UEFA Champions League 2022/23 Season

[Docnaster]

Real Madrid @3.10, Draw @3.50 and Manchester City @2.20. Even if you bet on Manchester City though, the fact is you will still get good odds and it will still be fun when you do. After all, what kind of trick do you mean because in reality, Real Madrid in La Liga was also not as good as last season so I don't believe in a trick just to increase the stakes.

After all, Real Madrid is a big team, of course, fans and non-fans, of course, will be able to enjoy matches with their usual bets. So yes, Real Madrid and Manchester City certainly have a chance to win, but of course it's always going to be the teams that are going to win and lose the game and because of that, I'm leaning more towards Manchester City.

These are quotes for the first game where Real Madrid plays at home and therefore it is not very clear how much the bookmakers consider City as a favorite. Here are quotes for the outcome of the confrontation:

To Qualify

Real Madrid 3.35

Manchester City FC 1.32

A huge bias in favor of the City, it is almost 75% to 25%. Perhaps this is a fair estimate, but still I will hope that we will see exactly the 25% where the City will be knocked out again.

The bookmakers do not consider so many things before they release odds but in a popular match as yhe one between Real Madrid and Manchester City, all the stats are available and the bookmakers must have investigated well. Most times they chose to play mind games to deceive the gamblers.
But for this match while bookmakers favoured Manchester could be because of these reasons;
1. Manchester City is more in form than Real Madrid
2. Some key Madrid players are already out because of injuries. Player such as Modric and Militao

[trendcoin]

...
Real Madrid 3.35

Manchester City FC 1.32

A huge bias in favor of the City, it is almost 75% to 25%. Perhaps this is a fair estimate, but still I will hope that we will see exactly the 25% where the City will be knocked out again.

I see Manchester City as the favorites of this tournament since the beginning of the season but I think the odds are not really balanced. Manchester City are a better team than Real Madrid and they will make up for last year's accident in this match, but I did not find these odds realistic.

I think Pep Guardiola will use Kyle Walker to stop Vinicius. If he makes this move, he will have tied the hands of Real Madrid. Because this move will also weaken Benzema's effectiveness. I wonder what Ancelotti will do to stop Haaland. I wouldn't want to be in his place.

[LUCKMCFLY]

Despite a narrow aggregate lead for Milan, that won't keep them safe for 90 minutes and things like a lot of goals can still happen. Therefore if Milan want to get rid of Napoli in the QF round then they have to carry out a total attack without any doubts.

On the other hand, Napoli benefited greatly because as the host and the return of the Napoli duo this season Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia made Napoli even more confident in being able to get rid of Milan by surpassing the number of aggregate points. Maybe I won't see extra time in this game or penalty shootouts because 90 minutes is enough time for Napoli to destroy Milan's hopes.

There are still many opportunities that Napoli can take good advantage of. This thin speed should be able to motivate the Napoli players to launch a full attack in Leg 2. Not only Milan will do this, but Napoli is the most anticipated candidate to reach the final. With the opportunity to play in Leg 2, of course the final result will be difficult to predict because both clubs will do their best. Milan may not have been ideal in the league but this time they want to revive their history after a long absence.

Indeed, with Napoli favored until the final match, the opponent will face more difficult. But before we go any further into the final round, Napoli really need to win at home to ensure their next move. For Milan, indeed this team has been asleep for a long time and with the history they have in the champions league, they are still a strong candidate for the semifinals even though at this time their chances are quite small with the return of the full squad that belongs to Napoli in the second leg later.

