With the COVID-19 pandemic having postponed and canceled nearly all soccer leagues across the planet, decision makers have a tough task ahead of them. They must choose whether to restart their leagues in the coming months, scrap them and act as if 2019-20 never happened, or end the leagues with the current standings intact.

While some European leagues are looking to continue their competitions, such as Spain’s La Liga, others like France’s Ligue 1 have already announced their plans to not continue with the rest of the season.

In the case of the UEFA Champions League, the best solution to the dilemma would be to simply cancel the rest of the competition and look ahead to next season.

The last UEFA Champions League games that were played took place in early March, with half of the Round of 16 matches having had both legs completed. Four of the eight matchups, however, were unable to complete the second leg of draws.

That means that the Round of 16 would have to be completed, and the entirety of the two legs of quarter-finals and semi-finals matchups would have to be completed before two teams could even be decided for a theoretical final.

In total, five sets of games remain between a potential final, something that seems nearly impossible considering the current context of the sport.

Most European leagues that would be allowed to continue play will not be able to restart their leagues until early June at the earliest, meaning that the Champions League would be on a similar time table. These leagues will have to pack a lot of games into a short amount of time, requiring that at least two be played per week in most potential scenarios.

So, how would the Champions League even be able to fit into this potential scenario? It seems nearly impossible, and teams whose leagues do continue play would be at a huge competitive disadvantage compared to teams like Paris Saint-Germain, who won’t have domestic play to worry about.

While it might seem sacrilegious to end a Champions League campaign in his way, the circumstances resulting from the current global health crisis will make uncomfortable and unprecedented solutions necessary. Instead of putting players’ health at risk, both from a COVID-19 and a fitness perspective, the best solution is to simply write down this competition as a loss and look forward to starting anew in the fall.

The post Canceling the Remainder of the 2019-20 Champions League is the Fairest Solution For All appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After three months of group stage play, the Champions League’s final sixteen teams have been determined and the matchups drawn for the competition’s first knockout stage.

There are plenty of tantalizing matchups in the Round of 16, so let’s take a look at each of them and predict a winner!

Borussia Dortmund vs. Paris Saint-Germain

This is an extremely intriguing matchup between two teams that have tons of talent on their rosters. PSG dominated Group A, dropping only one point, and we expect the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Neymar (if he is able to play) to lead the Parisians past Dortmund, but it won’t be without a fight.

Paris Saint-Germain

Real Madrid vs. Manchester City

Manchester City once looked like one of the most dominant teams in Europe, but it seems as if Pep Guardiola’s side might be in decline. Behind in the Premier League race by a big margin and not looking as sharp as they once did, could Real Madrid overcome its recent woes and get past City? Count us as being skeptical.

Manchester City

Atalanta vs. Valencia

This matchup pits two of the biggest surprises of the group stage up against one another. Valencia and Atalanta, each of which needed a final matchday win to qualify for the knockout stages, will battle to see which team surprises everyone and moves onto the quarterfinals. Our pick has to be Valencia, the more talented and experienced team.

Valencia

Atletico Madrid vs. Liverpool

Liverpool looks to be the most dominant team in Europe right now, but they didn’t get an easy draw for the Round of 16. Diego Simeone’s Atletico always fights tooth and nail, and they have a defense that could test Liverpool’s skilled attack. However, we expect the reigning Champions League winner to move onto the next round.

Liverpool

Chelsea vs. Bayern Munich

This fascinating matchup pits two European giants against one another. Chelsea has been inconsistent under Frank Lampard this season, but Bayern Munich has had similar problems and a managerial change. I think they will squeak by, largely based on their more experienced roster.

Bayern Munich

Lyon vs. Juventus

After last year’s shocking early elimination at the hands of Ajax, Juventus will be looking to turn the page and get their knockout stage campaign off on a good note. Luckily, they drew a Lyon team that should not pose a big problem for Maurizio Sarri’s star-studded squad.

Juventus

Tottenham Hotspur vs. RB Leipzig

Tottenham has endured an extremely frustrating start to the season that ended with Mauricio Pochettino’s dismissal. However, Jose Mourinho looks to be getting last year’s Champions League finalists back towards being an ordered team that could be a threat in this tournament. Leipzig could pose a bigger challenge than many think, though.

Tottenham Hotspur

Napoli vs. Barcelona

Napoli has had a bizarre season up to this point, currently on an eight-game winless streak in Serie A. What’s even stranger is that they fired manager Carlo Ancelotti just before the last Champions League group stage game, and somehow still qualified. They’re a team with a lot of fight, but Barcelona’s Messi-Suarez-Griezmann trio is probably too much to handle.

Barcelona

The post Predicting the Champions League Round of 16 Ties appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The 2019-20 Champions League draw was held on Thursday in Monaco, setting the group stages for the first part of the competition.

