2007/2008 UEFA Champions' League Predictions Competition

[MIJB#19]

2007/2008 UEFA Champions' League Predictions Competition
Yes, it's back, people! With Sevilla walzing over AEK Athena, the field of 32 teams is complete. Last season it was Condors, who walked away with the FOFC prediction competition victory. But 2006/2007 is history, it's time to make your 2007/2008 predictions! The deadline to make your picks is September 18th at 2:45 pm Eastern.

Scoring rules? Same as last year. 40 points can be won in the group phase, 16 in the second round knockout games, 40 more during the elite eight playoff bracket rounds. For now, the group phase is the only thing you can make your predictions for. You get 1 point for every team correctly predicted to qualify for the second round, a maximum of 16 points. You receive a bonus point for every team predicted in the right position, with the exception of the 4th placed teams, for a maximum of 24 points.

The draw:
<table border="1"><tr><td>Group A<td>Liverpool FC (England)<td>FC Porto (Portugal)<td>Olympique Marseille (France)<td>Besiktas (Turkey)
<tr><td>Group B<td>Chelsea (England)<td>Valencia (Spain)<td>Schalke'04 (Germany)<td>Rosenborg BK (Norway)
<tr><td>Group C<td>Real Madrid (Spain)<td>Werder (Germany)<td>Lazio (Italy)<td>Olympiakos (Greece)
<tr><td>Group D<td>AC Milan (Italy)<td>Benfica (Portugal)<td>Celtic (Scotland)<td>Shakhtar (Ukraine)
<tr><td>Group E<td>FC Barcelona (Spain)<td>Olympique Lyon (France)<td>VfB Stuttgart (Germany)<td>Rangers (Scotland)
<tr><td>Group F<td>Manchester United (England)<td>AS Roma (Italy)<td>Sporting (Portugal)<td>Dinamo Kyiv (Ukraine)
<tr><td>Group G<td>Internazionale (Italy)<td>PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands)<td>CSKA Moskva (Russia)<td>Fenerbahçe (Turkey)
<tr><td>Group H<td>Arsenal FC (England)<td>Sevilla (Spain)<td>Steaua (Romania)<td>Slavia Praha (Czech Rep)</table>

For your picks, I'd like to see reply in this thread by posting eight lists of the teams in the order you think they will finish within their group. For example:
A: 1 Besiktas - 2 Porto - 3 Marseille - 4 Liverpool
B: 1 Schalke - 2 Rosenborg - 3 Valencia - 4 Chelsea
etc.

[MIJB#19]

bumptibump

[Northwood_DK]

A Liverpool FC, Olympique Marseille, FC Porto, Besiktas
B Chelsea, Schalke'04, Valencia, Rosenborg BK
C Lazio, Real Madrid, Werder, Olympiakos
D AC Milan, Benfica, Celtic, Shakhtar
E Olympique Lyon, FC Barcelona, VfB Stuttgart, Rangers
F Manchester United, AS Roma, Dinamo Kyiv, Sporting
G Internazionale, PSV Eindhoven, CSKA Moskva, Fenerbahçe
H Sevilla, Arsenal FC, Slavia Praha, Steaua

[TredWel]

A: 1 Liverpool - 2 Porto - 3 OM - 4 Besiktas
B: 1 Valencia - 2 Chelsea - 3 Schalke - 4 Rosenborg
C: 1 Real - 2 Lazio - 3 Werder - 4 Olympiakos
D: 1 Milan - 2 Benfica - 3 Celtic - 4 Shakhtar
E: 1 Barca - 2 Lyon - 3 Rangers - 4 Stuttgart
F: 1 Man U - 2 Roma - 3 Sporting - 4 Dinamo Kyiv
G: 1 Inter - 2 PSV - 3 CSKA Moscow - 4 Fenerbahce
H: 1 Sevilla - 2 Arsenal - 3 Steaua - 4 Slavia

[bbgunn]

A: 1. Liverpool, 2. Marseille, 3. Porto, 4. Bestikas.
B: 1. Schalke, 2. Valencia, 3. Chelsea, 4. Rosenborg.
C: 1. Lazio, 2. Real Madrid, 3. Werder, 4. Olympiakos.
D: 1. AC Milan, 2. Celtic, 3. Benfica, 4. Shakhtar.
E: 1. Barcelona, 2. Stuttgart, 3. Lyon, 4. Rangers.
F: 1. Roma, 2. Man Utd, 3. Sporting, 4. Dinamo Kyiv.
G: 1. Inter Milan, 2. PSV, 3. Fenerbahce, 4. CSKA.
H: 1. Sevilla, 2. Arsenal, 3. Slavia Praha, 4. Steaua.

[Crapshoot]

A 1 - Liverpool,2- Porto,3- Marseille,4- Bestikas
B 1 - Chelsea 2 - Valencia 3- Schalke 4- Rosenberg'
C 1 - Real Madrid 2 - Werder 3 - Lazio 4- Olympiakos
D 1 - Milan 2 - Shaktar 3 - Benfica 4 - Celtic
E 1 - Barcelona 2 - Lyon 3 - Stuttgart 4 - Rangers
F 1 - Man U 2 - Roma 3- Sporting 4 - Kiev
G 1 - Inter 2 - CSKA 3- PSV 4 - Fenerbache
H 1 - Arsenal 2 - Sevilla 3 - Slavia 4 - Steaua

[cthomer5000]

Besiktas all the way!