Well, I know that many have a lot of faith in Napoli, but I think that Napoli does not have it so easy here, they have the last game left to see if it happens or not, and although everything is possible, personally I still believe that a A good UCL final is that it's between Milan and Madrid, I don't know, I think some who are Madrid fans Understand me, obviously if it reaches this final, I would like Real Madrid to win, but as far as As far as I am concerned, I think that the best thing here is what we think of as our tastes and even feelings, I would like that final, but Napoli is also a very strong team and I know that in their last game they will come out with everything they have .

~~~

We also hope that the final is a very ideal team between Real Madrid vs Man City but they only meet in the semifinals so one of those clubs will meet in the final with a team from that Serie A, but in my prediction it is Inter Milan who will qualify even though I know this is the hardest prediction because they in the league are not that prominent.

But I'm sure the final won't be boring, this is a very prestigious event, every club will give their best game, including Inter or Milan, but my problem is can Man City win this season?
This is a big challenge because if Man City can reach the final I'm sure the English team can win.

There is too little hope to see Manchester City be able to win the Champions League title if the final opponent is Real Madrid.
I mean Real Madrid are a very consistent team when it comes to titles especially when they play in the Champions League final. However, I never underestimate Manchester City when the team is armed with quality players.

Now, because Real Madrid and Manchester City met in the semi-finals, then of course the chances for Manchester City to qualify for the final and win it are very possible. Manchester City are one of the favourites, as are Real Madrid, so their semi-final has got to be the grandest of the season.

I also think the same, for me there is no other team that is stronger in this UCL season, I do not deny that Haaland is a player who can solve a game quickly, and if Pep is a great strategist, I imagine that he has already studied Madrid from above and below and he himself recognizes that Madrid is one of the best teams in the world, he also knows that if Ancelotti assigns 2 players so that Haaland does nothing, he will disable him and let 10 players play in attack completely, this The game will be very interesting, I think that the winner here will be Madrid.

[$crypto$]

Real Madrid @3.10, Draw @3.50 and Manchester City @2.20. Even if you bet on Manchester City though, the fact is you will still get good odds and it will still be fun when you do. After all, what kind of trick do you mean because in reality, Real Madrid in La Liga was also not as good as last season so I don't believe in a trick just to increase the stakes.

After all, Real Madrid is a big team, of course, fans and non-fans, of course, will be able to enjoy matches with their usual bets. So yes, Real Madrid and Manchester City certainly have a chance to win, but of course it's always going to be the teams that are going to win and lose the game and because of that, I'm leaning more towards Manchester City.

In theory, Manchester City will be superior because in terms of performance, of course, with the current odds, it is still quite large what is expected of them, especially Manchester City fans making bets, but Real Madrid will always have a surprise at the end, I can't say about This LaLiga is clearly different when Real Madrid is in the UCL.

Both are big teams, but looking at last season Real Madrid was able to come back but this season might be different from the previous season, on the other hand, I see Manchester City's potential is quite big but I won't forget that Real Madrid is the defending champion.

[Jatiluhung]

I also think the same, for me there is no other team that is stronger in this UCL season, I do not deny that Haaland is a player who can solve a game quickly, and if Pep is a great strategist, I imagine that he has already studied Madrid from above and below and he himself recognizes that Madrid is one of the best teams in the world, he also knows that if Ancelotti assigns 2 players so that Haaland does nothing, he will disable him and let 10 players play in attack completely, this The game will be very interesting, I think that the winner here will be Madrid.

What is very interesting about this semi-final match is because of these two coaches, namely Pep Guardiola (Man City) & Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid). Both of these coaches have good experience in the Champions League. like Pep Guardiola who has also brought Barcelona to win the Champions League trophy twice in the past. but unfortunately after leaving Barcelona Pep Guardiola has not got it back like when he coached Bayern and now the opportunity for Pep Gurdiola is open again to bring his team to win the title in the Champions League.

But Carlo Ancelotti is also a coach who has experience in bringing his team to victory in the Champions League. So that the Man City vs Real Madrid match, even though it is in the semi-finals, definitely has a match atmosphere like in the finals. because it is not only bringing together reliable players between the two teams. but this match also brought together two reliable and experienced coaches to win the UCL trophy.

[blackened515]

