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

[LUCKMCFLY]

Things are going on really interestingly in the group stage this season. Many big teams of their groups like Chelsea, Juventus, Porto and Marseille have started really badly. Maybe we have left only two weeks in the group stage but the recent performances are indicating surprising results at the end.

Juventus are the most disadvantageous one among these teams. Because PSG and Benfica have already got six points ahead of them. Juventus have no chance other than hoping for PSG to defeat Benfica two times in a row while they are doing the same against Maccabi Haifa. If they don't manage to get six points against even Maccabi Haifa then they don't deserve the next stage in this tournament surely.

Well, of all the teams that you mention, the one that I see much more affected is Juve, because not only in the group stage that goes like this, not only have they had a bad start here but in the Italian league as well, things have not It went well, the last thing I investigated is that some players have some personal problems and that has not allowed them to do things well on the pitch, and I think that this is not only affecting Juve, but many famous teams as well, but I think that this is where the work of the technical director should be seen the most, but apparently things have not improved yet, Marseille is a strange case, they are not doing badly in the league but they started badly here in the group group, and I think that they if they can do it, so far this is what I see.

Barcelona still has a chance in the 2nd leg later. We can't see that Barca will definitely fail to advance to the knock-out stages. Because, their appearance in La Liga has shown a positive trend. With all the problem that Barcelona have, they currently have a solid team. Only 3 points behind Inter, this is not the end considering there are still 2 matches left. There could be a surprise in this week 5 & 6.

Although Barcelona has a positive trend in La Liga, it doesn't guarantee to win in UCL. In the next match, Barcelona will play against Bayern Munich, it is the strongest club in C. Bayern Munich wants to secure their position at the top table, so they will try all out to get 3 points. So, they won't give a chance for Barcelona to steal points. Even if the match will be held in Barcelona home, Bayern attackers look still too strong for Barcelona defenders. This makes me doubt that Barcelona to win it.

Well, the truth is, I think that Barcelona can lose against Bayern, and it will be something very decisive, I would like to see what Lewa's face will look like if he loses? and if Bayern passes and he is not there? Will it be a sentence for Lewa to start thinking that he should leave Barcelona? It would also be very sad not to see more action from Lewa there, on the other hand, I think that Muller will not let himself be won by his friend, this will be very good, I honestly think that this time Barcelona will not go through and he will have to concentrate only on the League, for many Barcelona fans they don't want to be in the Europa League, but I couldn't say that I won't drink this water.

Juventus are in a really bad condition in the Champions League and the Benfica match up next is going to be their silver lining. If they somehow manage to beat Benfica in Portugal the point gap will be only 2. But there is going to be only one match left at the same time. Let's say Juventus beat PSG in Turin, I don't know if Benfica would lose points against Maccabi Haifa. Benfica's match is going to be away against them but in this case Maccabi Haifa won't have any chance left for the Europa League from a realistic point of view. So they wouldn't make big difficulties for Benfica I mean.

Juventus will even need to get better than Benfica in head-to-heads as well so it is a very difficult job to do. We'll see them in the Europa League most probably. Besides I don't think that there would be such thing like they wouldn't care about the Europa League unless they improve their form in the Serie A and enter top 4.

The truth is I don't see Juve well, right now they are playing in Serie A and I don't see that they have scored a good goal against Torino, however I see it as difficult for them to beat Benfica, and this is something they can do if They have the pertinent determination, if we start to see Juve have great options to win, but if and only if they play with everything, I think that this is already a ceustipon of strategy on the part of the coach, I do not see another option because the players are doing very well, for me Cuadrado (the Colombian) is playing very well, and if they play against Benfica as they are doing against TORINO, very good things could happen.


Important Report:.

Report: There’s a growing number of Juve players who aren’t Max Allegri fans

According to La Repubblica earlier this week, there is a group of the Juventus locker room that is not happy with how Max Allegri is currently managing the squad. While there are veteran players like Wojciech Szczesny, Juan Cuadrado and others (translate: Mattia De Sciglio) who are very much in Allegri’s corner, the same can’t be said for the younger — and newer — section of the roster who are reportedly struggling to understand the method to the madness of Juve’s manager. That reported list includes Bremer, Filip Kostic, Manuel Locatelli and Weston McKennie, with Federico Chiesa and Fabio Miretti not exactly thought of as huge fans of Allegri.