Plenty of intriguing groups were created, and now it’s time to look at which teams will be favored to move on to the competition’s knock-out round from each group.

Group A: Paris St. Germain and Real Madrid

PSG and Real Madrid look to be the clear-cut favorites to advance in this top-heavy group. Despite the uncertainty swirling around both clubs, they easily have enough talent to take down the Turkish Super Lig champions and Club Brugge.

Group B: Bayern Munich and Tottenham Hotspur

Group B look a lot like Group A in that there are two titans at the top and two teams that are glad to just be along for the ride at the bottom. Tottenham was a surprise Champions League finalist last year, and Bayern Munich will have aspirations to lift the trophy this season. They look like obvious favorites to advance.

Group C: Manchester City and Atalanta

Manchester City had to have been thrilled to draw this group, in which any of the other three teams have a fighting chance of going through. I’ll go with Atalanta to join them, whose experience in the tough Serie A could give them an edge over Dinamo Zagreb and Shakhtar Donetsk.

Group D: Juventus and Atlético Madrid

Fireworks are going to fly in Group D as Juventus and Atlético Madrid will face in a rematch of last season’s Round of 16 matchup that saw Atleti blow a 2-0 lead in the second leg of the matchup. They’ll be a big favorite to come out of Group D and into the knockout stage again.

Group E: Liverpool and Napoli

Last year’s Champions League title winners should have a fairly clear-cut path back to the knockout stages of the competition. I’m picking Napoli, which has a talented roster including young standout Hirving Lozano, to join them there.

Group F: Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund

Group F is the group of death in this year’s competition. Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, and Inter Milan are all Champions League mainstays and competitors in the continent’s biggest leagues. Inter has a revamped roster including Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez, and Diego Godin, but I just think Barcelona (read: Leo Messi) and Borussia’s talent is just a step better.

Group G: Lyon and RB Leipzig

The most wide-open group in the tournament this year is Group G. Any of the four teams could realistically advance, but I like a strong and experienced Lyon team to join RB Leipzig, one of the most exciting teams in the Bundesliga, to go on.

Group H: Chelsea and Valencia

Could Ajax really not even make the knockout round of this year’s UCL after going all the way to the semi-finals this year? I think it’s possible, considering how many of their top players left after last year. Chelsea and Valencia look to be the two strongest overall sides in this interesting group.

The post Champions League: Breaking Down the Group Stage Favorites appeared first on SportzBonanza.

With the COVID-19 pandemic having postponed and canceled nearly all soccer leagues across the planet, decision makers have a tough task ahead of them. They must choose whether to restart their leagues in the coming months, scrap them and act as if 2019-20 never happened, or end the leagues with the current standings intact.

While some European leagues are looking to continue their competitions, such as Spain’s La Liga, others like France’s Ligue 1 have already announced their plans to not continue with the rest of the season.

In the case of the UEFA Champions League, the best solution to the dilemma would be to simply cancel the rest of the competition and look ahead to next season.

The last UEFA Champions League games that were played took place in early March, with half of the Round of 16 matches having had both legs completed. Four of the eight matchups, however, were unable to complete the second leg of draws.

That means that the Round of 16 would have to be completed, and the entirety of the two legs of quarter-finals and semi-finals matchups would have to be completed before two teams could even be decided for a theoretical final.

In total, five sets of games remain between a potential final, something that seems nearly impossible considering the current context of the sport.

Most European leagues that would be allowed to continue play will not be able to restart their leagues until early June at the earliest, meaning that the Champions League would be on a similar time table. These leagues will have to pack a lot of games into a short amount of time, requiring that at least two be played per week in most potential scenarios.

So, how would the Champions League even be able to fit into this potential scenario? It seems nearly impossible, and teams whose leagues do continue play would be at a huge competitive disadvantage compared to teams like Paris Saint-Germain, who won’t have domestic play to worry about.

While it might seem sacrilegious to end a Champions League campaign in his way, the circumstances resulting from the current global health crisis will make uncomfortable and unprecedented solutions necessary. Instead of putting players’ health at risk, both from a COVID-19 and a fitness perspective, the best solution is to simply write down this competition as a loss and look forward to starting anew in the fall.

The post Canceling the Remainder of the 2019-20 Champions League is the Fairest Solution For All appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After three months of group stage play, the Champions League’s final sixteen teams have been determined and the matchups drawn for the competition’s first knockout stage.

There are plenty of tantalizing matchups in the Round of 16, so let’s take a look at each of them and predict a winner!

Borussia Dortmund vs. Paris Saint-Germain

This is an extremely intriguing matchup between two teams that have tons of talent on their rosters. PSG dominated Group A, dropping only one point, and we expect the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Neymar (if he is able to play) to lead the Parisians past Dortmund, but it won’t be without a fight.

