UEFA Europa League 2024/25 Season

[Juse14]

Roma's performance after changing coaches has not been good but they are still one of the big teams with a good mentality so that is something to be aware of and a team like Roma has everything to be able to make a surprise so I think they cannot be underestimated even though they are not in their top performance so far.
And indeed the competition in the Europa League is quite fierce so as always happens every season if there will be a big surprise that happens so it is not easy to predict something in the Europa League.

Roma is a good team and indeed must still be watched out for by all other teams in the Europa League this season because if in the two remaining matches in this standings Roma can win it by getting full points, of course their position will be much better and even Roma can be very dangerous when going through the playoffs. So underestimating a team like Roma can sometimes be a fatal mistake even though Roma's own performance is still not good when competing in their domestic league this season.

Their position is slowly starting to improve, so their hopes of qualifying for the next round are still wide open, although their biggest possibility is through the playoffs first. However, there are still two more matches, if AS Roma is able to sweep the two matches, there is a possibility for Roma to enter the top 8 at the end of the qualifying round.

AS Roma will face two important matches, namely facing AZ Alkmaar and Eintracht Frankfurt. Facing AZ should be a match that is not too difficult for AS Roma to win, considering the strength between the two teams, it is clear on paper, Roma is the most favored. But in the last match in the qualifying round, Roma will face Eintracht Frankfurt, this will be a match that is quite difficult for Roma to win, Eintracht Frankfurt is a fairly strong team.

[SquallLeonhart]

Galatasaray must win the match against Dynamo Kyiv, 3 points will give them something more comfortable in the standings to be able to qualify directly to the next round.
Especially considering Galatasaray's next opponent is Ajax, although I'm sure Galatasaray will be favored. But it won't be easy enough for them to conquer Ajax who will play at home.
Galatasaray has a very big chance of qualifying, but Ajax will also fight for them to qualify, so they won't be easy to beat. The match will be exciting.

Next round of Europa League is going to start from 21st January with Galatasaray will host Dynamo Kyiv at Rams Park current states clearly saying we will be having easy win for Galatasaray because currently they are sixth in league table and Dynamo Kyiv is 36th without any win and score only one goal from their 6 games and conceded 15 goals while we have Galatasaray without any lost they have three wins and three draws this equation clearly giving good advantage to Galatasaray for win.

But, we have them in challenging position while they will visit Ajax for the last game of their group stage which will be played at Amsterdam as Ajax which is having problematic end before break now looking for fightback into their next two games, so things could be tense for Galatasaray as well.

[Dump3er]

Galatasaray must win the match against Dynamo Kyiv, 3 points will give them something more comfortable in the standings to be able to qualify directly to the next round.
Especially considering Galatasaray's next opponent is Ajax, although I'm sure Galatasaray will be favored. But it won't be easy enough for them to conquer Ajax who will play at home.
Galatasaray has a very big chance of qualifying, but Ajax will also fight for them to qualify, so they won't be easy to beat. The match will be exciting.

Next round of Europa League is going to start from 21st January with Galatasaray will host Dynamo Kyiv at Rams Park current states clearly saying we will be having easy win for Galatasaray because currently they are sixth in league table and Dynamo Kyiv is 36th without any win and score only one goal from their 6 games and conceded 15 goals while we have Galatasaray without any lost they have three wins and three draws this equation clearly giving good advantage to Galatasaray for win.

But, we have them in challenging position while they will visit Ajax for the last game of their group stage which will be played at Amsterdam as Ajax which is having problematic end before break now looking for fightback into their next two games, so things could be tense for Galatasaray as well.

I know there is this belief that you should never say never, but in this case nothing speaks for Dynamo Kyiv to win their first points. I think the biggest problem is that Dynamo Kyiv is already playing for nothing. Even if they were to win the last two games, it doesn't change anything about the fact that they have been eliminated by now. 6 points doesn't help them to make it into the playoff games and now the question is whether they still want to give their best to leave a positive impression and play for their fans or whether they will use these games to give other players a chance to gather some experience in the Europa League.

I would understand if they used those games to give everyone a chance as there is nothing to play for for them. Galatasaray will play it hard as they want those three points to make sure they don't drop into the playoff zone. A win against Dynamo Kyiv would surely qualify them for the round of 16 immediately and I thik that is their first priority. Hence, I think it is going to be a win for Galatasaray.

