Bayern Munich v Besiktas
Chelsea v Barcelona
Shakhtar Donetsk v Roma
Real Madrid v PSG
Sevilla v Man Utd
Porto v Liverpool
FC Basel v Man City
Juventus v Tottenham

Good draw for United & City & Pool.
Less so for Chelsea & Spurs...
One of the favourites must go out though with Madrid & Paris... I am sure all the other sides are happy with that!!!!

BobHelm wrote: ↑

December 11, 2017, 6:26 pm

Bayern Munich v Besiktas
Chelsea v Barcelona
Shakhtar Donetsk v Roma
Real Madrid v PSG
Sevilla v Man Utd
Porto v Liverpool
FC Basel v Man City
Juventus v Tottenham

Good draw for United & City & Pool.
Less so for Chelsea & Spurs...
One of the favourites must go out though with Madrid & Paris... I am sure all the other sides are happy with that!!!!

I See Liverpool got another EASY One then

Ostersunds v Arsenal
Celtic v Zenit St Petersburg

Almost the same as a bye for the Gunners...
Celtic face a far stiffer test!!

Here is the full draw for the Europa.. There are still some quality European teams in the competition. However most of them came out of the Champion League Groups as a 3rd, placed side - which implies they didn't perform too well up to now in Europe this season up to now.
The Gunners have to fancy their chances looking at the opposition.
Given that winning this gets you into the Champions' League next year (never mind the revenue ) this is really the place they should be concentrating their efforts, even to the detriment of the Premier League!!

Back on the road again....

Juventus v Tottenham Hotspurs.

As I have already written elsewhere, it is time for Pochettino to have a long hard look at what have become his predictable and, on occasions, dare I say, questionable selections, formation, & tactics.
Pochettino cannot expect performances of the like Spurs have produced in their last three matches, will reap the team any reward at Juventus this evening.
The first priority is to reinstate Alderweireld to join Vertonghen as the central defensive pairing, which is second to none in the EPL. In relation to Danny Rose, Pochettino must adopt a pragmatic approach; set aside the ongoing behind the scenes problems and select him in his rightful position at left wing back, and with either Trippier or Davies on the right. My choice would be Davies, who I think has been improving with every game he plays, whereas Trippier recently has been looking suspect in one on one situations.
I would select a mid three, comprising Dembele, (who was absolutely magnificent against Arsenal), Eriksen & Dier. Any attack capable of getting past Dembele & Dier, and then my selected back four, would deserve to score! =D> =D>
Up front I would like to see a THREE MAN attack comprising Moura, Kane & Son ,which, for the first time this season, would mean Kane would be assured of some continuing support & service and, in Moura, a proven striker to remove from his shoulders the heavy load of, virtually, being a one man strike force. This formation would also provide more freedom & space for Eriksen to display his skills as the team's playmaker.
Of course all I have written is merely wishful thinking, as I would be astonished if Pochettino will have the courage to divert from his well trodden path. As a result Spurs will find itself facing a Juventus team fully aware of the tactics with which they will be faced, and how to overcome them.
But who knows Spurs could again cause a shock; after all just look at what Newcastle did!

"The first priority is to reinstate Alderweireld to join Vertonghen as the central defensive pairing"

Ah, I see you are advocating the use of VAR and playing games on a computer console instead of a football pitch Mat, which is the only way Toby will play in Turin whilst sitting in London

SKerUSE me Mr Matt ... Newcastle beating Man U WAS NOT A SHOCK In fact if they had been using VAR it would probably have been 2 - zip .......... nah, thinking about it we would have been waiting for so long for a VAR decision that we would have missed the pen and probably had the whole momentum of the game changed and subsequently lost concentration and got beat 1 - 0

stattointhailand wrote: ↑

February 13, 2018, 5:21 pm

"The first priority is to reinstate Alderweireld to join Vertonghen as the central defensive pairing"
Ah, I see you are advocating the use of VAR Mat, which is the only way Toby will play in Turin whilst sitting in London

Statts, did you miss the section where I wrote: "Of course all I have written is merely wishful thinking"

Did you, like the rest of the footballing world, miss the fact that, for the first time in the course of The Mouth's managerial career in the EPL he didn't make any excuses for Utd's loss to Newcastle and, even more unbelieavable, gave credit to the Newcastle players for their animal like performances! :-" I am still in a state of shock.
Bye the bye, I thought Shelvey deserved a great deal of credit for this Newcastle win. =D> =D>

Good result for both English sides last night.
Citi are all but through & you can't imagine any side relishing drawing them in the next round.
A very satisfactory away result for Spurs. After 9 minutes it looked like all hope was over as they went 2 down. However the fought back well & as long as they are awake at the kick off in the home leg then they stand a great chance of progressing...