[Butter]

A - 1. Liverpool 2. Porto 3. Marseille 4. Besiktas
B - 1. Valencia 2. Chelsea 3. Schalke 04 4. Rosenborg
C - 1. Real Madrid 2. Lazio 3. Olympiakos 4. Werder Bremen
D - 1. AC Milan 2. Celtic 3. Benfica 4. Shakhtar
E - 1. Barcelona 2. Lyon 3. Rangers 4. Stuttgart
F - 1. Roma 2. Sporting 3. Man. Utd. 4. Kiev
G - 1. Inter 2. PSV 3. Fenerbahce 4. CSKA Moscow
H - 1. Sevilla 2. Arsenal 3. Slavia Praha 4. Steaua

[flere-imsaho]

A: 1 Liverpool - 2 Besiktas - 3 FC Porto - 4 Olympique Marseille
B: 1 Chelsea - 2 Schalke'04 - 3 Valencia - 4 Rosenborg
C: 1 Real Madrid - 2 Lazio - 3 Werder - 4 Olympiakos
D: 1 AC Milan - 2 Celtic - 3 Benfica - 4 Shakhtar
E: 1 FC Barcelona - 2 Olympique Lyon - 3 Rangers - 4 VfB Stuttgart
F: 1 AS Roma - 2 Manchester United - 3 Dinamo Kyiv - 4 Sporting
G: 1 Internazionale - 2 PSV Eindhoven - 3 Fenerbahce - 4 CSKA Moskva
H: 1 Arsenal FC - 2 Sevilla - 3 Slavia Praha - 4 Steaua

Thanks for running this MIJB!

[SirFozzie]

Group A

Winners: Liverpool FC
2nd Place: Olympique Marseille
3rd Place: FC Porto
4th Place: Besiktas

Group B:
Winners: Chelsea
2nd: Valencia
3rd: Schalke 04
4th: Roseborg

Group C:
Winners: Real Madrid
2nd: Lazio
3rd: Werder
4th: Olympiakos

Group D:
Winners: AC Milan
2nd: Celtic
3rd: Benfica
4th Shakhtar

Group E
Winners: FC Barcelona
2nd: Olympique Lyon
3rd: Rangers
4th: VfB Stuttgart

Group F
Winners: Manchester United
2nd: AS Roma
3rd: Dinamo Kyive
4th: Sporting

Group G:
Winners: Internazionale
2nd: PSV Eindhoven
3rd: Fenerbahce
4th: CSKA Moskva

Group H:
Winners: Arsenal FC
2nd: Sevilla
3rd: Steaua
4th: Slavia Praha

[cthomer5000]

A 1-Liverpool 2-Porto 3-Marseille 4-Bestikas
B 1-Chelsea 2-Schalke 3-Valencia 4-Rosenborg
C 1-Real Madrid 2-Werder Bremen 3-Lazio 4-Olympiacos
D 1-A.C. Milan 2-Celtic 3-Shaktar Donetsk 4-Benfica
E 1-Barcelona 2-Lyon 3-Stuttgart 4-Rangers
F 1-Manchester United 2-Roma 3-Sporting Lisbon 4-Dynamo Kyiv
G 1-Inter Milan 2-PSV Eindhoven 3-CSKA Moscow 4-Fenerbache
H 1-Arsenal 2-Sevilla 3-Slavia 4-Steaua


Despite all logic to the contrary, I'm picking Celtic to make it out of their group. I'm also apparently pretty high on the German teams, not high on the Russian/Ukranians/Turks.

I also tried to employ some logic to the final day of matchups, thinking there will be a few particular games were a team sneaks a draw or win because it doesn't really matter to the team they're playing who will have already clinched qualification to the knockout stage.

edit: group H added

[MIJB#19]

A 1-Liverpool 2-Porto 3-Marseille 4-Bestikas
B 1-Chelsea 2-Schalke 3-Valencia 4-Rosenborg
C 1-Real Madrid 2-Werder Bremen 3-Lazio 4-Olympiacos
D 1-A.C. Milan 2-Celtic 3-Shaktar Donetsk 4-Benfica
E 1-Barcelona 2-Lyon 3-Stuttgart 4-Rangers
F 1-Manchester United 2-Roma 3-Sporting Lisbon 4-Dynamo Kyiv
G 1-Inter Milan 2-PSV Eindhoven 3-CSKA Moscow 4-Fenerbache


Despite all logic to the contrary, I'm picking Celtic to make it out of their group. I'm also apparently pretty high on the German teams, not high on the Russian/Ukranians/Turks.

I also tried to employ some logic to the final day of matchups, thinking there will be a few particular games were a team sneaks a draw or win because it doesn't really matter to the team they're playing who will have already clinched qualification to the knockout stage.CT, you forgot to make a Group H prediction.

[cthomer5000]

Im predicting all of group H will be thrown out of the competition.

Uhh, no... I just forgot. will fix it.

[Katon]

A: 1 Liverpool - 2 Besiktas - 3 FC Porto - 4 Olympique Marseille
B: 1 Chelsea - 2 Valencia - 3 Schalke- 4 Rosenborg
C: 1 Real Madrid - 2 Werder Bremen - 3 Lazio- 4 Olympiakos
D: 1 AC Milan - 2 Celtic - 3 Benfica - 4 Shakhtar
E: 1 FC Barcelona - 2 Olympique Lyon - 3 Rangers - 4 VfB Stuttgart
F: 1 Roma - 2 Man U - 3 Sporting - 4 Dinamo Kyiv
G: 1 Internazionale - 2 PSV Eindhoven - 3 Fenerbahce - 4 CSKA Moskva
H: 1 Sevilla - 2 Arsenal - 3 Slavia Praha - 4 Steaua

[MIJB#19]

I suppse I'll have to keep bumping this thread for the news 10 days. ;)

[Critch]

