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Ciao @Wolkenpaule sadly we are used to another kind of Italy national football team, the players of this Italy don't even deserve to be compared to the great players of the past, but also the misters and the entire system have their faults. I'm pretty sure we won't qualify to this World Cup again, it's sad to say, but we are not a good team at all, and other teams deserve it more than us.

@Paolonalim63 Paolo: vero domani sera derby, se scommettessi ancora sulle partite come facevo qualche anno fa, punterei tutto sulla vittoria del Milan; l'anno scorso noi partivamo da favoriti e le abbiamo perse tutte, quest'anno partiamo da sfavoriti... e le perderemo tutte comunque.

Bayern München lost at Arsenal yesterday. So many individual errors....

It seems that a line up of top notch players does not suffice to guarantee success. In the beginning of the season the general assumption was that Liverpool would dominate the Premier League with signings such as Isak, Wirtz and Ekitike. But their collapse in both the UK and CL is spectacular.

Paolo & Simone: considering relative weak opposition in the play offs, Italy does actually have a good chance to secure their ticket. However, it would land Italy in Pot 4 (meaning it will face firm opposition of Pots 1 and 2 - and I believe Normay was currently placed in Pot 3). I would be surprised if Italy will manage to survive any given group in the initial stages of the competition. It’s a sour prediction Paolo and Simone.

Wolkenpaule: even in the absence of individual errors, Arsenal seems a major contender for CL this year - although their main focus will likely be the Premier League. They may meet again somewhere further towards the q/s-finals.

@Savi2024 In my opinion, we can maybe win over Northern Ireland if we're lucky enough... but Wales, if we will find them, will easily beat us, also considering that we will be away, against them; however, if we qualify for some miracle -considering that nowadays this is probably our real goal (and not winning the World Cup, like we were used to hope for, in the past)- we will be eliminated at the group stage for sure, no matter which teams we will find. Anyway, i think it would be a great result for us, considering the current team we have and what happened in the last World Cups... and trust me, it's really sad to admit that.

The derby match between Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray in Turkey ended in a draw. Galatasaray continues to lose points.

A sad tale of the demise of Italy on a world stage it seems Simone. I regret to agree with your analysis. Hopefully, some new talents will strengthen the national squad in the not too distant future (e.g. Giovanni Leoni upon full recovery). It seems however that current strikers who perform particularly well in the Serie A are non-Italians. That is a worrisome statistic…

I have to admit that I was happy to read about Liverpool’s win at Inter last night. The Dutch manager Slot is in a critical stage of his stint @ Liverpool. I hope that things will gradually improve in the next few fixtures.

Smile11: I am not following the Turkish league and I have not seen any Turkish team really pressing the top 10 in the CL this year. What are your predictions for the Turkish squad in the Fifa play offs?

Wolkenpaule: What is the current sentiment in Germany re its opponents in Group E? It seems that Ecuador and Ivory Coast can be easily underestimated.

Hard to answer that. At first sight they all are easy opponents. But there were also bad surprises with supposed easy opponents in the past...
But actually germany should win this group.

A month has lapsed since the last entry in this thread and a lot has happened. CL is nearing its final preliminary stages and the bizarre final of AFCON is now part of football history. Any survivors in this thread: what are the updated predictions for main CL title contenders?

Unfortunately I didn`t have the time to follow all the games. But for the german teams it looks only for Bayern brighter - concerning the future games in this competition.

Paolo good to see you after some time in absence! Is this the Luka Modric effect at ACM? I have not seen any of the last games, but am eager to hear about the revival of ACM (despite the current lead of Inter).

Tonight was perfect for Galatasaray.

Paolo: it would be a delight to see an absolute outsider lift the trophy instead over overleveraged and financially dominating teams. Let’s cheer for Bodø/Glimt when facing Sporting Lisboa this evening!

Mettte12: Gala has an impressive run in the CL this year. It is also encouraging to see Noa Lang progressing well in his new squad.

Bayern München had a good evening Yesterday vs. Atalanta Bergamo

Work at the office was relentless these last days Paolo. Did not watch a single minute of any of the CL matches. But great result of the Nordic outsider in these advanced stages of the competition!

Yes but I am afraid at Arsenal there will be the end of the road for Lisboa.

Yes,easy for Arsenal vs Sporting ,for me Arsenal in semifinal perhaps with Barcelona

I would agree. The other semi final is not so easy to predict, on the face of it.

Champions League quarterfinals

Psg Liverpool

RealMadrid Bayern

AtleticoMadrid Barcelona

Sportinglisboa Arsenal

Champions League quarterfinals

Psg Liverpool

RealMadrid Bayern

AtleticoMadrid Barcelona

Sportinglisboa Arsenal

And who are your tips?

For me semifinale PSG Real and Barcelona Arsenal

Final Real Barcelona

I would tend to agree, just Real or Bayern sounds such a tough choice. If Real win I guess they face Arsenal in the final.

of course, PSG against Real would be a cracking game with so much attacking talent in that semifinal.