Wednesday plays.....

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back in min

specimen24 · Answer

back in min

specimen24 · Answer

messed up sleep schedule, another &#x27;rest&#x27; day ahead. on the heels of a minichunk-blowing session from Conmebol. friend sent this for fun, interview with Mancini taped earlier (Italys HC). now heres someone whom has been drinking the "good stuff".  goes on to say Italy should be favored to win Euros next year; in translation, basically he said: &#x27;There are no teams who are clearly better than us&#x27;.   I think someone needs to tell Roberto Italy is still a part of UEFA. I may be loyal to a fault but..... geez.......gotta draw the line somewhere. hello, Roberto ---- have you seen some of these UEFA teams lately??  theyre kind of decent ya know. when thy health is back to normal, I want a case of whatever that is hes been sipping. ACL:  there has to be at least 1 Brazilian playing somewhere in EVERY league in this planet. seems like everytime I look at a roster theres a Brazilian listed.  they propagate everywhere. Shanghai(Chn)/Kawasaki(Jpn) - defending champions in China open their CL vs the defending Champs of Japan? whats even crazier is they were both paired in the same Group Stage last year as well.   cant figure out why this line is moving the opposite way tho.  Shanghai - by Asian standards - is loaded; theres a reason they are one of the favorites to win it all this year. booted from KO&#x27;s last year after an apparent injury crisis. Defending champs in China - which is one of the top 3 Leagues in Asia. flush with money and owners not afraid to spend.  a roster which includes Hulk, newly signed Oscar from brazil, as well a some of the best young talent in China ive heard. plus a Portuguese coach whom has won everywhere hes gone. they also havent lost a home match in 3 years in this thing (18 games), with just 4 draws. Kawasaki are no pushovers, they drew them here 1-1 last year. but this Shanghai team is too strong at home i think. and expecting/hoping they start the new season on the right way at a very nice price. Shanghai to win @&#x2B;110 Urawa/Buriram over 2.5 @-110back later with rest of card. GL to all

specimen24 · Answer

nice stat to the day sweeping asia:Shanghai to win @&#x2B;110 (W)Urawa/Buriam over 2.5 @-110 (W)sometimes I get asked a question which sends me off the tracks. Has anyone ever won the UCL and NOT qualify the following year? (I dont think UEFA auto-invites the previous years winner. not sure)PSG/ManU - least favorite, Ive tried, but cannot get this out of thy melon: "500&#x2B; on a top level EPL team facing an opponent whom doesnt even need to win and without 2 of its top goalscorers?"  Ole was outcoached in 1st leg, and employed the "cardinal sin" of coaching strategies which he paid dearly for: the offside trap vs PSG.   you cannot trap PSG.  as we say out here, &#x27;dont trap Mbappe&#x27;. your going to get burned time and time again, hes too bloody fast. keep him in front and concede the space instead, your defenders will have a little extra time to get back on defense. but tho I dont like him, with Pogba being suspended, this makes it risky in my melon. because hes is exactly that type of player you need to cover that ground in the middle to stifle PSG.  in any case, risky..... but this is where that &#x27;EPL pedigree&#x27; kicks in with me. and Im going to mention the same thing I just put in yesterdays thread: ...."keep in mind that ALL 5 teams whom won the 1st leg on the road last year came home and failed to win the 2nd leg." which pretty much explains a coaches philosophy/approach.  and Real just made it 6 straight.  so im taking United at a nice price to keep this level. prices is waay too high when facing an opponent whom wont even care about winning. going to ride this till it stops. United gets a result, PSG advances.  ManU &#x2B;1/2 @&#x2B;170, a lets toss a little on that outright @ &#x2B;600.  I &#x27;passed&#x27; with Basel &amp; Juve last year, and none too happy with myself. if PSG blows them away? so be it.  and theres going to be goals in this one, PSG doesnt know HOW/WANT to sit on leads.  over 3 @-501Porto/Roma - hardest one for me to not get opinionated with   Roma are in a world of problems. never mind they just got their butts handed to them over the wknd in the big derby (fyi, one that trumps the CL). but Roma blows on the road in UCL, havent had a cleansheet since god-knows-when; and have conceded 2&#x2B; in 8 of their past 9 roadies.  and with a slim 2-1 advantage conceding the away goal last Round, thats not a comfy thought for their supporters. and Porto have proven to be a pretty decent club @home. aside from being clobbered by Pool last year theyve had quite a bit success vs teams of similar strength. the only teams to have held them scoreless at home the past few years were two of the &#x27;big-boy&#x27; behemoths (Juve &amp; Pool). first instinct &amp; avoid any side/total here. Porto TT over 1.5 @-120back later with Lib GL to all