A: 1 Liverpool - 2 Porto - 3 Marseille - 4 Besiktas
B: 1 Chelsea - 2 Valencia - 3 Schalke - 4 Rosenborg
C: 1 Real - 2 Lazio - 3 Olympiakos - 4 Werder Bremen
D: 1 Milan - 2 Shakhtar - 3 Benfica - 4 Celtic
E: 1 Barca - 2 Rangers - 3 Lyon - 4 Stuttgart
F: 1 Man U - 2 Roma - 3 Sporting - 4 Dinamo Kiev
G: 1 Inter - 2 Fenerbahce - 3 CSKA Moscow - 4 PSV
H: 1 Arsenal - 2 Steaua - 3 Sevilla - 4 Slavia

[I. J. Reilly]

And Cluck-O the Chicken picks:

Group A 1)FC Porto 2)Liverpool FC 3)Olympique Marseille 4)Besiktas
Group B 1)Chelsea 2)Valencia 3)Rosenborg BK 4)Schalke'04
Group C 1)Real Madrid 2)Lazio 3)Werder 4)Olympiakos
Group D 1)AC Milan 2)Celtic 3)Benfica 4)Shakhtar
Group E 1)FC Barcelona 2)VfB Stuttgart 3)Rangers 4)Olympique Lyon
Group F 1)Sporting 2)Manchester United 3)AS Roma 4)Dinamo Kyiv
Group G 1)PSV Eindhoven 2)Internazionale 3)Fenerbahçe 4)CSKA Moskva
Group H 1)Sevilla 2)Arsenal FC 3)Slavia Praha 4)Steaua

[MIJB#19]

badabump...

[Scholes]

A - 1. Liverpool 2. Porto 3. Besiktas 4. Marseille

B - 1. Chelsea 2. Valencia 3. Schalke 04 4. Rosenborg

C - 1. Real Madrid 2. Werder Bremen 3. Olympiakos 4. Lazio

D - 1. AC Milan 2. Benfica 3. Shakhtar 4. Celtic

E - 1. Barcelona 2. Stuttgart 3. Lyon 4. Rangers

F - 1. Man United 2. Roma 3. Sporting 4. Kiev

G - 1. Inter 2. Fenerbahce 3. PSV 4. CSKA Moscow

H - 1. Sevilla 2. Arsenal 3. Slavia Prague 4. Steaua

[Bea-Arthurs Hip]

A: 1 Liverpool - 2 FC Porto - 3 Besiktas- 4 Olympique Marseille
B: 1 Valencia- 2 Chelski - 3 Schalke- 4 Rosenborg
C: 1 Real Madrid - 2 Werder Bremen - 3 Lazio- 4 Olympiakos
D: 1 Celtic - 2 AC Milan- 3 Benfica - 4 Shakhtar
E: 1 FC Barcelona - 2 VfB Stuttgart - 3 Rangers - 4 Olympique Lyon
F: 1 Man U - 2 Roma- 3 Dinamo Kyiv - 4 Sporting
G: 1 PSV Eindhoven - 2 Internazionale- 3 CSKA Moskva - 4 Fenerbahce
H: 1 Sevilla - 2 Arsenal - 3 Steaua - 4 Slavia Praha

C'mon the bhoys!

[atatange1]

A: 1 Liverpool, 2 Porto, 3 Marseilles, 4 Besiktas
B: 1 Chelsea, 2 Schalke, 3 Valencia, 4 Rosenborg
C: 1 Real Madrid, 2 Lazio, 3 Werder, 4 Olympiakos
D: 1 AC Milan, 2 Benfica, 3 Celtic, 4 Shakthar
E: 1 Barcelona, 2 Lyon, 3 Stuttgart, 4 Rangers
F: 1 Man U, 2 Roma, 3 Sporting, Dinamo Kiev
G: 1 Inter, 2 PSV, CSKA Moscow, Fenerbahce
H: 1 Sevilla, 2 Arsenal, 3 Steaua, 4 Slavia Praha

[MIJB#19]

19 hours and 45 minutes left to make your predictions!

My own picks:
A: 1 Liverpool, 2 Porto, 3 Marseille, 4 Besiktas
B: 1 Chelsea, 2 Valencia, 3 Schalke, 4 Rosenborg
C: 1 Werder, 2 Real Madrid, 3 Lazio, 4 Olympiacos
D: 1 Milan, 2 Benfica, 3 Shakhtar, 4 Celtic
E: 1 Barcelona, 2 Rangers, 3 Lyon, 4 Stuttgart
F: 1 Roma, 2 Manchester United, 3 Sporting Portugal, 4 Dinamo Kyiv
G: 1 Inter, 2 Fenerbahce, 3 PSV Eindhoven, 4 CSKA Moskva
H: 1 Arsenal, 2 Sevilla, 3 Steaua, 4 Slavia

[Cards4ever]

A: 1 Liverpool, 2 Porto, 3 Marseille, 4 Besiktas
B: 1 Chelsea, 2 Valencia, 3 Schalke, 4 Rosenborg
C: 1 Real Madrid, 2 Werder, 3 Lazio, 4 Olympiacos
D: 1 Milan, 2 Benfica, 3 Celtic, 4 Shakhtar
E: 1 Barcelona, 2 Lyon, 3 Rangers, , 4 Stuttgart
F: 1 Manchester United, 2 Roma, ,3 Dinamo Kyiv, 4 Sporting Portugal
G: 1 Inter, 2 PSV Eindhoven, 3 Fenerbahce, 4 CSKA Moskva
H: 1 Arsenal, 2 Sevilla, 3 Steaua, 4 Slavia

[BreizhManu]

A: 1 Liverpool - 2 FC Porto - 3 Olympique Marseille - 4 Besiktas
B: 1 Chelsea - 2 Valencia - 3 Schalke- 4 Rosenborg
C: 1 Real Madrid - 2 Werder Bremen - 3 Lazio- 4 Olympiakos
D: 1 AC Milan - 2 Benfica - 3 Shakhtar - 4 Celtic
E: 1 FC Barcelona - 2 VfB Stuttgart - 3 Olympique Lyon - 4 Rangers
F: 1 Man U - 2 Roma - 3 Sporting - 4 Dinamo Kyiv
G: 1 Internazionale - 2 PSV Eindhoven - 3 CSKA Moskva - 4 Fenerbahce
H: 1 Sevilla - 2 Arsenal - 3 Slavia Praha - 4 Steaua

