General Discussion: Sport

[JaySuthEFC]

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Gibbs_1991 wrote:

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skells22 wrote:

It looks like Wednesday and Thursday sees the Europa League have its last games before Xmas and therefore can you tell me how the draw will work due to the fact this is a new thing.

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The draw will be made on Friday 18th December at 14:00 GMT after the Champions League Draw and should be live on ITV4. Alternatively, you can definitly watch it on Sky Sports News!

In the draw, they will be picking out the fixtures for both the Round of 32 and Round of 16. They start with the round of 32, where all 32 teams are split into two pots. One pot contains the seeded teams, that won there groups, and the other pot contains the non-seeded groups. I'm guessing you're a Liverpool fan, and for some reason they are in the non-seeded pot.

Anyway, 1 ball will be picked out of each pot to make up one of the Round of 32 ties, with the seeded teams being picked second, and getting the advantage of playing at Home in the Second Leg. Once all 16 ties have been finalised, they will do the draw for the Round of 16. Now i'm not sure how this works, but i'm guessing it will simply be picking a ball out of each pot, that says "Tie 1 vs Tie 2" on them etc.

Hope that helps!

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Cheers for that i was a bit unsure on it myself, hopefully we can win our last group game and hope Benfica slip up so we can steal top spot

[JaySuthEFC]

Actually forget that, Benfica have already won the group

[Gibbs_1991]

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JaySuthEFC wrote:

Cheers for that i was a bit unsure on it myself, hopefully we can win our last group game and hope Benfica slip up so we can steal top spot

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No probs. Just re-read it and it's not as clear as i hoped it was, but as long as people get what's basically going to happen. Weirdly, it doesn't explain how the Round of 16 Draw is done anywhere.

Unlucky finishing second, no easy teams now. On the plus side though, at least you won't have to play Liverpool.

Ajax, Valencia, Hamburg, Sporting, Roma, Galatasaray, SV Red Bull Salzburg, Fenerbahce, Benfica, Shakhtar Donetsk, PSV, Werder Bremen + A few teams from the Champions League, like Juventus for example.

I'm sure this competition get's stronger every year.

[JaySuthEFC]

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Gibbs_1991 wrote:

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JaySuthEFC wrote:

Cheers for that i was a bit unsure on it myself, hopefully we can win our last group game and hope Benfica slip up so we can steal top spot

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No probs. Just re-read it and it's not as clear as i hoped it was, but as long as people get what's basically going to happen. Weirdly, it doesn't explain how the Round of 16 Draw is done anywhere.

Unlucky finishing second, no easy teams now. On the plus side though, at least you won't have to play Liverpool.

Ajax, Valencia, Hamburg, Sporting, Roma, Galatasaray, SV Red Bull Salzburg, Fenerbahce, Benfica, Shakhtar Donetsk, PSV, Werder Bremen + A few teams from the Champions League, like Juventus for example.

I'm sure this competition get's stronger every year.

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They are all pretty tough ties, but I'd like to play a big side for the experience, i think the biggest european side i have seen us play was probably Villareal, Fiorentina or Benfica, hardly european giants but still enjoyed the experience

[skells22]

If I remember from the UEFA cup games I think that might be a open draw for the last 16!

[skells22]

Fulham has joined in the 32 by beating Basle3-2 away from home

[Gibbs_1991]

Is it just me or did that draw seriously drag on?

Anyway, I'm hoping Liverpool fans won't be too cocky because that is no easy draw. They probably should win, but Unirea Urziceni are a decent side and shouldn't be underestimated. Then in the next round, again not as easy as some people will think against Lille or Fenerbahce. I think everyone should expect them to win though, especially if Torres, Gerrard and co are all fit, but not by a a massive margin.

Fulham will probably be wishing they had got an easier draw, because Shakhtar Donetsk should probably be classed as one of the bigger teams in the competition, and with Roy Hodgkin's view on not fielding his best team in the Europa League, they could easily go out. If they do manage to get through, then they will almost certainly go out in the next round, with a tie against Atletico Madrid or Galatasaray (Probably Madrid).

Everton have probably got the hardest tie of the lot though against Sporting Lisbon. A great side with some powerful players and even with most of their players back they will struggle to win. If they do somehow manage to then i think you could bet your house on them not winning in the next round against Ajax or Juventus!

So not the easiest draw for any of the sides really, especially with all of them having to play at Home first. I'm going to say Liverpool will go through both rounds, while Everton and Fulham will go out in the Round of 32. There isn't really many interesting games, they all seem to have clear favourites to win, unlike the Champions League, which is a shame. The game of the round as to be Ajax vs Juventus though, that is going to be one hell of a tie!

[skells22]

the ties will be played on Feb 18 & 25 and i have got the kick off time for Everton match with Sporting Lisbon and it is 6.15pm for the home tie. As Five is the host broadcaster i wonder who will this TV channel pick as its 1st match of 2010

[JaySuthEFC]

To say im annoyed is an understatement. Not so much with the draw thats fair enough! and no suprise to see the stuffy RS get the easy draw again, but i was expecting that so thats ok, but the fact we are both drawn at home, so one of us has to move our fixture.
Obviously liverpool wont move so our game is moved to the tuesday, and then the kick off time is moved to 5:45!! to accomodate the champions league! what a joke!

[Gibbs_1991]

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skells22 wrote:

the ties will be played on Feb 18 & 25 and i have got the kick off time for Everton match with Sporting Lisbon and it is 6.15pm for the home tie. As Five is the host broadcaster i wonder who will this TV channel pick as its 1st match of 2010

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Sorry but, why is it Everton that always have to rearrange their match if they are scheduled to play on the same day as Liverpool?

The time seems a little odd as well ... 6:15 for a match in the UK?

Anyway, I'm guessing ITV4 will host the Fulham and Everton matches and Five will get the Liverpool game.

EDIT: Moved to 5:45 now?! Wow, that isn't right. It's a shame UEFA can't organise a fixture schedule properly. If they had put Liverpool in the seeded pot, like the should have been, then they wouldn't have this problem because Liverpool would be playing away in the first leg.