Tag Archives: Football

Jeffrey Siegler, Soccer, UEFA, World Soccer

2014-2015 UEFA Champions League Predictions

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After a fall that was filled with group play in the UEFA Champions league there is now a finalized round of 16.

 In group play almost all the teams that were expected to advance did, but there were a few surprises. Liverpool the runner up in the Premier League last season was eliminated. They were placed in a very talented group of clubs, that included the UEFA reigning champions Real Madrid and also a very successful FC Basel.

 Another reason for Liverpool’s poor performance in the group stage is that they don’t have the same starting eleven that led them to second in the  BPL. This past offseason they lost Luis Suarez to Barcelona. Suarez led the BPL last year with 31 goals. The other player missing is last years second best scorer in the BPL Daniel Sturridge. Sturridge is still on the team but has been left off the his club’s roster because of a nagging hamstring injury that he obtained while training with the English national team. Liverpool is now in the UEFA Europa League set to face Beşiktaş.

 Looking ahead to the round of 16 there will be some very exciting matches to watch. Leading off in the 2 home and away match ups in February and March is Paris Saint- Germain and Chelsea. Chelsea is currently on top of the BPL table and PSG is sitting at second in the French Ligue. Leading Chelsea will be Diego Costa and Eden Hazard. PSG has star Zlatan Ibrahimović and Edinson Cavani.

 I predict that Chelsea will advance because of their deeper roster that has more experience, with better coaching from Jose Mourinho.

 My next big match up to watch is Barcelona vs Manchester City. This draw will be the most entertaining because of the long history that these two teams have. Barcelona is currently sitting behind Real Madrid in La Liga while Manchester City is also sitting at second in the table behind Chelsea. The players to watch in this draw are Sergio Aguero and Lionel Messi. These two Argentinians lead their clubs in goals this season in their respective leagues. They are also very good friends off the pitch. This could result in a scoring showdown between the two.

 I predict that Barcelona will win this match up because of the depth of their roster. Luis Suarez will continue getting the assists that he has had since coming off his suspension. Neymar is also a threat at forward. It will be very hard for MUFC to hold back this squad that has talent at every position.

NFL, Zachary D.

Thanksgiving Day Football 2014

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This Thanksgiving we have three very exciting division games. First at 12:30 the Bears (5-6) are facing off against the Lions (7-4). This should be an easy game for the Lions, but the Bears know if they have any shot at catching the Packers or the Lions, they have to win this game. The Packers are 8-3 and the Bears are 5-6, so for them to have a shot at the playoffs, they must win out or win at least 4 of their next 5 games. But for the playoffs to happen, the Packers will have to start losing, which I don’t see happening any time soon. Anyway, for the Bears to win this game, the defense (without Briggs, Tillman, and Conte) will be very weak as the leaders are out due to injury. The most important thing for that defense is to stop Calvin Johnson. He is a deep threat and just a threat in general. In addition to defense, Jay Cutler will have to lead the high potential Bears offense to victory. Having Alshon Jeffery, Brandon Marshall, Matt Forte, and Martellus Bennett on the same team and not winning is crazy. They have the potential to win almost every game of the season. But Jay Cutler has disappointed that team with his awful play this season. If he can get playing like last year, they can easily win even against one of the best defenses in the league. For the Lions, Matt Stafford will have to hit Megatron for some big yardage to win. I’m not as concerned for the 7-4 Lions as they should be able to walk out with a W.

The 4:30 game is a crucial game for both teams, the 8-3 Eagles and the 8-3 Cowboys. Both teams are in the playoff hunt and this game will fuel then winner to a lead in the NFC East. It’s only a battle of those two teams in that division, they closest team is New York who is 5 games back, so the winner will certainly have an advantage. The Eagles will have to get both Matthews and Maclin involved to win. In addition, shady McCoy will have to rush for a decent amount of yardage. The defense will have to deal with a run heavy Dallas offense, but if they get too committed Romo can fry the defense with Dez Bryant.

Last at 8:30 the Seahawks (7-4) are matched up with the San Francisco 49ers (7-4). They are competing for a spot next to the 9-2 Cardinals. If the Seahawks want to win, the defense will need to have an outstanding game. But the offense with Russell Wilson will have to find its groove against the 49ers D. Doug Baldwin will have to actually produce for one more game. And for the rest of the season for that matter. Marshawn will do his thing, and not talk to the media, but he will need to get them down the field continuously, because quite frankly, the Seahawks have little to no passing game. In my mind the fact that they won the Super Bowl amazes me. I know their defense is spectacular and all that, but without offense this game will be tough. The 49ers have a scary defense, but the cannon of an arm in Colin Kaepernick can power the 49ers past the Seahawks defense. Michael Crabtree has been playing great, but Anquan Boldin is looking like the old Anquan, he is putting up numbers as good as anyone in the league right now. So when all is in the books, this game comes down to the offense.