[TelolettOm]

No doubt that Roma is a bigger team compared to AZ Alkmaar but with the current situation of the club, it will be difficult for AS Roma to win AZ Alkmaar presently in the Europa League. AZ Alkmaar will have an added advantage because the match will be played at their home.

Sure, Roma is bigger than AZ Alkmaar. But it doesn't guarantee anything, especially since Roma performed quite badly both in Serie A and Europa League. Meanwhile AZ Alkmaar performed quite well in their domestic competition recently.

I don't totally agree with your prediction for the match between Twente and Malmo, there is always a possibility that Twente may pull an upset against Malmö.

It is difficult to predict which team to win the match. Both Twente and Malmo seem to have almost the same level. But Malmo may have a bigger chance to win because they will play at their home.

[Lidger]

~snip~

To be honest, I see that the change in the current UEL format is more inclined provide more competitive competition and we as spectators actually see it as a positive thing even though it has become a nightmare for big teams , with the change in the format of the competition, each team is required to have a good squad depth, because with the increase in the number of clubs and also matches,  Of course, it will require extraordinary performance and consistency to their remain balanced both in the domestic league and the UEL this season, in addition from the tight schedule which may be owned by big teams, precisely has opened up opportunities for underdog teams to be able to compete today as title contenders and that we did not find in the old format of the UEL previously.

I think the vulnerability to player injuries is a downside here, although in many respects, the change in match format is seen as having more positive aspects. Big teams can actually easily overcome any challenge if they are in their best condition, because they have quality rotation options to get around the tight schedule. Teams coming from less competitive Leagues will still struggle to compete in the Europa League, there is not much they can gain from the change in format if they do not have sufficient squad depth.

The League phase is the most crucial stage of the new Europa League format, entering the round of 16 and beyond, everything will seem normal as in previous seasons. So the elite teams with experience will be favored by many parties again, all of which will be proven as the Europa League progresses. However, the new format seems to have succeeded in attracting more fans.

like as I said above, the change in the UEL format has allowed every team to be a title contender whether it is an underdog or a favorite team as long as they have a better squad depth, because with a tight schedule in the UEL and domestic leagues demanding every coach to be able to rotate players well, we can take an example in this season UCL where a big team like Madrid,  Milan and also Manchester City are having a hard, because many of their players are injured and I think that also applies to every team that is in the UEL.
In the league phase their challenge is tougher at the moment to qualify for the knockout phase, so I agree with what you said, if the knockout phase will be easier for every team, especially the team that has had better experience so far in European competitions.

Every team in the European League is almost equal, so competition is always high in the European League. Even if the big team can separate here, it cannot be said that the big team will win the title in the end. Liverpool were probably the biggest team in the Europa League last season and everyone was saying that Liverpool would win the Europa League title last season but Liverpool couldn't do it. Far from winning the title, they exited the tournament before qualifying for the semi-finals. 
Like last season, Manchester United is considered as a worthy contender to win the title this season but Manchester United may not be able to win the Europa League title. 
Maybe we'll see another team win the Europa League title.

[len01]

Every team in the European League is almost equal, so competition is always high in the European League. Even if the big team can separate here, it cannot be said that the big team will win the title in the end. Liverpool were probably the biggest team in the Europa League last season and everyone was saying that Liverpool would win the Europa League title last season but Liverpool couldn't do it. Far from winning the title, they exited the tournament before qualifying for the semi-finals. 
Like last season, Manchester United is considered as a worthy contender to win the title this season but Manchester United may not be able to win the Europa League title. 
Maybe we'll see another team win the Europa League title.

A small number of people only see the results of the group stage but they forget that the most difficult competition is not in the group stage but when entering the round of 16, big teams can lose their performance when they get an equal opponent.
On the one hand, several popular teams in the group stage have their own strategies such as only competing with a performance that is not too strong to save the players' energy and when they have qualified for the round of 16, big teams will improve their performance to be stronger.
So in each round we will continue to see many changes and even teams that look weak at this time will experience a very high increase.

