⚽UEFA Champions League Discussion Thread -- 2023/24 | Prelim Qualifiers

[tygeade]

I agree with your guess if Ajax and Napoli will score many goals, Barcelona will win against Inter Milan. But I don't agree with Juventus will win against Maccabi Haifa, both of this clubs are losing on their both matches, so it's a risky bet IMO. The reason why Juventus is huge favorite is because the popularity, Maccabi Haifa club are not known for many people, but if you looking on their performance, they have decent performance just like Juventus.

I think Benfica vs PSG are worth to bet Benfica to win here, their performance are good and the match will happen on Benfica's home, but Benfica is the underdog here.

You have really interesting choices.

I mean that I see no way for Juventus losing even two points against Maccabi Haifa in this game. They have finally made an improvement in their performance by their win in a league game. This must be pushing them to play even stronger against Maccabi Haifa. There is already a huge strength difference between these teams. Juventus should even be able to collect six points against them in both matches to maintain their chance to qualify from their group.

When it comes to Benfica - PSG game, I don't think Benfica can win this. They are playing decently indeed. But this is one of the most difficult matchups they can have in the Champions League. They are playing against one of the favourites of the title. Maybe PSG are the away team but I still think that they can defeat Benfica here. They would like to strengthen their lead in the group to finish the job earlier in the group stage.

I agree, Juventus will most likely win, I mean they have as much chance to lose as Real lost to Sheriff last year and won the UCL last season, anything could happen, there is "that" much chance of unexpected result of course, but I believe that Juventus is clearly the better team and smarter to bet on them.

I do agree however that Barcelona will beat Inter, that is not an easy game, and Inter will be fighting very hard to win but at the end of the day Barcelona built a team that is better and they should be getting a win out of that game. We will have to wait and see, it is not an easy decision and it is going to have a lot of trouble coming from behind it later on.

[Lordhermes]

I'm thinking of a betslip like:

- Ajax - Napoli : both teams to score (1.52)
- Inter - Barcelona : Barcelona to win (1.82)
- Juventus - Maccabi Haifa : Juventus to win (1.31)

The odd in total is 3.62 which is pretty nice for a parlay I think.
....

No one should write inter Milan off because they lose the match against Roma, don't ever underrate their performance in Champions league. I believe strongly that Milan will give FC Barcelona a tough game tomorrow, no doubt Barca is on top form now. But their performance in Champions league previously has not really impressed me. Inter Milan will give all their best for the fans tomorrow, they can't lose two games in a roll.  Barca is a team that every team should be prepared for, they have very talented stars with a good coach. So inter Milan should get themselves ready for a big game tomorrow.  One impressing things about Champions league is that is unpredictable, it's a game for the champions.  Izaghi should play Elisa, Pollo, and Ajara Nchout ahead of Dzeko and Correa.

[buwaytress]

I'm thinking of a betslip like:

- Ajax - Napoli : both teams to score (1.52)
- Inter - Barcelona : Barcelona to win (1.82)
- Juventus - Maccabi Haifa : Juventus to win (1.31)

The odd in total is 3.62 which is pretty nice for a parlay I think.

Pretty good analysis.

I'd be very comfortable taking that bet, except I don't trust Juventus at all. OTOH, I've been bitten by Israeli teams this season (they gave a good showing in Europa last season is why).

Some really good acca promos on bookies involving Inter, which makes me feel even better to take Barca -- they lost away to Bayern but they were by far the better team, I think they'll clinch this in Milan.

I'm staying away from betting though, but if Inter take the lead in first half, or Rangers, I'm putting big money on both Barca and Liverpool to win.

[LTU_btc]

So far, so good. On early games I had over 3.5 in Bayern game and BTTS in Marseille - Sporting. There is no questions about Bayern, while in other game I won bet after 13 minutes already. Terrible game for Adan, first he made mistake with ended with goal and then got red card which killed Sporting.
Waiting for Barca game. I'm backing Barca, but damn, how much Inter is understimated by bookmakers.
Ajax - Napoli should be fun game. Napoli looking amazing so far, Ajax had few poor games recently. There is not much value in BTTS or goals over market, so maybe I will go with Napoli not to lose @2.10.
Porto - Bayer BTTS, but there is good value for Porto ML. I'll skip Atletico game, don't have bet for it. And Liverpool should win quite easy against Rangers.

