space to attack for Fati, Messi and Coutinho. As a manager, I would be happy to start him provided he gives little extra in attack as well. Even, Koeman praised him after the game.

The only problem in team is Right-Back. Semedo is already delivered to Wolves thus leaving us only with Roberto as the option. Roberto is shit and we need to replace him as soon as possible. He is laggy in defense and if not for Griezmann, he would have conceded at least a goal. I heard many speculations on the name of Sergino Dest. It would be good to have young RB like him in the squad.

[Trofo]

I don't agree with you on Griezmann. Although, he was ordinary with the ball yesterday but his off-the-ball contribution was spectacular. First, he provided that additional layer of defense on the right side of the pitch. I saw him defending in the box many times which is uncommon for a forward (Simeone's effect). Second, his runs took 1-2 Villarreal defenders with him, thus creating space to attack for Fati, Messi and Coutinho. As a manager, I would be happy to start him provided he gives little extra in attack as well. Even, Koeman praised him after the game.

Could be I have missed his defensive contributions yesterday. I was watching the game with one eye while doing other stuff on PC so it is easier to spot plays with the ball then runs, openings and helping the full backs. That additional layer of defense in Barca squad is crucial since Messi doesn't play defense and if he is doing that well that is already a lot. I actually liked Braithwithe last season just because he was doing so much more defensive running than Suarez and Messi. Barca squad needs that desperately.

Just one note for the end. If Koeman wanted somebody to play good defense, run a lot and help right back he could have gotten some other cheaper player then Griezmann But I agree with you, as long as he is doing good job in defense and opening space for other players we can wait for him, not like Barca desperately needs more creativity with Messi in the squad.

[webtricks]

~snip~

Could be I have missed his defensive contributions yesterday. I was watching the game with one eye while doing other stuff on PC so it is easier to spot plays with the ball then runs, openings and helping the full backs. That additional layer of defense in Barca squad is crucial since Messi doesn't play defense and if he is doing that well that is already a lot. I actually liked Braithwithe last season just because he was doing so much more defensive running than Suarez and Messi. Barca squad needs that desperately.

Just one note for the end. If Koeman wanted somebody to play good defense, run a lot and help right back he could have gotten some other cheaper player then Griezmann But I agree with you, as long as he is doing good job in defense and opening space for other players we can wait for him, not like Barca desperately needs more creativity with Messi in the squad.

Frankly speaking, if Barca could sign some decent Right Back who can back track the pace of the opponent winger and stop the counter attacks then I prefer Trincao over Griezmann in the team. Trincao's style of play is much more Barca like than Grizzi's and he will surely have more impact than him on the game.

[tomahawk9]

Matchweek 4 kicks off today, there are a couple of users who haven't made their picks yet, so here goes a little bump to the thread to remind them about the pool 

I think i'm gonna add Getafe - Betis match to a single bet backing the Azulones, moneyline with nice odds, but handicap 0 at 1.80 is decent, i wouldn't discard a low scoring match ending in a draw

[big_daddy]

Congrats @webtricks for the yellow cap on this round, based on Superbrus' algo you got the first spot this week

We have today two LaLiga matches going on, do not forget to pick your results

Real Sociedad conceded only one goal in the first three rounds, Valencia on the other side had a well filled net and they lost their first away game of the season
Last season, Real Sociedad beat Valencia 3-0 at home, I'm giving a little advance here for Real Sociedad

Getafe had clean nets in the first two matches of this season, Betis had a good start and the 2:3 against Real Madrid is a confirmation of their strength this season
My prediction is a draw

[slaman29]

Getafe is the package of the season so far I would say, and of course I'm hoping Barcelona can keep up with the 2 games in hand but Valencia shocked us all didn't it? I picked them to win 3-1 as I thought maybe Sociedad would have an off day but I picked 3-1 so only 1 point. 2 points from 2 games, can't complain! Only 3 of us got any points;)

[casperBGD]

Getafe is the package of the season so far I would say, and of course I'm hoping Barcelona can keep up with the 2 games in hand but Valencia shocked us all didn't it? I picked them to win 3-1 as I thought maybe Sociedad would have an off day but I picked 3-1 so only 1 point. 2 points from 2 games, can't complain! Only 3 of us got any points;)

yeah, as Valencia fan, cannot complain about the win, although Sociedad did scored in the last minute, a goal that was cancelled due to VAR, seems that it was an ok decision, but that could bring a point, since i predicted a draw 2:2, nevertheless, happy about the win, and Valencia is on a good track this season, will see where this is going to bring them at the end

[buwaytress]

I put 1 mbtc for fun on Atletico to win (1.55) at Sportsbet for the freebet promo, another Suarez contribution you think? They need to change their style more though, still playing like they don't have 5 good offensive players.