I also think the same, for me there is no other team that is stronger in this UCL season, I do not deny that Haaland is a player who can solve a game quickly, and if Pep is a great strategist, I imagine that he has already studied Madrid from above and below and he himself recognizes that Madrid is one of the best teams in the world, he also knows that if Ancelotti assigns 2 players so that Haaland does nothing, he will disable him and let 10 players play in attack completely, this The game will be very interesting, I think that the winner here will be Madrid.

Manchester city are overhype in games compared to Real Madrid. It's important to state out the clear facts among both clubs, the Los blancos have the experience and confidence to win any opponents when it comes to UCL games while Manchester city have good records in UCL and also EPL. They got eliminated by real Madrid last season, although they will not take it easy on with real Madrid. However I'm pretty sure Carlo Ancelotti have a way he absorbed the pressure from Pep Guardiola, he always sort out good goal opportunities against English clubs. Erling Haaland is not a threat because if city midfield is comprehended by Madrid, Haaland won't be able to net a single goal in the game.

[laurenB7742]

It would be foolish to think that a Manchester City team cannot beat Real Madrid. However, the Real Madrid team is more experienced on the Champions League platform than Manchester City. And they can perform well under pressure. However, their main weakness is that this team is overly dependent on Benzema. If Guardiola can stop Benzema I think Manchester City will win.
Real Madrid will be the favorite in this match. But the Manchester City team is in great form right now. The team is able to dominate every match in both Premier League and Champions League. So it has become more difficult for Real Madrid to beat City.

You don't have to go extra leangth to used abusive words on replies trying to defend your favourite club, we all know that Manchester City have big boys that are very experienced and very strong to kill any team in any matches but the same City lost to Madrid last year and they cried like babies. Funny enough, they were even better last season because that time, they were leading in th rank on Premier League but this time, they fought Arsenal as if it will be their last meal(trophy) they will ever see in their life.
Should I also remind you that Real Madrid were also like this last season, there were on form in this way but they conquer all the teams they come across in Champions League, if they don't lead in the first leg, they win the second leg later on.

I can't completely agree with you. Real Madrid were not in such form last season. Madrid was a very strong team last season. Special was in full form. But the scenario this season is slightly different. I am not saying that Madrid is not in good form. However, their performance is somewhat erratic. Benzema has also suffered several injuries. He is not able to perform as well as last season this season. Also, Manchester City have probably won 3 of their last 4 matches against Madrid.

Still, I'm not underestimating the Madrid team. I know this team has the ability to beat any big team. Also, coach Ancelotti is very experienced. But the Manchester City team seems to be my favorite in this match.

[bitgolden]

True looks very strong. While the outcome of this match seems absolutely uncertain, we don't know if Real Madrid or Manchester will win, in my opinion the other semifinal is already written. Milan will win, Inter are too poor as a team.

maybe for the match between AC Milan and Inter, we can already predict it. even though Inter's performance is as good as anything, Inter will not be able to surpass Milan's greatness, which has very good performance at the moment.
but it is the Real Madrid vs Man City match that is very difficult to predict, while these two teams are very strong teams and have good experience in several leagues. both teams have excellent players but it's just that Man City doesn't have experience in the champions league and maybe it's too early to become champions league champions.
I still have hope for Real Madrid to continue to win this season.

This definitely a prediction and not really knowing it. I mean sure Milan does look like they are better, but the difference is not huge enough to make it work, I personally believe that there is going to be a small difference between the two clubs and we are going to end up seeing two teams fight until the final whistle as well.

I wouldn't consider the game done if Milan was leading 2-0 on the last game, anything could happen and it will happen so we should just consider that as an option to keep it going. I know that it is going to cause a lot of trouble for many people because since we do not know who will win, there will be plenty of people who will bet on both sides and it won't be just very heavy bet on single side, I think that is an important factor without a doubt.

[Litzki1990]

Napoli's decline in performance was completely sudden. They were consistently performing well. But suddenly Napoli conceded a 4-0 defeat against Milan in Serie A. This was a completely unexpected result. And in several matches after that, we saw erratic performances from Napoli. Napoli's performance against AC Milan was also poor in the Champions League match as well. And so Napoli failed to qualify for the semi-finals.
Both Inter Milan and AC Milan seem equally likely to win. The performances of these two teams have been erratic in Serie A this season as well. So there is no way to say for sure which team will qualify for the finals.

The game will be played, and one team will undoubtedly qualify for the finals, albeit we are unsure which one due to their outstanding individual performances. The final game is the real deal. I don't think any of these clubs, assuming they make it to the final, will be able to face either of the other two teams in the semifinals, Real Madrid or Manchester City. I know champions league finals are usually intense and fierce, but I doubt this one will be given the teams who will face each other in the finals.