[Altryist]

 Ajax and Liverpool have already scored goals in their matches, I think that the Rangers did not have high hopes of winning before the match, but Napoli probably counted on points, let's see what they can do. And while I'm writing, Napoli is already leveling the score, this is an important goal for Napoli. Bayer scores Porto, this is unexpected, I thought that Porto would be able to keep his net dry, but I already see that the VAR canceled the goal.

[emrecemsan]

Inter have done a great job so far and ended the first half 1-0 ahead thanks to Calhanoglu's nice goal. Actually Barcelona had more dangerous attacks than them and they were in control of the match in terms of ball possession. However Inter showed us that this wasn't the most important thing in football.

However I still don't think that Inter can win here. Barcelona's performance wasn't so different from them as I said. I expect them to improve their performance even more in the second half and equalize the score as soon as possible. But it looks like they have a really difficult job as for getting a win. Inter are surprising us a lot after their poor defensive performance against Roma the last time. I wasn't expecting them to stay this much solid. Maybe Inzaghi found out a way to be more prepared for the Champions League.

[snipie]

-snip-
However I still don't think that Inter can win here. Barcelona's performance wasn't so different from them as I said. I expect them to improve their performance even more in the second half and equalize the score as soon as possible. But it looks like they have a really difficult job as for getting a win. Inter are surprising us a lot after their poor defensive performance against Roma the last time. I wasn't expecting them to stay this much solid. Maybe Inzaghi found out a way to be more prepared for the Champions League.

Inter won 1-0 vs Barcelona although being less threatening. In the second half, Barcelona was more powerful and almost scoring but they failed. There is a disallowed goal and penalty by VAR. Don't want to comment on them since the actual VAR system is a headache..
To resume: Inter won't be as lucky next week as in today's game so better to improve and let Barcelona control less the ball.
In the other games, Brugge winning with 2 goals to 0 vs ATM was interesting along with 6-1 between Napoli - Ajax. Even Marseille 4-1 Sporting was an interesting result.
Tomorrow Chelsea - Milan is the best game and I expect Milan to win regarding the bad shape of Chelsea right now, although odds are in favour of Chelsea since playing home?   

[tokeweed]

Inter have done a great job so far and ended the first half 1-0 ahead thanks to Calhanoglu's nice goal. Actually Barcelona had more dangerous attacks than them and they were in control of the match in terms of ball possession. However Inter showed us that this wasn't the most important thing in football.

However I still don't think that Inter can win here. Barcelona's performance wasn't so different from them as I said. I expect them to improve their performance even more in the second half and equalize the score as soon as possible. But it looks like they have a really difficult job as for getting a win. Inter are surprising us a lot after their poor defensive performance against Roma the last time. I wasn't expecting them to stay this much solid. Maybe Inzaghi found out a way to be more prepared for the Champions League.

^  I wouldn't say 'they couldn't win here' unless it's a club like the Rangers or Viktoria Plzen.  Lol.  They format of the UCL is more of a tourney format.  Once a club goes through the group stages and on to the KO stages, they def have a chance of winning it.  And it's Inter.  A club that knows how to win and with somewhat of a history.

And showing that they could go against a better club in Barca and win the match?  That's a good sign.  It shows heart and show what their mentality is like.

[Majestic-milf]

Ajax and Liverpool have already scored goals in their matches, I think that the Rangers did not have high hopes of winning before the match, but Napoli probably counted on points, let's see what they can do. And while I'm writing, Napoli is already leveling the score, this is an important goal for Napoli. Bayer scores Porto, this is unexpected, I thought that Porto would be able to keep his net dry, but I already see that the VAR canceled the goal.

I still don't get how Liverpool can perform so well in the champions league but still struggle in the league. Agreed, Rangers are not so strong in their performance since the champions league started, but I didn't expect such a loss..

 In Ajax case, it's amusing that a team who were in the lead with a goal as early as 9mins could lose control like that goes to show unpredictable football can be. At least got to retain their spot at the top of the group with a comfortable three points.

[Zilon]

Inter have done a great job so far and ended the first half 1-0 ahead thanks to Calhanoglu's nice goal. Actually Barcelona had more dangerous attacks than them and they were in control of the match in terms of ball possession. However Inter showed us that this wasn't the most important thing in football.

