Pitch Picks ---- Champions Edition 2.0
Picks and Analysis for Wednesday's Champion League Fixtures
Wasn’t the prettiest of days yesterday for the Champions League picks; Celtic was shown an early red card en route to being skunked 6-Nil, and despite having all of the ball, Feyenoord could not create much of anything against Lazio either. Fortunately, we avoided the reverse sweep by cashing the under in Porto/Antwerp, which brings the YTD Record for the Champions League to 17-14-1 (+10.1Units)
However as the saying goes —- yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery, and today a present! From my perspective, it’s truer today than most others. And that’s because I’m in love with the board today. And not just any love folks;
I’m getting married after two months in love with the board today!
I’m having sex for the first time in love with the board today!
I’m reminds you of your mom in love with the board today!
So with that in mind, there’s never been a better time to subscribe to the newsletter! No matter your unit size, the cost shouldn’t be prohibitive, and if I fail to win your money back throughout a 60-day period, I will reimburse you fully! So stop firing darts at a board you are just looking at an hour before the game, and let my degenerate self guide you to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow
Benfica v Real Sociedad
The unfortunate reality for clubs like Benfica is that often the window you have to be great is short and ends swiftly because when you are great, the players who made you so are often bought up by Europe’s elite —- and over the past 24 months, that is exactly what has transpired for the Portuguese side. The outgoings list is extensive and expensive; Enzo Fernandez, Darwin Nunez, and Goncalo Romas all fetched Benfica 50 Million + dollars in terms of transfer fees, and while the money has been re-invested to a certain extent, they’ve not been able to maintain the level of play that saw Benfica advance to the knock-out state in each of the last two years.
A perfect encapsulation of this drop-off took place the last time these two teams met, as Socieded just smothered Benfica over the 90 minutes, allowing the Portuguese host to create a parsley 0.48 xG on 10 shots, most of which came from well outside the danger zone. The heavy reliance on aging Argentine Angel Di Maria to produce just isn’t something I can count on, and although the attack has been solid in the Primeira Liga, when I apply EUFA’s league co-efficient, the 2.1 xG Benfica is creating per 90 minutes in Portugal is not overly impressive at all.
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