Source: https://www.blackwhitereadallover.com/2022/10/14/23401612/juventus-max-allegri-andrea-agnelli-manuel-locatelli-weston-mckennie-2022-serie-a-team-management

[ILuckyGuyI]

I don't understand Milan also. They are performing really good in the Serie A but they can't do the same in the Champions League. We are seeing them at the third place being two points behind Salzburg now. Their remaining games are against Salzburg and Dinamo Zagreb of course. This means that they have a big opportunity in their hands to make use of. They should be able to win both of these games and finish the group at the second place at least. I wouldn't like to see Milan being eliminated again or going to the Europa League this time.

Milan are not even an inexperienced team in the Champions League. Milan are the second most title winners of this tournament with 7 titles. They should be able to show some existence in higher rounds than this while they are having good seasons with Stefano Pioli.

[Frankolala]

Juventus are in a really bad condition in the Champions League and the Benfica match up next is going to be their silver lining. If they somehow manage to beat Benfica in Portugal the point gap will be only 2. But there is going to be only one match left at the same time. Let's say Juventus beat PSG in Turin, I don't know if Benfica would lose points against Maccabi Haifa. Benfica's match is going to be away against them but in this case Maccabi Haifa won't have any chance left for the Europa League from a realistic point of view. So they wouldn't make big difficulties for Benfica I mean.

Juventus will even need to get better than Benfica in head-to-heads as well so it is a very difficult job to do. We'll see them in the Europa League most probably. Besides I don't think that there would be such thing like they wouldn't care about the Europa League unless they improve their form in the Serie A and enter top 4.

 Juventus is passing through a lot from the manager down to the players,they are not united this is what is affecting their performance. They will lose their loose their match because the problem has not been solved yet very complicated issues for the Italian club.

 If Barca can survive and win their match against Bayern,it means that they will reach the final stage because this match is like the finals to them. Lewadoski will try his best I know this.

[lalabotax]

Barcelona will once again, like last season, be eliminated from the Champions League already in the group stage of the competition and only qualify for the European League. Another big disappointment for their fans.

Yes, it will be the same as the previous season if they fail to qualify for the next stage. They will play in Europa League for the second time in the last few years. But Barcelona fans may be satisfied if Barcelona can win the Europa League title this season. It will be very bad if Barcelona ends the Europa League competition without a title again. I'm sure, the fans and Barcelona management will be very unsatisfied and some Barcelona players may think to leave in the next season. So, no problem to play in Europa League but Barcelona must win the title.

[Daniel91]

Barcelona will once again, like last season, be eliminated from the Champions League already in the group stage of the competition and only qualify for the European League. Another big disappointment for their fans.

Yes, it will be the same as the previous season if they fail to qualify for the next stage. They will play in Europa League for the second time in the last few years. But Barcelona fans may be satisfied if Barcelona can win the Europa League title this season. It will be very bad if Barcelona ends the Europa League competition without a title again. I'm sure, the fans and Barcelona management will be very unsatisfied and some Barcelona players may think to leave in the next season. So, no problem to play in Europa League but Barcelona must win the title.

In fact, the question is how much would this competition, the European league, mean to Barcelona? Comforting reward? I'm not sure.
I think that it would be a second-class, irrelevant competition for Barcelona and that Xavi and the players would then fully focus on the Spanish championship and the fight with Real for the title.
At the end of the day, for clubs like Barcecon, the only thing that matters are the European and Spanish championship titles.
Everything else is unimportant.
At the moment, it seems that only a miracle can save Barcelona to pass to the knockout stages of the Champions League and saving the European season.

[CLS63]

Juventus is passing through a lot from the manager down to the players,they are not united this is what is affecting their performance. They will lose their loose their match because the problem has not been solved yet very complicated issues for the Italian club.

 If Barca can survive and win their match against Bayern,it means that they will reach the final stage because this match is like the finals to them. Lewadoski will try his best I know this.

I didn't understand what you meant by saying "the final stage". If you meant that they would have one last chance for last 16 then it seems too difficult to happen. Because it would be a huge surprise if Inter lose points against Plzen.