However I still don't think that Inter can win here. Barcelona's performance wasn't so different from them as I said. I expect them to improve their performance even more in the second half and equalize the score as soon as possible. But it looks like they have a really difficult job as for getting a win. Inter are surprising us a lot after their poor defensive performance against Roma the last time. I wasn't expecting them to stay this much solid. Maybe Inzaghi found out a way to be more prepared for the Champions League.

I will blame O. Dembele for wasting Barcelona opportunities in the first half. Lots of inaccurate passes and unnecessary display of skills, i wondered why Xavi tolerated that. Lewandoski was marked so aggressively that he couldn't see enough chance to make attempts.

Inter locked up their defense after Calhanoglu's leading goal. Barcelona had the possession no doubt but they couldn't do much with it because the defense line was locked down. Xavi needs to find an alternative formation in preparation for the second leg else Inter might decide to go all defensive at Camp Nou

[GxSTxV]

I still can’t believe how Barcelona lost the match against inter with over than 72% possession, inter milan had few chances only to score and many of them were not that dangerous but maintained that one goal till the end and now they are ahead of barcelona with difference of 3 points, but for the return game in camp nou stadium things will be different and I’m betting all my luck for the 3 points of the game to stay at home, we won’t see a beautiful champions league without barcelona

[boltz]

With this win , Inter can still hope for 2nd place but they had some luck today against Barca as this game should have been at least a draw but hey , that's why we love football.

Bayern is back on track and we can see clearly that they can accelerate whenever they want and they seems to be more focused on UCL than Bundesliga right now.

Leverkusen...I had high hopes for them to get points today but they let me down and lost my only ticket...

[Cryptomultiplier]

I still can’t believe how Barcelona lost the match against inter with over than 72% possession, inter milan had few chances only to score and many of them were not that dangerous but maintained that one goal till the end and now they are ahead of barcelona with difference of 3 points, but for the return game in camp nou stadium things will be different and I’m betting all my luck for the 3 points of the game to stay at home, we won’t see a beautiful champions league without barcelona

A friend of mine confidently assured me that Barca would win against all odds because of technical abilities of the coach, Xavi. After all 72% of ball possession and few cards, Barcelona only did what they could by playing defensively.  I, however, believe that they have the power to recover against Inter Milan and Bayern Munich in the second leg. The league would be incomplete without Barca in the final stages playing against other emergent clubs from their varying groups. Their next game I hope would be more of offensive, rather than defensive.

[Rruchi man]

Frankfurt 20:00 Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham continue their poor run of form from the arsenal game,  with very few attempts on goal. At this point and with arsenal's current form, i feel we would have been better choice for this UCL than Tottenham. At the level they are playing, the europa would have been better for them.

For Barcelona, lewandoski will be under pressure now especially since he hasn't scored in his last two champions league games. A product of the international break maybe.

[Marykeller]

Bayern is back on track and we can see clearly that they can accelerate whenever they want and they seems to be more focused on UCL than Bundesliga right now.

Bayern Munich just played spectacular and fantastic football tonight. They have just set a good record for the longest unbeaten club in Championship League group matches. Beating Viktoria Plzen didn't come as a surprise since they were able to win against Barcelona 2-0 last month. Today's win has made them top Group C. Let them use this energy of winning their group stage match to the finals. Not to be kicked out at the quarter-finals of the Champions League

[Rengga Jati]

A friend of mine confidently assured me that Barca would win against all odds because of technical abilities of the coach, Xavi. After all 72% of ball possession and few cards, Barcelona only did what they could by playing defensively.  I, however, believe that they have the power to recover against Inter Milan and Bayern Munich in the second leg. The league would be incomplete without Barca in the final stages playing against other emergent clubs from their varying groups. Their next game I hope would be more of offensive, rather than defensive.

Technical abilities and also strategy will probably result differently in the match. Because, the most will depend on the live match on the field, how every player can optimize their chance, and how the coach can see the match and give evaluation. Probably, Barcelona is better and more favorite, but in fact, during the match, Inter could play much better, moreover in term of their offense and chance taking. That is why Football in sometimes very difficult to predict because the result is sometimes very unpredictable. In UCL, Barcelona's position is very challenging and crucial. In the next match, Barcelona will fight against Inter, this will decide whether Barcelona can be qualified or not. If Barcelona losses again, it means that the chance is very small, and probably will not be qualified. Well, see how the result will be.

