Fast food version of what I usually do, just with all the busy-ness of life with children and all of their activities. Excited for this European campaign, pretty competitive balance that I don't believe we've seen since before the Messi and Ronaldo era at Barcelona and Real Madrid.
La Liga: Champion: Barcelona
Champions League: Real Madrid, Atletico, Sevilla.
Player to watch: All the Barcelona attackers. Who starts? How does Xavi keep everyone happy? Does someone stand out and carry Barcelona to the title? My guess is yes, Lewandowski, and Xavi will be a legend once again.
Copa del Rey: Atletico
Logan picks Real Madrid
Lucas picks Real Madrid
Aiden picks Real Madrid
Serie A: Champion: Inter Milan
Champions League: Juventus, AC Milan, Roma.
Player to watch: Pretty easy for me. Romelu Lukaku. He is an interesting specimen. Guy dominates in certain situations, and disappears in certain situations. He claims he'll be happy again, so does that mean he gets Inter to the summit? I believe he will.
Coppa Italia: Roma
Logan picks Inter
Lucas picks Inter
Aiden picks Napoli
Ligue 1: Champion: Lyon
Champions League: PSG, O. Marseille
Player to watch: Lionel Messi. Six goals in last season's campaign. He really doesn't look that happy at PSG. If he has a similar goal tally this year, I don't think they win the league. Alexandre Lacazette is back!
Coupe de France: PSG. Easy.
Logan picks PSG
Lucas picks PSG
Aiden picks OM
Bundesliga: Champion: Bayern Munich
Champions League: Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, E. Frankfurt
Player to watch: Sadio Mane. I can finally cheer for him again! One of my favorite players at Southampton, I had to deal with him thriving for my biggest rivals. It wasn't enjoyable. Love him at Senegal, and I think that Bayern can get him to a level in which we might see an African team get to a semi-final of the World Cup.
Dfb Pokal: Not Bayer Leverkusen! Borussia Dortmund.
Everyone pick Bayern. Since 2013, no reason to think about anyone else.
Premier League: Champion: Liverpool
Champions League: Man City, Tottenham, Arsenal
Player to watch: Raheem Sterling. I think this should be compared more than its been, but while I think Gabriel Jesus made a great move and can be seen as the missing piece to getting Arsenal back into the Champions League, I think that Sterling messes with the good vibes of Chelsea and won't make them better than they already are. Losing Lukaku and Timo Werner won't hurt as much as some might think, but Sterling is not the answer, certainly when they already have a Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic to play in those roles. Window isn't quite closed yet, but Sterling might be playing in Europa league next season.
FA Cup: Newcastle. Maybe my most bold pick, but let's have some fun. Leicester won it a few seasons back, it can be done.
Logan picks Man City
Lucas picks Man City
Aiden picks Man United (no, I'm not giving my 12 year old drugs.)
Liga Nos: Champion: Benfica
Champions League: FC Porto
Player to watch: Henrique Araujo. Everyone is excited about Darwin Nunez, and rightfully so. I'm excited about the next great Benfica striker. The player that should take over for Nunez, I honestly don't think much will change. They should catch FC Porto this year.
Taca de Portugal: Sporting Lisbon
Logan picks Benfica
Lucas picks Sporting
Aiden picks FC Porto
Champions League Final Four: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich
Europa League Final Four: Manchester United, Villarreal, AS Roma, Freiburg
World best 11:
GK: Alisson Becker
LB: Andrew Robertson
CB: Jules Kounde
CB: Virgil Van Dijk
RB: Achrif Hakimi
LW: Serge Gnabry
CM: Kevin De Bruyne
CM: Joshua Kimmich
RW: Mo Salah
CF: Robert Lewandowski
CF: Kylain Mbappe
Lot of debate in my house. Boys hated my Kounde pick. But I think that was a big coup for the Spanish moneybags. Gnabry over Pedri was a hard one for me too, that kid is sensational. Lot of strikers to choose from as well. We had Sadio Mane, Erling Haaland, Neymar, Karim Benzema, Darwin Nunez and Harry Kane all get mentioned. I think it could go to any of the 8.
Nate's 11:
GK: Jan Oblak - So underrated. I think he continues to be top 5 in the world.
LB: Raphael Guerriero - Makes Dortmund tick.
CB: Nico Schlotterbeck - Loved this signing.
CB: Mats Hummels - Maybe for the last time?
RB: Reece James - Probably one of my favorite players in world football.