And Hazard now 1-month injury, more problems for Real or more Ramos panenka 3 points?

GL guys!

[tokeweed]

^  I don't think we'll ever see peak Hazard anymore.    Sad..  He was really fun to watch at Chelsea and mostly the only reason I started watching Real matches more closely last season innthe rare cases he was on.  He wasn't the same...

Anyway, boy do I suck at this pool.  

[Trofo]

I put 1 mbtc for fun on Atletico to win (1.55) at Sportsbet for the freebet promo, another Suarez contribution you think? They need to change their style more though, still playing like they don't have 5 good offensive players.

And Hazard now 1-month injury, more problems for Real or more Ramos panenka 3 points?

GL guys!

I was hoping for more attacking and creative Atletico Madrid but it was another super boring game from them. Last time I am watching them unless they are playing against some other club I do want to see play. I don't know how their own supporters manage to watch that football every week. They are playing against Huesca and have one shot on goal, 85th minute at the moment. I have them at ticket also so we can only hope for some late penalty. Unfortunately, they are not the club from Madrid which has VAR judges in their pocket

[LTU_btc]

I was hoping for more attacking and creative Atletico Madrid but it was another super boring game from them. Last time I am watching them unless they are playing against some other club I do want to see play. I don't know how their own supporters manage to watch that football every week. They are playing against Huesca and have one shot on goal, 85th minute at the moment. I have them at ticket also so we can only hope for some late penalty. Unfortunately, they are not the club from Madrid which has VAR judges in their pocket

At least I didn't wasted 90 minutes of my life watching it . I only had small bet on their win. After they trashed Granada 6:1, I had stupid hope that something has changed and Atletico will start playing nice football. But seems that this game was just exception from the rule. Now they have filled their 5 games quota just in 1 game .

[slaman29]

Looks like we all got fooled by Atletico buying new players and thrashing Granada. Good for me, to see that, I thought they might be a challenger for the title but if they keep playing like this, Barca and Real have one less person to worry about.

Anyway, Real back to 1-0 wins haha;)

[logfiles]

I was hoping for more attacking and creative Atletico Madrid but it was another super boring game from them. Last time I am watching them unless they are playing against some other club I do want to see play. I don't know how their own supporters manage to watch that football every week. They are playing against Huesca and have one shot on goal, 85th minute at the moment. I have them at ticket also so we can only hope for some late penalty. Unfortunately, they are not the club from Madrid which has VAR judges in their pocket

You are not alone, yesterday i tried to watch their match after that exciting Suarez debut match and it was agonizingly boring. I regretted wasting my time  

As for Real Madrid. The attack is still not good and exciting. Courtois being the man of the match for the second successive game means there is a lot of work Zidane need to do or else those 1-0 Wins will soon turn into 2-1,3-1 losses should the Keeper not perform as expected.

[buwaytress]

^  I don't think we'll ever see peak Hazard anymore.    Sad..  He was really fun to watch at Chelsea and mostly the only reason I started watching Real matches more closely last season innthe rare cases he was on.  He wasn't the same...

Anyway, boy do I suck at this pool.  

I hope you're wrong. But yeah, I actually honestly only remember him at his powers in that Mourinho season, and every season after (in fact starting the season Mou got sacked) he's been more shit and injured than brilliant. I always feel disappointed watching.

I was hoping for more attacking and creative Atletico Madrid but it was another super boring game from them. Last time I am watching them unless they are playing against some other club I do want to see play. I don't know how their own supporters manage to watch that football every week. They are playing against Huesca and have one shot on goal, 85th minute at the moment. I have them at ticket also so we can only hope for some late penalty. Unfortunately, they are not the club from Madrid which has VAR judges in their pocket

Yep, I remember Roy Hodgson era for Liverpool and it was incredible how we would tune in to watch every match no matter what. Football truly is all about self punishment sometimes. Lost me a number of bets Atletico, bloody hell.