[Blade6119]

Group A

Winners: Liverpool FC
2md Place: FC Porto
3rd Place: Olympique Marseille
4th Place: Besiktas

Group B:
Winners: Chelsea
2nd: Valencia
3rd: Schalke 04
4th: Roseborg

Group C:
Winners: Real Madrid
2nd: Werder
3rd: Lazio
4th: Olympiakos

Group D:
Winners: AC Milan
2nd: Shakhtar
3rd: Benfica
4th Celtic

Group E
Winners: FC Barcelona
2nd: Olympique Lyon
3rd: Rangers
4th: VfB Stuttgart

Group F
Winners: Manchester United
2nd: AS Roma
3rd: Dinamo Kyive
4th: Sporting

Group G:
Winners: Internazionale
2nd: CSKA Moskva
3rd: Fenerbahce
4th: PSV

Group H:
Winners: Arsenal FC
2nd: Sevilla
3rd: Slavia Praha
4th: Steaua

[TazFTW]

Group A: 1. Liverpool FC 2. FC Porto 3. Olympique Marseille 4. Besiktas
Group B: 1. Chelsea 2. Valencia 3. Schalke 04 4. Roseborg
Group C: 1. Real Madrid 2. Werder 3. Lazio 4. Olympiakos
Group D: 1. AC Milan 2. Celtic 3. Benfica 4. Shakhtar
Group E: 1. FC Barcelona 2. Rangers 3. Olympique Lyon 4. VfB Stuttgart
Group F: 1. AS Roma 2. Manchester United 3. Dinamo Kyiv 4. Sporting
Group G: 1. Internazionale 2. CSKA Moskva 3. PSV 4. Fenerbahce
Group H: 1. Sevilla 2. Arsenal FC 3. Slavia Praha 4. Steaua

[MIJB#19]

Last chance for any late entries has passed, as games kicked off *checks time stamp below* two minutes ago...

[MylesKnight]

MIJB, Can I still get in? I'm at work and have no idea of the action currently going on today..


A: 1 Liverpool - 2 FC Porto - 3 Olympique Marseille - 4 Besiktas

B: 1 Chelsea - 2 Valencia - 3 Schalke'04 - 4 Rosenborg

C: 1 Lazio - 2 Real Madrid - 3 Werder - 4 Olympiakos

D: 1 AC Milan - 2 Benfica - 3 Celtic - 4 Shakhtar

E: 1 Olympique Lyon - 2 Barcelona - 3 VfB Stuttgart - 4 Rangers

F: 1 Manchester United - 2 Sporting - 3 Dinamo Kyiv - 4 AS Roma

G: 1 Internazionale - 2 CSKA Moskva - 3 PSV Eindhoven - 4 Fenerbahce

H: 1 Sevilla - 2 Arsenal - 3 Steaua - 4 Slavia Praha

[MIJB#19]

you're in. ;)

[Critch]

MIJB, Can I still get in? I'm at work and have no idea of the action currently going on today..

The fact that you've picked Celtic to finish above Shakhtar proves you were not sneaking a peak at the scores :)

[MIJB#19]

Virtual Standigs after 16 out of 96 (out of 125) games:
1st with 22 points: Critch
2nd with 18 points: bbgunn, SirFozzie and MIJB#19
5th with 17 points: TredWel, flere-imsaho and Bea-Arthurs Hip
8th with 16 points: Butter_of_69, Katon, I. J. Reilly and atatange1
12th with 15 points: Crapshoot and TazFTW
14th with 14 points: cthomer5000 and Scholes
16th with 13 points: Northwood_DK, Cards4ever, BreizhManu and Blade6119
20th with 12 points: MylesKnight

[bbgunn]

Alright, within striking distance!

[MIJB#19]

Virtual Standigs after 32 out of 96 (out of 125) games:
1st with 25 points: Crapshoot
2nd with 24 points: MIJB#19
3rd with 22 points: cthomer5000, Critch, Blade6119 and TazFTW
7th with 21 points: Scholes
8th with 20 points: SirFozzie, Cards4ever and BreizhManu
11th with 18 points: Katon and Bea-Arthurs Hip
13th with 17 points: MylesKnight
14th with 16 points: TredWel, bbgunn,, I. J. Reilly and atatange1
18th with 15 points: Northwood_DK, Butter_of_69 and flere-imsaho

[cthomer5000]

Woot! Matchday 2 baby! The Celtic game was epic, those teams have now played 3 pretty damn quality games in a row.

[Blade6119]

The 2nd round of games were huge for me, lets hope my teams keep it up

[MIJB#19]

Virtual Standigs after 48 out of 96 (out of 125) games:
1st with 27 points: Critch
2nd with 26 points: Crapshoot
3rd with 25 points: Scholes
4th with 24 points: Blade6119 and MIJB#19
6th with 23 points: cthomer5000
7th with 22 points: TazFTW
8th with 21 points: atatange1, BreizhManu and SirFozzie
11th with 20 points: Cards4ever and flere-imsaho
13th with 19 points: TredWel
14th with 18 points: Northwood_DK
15th with 17 points: bbgunn, Bea-Arthurs Hip and Katon
18th with 16 points: Butter_of_69, I. J. Reilly and MylesKnight

[Blade6119]

Staying near the top, im in striking distance of the lead

[MIJB#19]

