in other news: Tottenham???....Liverpool??? future star striker was born yesterday as the Royal Family expands. good thing he decided to come out now instead of the weekend. cause nobody out there would give a cr*p on Sunday. SMART KID. not even out of the womb and ALREADY understands Britains "priorities".
firstly, I know two guys whom are probably not going to like me this week. Visions of one holding me in a headlock whilst the other driving his knee into my noggin made me thought twice of posting this...but forward we must.
{NO BEARING on tonight/tmrws games}. again, this is one of those "applicable" trends worth mentioning simply because of the reasoning behind it:
from Qtrs onwards, is now 1-28 this decade of teams advancing upon being held scoreless after 1st leg. (scoreless draws not counted) this stat includes Juventus, PSG, ManC, Real, Barca, Munich...... everybody. through the years.
As expected, been hearing talk of Barcas epic comeback a few years ago vs PSG. but lost in that chatter, in that very same round a few years ago, Munich paid a visit to Emirates with a 5-1 advantage over Arsenal. Gunners banged one in early, tossed the kitchen sink forward in desperation and were absolutely clobbered in the 2nd half and losing 5-1; point is, for a much as Klopp/Poch has a chance, things can go sideways in a hurry when taking risks which you arent normally accustomed to doing.
and I think things might go 'sideways' tonight. and actually this is a nasty spot for BOTH those EPL clubs this week actually.
Pool/Barca:
myth: Camp Nou is larger than Anfield. load of 'bleep'. just in length (a few yards longer) but both these pitches are the same width across. Pool will not be able to 'suffocate' Barca with a smaller field. last week was set to hammer the 'over' here had a nice writeup but trashed it; 1 week later and Im not so sure any longer. its not wise to mix domestic with UCL but....:
1) no Salah, no Firmio. (and I also heard reports Van Dijk might be rested??) this makes Pool much easier to defend as Mane isnt really a first option striker. a great talent, but he needs his running mates in there to divert attention to give him space which makes his life easier.
2) though I dont follow those EPL clubs as closely, Pool didnt bust their cajones off to get that late winner over the wknd just to roll over this Sunday. and the fact Firmio isnt even being put in there kind of gives me an idea where Klopps priorities might rest. of course Pool will give it a go & things might get interesting for a while. but Im sure hes had nightmares of Lionel running down middle of field nobody within 10 yards of him.
3) Pools 4th game in 11 days. Barca rested everybody over the wknd. one of my favorite 'go-against' angles.
4) in thy melon, this is probably the biggest reason. sat there and watched every second last year when Barca went to Rome with that 3-goal advantage. played defensive, after the break they sat back and tried to protect that advantage. failed miserably. lost every important statistical category and even Messi & Suarez both got booked. still remember that look on Lionels face when the final whistle blew. now one year later, another 3 goal advantage.
I kind of think Barca learned from their lesson last year and reading the media reports from out there in Spain one gets the feeling they are not going to be employing that same strategy/approach this time around.
if Pool had their full, regular lineup out there, id probaly just take the 'over' and Barca advances with the away goal. and though theyll have their fans to lift them... those two missings, some tired legs, coupled with the possibility of deflation (especially if Barca scores first). I kind of like these prices here. its NOT wise to back a team whom doesnt even need to win, and at the same time Barca can also just decide to shut their engines off and give up some cheap late ones. but Klopp has got to morph into a 3 man backline eventually and with Lionel, thats just a recipe for disaster....
Barcelona to win @+185 regarding the juiced O/U, i wouldnt dare touch it. that thought of Barca playing 'keep away' and Pool not caring the final half hour scares me off of it.
Pool/Barca 1st half over 1.5 @+150 - in my head if this is going over, the first half pretty much has to hit.