Udinese 2 Crotone 0
Benevento 1 Lazio 1
Juventus 2 Atalanta 2
Verona 1 Sampdoria 0
Spezia 1 Bologna 2
Genoa 1 Milan 2
Fiorentina 1 Sassuolo 1
Parma 2 Cagliari 1
Inter 2 Napoli 1
Roma 3 Torino 1
Season so far — 32/69
Wolves 1 Chelsea 1
City 3 West Brom 0
Arsenal 1 Southampton 2
Leicester 1 Everton 1
Leeds 2 Newcastle 0
Fulham 2 Brighton 1
Liverpool 1 Spurs 1
West Ham 1 Palace 2
Villa 0 Burnley 0
Sheffield Utd 1 United 2
Season so far — 26/69
Quite a few interesting clashes in the Round of 32. Here are my snap percentages for who I expect to go through.
Wolfsberger 25—75 Spurs
Dynamo Kyiv 30—70 Brugge
La Real 50—50 United
Benfica 40—60 Arsenal
Red Star 35—65 Milan
Antwerp 40—60 Rangers
Slavia Prague 50—50 Leicester
Salzburg 50—50 Villarreal
Braga 35—65 Roma
Krasnodar 55—45 Dinamo Zagreb
Young Boys 30—70 Leverkusen
Molde 40—60 Hoffenheim
Granada 40—60 Napoli
Maccabi Tel-Aviv 35—65 Shakhtar
Lille 50—50 Ajax
Olympiacos 45—55 PSV
Some interesting matchups this year, with a lot of novelty to look forward to. Here are my snap percentages for who goes through to the quarter finals.
Gladbach 20–80 City
Lazio 20–80 Bayern
Atletico 60–40 Chelsea
Leipzig 35–65 Liverpool
Porto 20–80 Juve
Barca 35–65 PSG
Sevilla 55–45 Dortmund
Atalanta 40–60 Real
Leeds — D
West Ham — A
Wolves – D
Villa — B
Newcastle — A
West Brom — E
United — C
City — B
Everton — A
Chelsea — C
Southampton — A
Sheffield Utd — F
Palace — B
Spurs — B
Fulham — A
Liverpool — C
Leicester — A
Brighton — F
Arsenal — F
Burnley — A
All international action is over after the group stages of the Champions League and Europa League came to a close this week. The next two and a half months promise non-stop domestic football leaving lazy pundits confused about to who to blame for the schedule when they can’t put it all on something beyond their borders. Right then, let’s get on with. A few real doozies this weekend.
Saturday
Marseille vs Monaco — South coast rivals, both in contention, both playing well.
United vs City — Manchester derby with both needing to answer some questions in this one.
Everton vs Chelsea — Ancelotti against his former team with serious questions being asked.
Real vs Atletico — Madrid derby with both in good spirits and game faces firmly on.
Lens vs Montpellier — France’s surprise top half entertainers take on each other.
Sunday
Betis vs Villarreal — Pellegrini against his former team and Pellegrini vs Emery.
Leverkusen vs Hoffenheim — Germany’s Europa League high-scorers face off.
PSG vs Lyon — Always a big game and it this moment at least, a title bout.