- Plzen are much weaker than Inter.
- Plzen have no aim left in the group stage.
- It is a very crucial game for Inter to guarantee their spot also.

So Barcelona are in the Europa League from now on. It's a big failure but there is nothing to do about it.

[lalabotax]

In fact, the question is how much would this competition, the European league, mean to Barcelona? Comforting reward? I'm not sure.
I think that it would be a second-class, irrelevant competition for Barcelona and that Xavi and the players would then fully focus on the Spanish championship and the fight with Real for the title.

Just think realistically!
If Barcelona has missed the chance to win UCL title, just forget it. Now, they must focus on the Europa League and shouldn't miss the chance to win the title as well. Anyway, why Europa League title is irrelevant for Barcelona? I think it is also a prestige title, it is an international title, bro. You seem like too underestimate Europa League competition.  

Note that Barcelona is defeated by Real Madrid in La Liga, which means Real Madrid is leading with 3 points now. If they only focus on La Liga title, they may get nothing because Real Madrid is the favorite to win it now.

[Distraction]

In fact, the question is how much would this competition, the European league, mean to Barcelona? Comforting reward? I'm not sure.
I think that it would be a second-class, irrelevant competition for Barcelona and that Xavi and the players would then fully focus on the Spanish championship and the fight with Real for the title.

Just think realistically!
If Barcelona has missed the chance to win UCL title, just forget it. Now, they must focus on the Europa League and shouldn't miss the chance to win the title as well. Anyway, why Europa League title is irrelevant for Barcelona? I think it is also a prestige title, it is an international title, bro. You seem like too underestimate Europa League competition.  

Note that Barcelona is defeated by Real Madrid in La Liga, which means Real Madrid is leading with 3 points now. If they only focus on La Liga title, they may get nothing because Real Madrid is the favorite to win it now.

To tell the truth, I don't think that the Europa League is fitting one of the biggest teams in Europe like Barcelona. I'm pretty sure that @Daniel91 meant the same.

Because Barcelona have always been known as one of the strongest teams of the Champions League. They won the title five times so they have a great history here. Considering the quality level of Barcelona, the Europa League is dragging them down from that level. They were mocked for joining the Europa League last season and it will be the same for this one also. Some teams don't have the luxury of competing in lower tournaments like that and Barcelona are one of these numbered teams.

[Ayers]

To tell the truth, I don't think that the Europa League is fitting one of the biggest teams in Europe like Barcelona. I'm pretty sure that @Daniel91 meant the same.
Because Barcelona have always been known as one of the strongest teams of the Champions League. They won the title five times so they have a great history here. Considering the quality level of Barcelona, the Europa League is dragging them down from that level. They were mocked for joining the Europa League last season and it will be the same for this one also. Some teams don't have the luxury of competing in lower tournaments like that and Barcelona are one of these numbered teams.

Rather than putting all their energy and focus into the EUL, the club should value their time and attention on the league more. Due to the fact that they have a good chance of winning it, even though RMA seems quite unstoppable this season and recently they smashed FCB 3-1 in their last match.

The point I'm trying to make is that EUL won't bring any glory to FCB as their standards are much higher. So, in my opinion, they should not spend their time focusing on two different places at the same time, but they should focus entirely on the league at the moment.

[Pulsar77]

Milan are going to play two crucial matches from now on. The first one is against Dinamo Zagreb away and the second one is a home match against Salzburg. Milan actually have the strength to defeat both of them no matter where the matches are played. As they got two defeats by Chelsea, Salzburg have got ahead of them by 2 points. Milan will need to improve their effort much more to secure the second position.

As you remember Milan were shockingly out of the Champions League and Europa League both last season as they finished the group at the last position. This is a much easier group compared to that time. Therefore the board must be expecting Pioli not to fail in qualifying from the group. I believe Milan will make a good start by defeating Dinamo Zagreb and 1.84 is a great odd to benefit from.

[Pokapoka124]

In every past champion's league you can guess the winners from their group stage not all the times though but majority season the winners has started performing exceptionally at the group stages,this season's will have such teams, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Napoli and real Madrid. Manchester City for me this season seems like the season for pep, the players are ready and have a strong competition within them to achieve this, and they have a world class striker thats breaking record upon record everytime he enters the pitch. Napoli and Bayern are doing great too, while real Madrid are always in the mixed.