[CLS63]

How isn't this handball? Even Barcelona's disallowed goal due to same reason was very debatable. Because that one and the situation in the picture are the same actually. They should have assessed these incidents equally then there wouldn't be any problem. But Barcelona couldn't get a penalty after this incident even though they checked VAR. If VAR won't handle the situation properly then why is there a system like this?

When it comes to the match, Dembele was a big disappointment. We all know how selfish he is. At least he could have scored one goal not to draw a bad attention to himself. Especially on one attempt he was so close to scoring but the ball hit the goal post. Congrats to Inter! They've got a huge win and this is very important for them to consolidate their position. Barcelona are still having problems in the Champions League and they need to win their next match against Inter in Camp Nou this time.

[Lordhermes]

Inter have done a great job so far and ended the first half 1-0 ahead thanks to Calhanoglu's nice goal. Actually Barcelona had more dangerous attacks than them and they were in control of the match in terms of ball possession. However Inter showed us that this wasn't the most important thing in football.

However I still don't think that Inter can win here. Barcelona's performance wasn't so different from them as I said. I expect them to improve their performance even more in the second half and equalize the score as soon as possible. But it looks like they have a really difficult job as for getting a win. Inter are surprising us a lot after their poor defensive performance against Roma the last time. I wasn't expecting them to stay this much solid. Maybe Inzaghi found out a way to be more prepared for the Champions League.

Well, it's quite depressing to watch tonight's "difficult game" turn out to be a cakewalk because I was hoping for a goal or a draw. Imagine Barcelona pleading for a penalty in order to score. Xavi needs to curb his sentimentality I am aware that he is striving to ensure the Spanish players' world cup readiness in his team selection. Barça was a mediocre team tonight, and they ought to be prepared for the match on Thursday as a result of his approach ( Europa league)

Ajax and Liverpool have already scored goals in their matches, I think that the Rangers did not have high hopes of winning before the match, but Napoli probably counted on points, let's see what they can do. And while I'm writing, Napoli is already leveling the score, this is an important goal for Napoli. Bayer scores Porto, this is unexpected, I thought that Porto would be able to keep his net dry, but I already see that the VAR canceled the goal.

I am quite upset in my favorite team, Ajax, who played so poorly tonight against an out-of-form Napoli club. Somewhere in Ajax, something is awry. I'm totally at a loss for words. Napoli wasn't flawless tonight, but Ajax made Napoli perfect as they behaved like a village team. Tonight, Ajax performed utterly below average; there was zero pushing. I've never witnessed a performance quite so tragic.

[Bitinity]

I still can’t believe how Barcelona lost the match against inter with over than 72% possession, inter milan had few chances only to score and many of them were not that dangerous but maintained that one goal till the end and now they are ahead of barcelona with difference of 3 points, but for the return game in camp nou stadium things will be different and I’m betting all my luck for the 3 points of the game to stay at home, we won’t see a beautiful champions league without barcelona

What a bad luck from Barcelona, dominated the game almost during the whole match but failed to create some great goal chances. Dominated ball possession with such big percentage but created 2 shots on goal only is unbelievable. It proves that Inter with less ball possession were more effective to maximize their chance. Barcelona needs to win at least 2 of the 3 remaining matches in order to keep the chance to go to the PlayOff stage. The chance will be the 2nd leg between them against Inter and Victoria Plazen. Next match against Inter can be very crucial match to Barcelona, if they lose it again then we can say that their chance is so low unless they can beat Plazen and Bayern in the last 2 matches.

[wahyuagung26]

Ajax really played well just that Napoli has more potential squads than Ajax that made them to experienced the defeat,

Behind a good Ajax game, of course, the Napoli team is more superior in comparison to Ajax, and it can be confirmed that this is one of the reasons for the defeat experienced by Ajax, the changes and improvements that Napoli have of course will have great potential for victory from Naples.

and Ajax coach need to work on their defense because they easily get weak at the end of the match.

And this is the main priority and the first observation after the match, looking at the performance and shortcomings in the team, in this case the Ajax coach must be more effective in implementing the defense of his team.

and they will keep the winning going until they win the title to make their fans happy

For now it looks like they will be able to achieve it with the performance of Team Napoli which is much improved maybe they will be able to achieve it and it will make the fans and supporters smile with joy, but there will be many obstacles that they have to face in the future because they will compete with the team categorized in the best teams this season.