St Etienne 1 Angers 2
Marseille 2 Monaco 1
Lens 2 Montpellier 2
Nice 1 Rennes 1
Strasbourg 2 Metz 1
Lorient 1 Nimes 2
Nantes 1 Dijon 1
Brest 2 Reims 0
Lille 2 Bordeaux 0
PSG 2 Lyon 1
Season so far — 27/57
Wolfsburg 1 Frankfurt 1
Dortmund 2 Stuttgart 1
Freiburg 2 Arminia 0
Leipzig 3 Werder 1
Mainz 1 Cologne 1
Gladbach 2 Hertha 1
Union 0 Bayern 2
Augsburg 2 Schalke 1
Leverkusen 2 Hoffenheim 1
Season so far — 23/54
Sassuolo 1 Benevento 1
Crotone 2 Spezia 1
Torino 1 Udinese 1
Lazio 1 Verona 1
Cagliari 1 Inter 2
Napoli 2 Sampdoria 0
Atalanta 1 Fiorentina 1
Bologna 1 Roma 2
Genoa 1 Juve 3
Milan 2 Parma 1
Season so far — 27/59
Valladolid 2 Osasuna 0
Valencia 1 Athletic 0
Getafe 1 Sevilla 2
Huesca 1 Alaves 1
Real 1 Atletico 1
La Real 1 Eibar 0
Betis 2 Villarreal 1
Elche 1 Granada 2
Barca 2 Levante 1
Celta 2 Cadiz 1
Season so far — 25/60
Leeds 2 West Ham 1
Wolves 1 Villa 0
Newcastle 0 West Brom 0
United 1 City 1
Everton 2 Chelsea 1
Southampton 2 Sheffield Utd 0
Palace 0 Spurs 2
Fulham 0 Liverpool 2
Leicester 1 Brighton 1
Arsenal 2 Burnley 0
Season so far — 23/59
Finished the group stages with 7 out of 16 on the last matchday, ending with a total of 52 correct picks out of 96 and a success rate of 54%. ⚽️
From looking like a procession midway through, some of the results on matchday 5 mean we now have a fair amount at stake on the last round of matches in the Champions League group stages. Six matches in particular stand out because neither protagonist has secured their progress to the knockouts. These are:
Lazio vs Brugge
Leipzig vs United
Real vs Gladbach
Inter vs Shakhtar
Ajax vs Atalanta
Salzburg vs Atletico
Now, it wouldn’t be accurate to call these games direct knockouts. In four of these matches a draw will take a team through — Lazio, United, Atletico and Atalanta. Specifically, when looking at Lazio, United and Atletico, the fact that their opponents will have to chase a win plays directly into their strengths. With Atalanta, one can’t see this team playing for a draw. By common consensus, one of the best games of this stage was the first meeting between Ajax and Atalanta and I for one, wouldn’t be surprised to see the reverse fixture being played out in exactly the same way. That then leaves us with Group A which has thrilled us with its surprises and now on the last day, there are a variety of permutations available. My head tells me that Real and Gladbach will see it through with a draw, but Inter on the last day of group stages are guaranteed drama (Exhibit A 2018-19, Exhibit B 2019-20). I wouldn’t want to be a betting man on these games. After all, even in one of its more mundane seasons, the Champions League has somehow found a way to keep things interesting. Surprises are guaranteed. Let’s see how this pans out.
Lazio 1 Brugge 1
Zenit 2 Dortmund 0
Leipzig 2 United 2
PSG 3 Basaksehir 0
Barca 2 Juve 1
Dynamo Kyiv 2 Ferencvaros 1
Rennes 1 Sevilla 1
Chelsea 3 Krasnodar 1
Real 1 Gladbach 1
Inter 2 Shakhtar 0
Ajax 2 Atalanta 1
Midtjylland 1 Liverpool 1
Salzburg 1 Atletico 2
Bayern 2 Lokomotiv 0
City 3 Marseille 1
Olympiacos 2 Porto 0
Season so far — 45/80
Big games and derbies all over the continent to look forward to.
Friday
Hertha vs Union — Berlin derby with both teams playing adventurous football.
Saturday
Sevilla vs Real — Title implications, pressure on both after European humiliation and Lopetegui’s history.
Juve vs Torino — Turin derby where both teams really need to win.
West Ham vs United — Moyes’ history and the fact United have lost a lot at West Ham recently.
Bayern vs Leipzig — Top of the table clash though both teams are increasingly weary.
Chelsea vs Leeds — Lampard vs Bielsa and everything that entails.
Montpellier vs PSG — It might not last, but right now the 2012 champions are just two points behind PSG.
Sunday
Lille vs Monaco — Both are just two points behind PSG with the highest goals scored after the champions.
Roma vs Sassuolo — Until last weekend both were undefeated on the pitch.
Spurs vs Arsenal — North London derby where Mourinho welcomes Arsenal playing Jose football.
Liverpool vs Wolves — Always feisty this one and the kind of game Nuno is always up for.