The UEFA Champions League final would have been more interesting if Manchester City and Real Madrid had played the final. But not like this. Because the opponents in the semi-finals are Real Madrid and Manchester City. Either of these two teams will advance to the Champions League final and the other will be eliminated from the semi-finals.  Looking at the performance of these two teams at present, there is no way to understand which team will be more likely to reach the UEFA Champions League final. Manchester City has been performing well everywhere from the Premier League to the FA Cup Champions League. But rivals Real Madrid are always favorites for the Champions League.  So at the moment it is difficult to say which team is the favorite for the Champions League. We must wait, there is no choice but to wait.

[Leviathan.007]

Surprising news came from one of Real Madrid's veteran midfielders, namely Luka Modric, who is reportedly suffering from a hamstring injury and it can be confirmed that he will be out for the next two weeks. This is clearly a loss for Real Madrid at the same time they will face Manchester City in the first leg of the Champions League semifinals.

Ancelotti is certainly very confused because he lost one of his key players to face Manchester City later and it seems likely that Dani Ceballos will replace Luka Modric's position. But Real Madrid hopes that before the match starts Luka Modric can quickly recover from the injury he is currently experiencing. We are still waiting for further news and maybe this will be good news for Pep Guardiola if Luka Modric really cannot strengthen Real Madrid in the first leg later.

Source: https://en.as.com/soccer/luka-modric-injured-will-the-real-madrid-midfielder-be-fit-for-the-champions-league-semi-final-against-manchester-city-n/

Bad news, I hope Luca recovers in time for the game. If I'm not mistaken, bookmakers have already reacted to this news:

3.15 - 3.55 - 2.24

City became even more clear favorites in the first game. Although this may not be due to this news, but to the results of the teams' games lately, where City obviously performs more successfully.

Even before this news about Luca Modric, Manchester City had a higher chance to beat Real Madrid, especially in the first because they are in better form and they can have a better performance compared to Real Madrid because of the previous games we saw from both teams and now the absence of Modric in can increase the possibility for Manchester City to win this game.

[keyscore44]

Surprising news came from one of Real Madrid's veteran midfielders, namely Luka Modric, who is reportedly suffering from a hamstring injury and it can be confirmed that he will be out for the next two weeks. This is clearly a loss for Real Madrid at the same time they will face Manchester City in the first leg of the Champions League semifinals.

Ancelotti is certainly very confused because he lost one of his key players to face Manchester City later and it seems likely that Dani Ceballos will replace Luka Modric's position. But Real Madrid hopes that before the match starts Luka Modric can quickly recover from the injury he is currently experiencing. We are still waiting for further news and maybe this will be good news for Pep Guardiola if Luka Modric really cannot strengthen Real Madrid in the first leg later.

Source: https://en.as.com/soccer/luka-modric-injured-will-the-real-madrid-midfielder-be-fit-for-the-champions-league-semi-final-against-manchester-city-n/

Bad news, I hope Luca recovers in time for the game. If I'm not mistaken, bookmakers have already reacted to this news:

3.15 - 3.55 - 2.24

City became even more clear favorites in the first game. Although this may not be due to this news, but to the results of the teams' games lately, where City obviously performs more successfully.

Even before this news about Luca Modric, Manchester City had a higher chance to beat Real Madrid, especially in the first because they are in better form and they can have a better performance compared to Real Madrid because of the previous games we saw from both teams and now the absence of Modric in can increase the possibility for Manchester City to win this game.

As Manchester City start to progress in the English Premier League, the Champions League semi-finalists I believe so far will beat Real Madrid to reach the final. However, I think Real Madrid's attacking players are better than their defensive players. Real Madrid will have to use great tactics to stop Manchester City's attack if they want to win the match.

[Cryptmuster]

Even before this news about Luca Modric, Manchester City had a higher chance to beat Real Madrid, especially in the first because they are in better form and they can have a better performance compared to Real Madrid because of the previous games we saw from both teams and now the absence of Modric in can increase the possibility for Manchester City to win this game.

At first glance it seems that City are in better shape now, this is most likely the case, but this is Real Madrid, they know how to concentrate on one game, that is, regardless of their results, they are able to play a great game, so underestimating Real Madrid who reached the semi-finals would be stupid of Guardiola. City really look like a team that can win this Champions League, but we know many examples where experience is more important than current form.

[Swordsoffreedom]

