| TEAM 1 | TEAM 2 | COMMENTS |
| Fenerbahce | Monaco | No clear advantage here. |
| Rostov | Anderlecht | Clear advantage on Anderlecht |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | Young Boys | Clear advantage for the Ukranians |
| Spartak Prague | Steaua Bucuresti | Slight advantage for the Romanians. |
| Ajax | PAOK | Stats say Ajax. Friendlies say PAOK. |
| Astra | Crusaders or Copenhagen | |
| Viktoria Plzen | Qarabag or Dudelange | Slight advantage on the Czechs |
| Olympiacos | Sheriff Tiraspol or Hapoel Beer Sheeva | No brainer this one for Olympiacos FC |
| Partizani or Ferencvaros | Salzburg or Liepaja | |
| Ludogorets or Mladost | Valletta or Red Star Belgrade | Another no brainer for Red Star |
| Bate Borisof or SJK | Dundalk or FH | Third no brainer for Bate Borisov |
| Trencin of Olimpia Lju | Zrinjski or Legia | |
| Astana or Zalgiris | Lincoln or Celtic | It should be a no brainer for Celtic but noone knows now! |
| Vardar or Dinamo Zagreb | Dinamo Tbilisi or Alashkert | Either of the two Dinamos have the advantage here. |
| Rosenborg or Norrkoping | TNS or APOEL | Based on the recent years I would suggest that APOEL has the advantage in this group. |
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Great insight. ThanksComment -
Just wanted to add some of my thoughts on some of the matchups.
We could hardly say that Red star is a no brainer against Ludogorets. Sure, they signed many quality players to help them qualify to CL. But it was obvious in first game against valetta that they are not on a high level with their team play at the moment. Too many new pieces and they will need some time to gel and get to know each other. Also, they have some problems in defense, primarly at LCB and RB positions. Ludogorets have many quality options up front which could exploit that.
Also, bulgarian team is seeded here and considered as a favorite. They are financialy strong club and are dominating their league for last couple of years. Red star will look for their chance at home, in front of 50k fans. But still slight edge in this tie to Ludogorets at the moment.
Trencin-Legia. Slovak team is a new face in this competition. But from what I saw in first match, they could be the dark horse. Solid team which plays well together, with couple of good individuals which are able to take it on another level, when given opportunity. loaded with solid foreign players, mostly from Africa. Polish teams on the other side struggled in european cups in last couple of years, from what I can remember. We have a potential upset here.
Dinamo Zagreb-Dinamo Tbilisi. Zagreb with clear edge here. They just have too much quality in their squad.Comment -
Here is how the board is now set:
TEAM 1 TEAM 2 COMMENTS Olympiacos Hapeol Beer-Sheva Despite the problems in the last friendly I still think that Olympiacos is the strong favorite Astra Giurgiu Copenhagen Ludogorets Red Star Beograd I saw Lodogorets but I still think that Red Star is a better team Rosenborg APOEL My view on the advantage for the Cypriots remains Dinamo Zagreb Dinamo Tbilisi This is a tough one. Bate Borisov Dundalk Ok this is probably the easiest of the lot for Bate Partizani Salzburg The Albanians made it this far but I still think Salzburg has the advantage Trencin Legia Warsaw Astana Celtic The Scotts made it through and now I think they will be more serious Viktoria Plzen Qarabag The Czechs still have the clear advantage Ajax PAOK I think that at this stage PAOK is in better condition Sparta Prague Steaua Bucuresti Shakhtar Donetsk Young Boys Shakhtar no questions asked Rostov Anderlecht This one still goes for Anderlecht Fenerbahce Monaco Comment -
First leg results:
TEAM 1 TEAM 2 SCORE THOUGHTS Olympiacos Hapoel Beer Sheeva 0-0 I still think that Olympicaos will go through Astra Giurgiu Copenhagen 1-1 Conhagen with the advantage Astana Celtic 1-1 Celtic with the advantage Rosenborg APOEL Limassol 2-1 The away goal gives the Cypriots an advantage Trencin Legia 0-1 I think the Polish have wrapped it up Fenerbahce Monaco 2-1 Still undecided. The French are not as reliable as before Ajax PAOK 1-1 PAOK now has to prove they are worth it. They have failed in the past Shakhtar Young Boys 2-0 The Suisse have no chance Bate Dundalk 1-0 Dundalk has a chance but 1-0 is the troickiest score around Sparta Prague Steaoua Bucuresti 1-1 I wouldn't bet on the ROmanians yet Viktoria Plzen Qarabag 0-0 Unexpected result but I still vote for the Czecs Partizani Salzburg 0-1 This goes as expected for the Austrians Rostov Anderlecht 2-2 Also as expected, Anderlecht will go through Dinamo Zagreb Dinamo Tbilisi 2-0 The score gives the Croats the advantage. Comment -
Qualification sheet:
7 successfull predictions on who would advance... Need to do a lot better next round....TEAM 1 TEAM 2 1st 2nd THOUGHTS Olympiacos Hapoel Beer Sheeva
0-0 0-1 FAIL Astra Giurgiu Copenhagen 1-1 0-3 Conhagen - SUCCESS Astana Celtic 1-1 1-2 Celtic - SUCCESS Rosenborg APOEL Limassol 2-1 0-3 Success on the qualification of the Cypriots but the script of the match must have been devised by Hitchcock himself! 0-0 after 90 minutes and 3 goals scored on injury time? Seriously? Trencin Legia 0-1 0-0 Legia - SUCCESS Fenerbahce Monaco 2-1 1-3 Not touching this one... Ajax PAOK 1-1 2-1 PAOK - FAIL Shakhtar Young Boys 2-0 0-2 Shakhtar - THE SECOND WORST FAIL Bate Dundalk 1-0 0-3 *** This must be the worst fail of all time ***
Sparta Prague Steaoua Bucuresti 1-1 2-0 Viktoria Plzen Qarabag 0-0 1-1 SUCCESS Partizani Salzburg 0-1 0-2 Salzburg - SUCCESS Rostov Anderlecht 2-2 2-0 Anderlecht - THE THIRD WORST FAIL Dinamo Zagreb Dinamo Tbilisi 2-0 1-0 SUCCESS Ludogorets Red Star 2-2 4-2 Was it Hitchcock's anniversary yesterday? 2-2 on regulation, overtime and 4-2 on overtime? Seriously? Comment