[mamesso]

Every team in the European League is almost equal, so competition is always high in the European League. Even if the big team can separate here, it cannot be said that the big team will win the title in the end. Liverpool were probably the biggest team in the Europa League last season and everyone was saying that Liverpool would win the Europa League title last season but Liverpool couldn't do it. Far from winning the title, they exited the tournament before qualifying for the semi-finals. 
Like last season, Manchester United is considered as a worthy contender to win the title this season but Manchester United may not be able to win the Europa League title. 
Maybe we'll see another team win the Europa League title.

Nobody can predict what will happen on the field. Last season Liverpool came into the UEL as favourites, they managed to win every game before Atalanta stopped them. This season there will be a new champion in UEL, Lazio is the most consistent team so far, but that doesn't mean they can win the trophy at the end of the competition.
I don't think Man United are capable of competing in the title race, just look at their performance in the EPL, they always get minor results even though the opponents they face are not too strong.

[tusandii]

Calling Roma a Big team for me should come with some relativity and that is because of the instability around their performance in their domestic and even the Europa league so far, some how their strength as a big team is been seen mostly when they are actually playing against a small or average team in their domestic league, but in the Europa, i don't see them in that light as they have actually struggled to this point in the Europa so far.

Roma's performance after changing coaches has not been good but they are still one of the big teams with a good mentality so that is something to be aware of and a team like Roma has everything to be able to make a surprise so I think they cannot be underestimated even though they are not in their top performance so far.
And indeed the competition in the Europa League is quite fierce so as always happens every season if there will be a big surprise that happens so it is not easy to predict something in the Europa League.

AS Roma is indeed a big Serie A club and has impressive experience in the Europa League but this season they have experienced a decline in both Serie A and the Europa League so that people consider Roma as an ordinary club, after changing coaches Roma's performance has not improved but it seems that Claudio Ranieri needs time to improve Roma's performance gradually this season Roma also still has a chance to qualify for the last 16 without a play-off if he can win his 2 matches.

[Jatiluhung]

Roma is a good team but have turned to something else which keep surprising me, but their weak side always show in the home league, they tend to have a fair performance in Europa league because they have had one defeat since the start, three draws and two wins. Roma can still improve in the performance if they make use of this coming transfer window, so no hope is lost. I have hope in them in winning the title, I only considered home league has the most difficult title to win because it takes a huge chance to win it, it not made for the weak team.

Currently Roma is ranked 14th in the European League with a score of 9 points. I also think this achievement is not a bad achievement, considering that Roma's performance this season is not good. Because as we know, this season Roma has quite serious problems, especially regarding the choice of coach. The reason is that this season, Roma continues to change coaches, which of course has a negative impact on the performance of the Roma players. Because the Roma players certainly continue to adapt to the new coach, so this of course has a big influence on their performance. Therefore, in my personal opinion, it could be said that it is quite good that Roma can stay in 14th position in the European league.

Apart from that, in the upcoming match Roma will face AZ in the European league. I think this match will not be too difficult for Roma, considering that AZ's current performance is worse than Roma. Because even in the European league, AZ is currently ranked 19th and this is of course worse than Roma. But Roma still has to be careful in this match, because AZ is of course chasing victory in this match too. Therefore, the Roma players really have to have strong motivation, so that they can make the match against AZ easier. Because if Roma can win this match, it will definitely increase its ranking in the European league. Because the difference in points between Roma and the clubs ranked 11th to 13th is not that far. Therefore, Roma really has to take advantage of this match.

[Mame89]

Every team in the European League is almost equal, so competition is always high in the European League. Even if the big team can separate here, it cannot be said that the big team will win the title in the end. Liverpool were probably the biggest team in the Europa League last season and everyone was saying that Liverpool would win the Europa League title last season but Liverpool couldn't do it. Far from winning the title, they exited the tournament before qualifying for the semi-finals. 
Like last season, Manchester United is considered as a worthy contender to win the title this season but Manchester United may not be able to win the Europa League title. 
Maybe we'll see another team win the Europa League title.

Nobody can predict what will happen on the field. Last season Liverpool came into the UEL as favourites, they managed to win every game before Atalanta stopped them. This season there will be a new champion in UEL, Lazio is the most consistent team so far, but that doesn't mean they can win the trophy at the end of the competition.
I don't think Man United are capable of competing in the title race, just look at their performance in the EPL, they always get minor results even though the opponents they face are not too strong.