Both Inter Milan and AC Milan seem equally likely to win. The performances of these two teams have been erratic in Serie A this season as well. So there is no way to say for sure which team will qualify for the finals.

I second this, the game is fairly even at 50-50 and i absolutely don't think there is any favorite in this game. AC Milan and Inter Milan are quite erratic and unpredictable this season, they could lose when you expect them to win easily, and win when you think they are definitely going to lose, it has been an up and down season for the both clubs, and they are really fortunate and lucky to be in the SF of the CL. This match is going to be decided by fine margins, i prolly even think it will go into extra time, that's how close i think it'd be, but if i must pick a side, i'd say AC Milan would progress to the final, just because i think they have a game changer in Rafel Leao and a great goalscorer in Olivier Giroud, they would both help AC Milan to just edge Inter Milan.

You are right. AC Milan and Inter Milan's performances this season have been erratic. They have won against strong opponents and dropped points against relatively weaker teams. I have lost money in several of these matches betting on these two teams. And so it becomes difficult to predict how these two teams will perform against each other. Both teams have equal chances of winning. As they have qualified for the semi-finals. So I think both the teams have the potential to qualify for the finals. Looking forward to watching the match. Expect the match to be very exciting and competitive.

[Davian144]

Milan just has the heritage in champions league and thats one of they reasons they advanced. Inter has better team but I'm afraid cause Milan is known for it's Champions League performances.

If you look at the experience in the Champions League competition between AC Milan and Inter Milan, of course AC Milan has a better advantage in this regard so there is a high probability for AC Milan to win in the semifinals of the Champions League this season. But I also wouldn't be so surprised if, for example, Inter Milan were able to beat AC Milan in this season's Champions League competition in the semifinals because the two of them will definitely give their all to reach the final in this season's Champions League.

[JeffBrad12]

In theory, Manchester City will be superior because in terms of performance, of course, with the current odds, it is still quite large what is expected of them, especially Manchester City fans making bets, but Real Madrid will always have a surprise at the end, I can't say about This LaLiga is clearly different when Real Madrid is in the UCL.

If you were talking about domestic league and yes, manchester city has better performance compared with real madrid but when it comes to the UCL and i think that real madrid is still leading the way with 14 trophies while manchester city with 0 trophy. Real madrid is always performing differently when it comes to the UCL. Real madrid as a team with most of UCL trophies are always consistently winning this trophy since a long time ago. The performance of real madrid never disappointing when it was coming to the UCL.
I will prefer to take madrid rather than manchester city in UCL competition.

Both are big teams, but looking at last season Real Madrid was able to come back but this season might be different from the previous season, on the other hand, I see Manchester City's potential is quite big but I won't forget that Real Madrid is the defending champion.

I see no difference with the last season. The only thing that makes it a big different was city has haaland. haaland can be called as the best striker in EPL while benzema is best striker in la liga.
This gonna be a very big match for anyone. pep guardiola will be facing ancelotti again. Ancelotti has become a mimick for guardiola. It's caused by pep has bad WR against him.

Ancelotti known as most successful coach in UCL.

[bering]

The combination of Toni Kroos and Valverde is believe to be able to cover Luka Modric's contribution, if he is completely absent in the semifinals of the Champions League this season.
In my opinion, coach Carlo Ancelotti's dependence on Modric is not what we imagine, coach Ancelotti already understands the situation of his players, moreover Luka Modric is already 37 years old.
This will be a good opportunity for the oppose team, Manchester City

Ancelotti know Modric isn't young anymore so that's why he was sometimes to put Modric in the bench because Ancelotti has realized he should be rely on younger players to anticipate if Modric got injured and i have seen sometimes if Modric unable to played usually Ancelotti will used Dani Ceballos to replaced Modric position in the team but i have to say if we compared the performance of these players i think Modric is better than Ceballos but Madrid is filled with plenty of talented midfielder so i am sure Ancelotti can solved this problem

But indeed although probably Ancelotti have players to replaces Modric position in the team but the absence of him will have any affect for Madrid performance because we all know the determination of Modric for each matches is so high that he can able to help Madrid to defense and to attacking with very well so in my opinion in this team so far there is no player who equal to him and Manchester City chances to win the match had increase if Madrid playing without Modric

[giammangiato]

Ancelotti known as most successful coach in UCL.

Carlo Ancelotti comes from Arrigo Sacchi's Milan, who was the boss of the Champions League at the time
He has considerable experience not only as a coach but also as a player, so he knows how to navigate this competition very well.
