For the sake of humanity.
Barca are the favourites. Their football will hamper Liverpool for sure.Spurs v Ajax is too close to call, Spurs have already dicked a young attacking side in Dortmund but this Ajax side has just knocked out Real and Juve. Cant call that one
Liverpool v Barca I can only see one outcome and it aint good
I feel like Liverpool having the 2nd leg at Anfield will be huge for them. Get out of Nou Camp with a draw or even a tight loss and I think they'll go through.
As always, ifs and buts. Barca are just as capable of delivering at Anfield. Messi alone is a huge advantage.
I like your optimism but Barca weren't great in either game against us, their midfield will struggle with Liverpool's press and their defence will be run ragged by Liverpool's front 3. I can also see Suarez and Coutinho getting serious stage fright against their old club and then there's the fact the second leg is at Anfield
Each to his own, I guess. The stage fright you talk about usually works the opposite way too. We've seen that many times, players coming back to haunt their old clubs.
Our luck in the cups hasn't been great besides the one draw against Porto. Got Chelsea in the league cup, Wolves in the FA cup, the toughest CL group, and Bayern in the RO16.
We've seen Barca's defensive play is not that great if they're on the receiving end.
Same shite, different years. There were doomsdayers here last year saying the same for the Madrid game, that their legs were gone and Liverpool’s press would trample over them in a comfortable victory. Truth be told, bar a frenetic opening ten minutes, Liverpool rarely saw the ball. Modric ran the show and Madrid’s use of the ball rendered Liverpool’s press mute. Barcelona’s midfield (and team in general) are even better at keeping the ball and ensure you chase shadows.
I hear what you're saying but Barca didn't look good against us at all, there's a reason why Fred and McTominay got so many plaudits in both legs and Liverpool are better than us (considerably)
While there's definitely a lot of truth in what you've said, let's not forget this is the same Barcelona team that went out to Roma last year.
Let's ask the previous four or five teams that kept him out of the semis or final, I'd say? Did Roma do anything special? Did Lyon do anything special in the first leg? No - you take it as a given that he's going to have some God-like performance just because he's been that good this season, but that's far from certain. He'll have his influence no doubt but there are also games where he's simply quiet, e.g. the first leg at Old Trafford from what I remember.
People always say how poor that Barca team is, but they won 4:0 on aggregate. 5:1 vs Lyon. 3 wins 1 draw against Real Madrid. Easily won a group with Tottenham, Inter and PSV (in a title race with Ajax in the league).
Neither team will progress comfortably IMHO
When does Ajax ever play an away match? You won't notice on the field whether they play away or not, same strategy: best defense is offense.
I was highly concerned about suspensions for the next match when I saw the line up with the entire Ajax center midfield and defense being a card away from a suspension, no less than 6 players, while facing an Italian team with a Portoguese star player. None of them got a booking (!).
). Do hope they can maintain their pace. Luckily it's not a cup final against PSV or Feyenoord, but Willem II (a semi-B-team could play if needed, probably Huntelaar would start in that match ("B-team", who am I kidding? ).That doesn't tell the whole story at all. They were only up 2-1 against Lyon until the 78' not looking convincing at all, that was a shaky affair if anything. United were poor in both games and gifted them a couple of goals. Real has had a terrible season. And you always expect them to top their CL group no matter who's in it.
They're a competent team with good players, massively boosted by one incredible genius. But they're not THAT great these days.
I think you'll progress quite comfortably bar a Messi Masterclass.
Good post. Plus Mr Champions league is out.
That game they beat us 4-2 was still the best a team has played against us this season. Never felt so outplayed, and that was at Wembley.
Now do the "that doesnt tell the whole story" thing with your team - how often you didn't look great and still won games this season
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Neymar ran rings around Liverpool, because the group was so tight it was very similar to a knockout tie between Liverpool and PSG. I think Messi will tear them a new one.