This season is different and from the group, the stage is even becoming difficult to predict who would believe that Napoli would be stopping the table and Liverpool following behind Liverpool's performant is very poor this season compared to last season, with Napoli leading Liverpool with 3 points and Liverpool leading Ajax with 6 points and Liverpool will be playing against ajax on 26 Oct time 20:00 my hands are tight to make a prediction on this one and Napoli vs Rangers the same day the same time and Napoli will use Rangers to count more point, Rangers the last match against Liverpool ended 7:1 and now facing Napoli is not going to be an easy game.

There is so much intense and hunger in the Uefa champions league, the pressure is way bigger than it usually is playing in the domestic league and it feels like Real Madrid understands what it takes to win the trophy more than the other teams, they perform better in the champions league than the la liga.
I would love to see Liverpool getting a revenge on Napoli in the second leg group fixture. Hopefully the two straight wins over Manchester City and West Ham will boost their confidence going into the next games. The supporters will be excited to see their team getting back their form and returning to winning games. The season still holds a lot of surprises, Liverpool have a chance to be strong contenders for the title

[Daniel91]

Milan are going to play two crucial matches from now on. The first one is against Dinamo Zagreb away and the second one is a home match against Salzburg. Milan actually have the strength to defeat both of them no matter where the matches are played. As they got two defeats by Chelsea, Salzburg have got ahead of them by 2 points. Milan will need to improve their effort much more to secure the second position.

As you remember Milan were shockingly out of the Champions League and Europa League both last season as they finished the group at the last position. This is a much easier group compared to that time. Therefore the board must be expecting Pioli not to fail in qualifying from the group. I believe Milan will make a good start by defeating Dinamo Zagreb and 1.84 is a great odd to benefit from.

At the beginning of this season, I also expected that Chelsea and Milan would be the favorites in this group, but that has not happened so far and everything is still open in this group of the Champions League.
Chelsea started to play much better with the new coach and I expect them to be the first in this group at the end.
All three remaining clubs, Salzburg, Milan and Dinamo, have equal chances for second place.
The match between Dinamo and Milan will most likely decide which of the two teams will remain in the race for second place in the group.
Dinamo always plays very well in Zagreb, much better than away from home and so far they beat Chelsea and drew with Salzburg.
In Milan, Dinamo played a very good game and was very close to winning a point.
That's why I don't think that Milan will be the favorite in the match with Dinamo and I predict either a win for Dinamo or a draw.

[CLS63]

One of the most crucial matches today is Benfica - Juventus obviously.

Juventus are going to play a very crucial match to be able to maintain their chance of qualifying from the group. Juventus are seen as the underdog here according to bookmakers. Their odd is 3.75 while Benfica's is 2.06. There is some improvement in Juventus' performance lately. They won their last two Serie A matches and the last one was a solid victory by 4-0. Of course there is a huge difference among those teams and Benfica. But these wins are important to boost the morale of Juventus players. I'm not sure but maybe I can give Juventus a chance as for betting. I know that it is still too difficult for them to qualify from the group even if they win this match. But they might still fight hard and win this maybe.

[bitgolden]

One of the most crucial matches today is Benfica - Juventus obviously.

Juventus are going to play a very crucial match to be able to maintain their chance of qualifying from the group. Juventus are seen as the underdog here according to bookmakers. Their odd is 3.75 while Benfica's is 2.06. There is some improvement in Juventus' performance lately. They won their last two Serie A matches and the last one was a solid victory by 4-0. Of course there is a huge difference among those teams and Benfica. But these wins are important to boost the morale of Juventus players. I'm not sure but maybe I can give Juventus a chance as for betting. I know that it is still too difficult for them to qualify from the group even if they win this match. But they might still fight hard and win this maybe.

It's not going to be easy but it could still happen. Benfica is a great team, people do not look at them as a great team because they are not at the top 5 big league, but they are still a great team, better than most teams in the big five league aside from maybe top 2-3 of those leagues, sometimes second best.

This is why Juventus will have a very hard time beating them, and I am guessing a good loss is waiting for them if all goes as expected. Juventus is a good club to be honest but they haven't become a "team", they are a bunch of players all playing together but not a team. This causes them to play much worse than they could potentially play and Benfica is not like that, they are a proper team.

