re: Champions League /Europa knockout draw

Can't wait to see PSG put it on Chealski

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Chelsea got repaid for getting such an easy group.

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... year after year after year after year.

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City can handle Barca

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Of course City can win but it's still a pretty bad draw for them.

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... year after year after year after year.

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Pot 1 privilege.

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Of course City can win but it's still a pretty bad draw for them.

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Well hell some here are talking like it is the worst draw ever. I mean hell the only way it could be a much better draw is if you would have gotten Porto or Monaco. I mean hell you didn't get Bayern or Real and you don't have to go to freaking Russia.

Barca is the a group winner that could be on a down swing come Leg 1.

Nothing like spending Mardi Gras Day with an exiled Russian team in the Ukraine!

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Second leg for Arsenal/Monaco is St Paddy's Day. Holy shite, what a shite show that will be at Finn's

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They ought to just reserve the stomach pumping machines early to get it out of the way now.

Happy with Inter. Bring in a decent winger and defensive midfielder in Jan and get everybody back healthy and we should get through.

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Well hell some here are talking like it is the worst draw ever. I mean hell the only way it could be a much better draw is if you would have gotten Porto or Monaco. I mean hell you didn't get Bayern or Real and you don't have to go to freaking Russia.

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Well City couldn't have gotten Bayern anyway bc they were in the same group. It's still extremely odd that City got nearly the same draw 2 years in a row between group/R16. I'd love to see those odds.

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Tottenham vs Fiorentina


Anyone want to fill me in on Fiorentina this season?

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This could well be the most entertaining fixture in the list.

Fiorentina play an extremely attack minded 3-5-1-1 with no true midfield enforcers and a roster stacked with technical players that love to bound forward. They play effectively hitting on the counter and also maintaining possession though the counter is where they really shine (similar to Villarreal a few years back with Cazorla and Valero).
However, the "counter-counter" is where they can also leak goals against good teams. They actually are very "Spanish" style team all around.


They're on a different level when Juan Cuadrado (who is very inconsistent) plays well since he's on level with CR7 or Robben in simply being unguardable on the dribble when in the mood.

If you have to give too much help on him, they have no shortage of players (like Pizarro and Borja Valero) that will make the killer pass if given the space. The problem has been a CF to finish the chances early this season.


Fiorentina came into the season as many people's dark horse candidate to challenge Juve and Roma for the Scudetto.

However, they were really hit very hard with injuries to pretty much their complete 2 deep front line in the first couple of months (MArio Gomez has hardly played in 2 seasons, Guiseppe Rossi's latest setback, his starlet replacement Federico Bernadeschi going down, etc)


But, they have been playing well in Europa and recently in Serie A with Mario Gomez just now coming back. They've also had some players that didn't figure to be every match day players step up like Matias Fernandez and, most importantly, Khouma Babacar.

He's a 21yo CF that's been hyped for the past couple of years at lower levels. He's in the Lukaku mold: huge, strong, fast with pretty decent technical skills. He was rushed into the fray this fall and, while still raw, has looked like he could be a future star.


With Europa you never really know what type lineups you're going to see though I do think Fiorentina will be prone to go for it (like I said they are very Spanish) even if the 3rd CL spot in Serie A is totally up for grabs.