Virtual Standigs after 64 out of 96 (out of 125) games:
1st with 29 points: Critch
2nd with 25 points: Crapshoot and Scholes
4th with 24 points: MIJB#19
5th with 23 points: Blade6119 and SirFozzie
7th with 21 points: atatange1, BreizhManu, Cards4ever, cthomer5000, TazFTW and TredWel
13th with 19 points: Northwood_DK and flere-imsaho
15th with 18 points: Butter_of_69
16th with 17 points: bbgunn, I. J. Reilly, Katon and MylesKnight
20th with 15 points: Bea-Arthurs Hip

True Standigs after 64 out of 96 (out of 125) games:
1st with 4 points: atatange1, BreizhManu, Butter_of_69, Cards4ever, Critch, cthomer5000, flere-imsaho, Katon, MIJB#19, Northwood_DK, SirFozzie and TredWel
12th with 3 points: bbgunn, Bea-Arthurs Hip, Blade6119, Crapshoot, I. J. Reilly, MylesKnight, Scholes and TazFTW

Predictions that already score one point are:
* Arsenal in your top2
* Stuttgart in 3rd or 4th place (thus having at least 1 of the final top2 in your top2)
* CSKA in 3rd or 4th place (thus having at least 1 of the final top2 in your top2)
* Dinamo Kyiv in 3rd or 4th place (thus having at least 1 of the final top2 in your top2)

Yes, Manchester United clinched a top2 spot, however, the combination of ManU 1st or 2nd and Dinamo Lyiv 3rd or 4th is so far giving you only 1 point. Same is true in the Arsenal (1st-2nd) and Steaua (3rd-4th) combo. Of these two combos, listed above are the predictions everybody made.

[MIJB#19]

Virtual Standigs after 80 out of 96 (out of 125) games:
1st with 27 points: Scholes
2nd with 25 points: TazFTW
3rd with 24 points: BreizhManu
4th with 23 points: Critch and MIJB#19
6th with 22 points: cthomer5000 and SirFozzie
8th with 21 points: atatange1, bbgunn, Crapshoot, Katon and TredWel
13th with 20 points: I. J. Reilly and Northwood_DK
15th with 19 points: Blade6119 and Butter_of_69
17th with 18 points: Bea-Arthurs Hip, Cards4ever, flere-imsaho and MylesKnight

True Standigs after 80 out of 96 (out of 125) games:
1st with 16 points: BreizhManu
2nd with 15 points: Crapshoot, cthomer5000 and Scholes
5th with 14 points: atatange1 and Blade6119
7th with 13 points: Cards4ever, Critch, Katon, Northwood_DK, SirFozzie and TredWel
13th with 12 points: flere-imsaho, MIJB#19 and TazFTW
16th with 11 points: bbgunn and Bea-Arthurs Hip
18th with 10 points: Butter_of_69, I. J. Reilly and MylesKnight

[Blade6119]

Well that round of games totally f**ked me...

[Izulde]

Just as long as Real Madrid doesn't win the league, I'll be happy

[MIJB#19]

True Standings after 96 out of 96 (out of 125) games:
1st with 27 points: atatange1 and cthomer5000
3rd with 26 points: I. J. Reilly
4th with 25 points: Crapshoot, flere-imsaho, Katon, Scholes and TredWel
9th with 24 points: Blade6119, Butter_of_69, SirFozzie and TazFTW
13th with 23 points: BreizhManu
14th with 22 points: Cards4ever, Critch and Northwood_DK
17th with 21 points: bbgunn
18th with 20 points: Bea-Arthurs Hip, MIJB#19 and MylesKnight

[cthomer5000]

Woot :D

[cthomer5000]

dola...

boy, matchday 6 sure sucked to watch didnt it? 4 vital games on Tuesday and they were all duds... and only Ranges-Lyon had any resemblence to a good game.

[SirFozzie]

Can't wait to see the Round of 16 matches drawn up

[cthomer5000]

Can't wait to see the Round of 16 matches drawn up

The things that immediately jump to mind when thinking about potential matchups are:

Liverpool has a pretty good chance of drawing a big-big team... their only possiblities are:

AC Milan
Inter Milan
Barcelona
Real Madrid
Sevilla (probably the "weakest" of the bunch)

Swap Sevilla out and Porto in and Arsenal are looking at the same possibilites. I think they both may rue not winning the group.

[MIJB#19]

dola...

boy, matchday 6 sure sucked to watch didnt it? 4 vital games on Tuesday and they were all duds... and only Ranges-Lyon had any resemblence to a good game.For sure. 6 games with pretty much knock-out stage implications, and 4 of the 5 Tuesday games were decided within 20 minutes. And here I thought that was going to be the most exciting CL gameday since I started watching in fall 1994...

[MIJB#19]

Draw for the Round of 16 was finished earlier today. For the predicitions competition you pick the winner of each pairing and receive 2 points for each correct pick. The deadline to make picks is February 19th, 2:45 pm Eastern (that's 60 days away).

The pairings:
Celtic - FC Barcelona
Olympqiue Lyon - Manchester United
Schalke '04 - FC Porto
Liverpool FC - Internazionale
AS Roma - Real Madrid
Arsenal - AC Milan
Olympiacos - Chelsea
Fenerbahce - Sevilla FC

[Katon]

Barca
Man U
Porto
Inter
Real
Arsenal
Chelsea
Sevilla

[MIJB#19]

With games eight days away, it's bumpage time!