[RockBell]

Group H Benfica and Juventus have started the game again, and given Juventus's chances of winning straight up, the score may end in a draw. Juventus' opponents won't allow them to win so easily, and with benfica already having shots on goal and having the most ball possession while Juventus has already committed one offside, there is still time to predict game changes in football.Good luck to both clubs Juventus performance not bad but from the look of things much pressure is already coming from benfica.

[Zackgeno96]

If it goes bad, then it must apparently go bad everywhere and everywhere at Juventus, they are now behind in the away game at Benfica. Not that this result will have that much influence, because Juventus was already 99.99% eliminated. Chelsea had already won against direct competitor Salzburg earlier in the evening and is therefore now group winner and assured of the next round. In this group everything is still open for 2nd place as Zagreb and Milan both have 5 points and are currently playing against each other. The winner takes matters into his own hands in the final round. What is also striking is the rapid 2-0 deficit of Real Madrid at RB Leipzig. That has happened to Real Madrid more often lately, they were also behind in the previous round against Shaktar Donetsk.

[Asiska02]

One of the most crucial matches today is Benfica - Juventus obviously.

Juventus are going to play a very crucial match to be able to maintain their chance of qualifying from the group. Juventus are seen as the underdog here according to bookmakers. Their odd is 3.75 while Benfica's is 2.06. There is some improvement in Juventus' performance lately. They won their last two Serie A matches and the last one was a solid victory by 4-0. Of course there is a huge difference among those teams and Benfica. But these wins are important to boost the morale of Juventus players. I'm not sure but maybe I can give Juventus a chance as for betting. I know that it is still too difficult for them to qualify from the group even if they win this match. But they might still fight hard and win this maybe.

The match has already begun, and the intensity of the competition has already made clear how competitive this game will be. Both teams have scored and the score is currently tied after only 25 minutes of play. Which team will win today's game is almost impossible to predict. Juventus really needs the victory in order to keep their hopes of moving on to the next round alive. If they lose today's game, they may have to abandon those hopes. Since Benfica is already in second place in the group with 8 points, a win or a draw would still be satisfying for them.

[ampere]

Two shocking results tonight haha.

Real Madrid are a goal down at Liezpig, Liezpig 2 - 1 Madrid (HT)
Juventus are also 2 goals down at Sporting Lisbon, Sporting Lisbon 3-1 Juventus;

Will Madrid bounce back t draw or win the tie? Can Juventus nick a draw away at Portugal? What are your suggestions

[LTU_btc]

Benfica win against Juventus is logical - simply better team won. At one point result wasn't even respectful - 4:1, but Juve managed to score 2 goals. They won't qualify for CL playoffs and risking to end without Europa League, plus poor performance in Serie A, I will be surprised if Allegri won't be sacked tomorrow.
P$G 7:2 Maccabi Haifa. That moment when over 3.5 goals looked like safe bet, but I didn't risked to go with more. Easy walk in park for Messi, Mbappe and Neymar, but they also let farmers from Haifa to score.
Shakhstar achieved important draw with Celtic. Damn, how good is Mudryk, seems that he will be imprtant target for big clubs soon. Though, unexpected Leipzig win ruined things a bit for Shakhtar. Now they will have to win against Leipzig in last round in Warsaw, while for Leipzig draw is enough.
Dortmund 0:0 City. Maybe draw isn't surprise, but I expected to see some goals. Mahrez missed already second penalty in Champions League, first was against Copenhagen.
Good to see Sevilla bounce back with new coach. Now they qualified where they simply belongs - Europa League playoffs.

[martyns]

Two shocking results tonight haha.

Real Madrid are a goal down at Liezpig, Liezpig 2 - 1 Madrid (HT)
Juventus are also 2 goals down at Sporting Lisbon, Sporting Lisbon 3-1 Juventus;

Will Madrid bounce back t draw or win the tie? Can Juventus nick a draw away at Portugal? What are your suggestions

liepzig were able to win Real Madrid 3-2 in a thrilling encountered this night,I didn't know Madrid were going to come back to score two goals again after Liepzig flogged them 2-0 within 30 minutes of play. Madrid were in a very good form but they couldn't just defeat Liepzig today.
Whereas Mancity were held to a goalless draw with Dortmund.