[Trofo]

Very nice round for me, managed to clinch yellow cap and jump 4 places up in the leader board

Watched Barca game last night and I must say I am very impressed with them. Most of us were afraid how they will look and they are looking better than ever in the last few seasons. Another win without conceding a goal even when they played with 10 man for whole second half.

@webtricks
I was again watching with one eye while doing other things but have a feeling Griezmann will be biggest Barca problem this season. There was that great counter attack when De Jong found him with beautiful pass the ball just bounced from him like I am watching somebody from Croatian 2nd league and not one of the best players in the world. After defender got red card, Koeman decided to sub Griezmann before all other players on the pitch which is also telling something. His confidence must be on very low levels, hope he will bounce back.


With Barca game we have finished all the games from 4th round of the La Liga. With that our pool is now closed for new players. I will update the OP with final prize distribution info later today. Nothing new, I will just copy the info from that post where I already announced it a week or two ago.

[slaman29]

So strange that nobody predicted 3-0 for Barca. I did 2-0, I saw many 3-1 picks and even 4-0 from Sojourner.

Nice yellow cap to Trofo with 11 points. I got 10 points in second place, not good enough! Games are so fast now already in Round 5 for Superbru but most teams only played 2/3 games?

[buwaytress]

@slaman yeah to be fair, after Lenglet's sending off, I thought it was going to be over with a draw and I wasn't at all hoping for my 4-0 to come true, good thing for the 3 goals. Two good games with plenty of goals, Ansu Fati I really, really like, so I'm glad he's getting a lot of joy (he'll always be sentimental for me so I hope his career blossoms).

Only Barca and Sevilla can do perfect starts now so soon into the season. And they're both up next;)

Clean sheets, full points, but Barca start the same way they did last season: SO many yellows and reds.

[webtricks]

@webtricks
I was again watching with one eye while doing other things but have a feeling Griezmann will be biggest Barca problem this season. There was that great counter attack when De Jong found him with beautiful pass the ball just bounced from him like I am watching somebody from Croatian 2nd league and not one of the best players in the world. After defender got red card, Koeman decided to sub Griezmann before all other players on the pitch which is also telling something. His confidence must be on very low levels, hope he will bounce back.

After first game, I was supportive for Grizzi's contribution due of his defensive display but yeah, yesterday he was impact-less. Roberto was top-notch and able to get back and hold his position for most of the game and was equally sharp in attack as well. So Griezmann didn't has much say in defense as well as attack yesterday. Moreover, that awful first touch to De Jong's mouth-watering ball was pain in the eye to watch. So I agree with you that he can be snubbed off in upcoming fixtures.

However, I don't think Griezmann will be big problem for Barca because he's not essential element of Barca formation. He's already playing off-position and we already have Trincao and Dembele as the perfect substitutions to his position. So the only one in harm is Griezmann himself. If he won't perform, manager will replace him with other world-class wingers. As simple as that.

PS: Congo for the yellow cap. It was tight week in the points table.


I just finished making the picks for this weekend and this one is going to be the first challenge for the pool. So many close and uncertain fixtures this time unlike last 2-3 matchdays. I made draw predictions for couple of them and so many more interesting picks. This week can be a big gamble for me. It can be 15+ points or 5 > points. Excited!

[Trofo]

However, I don't think Griezmann will be big problem for Barca because he's not essential element of Barca formation. He's already playing off-position and we already have Trincao and Dembele as the perfect substitutions to his position. So the only one in harm is Griezmann himself. If he won't perform, manager will replace him with other world-class wingers. As simple as that.

I did not mean problem on the pitch. I meant more like problem in the dressing room (unhappy player if not playing or playing badly plus bad relationship with messi) and financial problem (high wages and already paid high transfer fee, should be recuperated as soon as possible if not in first team plans, especially in this covid stricken market).

OP updated with prize structures and some technicalities
We are still missing favorite clubs from some of the participants so you can come out and confess your undying love for the club if you want it
@casperBGD Valencia?, @hahay, @logfiles