Nimes 0 Marseille 2
Rennes 2 Lens 1
Montpellier 2 PSG 2
Lille 2 Monaco 2
Nantes 1 Strasbourg 0
Dijon 1 St Etienne 1
Angers 3 Lorient 0
Bordeaux 2 Brest 2
Reims 1 Nice 2
Metz 0 Lyon 2
Season so far — 23/47
Hertha 2 Union 2
Freiburg 1 Gladbach 1
Frankfurt 2 Dortmund 1
Cologne 2 Wolfsburg 1
Arminia 1 Mainz 2
Bayern 1 Leipzig 1
Werder 2 Stuttgart 2
Schalke 1 Leverkusen 3
Hoffenheim 2 Augsburg 1
Season so far — 19/45
Spezia 1 Lazio 1
Juve 2 Torino 1
Inter 3 Bologna 1
Verona 2 Cagliari 1
Udinese 2 Atalanta 1
Parma 1 Benevento 1
Roma 2 Sassuolo 1
Crotone 0 Napoli 3
Sampdoria 1 Milan 2
Fiorentina 2 Genoa 1
Season so far — 22/50
Athletic 2 Celta 1
Levante 1 Getafe 1
Sevilla 1 Real 1
Atletico 2 Valladolid 0
Cadiz 0 Barca 2
Granada 1 Huesca 1
Osasuna 1 Betis 0
Villarreal 1 Elche 0
Alaves 2 La Real 1
Eibar 1 Valencia 2
Season so far — 23/50
Burnley 1 Everton 2
City 3 Fulham 1
West Ham 1 United 1
Chelsea 1 Leeds 2
West Brom 1 Palace 1
Sheffield Utd 2 Leicester 1
Spurs 1 Arsenal 1
Liverpool 2 Wolves 0
Brighton 2 Southampton 1
Season so far — 21/50
Shakhtar 2 Real 1
Gladbach 2 Inter 2
Lokomotiv 1 Salzburg 2
Atletico 1 Bayern 1
Marseille 1 Olympiacos 0
Porto 1 City 1
Liverpool 2 Ajax 1
Atalanta 2 Midtjylland 0
Basaksehir 1 Leipzig 2
United 1 PSG 2
Krasnodar 1 Rennes 1
Sevilla 1 Chelsea 1
Dortmund 2 Lazio 0
Brugge 2 Zenit 2
Juve 2 Dynamo Kyiv 1
Ferencvaros 1 Barca 2
Season so far — 35/64
Let’s get right into another exciting weekend of continental football.
Saturday
Sassuolo vs Inter — 2nd, unbeaten, playing great football welcome disheveled Inter in 5th.
Valencia vs Atletico — Classic rivalry played between two currently highly motivated teams.
Gladbach vs Schalke — Last time Schalke won 24 games ago was against Gladbach.
Sunday
Southampton vs United — Tricky visit for Ole’s men at high flying Saints.
Chelsea vs Spurs — Lamps vs Jose, two in-form teams and phenomenal talent in a title battle.
Arsenal vs Wolves — Battle of the risk-averse teams who should be doing better.
Napoli vs Roma — Both have established their title credentials, with the visitors in sublime form.
La Real vs Villarreal — 1st vs 3rd, rare chance for both to at least finish in the top four.
St Etienne vs Lille — Claude Puel past and present, with the veteran manager on the brink.
Strasbourg 1 Rennes 1
Marseille 1 Nantes 0
PSG 2 Bordeaux 0
Lyon 2 Reims 0
Lorient 1 Montpellier 2
Monaco 3 Nimes 1
Metz 1 Brest 1
Lens 1 Angers 2
Nice 2 Djion 0
St Etienne 1 Lille 2
Season so far — 17/37
Wolfsburg 1 Werder 1
Augsburg 2 Freiburg 1
Dortmund 3 Cologne 0
Leipzig 2 Arminia 0
Stuttgart 1 Bayern 2
Union 2 Frankfurt 1
Gladbach 2 Schalke 0
Leverkusen 3 Hertha 2
Mainz 2 Hoffenheim 1
Season so far — 16/36
Sassuolo 1 Inter 1
Benevento 1 Juve 2
Atalanta 2 Verona 1
Lazio 2 Udinese 1
Bologna 2 Crotone 0
Milan 2 Fiorentina 1
Cagliari 1 Spezia 1
Napoli 2 Roma 2
Torino 2 Sampdoria 0
Genoa 1 Parma 1
Season so far — 19/40