UEFA watch 2017-18

Here it is:

 

A bit of a procession happening in Lyon

That should be enough for OM to score a late goal and set up a mad scramble in stoppage time...

 

What are your predictions for the CL final?

 

I genuinely think that it's a coin flip. Both sides have a lot of firepower but are defensively a little suspect.

 

BT have put the whole match on Youtube, if anyone wants to see it:

There's also the highlights:

 

A little suspect?

I texted a united supporting reporter mate of mine last Sunday asking him his predictions for both finals. He replied "We'll win 1 - 0 with the only shot on target in the whole match. You'll win 8 - 6"

 

Sounds about right. Our games against the finalists finished 4-2 and 6-3 on aggregate. Can't see either keeping a clean sheet.
Should be entertaining though, which I suspect the FA Cup Final won't be. Royal Wedding and then that? I should be well awake for the boxing later.

 

I guess we can rule out signing Domenico Criscito on a free then...

 

Gone back to Genoa? Sounds fair.

 

Sticking with the Italian theme, especially since they don't have much else to talk about this summer, Parma have returned to Serie A after three successive promotions

...probably worth pointing out this is the third version of Parma, as the original version went bankrupt in 2004 after Parmalat went tits up, while the reformed club had a pretty eventful 2015 as they finished bottom of Serie A, were dumped all the way into Serie D, and reformed yet again under the current name where most people just skip mentioning the words after "Parma"

 

Maybe non-Parma could face non-Rangers in the non-UEFA Cup in the near future?

 

Can anyone confirm the content of this article. Are we guaranteed a place in Pot 2?

https://www.football.london/tottenh...urs-champions-league-chelsea-arsenal-14655195

 

One of the comments has a few things to add...

It is a lot more complicated than this article suggests:

Spurs currently have the 13th highest coefficient of the teams qualified for the group stages; however Lokomotiv Moscow go into pot as champions of nation 6, so we are 14th.

Basel and Benfica are in CL qualification rounds and would both be seeded above us, potentially dropping us to 16th - still pot 2.

BUT, if Liverpool win the CL and/or Marseille win the Europa, they would go into pot 1 and jump over us pushing us down into pot 3.

So a Madrid double would confirm pot 2 status.

 

I thought as much. It wouldn't be us otherwise.

 

In terms of the Benfica/Basel question, here's the complete list (as it stands) of the teams they would be facing in order to qualify for the group stages

First Qualifying Round
APOEL
Armenian champions (EDIT: Alashkert)
Astana
Celtic
Cork City
Crusaders
F91 Dudelange
Flora Talinn
Hapoel Be'er Sheva
HJK Helsinki
Hungarian champions (TBC)
Kukesi
Ludogorets Razgrad
Malmo
The New Saints
Qarabag
Polish champions (EDIT: Legia Warsaw)
Red Star Belgrade
Rosenborg
Sheriff Tiraspol
Shkendija
Slovenian champions (TBC)
Spartak Trnava
Spartaks Jurmala
Sudava Marijampole
Sutjeska Niksic
Torpedo Kutaisi
Valetta
Valur
Vikingur Gota
Zrinjski Mostar

Second Qualifying Round
Ajax
Basel
BATE Borisov
Danish champions (TBC)
Dinamo Zagreb
PAOK
Romanian champions (TBC)
Sturm Graz

Third Qualifying Round
AEK Athens
Belgian runners-up (EDIT: Standard Liege)
Benfica
Czech runners-up (TBC)
Dynamo Kyiv
Spartak Moscow
Taurine FC Salzburg
Turkish runners-up (EDIT: Fenerbahce)

Play-off Round
PSV
Young Boys

 

A team of Roger Moore look alikes?

 

They'd probably be a better prospect than the bunch of non-league and Scottish lower league dropouts romping the Welsh league every year...

 

It is funny to see an English team winning the League of Wales all the time, though.
Park Hall is in Oswestry, Shropshire.

 

I like Shropshire. It's like Wales........without the Welsh.

 

With the odd Ian Ogilvy thrown in for good measure