Champions League Week 1
Ahhh, how wonderful is it to have European footy back? The UEFA European Champions League made its return on Tuesday and it was wonderful, especially if you are a Premier League team competing in the Cup this year. Premier League sides started the campaign a combined 3-0-1, with only Chelsea dropping points to Sevilla FC in a scoreless draw.
Manchester United had the stiffest test in matchday one, playing last years’ cup runners up in PSG. United secured the lead early thanks to a 23′ goal from the spot by Bruno Fernandes. At 55′ the game was level on an own goal put in by Anthony Martial’s failed headed clear on a PSG corner kick. The game was open from that point on with both sides getting forward in attack. It was Marcus Rashford who played hero for United in the 87′. With United in possession, Rashford drifts into space to the right in front of the ‘D’ and receives a pass from Paul Pogba. As the defender steps up, he pushes the ball in front of him to set up his far post shot. The shot was pinpoint, low hard and hit with deadly accuracy, bouncing off of the left post and into the back of the net. In a group that features themselves, PSG, and RB Leipzig, this was a crucial win to start the group play.
Liverpool face Ajax and looked somewhat lethargic at times. Good stern defensive play, but I felt they needed to search for more goals after securing the lead on a flukey own goal caused by Sadio Mane. Fabinho is a fantastic option for centre back, and to me stresses the importance of the Thiago signing. Fabinho moving to CB is one less midfielder in the rotation, so having that option for center mid, even if he does not end up playing the same role in midfield as Fabinho, the depth is crucial.
City looked strong against Porto after the Portuguese sides’ goal in the 14′. Aguero on a pen, and Gundogan and Torres in the second half to win and secure the game. They should win their group fairly easily with the likes of Porto, Marseille, nad Olympiakos.
The three Prem teams in Europa League all started off group play with W’s(Arsenal, Tottenham, Leicester)! That makes the EPL (6-0-1) in Europe to start the year, and to my knowledge makes the Prem them only league to not have a side lose in European competition so far this year.
Holy shit Bayern, can y’all chill out? they beat Atletico 4-0 in Munich. They must just have a thing for thrashing Spanish sides in European play. Or maybe it’s just they don’t like Luis Suarez?
EPL Week 6 Picks and Preview
So matches actually start this afternoon/evening depending on where you live. A nice little four day weekend of EPL action. Yes please. The first match is Villa and Leeds. This is actually a very pleasant match up. I like Villa to win on the money line of +120. Final score of 2-1 Villa.
Obviously the headliner this weekend is United and Chelsea at Old Trafford. I am actually staying away from betting a result here. The one thing I do think is that there well be plenty of goals. So I’m taking over 3. I could really see either side winning, but I think we likely get a 2-2 draw.
Southampton will face Everton in an interesting matchup at St Mary’s stadium. Everton are without James Rodriguez and Captain Seamus Coleman to injury, as well as Richarlson for the red he received last week vs Liverpool. This will be a fantastic test for Everton without three very important players. Southampton have not been great this year, but they are coming off of a positive result against Chelsea last week. This match actually did not even garner a goal spread from Bovada, both teams are regarded as equals. I think Carlo Ancelotti’s side will find a way to get the win. Everton +150.
Leicester and Arsenal will face off Sunday afternoon, and I for one have almost zero faith in my Gunners. They were not very convincing in the first 55 minutes or so yesterday in Europa, while Leicester cruised. With or without Jamie Vardy, I think Leicester will get the better of the North Londoners. Leicester is +285 on the money line, and I think that’s basically free money.
The last match of the week is Tottenham and Burnley 4:00 Monday afternoon. Burnley are going to have their hands full. They’ve only scored three goals this year, while Tottenham have gone rampant with 15. Not only do I think Tottenham win, I think they easily cover the -1 goal spread. Spurs 3-0.
City have a good chance to jump back up to the top of the table where they belong if they take care of business. The table is pretty congested as of right now, but these next few weeks will go a long way towards straightening things up a bit. I’m very excited for the action to get started!
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Thanks for reading folks, enjoy the games this weekend, and I’ll see you next week!
Footy Foster 