My eight winners:
FC Barcelona
Manchester United
Schalke '04
Internazionale
Real Madrid
AC Milan
Chelsea
Sevilla FC

[TredWel]

Barcelona
Manchester United
Porto
Inter
Real Madrid
Arsenal
Chelsea
Sevilla

[atatange1]

Barcelona
Man United
Schalke 04
Liverpool
Real Madrid
Arsenal
Chelsea
Sevilla

[Butter]

FC Barcelona
Manchester United
FC Porto
Internazionale
AS Roma
AC Milan
Chelsea
Sevilla FC<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

[Critch]

FC Barcelona
Manchester United
Schalke '04
Liverpool FC
AS Roma
Arsenal
Chelsea
Fenerbahce

[I. J. Reilly]

Barca
Man U
FC Porto
Inter
Real Madrid
AC Milan
Chelsea
Sevilla

[Scholes]

FC Barcelona
Manchester United
FC Porto
Internazionale
Real Madrid
AC Milan
Chelsea
Fenerbahce

[MIJB#19]

Bumpa! (I'll try to remember to PM those who competed in the group phase but haven't posted yet, but won't promise it will happen!)

[TazFTW]

FC Barcelona
Manchester United
FC Porto
Internazionale
Real Madrid
AC Milan
Chelsea
Sevilla FC

[bbgunn]

Celtic
Manchester Utd
Schalke '04
Internazionale
AS Roma
Arsenal
Chelsea
Fenerbahce

[Cards4ever]

FC Barcelona
Manchester United
FC Porto
Internazionale
AS Roma
Arsenal
Chelsea
Fenerbahce

[Northwood_DK]

FC Barcelona
Olympqiue Lyon
Schalke '04
Internazionale
Real Madrid
AC Milan
Chelsea
Sevilla FC

[oykib]

Can i guess if I missed the group stage?

[cthomer5000]

Barcelona
Manchester United
Porto
Inter Milan
Real Madrid
AC Milan
Chelsea
Fenerbache

[MIJB#19]

Can i guess if I missed the group stage?
Sure, everybody's free to join. You'll just have a much smaller chance to win the overall season title.

[SirFozzie]

The pairings:
Celtic - FC Barcelona
Olympqiue Lyon - Manchester United
Schalke '04 - FC Porto
Liverpool FC - Internazionale
AS Roma - Real Madrid
Arsenal - AC Milan
Olympiacos - Chelsea
Fenerbahce - Sevilla FC

Bolded teams are my picks to win

[Crapshoot]

Like Foz:

Celtic - FC Barcelona
Olympqiue Lyon - Manchester United
Schalke '04 - FC Porto
Liverpool FC - Internazionale
AS Roma - Real Madrid
Arsenal - AC Milan
Olympiacos - Chelsea
Fenerbahce - Sevilla FC

[flere-imsaho]

Getting in (I think) under the wire, here:

Celtic - FC Barcelona
Olympqiue Lyon - Manchester United
Schalke '04 - FC Porto
Liverpool FC - Internazionale
AS Roma - Real Madrid
Arsenal - AC Milan
Olympiacos - Chelsea
Fenerbahce - Sevilla FC

[cthomer5000]

Barcelona
Manchester United
Porto
Inter Milan
Real Madrid
AC Milan
Chelsea
Fenerbache

while things haven't gone too well for me so far on paper... I think i still like 7 of my 8 picks. Inter however is screwed thanks to to some extremely suspect yellow cards. If they'd held it to 1-0 id still like there chances, but neededing a 2-0 or better result at home while missing 2 starting defenders against Liverpool doesn't sound likely.

[Izulde]

I freaking hate Barca.

Go Sevilla!

[Northwood_DK]

while things haven't gone too well for me so far on paper... I think i still like 7 of my 8 picks. Inter however is screwed thanks to to some extremely suspect yellow cards. If they'd held it to 1-0 id still like there chances, but neededing a 2-0 or better result at home while missing 2 starting defenders against Liverpool doesn't sound likely.

I hate the red card. A red card early in a mach can totally ruin what could have been a great game.

[cthomer5000]

I hate the red card. A red card early in a mach can totally ruin what could have been a great game.

They were two complete junk calls on Materazzi. I could see the second one, but not after you'd already given him an insanely soft first. The ref just screwed the pooch really.

So Inter are down 2-0 going into the 2nd leg and without both Materazzi (suspension) and Cordoba (injury).. Seriously long odds they'll pull out of this one.

[cthomer5000]

I freaking hate Barca.

That was a pretty entertaining game overall. Celtic at home in Europe pretty much guarantees a game worth watching. They are totally f'ed now though... there is less than zero chance they're winning by 2 goals at the Nou Camp.

[cthomer5000]

3 for 4 on the first batch... and that's likely all I can manage in the 2nd half as well, since Inter has one foot in the grave at this point.

[MIJB#19]

I'll update the standings on Tuesday, March 11th, after the Inter-Liverpool game has been finalized. I totally forgot that game is played a week later due to both AC Milan and Inter Milan playing at home in the second leg. The draw for the Quarter and Semi Finals will take place on Friday, March 14th. I should be able to post the rules and matchups that same day.

[Critch]

If Schalke hadn't conceded a late goal to a 10 man Porto team last night, I'd be sitting at 7 from 7 with Liverpool still to come.

Should have known Schalke always crumble when the pressure is on.

[Butter]

Schalke won in PKs though, did they not?

[Critch]

Schalke won in PKs though, did they not?

Hah, the link I looked at this morning said that Schalke lost on penalties but looks like they did win. Well then, I'm 7 for 7 with Liverpool to go.

[MIJB#19]

If Schalke hadn't conceded a late goal to a 10 man Porto team last night, I'd be sitting at 7 from 7 with Liverpool still to come.

Should have known Schalke always crumble when the pressure is on.Just like when they won that UEFA Cup at Giuseppe Meazza on penalties? :D

But yeah, you're looking good so far, shoo-in to go 8 for 8, marching up to 1 point behind the lead in the overall prediction standings.

[Critch]

Just like when they won that UEFA Cup at Giuseppe Meazza on penalties? :D

More like when they crumble on the last day of the Bundesliga every time it seems that this has to be the year they actually win it.