LW: Marcus Rashford - It hurts me so much to see him struggling.
CM: Sergej Milinkovic Savic - Love this kid. I wish Man United could sign him.
CM: Jude Bellingham - I get it, probably his last season in Dortmund. I'll enjoy every minute.
RW: Jadon Sancho - I've seen his greatness, hope Man United gets to see it soon.
CF: Erling Haaland - As much as I want to boot him, I can't.
CF: Robert Lewandowski - Same.
World Cup 2022 Final 16
Senegal - E. Mendy, S. Mane and I.Sarr are 3 of my favorites. Could make a push.
Netherlands - Easy group means they should move on with Senegal.
England - Everything sets up for deep run. How do they screw it up.
U.S.A. - Wales game is massive. Kids finally have to show their worth. I'm betting on them.
Mexico - Went back and forth on this. Can the back line shut down Lewandowski?
Argentina - Last hurrah for some legends of the game.
France - Can't wait to see the final 23. Stacked national team.
Tunisia - Tough little team to come out of a group featuring Denmark, Australia.
Germany - Quietly staking a place at the final. Lots of leaders in this 11.
Spain - Tough group, but I love the youth in this team. Depends on GK.
Belgium - The real group of death (F). But with all the vets, I'm sure they can win it.
Croatia - Last hurrah for this squad too. But maybe overachieved as opposed to Argentina.
Brazil - Don't let me down. But a lot of upset potential in this group.
Cameroon - Picking Andre Onana to shut down Serbia, Switzerland. Just enough.
Portugal - My dark horse to win it. Joao Felix has to shine.
Uruguay - Loads of talent, should get them through.
Senegal vs England - My biggest upset this round - Senegal
U.S.A vs Netherlands - It was a good run - Netherlands
Argentina vs Tunisia - Khazri is good, but not that good - Argentina
France vs Mexico - Intriguing - France
Germany vs Croatia - Love this game. Kroos vs Modric - Germany
Spain vs Belgium - Too soon! - Spain
Brazil vs Uruguay - Thought long and hard - Brazil
Portugal vs Cameroon - It's go time - Portugal
QF's:
Netherlands vs Argentina - Oh my, Messi's last game? - Netherlands
Germany vs Brazil - This is getting out of control - Germany
Senegal vs France - I'm trying to see a scenario, but no - France
Spain vs Portugal - Unbelievable quarters - Portugal
SF's:
Netherlands vs Germany - The reason I started watching - Germany
Portugal vs France - Can the French end his run? - Portugal
Final:
Germany vs Portugal - Delicious - Let's not guess yet.
Final thoughts: This is going to be a crazy season with the World Cup set smack dab in the middle of the season. Good for my beloved Manchester United, as it will buy ETH some time. This is a 3 year project at least, and I hope they give it to him... Barcelona is taking some massive risks with their financial situation, but the addition of Lewandowski and Raphinha (if it happens) could push this attack over the top. Ansu Fati and Pedri will be at the top of the next generation of talent, and Ousmane Dembele has been reborn under Xavi. Regardless of what happens to Frenkie De Jong, this team has some serious potential... PSG is in a crisis; on the one hand they have some of the world's greatest talent and keeping Kylian Mbappe was a huge success although expensive. On the other hand, this new director seems to be building a team for the future with the signings of Vitinho and Hugo Ekitike. They continue to be a complex study of team dynamics, and I don't think this is the group that can win a Champions League. Pick the best 11 in a game that requires victory... can you? There's a reason that Real Madrid continues to thrive in the one off tournament called Champions League and it's because they know. You know. I know. It's going to be Toni Kroos, Casemiro, Luka Modric and Karim Benzema, no matter what. Even with all the recent defensive movement, they still have a back line that they trust in every game. From the PSG perspective, do you play Presnel Kimpembe? Sergio Ramos? Marquinhos? Kurzawa? And that's just in defense. They have so many midfield and attacking options, they could probably create 25+ competitive lineups. But which one brings them the coveted trophy... EPL shapes up for a fun season. I'm not sure Tottenham can find title winning consistency, but they finally have a roster to match Manchester City and Liverpool for quality and depth. Dejan Kulusevski might be my favorite underrated forward. He is close to a level of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min. And then to add Richarlison and Ivan Perisic to that attacking group? All while keeping Lucas Moura who gives a different dimension to the attack. Tottenham might not be too far off the pace.
Enjoy the season everyone! Share your predictions if you have them!
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