Great result for City who are looking more and more like potential Champions League winners.
Great result for The Spuds,after a shocking start.Eriksen MOM....Pochettino got his team selection spot on !

Zidane wrote: ↑

February 14, 2018, 10:20 am

Great result for City who are looking more and more like potential Champions League winners.
Great result for The Spuds,after a shocking start.Eriksen MOM....Pochettino got his team selection spot on !

How the 'ell can ya say that when he play's that bl**dy brainless idiot AURIER

Ever since his first game for the spuds he has cost them ....... can't read the game, can't defend, doesn't know when or where to tackle, goes to ground quicker than Chris Smalling

stattointhailand wrote: ↑

February 14, 2018, 11:10 am

How the 'ell can ya say that when he play's that bl**dy brainless idiot AURIER

Well that won't be an issue in the second leg Statts...

Yeah,right back is a problem area for Spurs as Trippier has looked dodgy there recently also.
But other than that the team selection was spot on....Eriksen and Dembele were superb,imo.

1st leg of the P45 cup tonight ..... build up from 0200 on channel 36 PPTV

Pool book a place in the quarters after the first, away leg as well.
Madrid, who are having a pretty poor domestic season, take a large advantage over mega spending PSG. I thought this would be a far closer encounter with the edge towards the French, but Ronaldo is finding some form just when it is needed..

Great results for the English teams,so far,and gives hope that an EPL team could lift the trophy.
Wether or not the outlook is as great next week after Manchester United and Chelsea play is another matter !

Zidane wrote: ↑

February 14, 2018, 10:20 am

.
]Pochettino got his team selection spot on ![/colour][/u]

Judging by the responses Zid, it appears your comment missed it's intended mark!
MY response: No he didn't; he got lucky
1. Trippier, in the worst of his form, would still be a far superior choice than Aurier. I would go further and state that Spurs purchase of Aurier ranks with the purchases of Jansen & Llorente as among the worst of Pochettino's decisions.
2. Alderweireld is not only in a different class to Sanchez, but also very few would dispute the proven pairing of the former alongside Vertonghen is superior to any other defensive pairing in the EPL.
3. Danny Rose is unarguably a better and more experience big match player than is the up & coming Davies, ( who unfortunately had a poor game against Juventus, perhaps overcome by the occasion?), and should have been selected, notwithstanding any off field problems. He could be relied upon to give of his best and, if Pochettino was not prepared to play him, why have him on him bench?
4. In form Son or the fully fit new signing Moura,, ( the latter a vastly experienced and proven goal scorer just aching to prove himself to Spurs) should most surely have been a more appropriate footballing choice than the not yet fully match fit, and not yet in form Lamella. That Lamella proved to be one of the least effective Spurs players on the night, speaks for itself.
So, no, the selections were far from being spot on, but nevertheless no question Pochettino is entitled to full credit for instilling into the squad the solidarity, determination, passion and refusal to accept defeat, which are now integral features of his team. These virtues, plus the very special skills of the likes of the immaculate Vertonghen; the realization by Dembele of his full potential; the increasing stature of Eriksen as a playmaker second to none in the EPL and Kane being, well, Kane, all came together against Juventus to enable such a credible result, DESPITE some questionable selections, which could have proved costly. Well done Spurs. =D> =D>

I guess its lucky you are not the Spurs manager then,mat.
Alderweireld has been out for 3 months with a hamstring injury.....so you would put him straight back into the team to play Juventus ?......he wasn't even on the plane to Italy.....also,Sanchez played pretty well I thought.
Rose has only played 5 EPL games all season and is currently not 100% fit due to a knee injury.....so you would put him straight back into the team to play Juventus ? When fully fit and his head is fully focused he would be a better option than Davies but currently he isn't !
Agreed Aurier is a disaster but neither him or Trippier are great options at right back.

Of course you are entitled to your opinion but I think you should stick to your current role of advising Alan Pardew his tactics and team selection at West Brom !

Zidane wrote: ↑

February 15, 2018, 9:23 am

Of course you are entitled to your opinion ...

Gee thanks. But you will note, dear friend, I am always prepared to express my opinion BEFORE the outcome of the matter under discussion is known! Go on, be a devil, and try it sometime; it's great fun.

Meantime, enough about this match, although I do look forward to your publishing your selection idea for the Spurs team, for the return leg, PRIOR to announcement of Pochettino's selection , and the result of the match.

Moving on, since The Mouth appears to be having a great deal more difficulty than the Spurs Manager, in deciding his best team, would you care to express IN ADVANCE your opinion of what you consider would be Utd's best formation & team, for the first leg of their Champions League match? :-"