[MIJB#19]

More like when they crumble on the last day of the Bundesliga every time it seems that this has to be the year they actually win it.And they still dare to call themselves Germans. Blasphemy!

[MIJB#19]

Internazionale-Liverpool has been played today, so below are the updated standings:

Round of 16
<table border='1'><tr><td>rk<td>who?<td>pt
<tr><td>1<td>Critch<td>16
<tr><td>2<td>bbgunn<td>12
<tr><td>2<td>flere-imsaho<td>12
<tr><td>2<td>atatange1<td>12
<tr><td>2<td>Cards4ever<td>12
<tr><td>6<td>TredWel<td>8
<tr><td>6<td>Crapshoot<td>8
<tr><td>6<td>Butter_of_69<td>8
<tr><td>6<td>SirFozzie<td>8
<tr><td>6<td>cthomer5000<td>8
<tr><td>6<td>Katon<td>8
<tr><td>6<td>Scholes<td>8
<tr><td>6<td>MIJB#19<td>8
<tr><td>14<td>Northwood_dk<td>6
<tr><td>14<td>I. J. Reilly<td>6
<tr><td>14<td>TazFTW<td>6
</table>
2007/2008 season
<table border='1'><tr><td>rk<td>who?<td>pt
<tr><td>1<td>atatange1<td>39
<tr><td>2<td>Critch<td>38
<tr><td>3<td>flere-imsaho<td>37
<tr><td>4<td>cthomer5000<td>35
<tr><td>5<td>Cards4ever<td>34
<tr><td>6<td>TredWel<td>33
<tr><td>6<td>bbgunn<td>33
<tr><td>6<td>Crapshoot<td>33
<tr><td>6<td>Katon<td>33
<tr><td>6<td>Scholes<td>33
<tr><td>11<td>Butter_of_69<td>32
<tr><td>11<td>SirFozzie<td>32
<tr><td>11<td>I. J. Reilly<td>32
<tr><td>14<td>TazFTW<td>30
<tr><td>15<td>Northwood_DK<td>28
<tr><td>15<td>MIJB#19<td>28
<tr><td>17<td>Blade6119<td>23
<tr><td>18<td>BriezhManu<td>23
<tr><td>19<td>Bea-Arthurs Hip<td>20
<tr><td>19<td>MylesKnight<td>20
</table>

[Critch]

The draw for the next round and the semi-finals happens in 3 minutes time, can you feel the excitement?

It's streaming on UEFA.com.

[Critch]

Arsenal v Liverpool
Fenerbache v Chelsea

Schalke v Barcelona
Roma v Man Utd

[MIJB#19]

Ugh, I missed te draw, expecting the usual 2-hour lecture on how great the UEFA and soccer in general are, before the actual draw would take place. Will write the scores and rules for the quarter finals through final predictions in a bit.

[cthomer5000]

A Chelsea win would give us an all-English semi and obviously guarantee an English finalist.

Man U - Roma again? Meh.

This matchups probably aren't as interesting as they could have been.

[MIJB#19]

We're back and we're going to predict the outcome of the last 3 rounds of 2007/2008 UEFA Champions' League football/soccer (whichever applies where you live). Below is the bracket of the eight remaining teams. The top two teams play eachother in the quarter finals, the next two play head to head, and so on. For all four duos, the first listed team is playing the first game at home. The winner of the first matchup plays home in the first semi finals game to the winer of the second matchup. Ditto with the winners of matchup three and four.

Arsenal FC (England)
<
/ Liverpool FC (England)
<
/ \ Fenerbahçe SK (Turkey)
/ <
/ Chelsea FC (England)
<
\ FC Schalke 04 (Germany)
\ <
\ / FC Barcelona (Spain)
<
\ AS Roma (Italy)
<
Manchester United FC (England)

Point scale:
<table border='1'><tr><td><td>if win<td>if r-up<td>if SF L<td>if QF L
<tr><td>predicted winner<td>13 pt<td>6 pt<td>2 pt<td>0 pt
<tr><td>predicted runner-up<td>6 pt<td>11 pt<td>2 pt<td>0 pt
<tr><td>predicted SF loser<td>2 pt<td>3 pt<td>7 pt<td>0 pt
<tr><td>predicted QF loser<td>0 pt<td>0 pt<td>0 pt<td>3 pt</table>

What do you need to do?
Post the names of your four semi finals winners, with the addition of mention which teams will be your predicted winners and runners-up. Below are my picks as an example:

Arsenal (runners up)
Chelsea
Barcelona
Manchester Utd (winners)

[MIJB#19]

A Chelsea win would give us an all-English semi and obviously guarantee an English finalist.

Man U - Roma again? Meh.

This matchups probably aren't as interesting as they could have been.Yeah, I have to agree, there isn't much excitement in these matchups. The only thing worse would have been another Chelsea-Schalke, or two all-english semis.

[Butter]

Liverpool FC (runners-up)
Chelsea FC
FC Barcelona
Manchester United FC (winners)

[TredWel]

(admittedly wearing my red-colored glasses here)

Liverpool (winners)
Chelsea
Barcelona (runners-up)
Manchester United

[Critch]

Arsenal
Chelsea (runners up)
FC Barcelona (winners)
Manchester United

[SirFozzie]

Arsenal
Chelsea (winners)
Barcelona (runners up)
Man Yoo

[I. J. Reilly]

Arsenal (runners up)
Chelsea
Barcelona (winner)
Man U

[Coder]

http://forums.liverpoolecho.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=33755&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Was the draw rigged? By whom? Why? Apparently internet bookies quit taking bets on the matchups too. Interesting.

[cthomer5000]

Barcelona
Manchester United (champion)
Liverpool (runner-up)
Chelsea

[cthomer5000]

see above post

[atatange1]

Arsenal
Chelsea (Runner-up)
Barcelona
Man United (Champions)

[MIJB#19]

28 1/2 hours before kickoff bump!