GENERALWIZDOM · Answer

I threw down on Porto/Roma DRAW 1h....The first game was stalemate for 70 minutes before fireworks. I think these teams are pretty even. The first goal by either team is so important that I think they both play tight at the start. Roma hasnt defended well on the road but I think it will have a heavy focus in this game because they havent got much else to play for this year. Porto know they cant give up agoal or they have to score 2..... Just my two cents but its gonna be a crapshoot GL on your plays Spec. I like the angles but I already made my bed and hafta lay in it now

specimen24 · Answer

General

i can live with a 1-0 Porto win and eat the loss. already have my mailing list set and the caricature of Totti crying on standby. for a few people in Rome tonight.

dont get me wrong, im fairly cordial and will shake the hand after a win/loss and "good competition" whatever. but Rome is an exception. theyre "special" breeds down there. last year they got first dibs at it.....and we cant have any of that this year.

thers not much of a difference between any of these CL clubs at this stage anymore. it comes down to whom has the better strategy and makes the fewest mistakes. i think some people get misguided into thinking how "easy" it is to win this thing because of what Real has done thru the years. it isnt.

that team was 'rare', i mean, when you have two of the past Ballon d'Or winners in your lineup in the prime of their careers well......... consecutive titiles is whats gonna happen. gonna be a while before another 'Real' comes around.

rewinds2k · Answer

Good luck Spec, I saw your post on my thread figured id address it here. Id love to see a man u miracle but i do think it would in fact me a miracle. Are Fred, Mctominay and Periera going to do the job for man u in the middle? haha

Besides that, an awfully underwelming starting lineup for Roma out too. Pretty much already admitting their going to park the bus by starting almost all their defenders to leave out guys like Cristante, Schick, El Shaarawy. Ive barely seen defenders like Marcano, Jesus, Karsdorp even play this year. Dzeko is going to isolated this game (yet someone thats when he does his damage haha)

LooseNotLose · Answer

Crazier things have happened - like Ajax beating Real 4-1 in Madrid for example - but I would be really, really surprised to see Man U bang two home in Paris.*

*completely and entirely based on the ages of the players with no other factors taken into account.

rewinds2k · Answer

haha loose let it go we don&#x27;t need another thread hijacked (all in good fun)

specimen24 · Answer

circus, rewinds, Loose

i know this might sound "weird" but that early goal might be the worst thing for ManU to have done.

anyways. quickly here.

Copa Lib: all the Big-Boys are on the road here.

Mineiro/Cerro over 2.5 @+102 - this one could get ugly.

Lima(Per)/River(Arg) - not wise to back roadies but Peruvians were in this thing last year, 1 pt in 6 games and only scored once. interesting to note is that their 1 point came in the same 1st Round opener at home vs Boca. now they get the defending champs. and yet again, line has dropped considerably. but i still think at the worst, this is a 'push'.

River -1 @-120

Junior(Col)/Palmeiras(Bra) - Palmeiras clobbered them, twice, during Group stages last year. and that final round thumping prevented Junior from advancing. payback time. and I love backing Colombian squads at home.

Junior pick @+102

Palestino/Internacional under 2 @-105 (tailing a friend)

Zamora(Ven)/Nacional(Uru) - aside from that "altitude" angle, this is my 2nd favorite thing to do in Copa Lib: fade Venezuelan clubs. Zamora have been in this thing several times the past few years..... 0-0-13. tho their countrymen Monagas did manage to beat a Uruguayan side 1-0 in Group stages last year, they were baddly outplayed.

Nacional to win @+140, Nacional TT over 1.5 @+225

Mr. Armpits is in Zagreb tomorrow

GL to all

LooseNotLose · Answer

This is my shocked face ha two freak goals and Buffon with a stone cold howler!  Gl rest of the way

WCI · Answer

Spec = MVP!! What a fantastic result, great plays brother &#xA; &#xA;Now I&#x27;m hoping Roma loses in extra time for ya so you can give &#x27;em hell down in Rome

monkeebooger · Answer

Absolute fire today. Great calls across the board Spec

CodyBanks · Answer

Looks like I missed the money thread today. Nice calls in Asia and in Europe Spec.....always nice to see Roma get bounced

DestroyThePitch · Answer

Nice job today Spec

specimen24 · Answer

having trouble creating new thread. decided to come in here fer a bit

Loose

, Ajax winning was not as crazy as it seemed.

WCI

, United winning was a nice boost. but that doesnt fall into my 'genius' category. they were fortunate to have played an opponent whom has a track record of being unable to close teams out. i know im sounding like a broken record but......... why, why, why PSG..... are you pushing forward with a 2-0 advantage??

monkee

appreciate it.

Cody,

best thing that happened yesterday. you should see some of the stuff floating back n forth

; all in good humor. GOD BLESS 'minuti illimati'(unlimited minutes)

was warned to 'be available' next tuesday "youre going to get yours soon" im hoping for complete silence.

DTP

, ditto.

on to tonight.

Wednesday plays.....

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