I think he will win again this year.

[Naficopa]

The combination of Toni Kroos and Valverde is believe to be able to cover Luka Modric's contribution, if he is completely absent in the semifinals of the Champions League this season.
In my opinion, coach Carlo Ancelotti's dependence on Modric is not what we imagine, coach Ancelotti already understands the situation of his players, moreover Luka Modric is already 37 years old.
This will be a good opportunity for the oppose team, Manchester City

Ancelotti know Modric isn't young anymore so that's why he was sometimes to put Modric in the bench because Ancelotti has realized he should be rely on younger players to anticipate if Modric got injured and i have seen sometimes if Modric unable to played usually Ancelotti will used Dani Ceballos to replaced Modric position in the team but i have to say if we compared the performance of these players i think Modric is better than Ceballos but Madrid is filled with plenty of talented midfielder so i am sure Ancelotti can solved this problem

But indeed although probably Ancelotti have players to replaces Modric position in the team but the absence of him will have any affect for Madrid performance because we all know the determination of Modric for each matches is so high that he can able to help Madrid to defense and to attacking with very well so in my opinion in this team so far there is no player who equal to him and Manchester City chances to win the match had increase if Madrid playing without Modric

Real Madrid and Manchester City's semi-final match between the two teams is quite strategic. But I think Real Madrid will be more important than Manchester City in the semi-final match. Because they know Manchester City's attack is very strong. Basically, the weak points of both teams will be found and used in this match.

[Alanaz]

Ancelotti known as most successful coach in UCL.

Carlo Ancelotti comes from Arrigo Sacchi's Milan, who was the boss of the Champions League at the time
He has considerable experience not only as a coach but also as a player, so he knows how to navigate this competition very well.
I think he will win again this year.

True, he is one of the most successful coaches in the Champions League, but there are still many who think he only wins by luck. I understand when many people say that, because from a strategy, Carlo Ancelotti did not show an extraordinary strategy. They just played as usual and there was nothing special about the strategy that was demonstrated, but even so he was really successful as a coach.

[slapper]

Surprising news came from one of Real Madrid's veteran midfielders, namely Luka Modric, who is reportedly suffering from a hamstring injury and it can be confirmed that he will be out for the next two weeks. This is clearly a loss for Real Madrid at the same time they will face Manchester City in the first leg of the Champions League semifinals.

Ancelotti is certainly very confused because he lost one of his key players to face Manchester City later and it seems likely that Dani Ceballos will replace Luka Modric's position. But Real Madrid hopes that before the match starts Luka Modric can quickly recover from the injury he is currently experiencing. We are still waiting for further news and maybe this will be good news for Pep Guardiola if Luka Modric really cannot strengthen Real Madrid in the first leg later.

Source: https://en.as.com/soccer/luka-modric-injured-will-the-real-madrid-midfielder-be-fit-for-the-champions-league-semi-final-against-manchester-city-n/

Without a doubt this is a terrible blow against Real Madrid, even with their full squad Manchester City was already the favorite, now that they are losing one of their key pieces then Real Madrid is going to face a very difficult match, now they may have other good players on their roster but they will lack the chemistry Modric already had with he rest of the players, all in all Real Madrid needs to do their best to tie the first leg or at least not lose in a disastrous way so they can have a chance once Modric recovers.

If Luka Modrich is injured and cannot play against Manchester City, it will be a big bad news for Real Madrid. Luka Modrich is the most important midfielder in Real Madrid's squad. He is an amazing player. Ancelotti desperately needs Luka Modric to strengthen the forward's link with the team's midfield. Without Luka Modrich or Benzema in the squad, Madrid's overall performance slows down a bit. The match against Manchester City is two weeks away. Hopefully Luka Modric will recover in the meantime.

The combination of Toni Kroos and Valverde is believe to be able to cover Luka Modric's contribution, if he is completely absent in the semifinals of the Champions League this season.
In my opinion, coach Carlo Ancelotti's dependence on Modric is not what we imagine, coach Ancelotti already understands the situation of his players, moreover Luka Modric is already 37 years old.
This will be a good opportunity for the oppose team, Manchester City

I dig your sentiment, yet Modric's vanishing act could throw a wrench in Madrid's Champions League hustle. He's that indispensable maestro – serving skill and perseverance like hotcakes, a vibe hard to replicate.

However, we're rocking a stacked roster, poised to tango with Manchester City. Our midfield's brimming with gifted playmakers itching to step up and be game-changers. It's about nailing that sweet equilibrium and playing our ace cards.

And who's to say, maybe Modric's absence is our wild card. It might be the break others need to bask in glory and prove their mettle. So let's ride the optimism wave, lock in, and conquer the Champions League. We're in it to win it!