[Scholes]

Arsenal FC (England)
v
Chelsea FC (England)

FC Barcelona (Spain)
v
Manchester United FC (England)


Chelsea FC
v
FC Barcelona


Chelsea

[TazFTW]

Liverpool
Chelsea (Runner-up)
Barcelona
Manchester United (Winner)

[Cards4ever]

Arsenal
Chelsea(winners)
Barcelona
As Roma(Runner up)

[flere-imsaho]

Not original, but....

Arsenal (runners up)
Chelsea
Barcelona
Manchester Utd (winners)

[MIJB#19]

70 minutes before kickoff bump!

[Crapshoot]

Liverpool (Winners)
Chelsea
Barcelona (Runners up)
ManU

[Crapshoot]

And I just realize I picked late - my apologies, though i wouldn't change the prediction. :D

[cthomer5000]

I didn't WANT either to happen, but I did get my two picks right today. The thought of another Liverpool-Chelsea matchup makes me want to puke.

[MIJB#19]

Liverpool-Arsenal was one of the most entertaining games that I've seen in a while. It wasn't always technically good, but most of the time it was fast paced one touch play with an edge of your seat development in scoring, any goal could shift the winner of the matchup.

[cthomer5000]

Liverpool-Arsenal was one of the most entertaining games that I've seen in a while. It wasn't always technically good, but most of the time it was fast paced one touch play with an edge of your seat development in scoring, any goal could shift the winner of the matchup.

Agreed, it was a great game. If they went through, that run Theo Walcott made would have been legendary. It was a fantastic play.

But now the Liverpool win doomed us to two legs of brutal viewing.

(4/4 on this round of picks. ;) )

[Izulde]

Fucking Barcelona. :mad:

[MIJB#19]

For those who want to know who are still in the race for the final overall prediction title,
cthomer5000, needs a Liverpool - Manchester United final
Critch, needs a Barcelona win over Chelsea in the final
Scholes, needs a Chelsea win over Barcelona in the final
TredWel, needs a Barcelona - Liverpool final
TazFTW, needs a Chelsea - Manchester United final

[cthomer5000]

so if im reading this right, its a two-man race going into wednesday's game?

[TazFTW]

so if im reading this right, its a two-man race going into wednesday's game?

w00t!

[MIJB#19]

And then it was over. The first place in our predictions competition was already decided before the final's kickoff, but there was still some movement in the places from two down. First, here are the scores of the knock-out phase.

2007/2008 Knock-out Phase
1st with 50 points TazFTW
2nd with 40 points atatange1
3rd with 37 points Butter_of_69
3rd with 37 points cthomer5000
5th with 31 points flere-imsaho
6th with 24 points Critch
6th with 24 points MIJB#19
8th with 21 points TredWel
9th with 20 points Scholes
9th with 20 points SirFozzie
11th with 19 points Cards4ever
12th with 15 points I.J. Reilly


TazFTW scored a perfect 50, well done! Those 50 points ended up being very handy, as we're going down to the final rankings of the 2007/2008 UEFA Champions' League Prediction Competition.

2007/2008 Overall Final Standings
1st with 80 points TazFTW
2nd with 79 points atatange1
3rd with 72 points cthomer5000
4th with 69 points Butter_of_69
5th with 68 points flere-imsaho
6th with 62 points Critch
7th with 54 points TredWel
8th with 53 points Cards4ever
8th with 53 points Scholes
10th with 52 points MIJB#19
10th with 52 points SirFozzie
12th with 47 points I.J. Reilly
13th with 33 points bbgunn
13th with 33 points Crapshoot
13th with 33 points Katon
16th with 28 points Northwood_DK
17th with 24 points Blade6119
18th with 23 points BreizhManu
19th with 20 points Bea-Arthurs Hip
19th with 20 points MylesKnight


Poor atatange1, finishing second by a 1-point margin. Last season he was second as well. Of course, he still has that 2005/2006 win to boost about. Here's a list of the all-time top three finishes.

List of past winners and other virtual medalists
2002/2003 1 BreizhManu, 2 Alf, 3 klayman
2003/2004 1 BreizhManu, 2 daedalus, 3 ice4227
2004/2005 1 moriarity, 2 Crapshoot, 3 Katon
2005/2006 1 atatange1, 2 bhlloy, 3 Scholes
2006/2007 1 condors, 2 atatange1, 3 Critch
2007/2008 1 TazFTW, 2 atatange1, 3 cthomer5000


Sadly, the all-time leader going into this season, BreizhManu, didn't play along. Which paved the way for a new leader at the all-time standings after six full seasons of action. Below is the new top10, while all other 2007/2008 players' rankings have also been listed.

All-Time Standings (2002/2003-2007/2008)
1st with 345 points atatange1
2nd with 280 points BreizhManu
3rd with 267 points Critch
4th with 262 points MIJB#19
5th with 234 points Cards4ever
5th with 234 points Scholes
7th with 206 points Katon
8th with 156 points Butter of 69
9th with 146 points Alf
10th with 138 points fantastic flying froggies
11th with 134 points TazFTW
12th with 119 points Crapshoot
12th with 119 points TredWel
17th with 89 points Northwood_DK
20th with 79 points SirFozzie
23rd with 72 points cthomer5000
24th with 68 points flere-imsaho
29th with 47 points I.J. Reilly
38th with 33 points bbgunn
45th with 24 points Blade6119
19th with 20 points Bea-Arturs Hip
19th with 20 points MylesKnight


That wraps it up. Hope to see you all back next season. Or maybe in some Euro2008 prediction competition. (Don't forget to check out my Euro2008 spreadsheet at football.netherlands.com!)

[flere-imsaho]

Thanks for doing this again this year MIJB! :D