Paris Saint-Germain

Real Madrid vs. Manchester City

Manchester City once looked like one of the most dominant teams in Europe, but it seems as if Pep Guardiola’s side might be in decline. Behind in the Premier League race by a big margin and not looking as sharp as they once did, could Real Madrid overcome its recent woes and get past City? Count us as being skeptical.

Manchester City

Atalanta vs. Valencia

This matchup pits two of the biggest surprises of the group stage up against one another. Valencia and Atalanta, each of which needed a final matchday win to qualify for the knockout stages, will battle to see which team surprises everyone and moves onto the quarterfinals. Our pick has to be Valencia, the more talented and experienced team.

Valencia

Atletico Madrid vs. Liverpool

Liverpool looks to be the most dominant team in Europe right now, but they didn’t get an easy draw for the Round of 16. Diego Simeone’s Atletico always fights tooth and nail, and they have a defense that could test Liverpool’s skilled attack. However, we expect the reigning Champions League winner to move onto the next round.

Liverpool

Chelsea vs. Bayern Munich

This fascinating matchup pits two European giants against one another. Chelsea has been inconsistent under Frank Lampard this season, but Bayern Munich has had similar problems and a managerial change. I think they will squeak by, largely based on their more experienced roster.

Bayern Munich

Lyon vs. Juventus

After last year’s shocking early elimination at the hands of Ajax, Juventus will be looking to turn the page and get their knockout stage campaign off on a good note. Luckily, they drew a Lyon team that should not pose a big problem for Maurizio Sarri’s star-studded squad.

Juventus

Tottenham Hotspur vs. RB Leipzig

Tottenham has endured an extremely frustrating start to the season that ended with Mauricio Pochettino’s dismissal. However, Jose Mourinho looks to be getting last year’s Champions League finalists back towards being an ordered team that could be a threat in this tournament. Leipzig could pose a bigger challenge than many think, though.

Tottenham Hotspur

Napoli vs. Barcelona

Napoli has had a bizarre season up to this point, currently on an eight-game winless streak in Serie A. What’s even stranger is that they fired manager Carlo Ancelotti just before the last Champions League group stage game, and somehow still qualified. They’re a team with a lot of fight, but Barcelona’s Messi-Suarez-Griezmann trio is probably too much to handle.

Barcelona

The post Predicting the Champions League Round of 16 Ties appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The 2019-20 Champions League draw was held on Thursday in Monaco, setting the group stages for the first part of the competition.

Plenty of intriguing groups were created, and now it’s time to look at which teams will be favored to move on to the competition’s knock-out round from each group.

Group A: Paris St. Germain and Real Madrid

PSG and Real Madrid look to be the clear-cut favorites to advance in this top-heavy group. Despite the uncertainty swirling around both clubs, they easily have enough talent to take down the Turkish Super Lig champions and Club Brugge.

Group B: Bayern Munich and Tottenham Hotspur

Group B look a lot like Group A in that there are two titans at the top and two teams that are glad to just be along for the ride at the bottom. Tottenham was a surprise Champions League finalist last year, and Bayern Munich will have aspirations to lift the trophy this season. They look like obvious favorites to advance.

Group C: Manchester City and Atalanta

Manchester City had to have been thrilled to draw this group, in which any of the other three teams have a fighting chance of going through. I’ll go with Atalanta to join them, whose experience in the tough Serie A could give them an edge over Dinamo Zagreb and Shakhtar Donetsk.

Group D: Juventus and Atlético Madrid

Fireworks are going to fly in Group D as Juventus and Atlético Madrid will face in a rematch of last season’s Round of 16 matchup that saw Atleti blow a 2-0 lead in the second leg of the matchup. They’ll be a big favorite to come out of Group D and into the knockout stage again.

Group E: Liverpool and Napoli

Last year’s Champions League title winners should have a fairly clear-cut path back to the knockout stages of the competition. I’m picking Napoli, which has a talented roster including young standout Hirving Lozano, to join them there.

Group F: Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund

Group F is the group of death in this year’s competition. Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, and Inter Milan are all Champions League mainstays and competitors in the continent’s biggest leagues. Inter has a revamped roster including Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez, and Diego Godin, but I just think Barcelona (read: Leo Messi) and Borussia’s talent is just a step better.

Group G: Lyon and RB Leipzig

The most wide-open group in the tournament this year is Group G. Any of the four teams could realistically advance, but I like a strong and experienced Lyon team to join RB Leipzig, one of the most exciting teams in the Bundesliga, to go on.

Group H: Chelsea and Valencia

Could Ajax really not even make the knockout round of this year’s UCL after going all the way to the semi-finals this year? I think it’s possible, considering how many of their top players left after last year. Chelsea and Valencia look to be the two strongest overall sides in this interesting group.

The post Champions League: Breaking Down the Group Stage Favorites appeared first on SportzBonanza.