Every competition will always have unexpected surprises, especially when entering the knockout stage, whether in the UCL, Europe, or the European conference league, there are always surprises. Teams that appear consistently during the group stage or now with a new format will not guarantee smoothness when entering the knockout stage.

Examples like last season Liverpool and even Leverkusen that you mentioned. Liverpool last season were very favored to win the title because besides having a strong squad they also had experience in the competition, especially when they lost to Man City in the EPL trophy, only the European league was their only hope but who would have thought they lost to Atalanta.

And not only that after Liverpool failed, many people predicted that Leverkusen would be champions because their performance was very impressive even without losing throughout the season but who would have thought they also lost to Atalanta in the last match even that was one of Leverkusen's defeats. This season will also be like that, every team has the same opportunity to win the European league title, it is not impossible for Man United. Even though they are very down in the EPL, who would have thought that Amorim's strategy is that he only wants to show his abilities and wants to focus fully on the European league. So for now it is very difficult to favor one team because every team has the same chance.

[fadhilz123]

Nobody can predict what will happen on the field. Last season Liverpool came into the UEL as favourites, they managed to win every game before Atalanta stopped them. This season there will be a new champion in UEL, Lazio is the most consistent team so far, but that doesn't mean they can win the trophy at the end of the competition.
I don't think Man United are capable of competing in the title race, just look at their performance in the EPL, they always get minor results even though the opponents they face are not too strong.

Manchester United still have to make a more accurate improvement in themselves in this season and if Manchester United is able to make a more attractive surprise in the European League this season, I will also not be surprised by that. Because it is true that as you say that in the European League it is always quite difficult to make predictions from the beginning because of the changes can still occur through every surprise in a team that is not favored so far. Lazio is already quite great in the European League this season, but teams like Lyon, Galatasaray and Tottenham Hotspur must also be watched out by Lazio.

[Weawant]

Nobody can predict what will happen on the field. Last season Liverpool came into the UEL as favourites, they managed to win every game before Atalanta stopped them. This season there will be a new champion in UEL, Lazio is the most consistent team so far, but that doesn't mean they can win the trophy at the end of the competition.
I don't think Man United are capable of competing in the title race, just look at their performance in the EPL, they always get minor results even though the opponents they face are not too strong.

For competitions that do have a finals to play at the end which isn't like the league settings where you actually get to win by cumulative of your points, it becomes even more difficult to really handle them because the games comes with so much uncertainties such that you may get to the finals and still not win but then it still doesn't mean you shouldn't strive to get there at least increase you chances at the luck you are hoping to get because in a way i do see it that luck has got its role to play in all of this at a time so i don't see it as primary so after the January transfer window, Manchester united may get even better and have an equal chance too.

[Pandu Geddon]

Galatasaray must win the match against Dynamo Kyiv, 3 points will give them something more comfortable in the standings to be able to qualify directly to the next round.
Especially considering Galatasaray's next opponent is Ajax, although I'm sure Galatasaray will be favored. But it won't be easy enough for them to conquer Ajax who will play at home.
Galatasaray has a very big chance of qualifying, but Ajax will also fight for them to qualify, so they won't be easy to beat. The match will be exciting.

Next round of Europa League is going to start from 21st January with Galatasaray will host Dynamo Kyiv at Rams Park current states clearly saying we will be having easy win for Galatasaray because currently they are sixth in league table and Dynamo Kyiv is 36th without any win and score only one goal from their 6 games and conceded 15 goals while we have Galatasaray without any lost they have three wins and three draws this equation clearly giving good advantage to Galatasaray for win.

But, we have them in challenging position while they will visit Ajax for the last game of their group stage which will be played at Amsterdam as Ajax which is having problematic end before break now looking for fightback into their next two games, so things could be tense for Galatasaray as well.

Galatasaray is still slightly favored over Ajax, I think Ajax is indeed quite strong but maybe Galatasaray will be more dominant.
Even if they can't get a win from Ajax, a draw is also not bad for Galatasaray's current position. But if you want to qualify then winning the remaining 2 matches is the choice that must be taken and a draw is the worst possibility for Galatasaray. Ajax's position also allows them to put in all their efforts to win the remaining 2 matches.

[Adams0001]

Every team in the European League is almost equal, so competition is always high in the European League. Even if the big team can separate here, it cannot be said that the big team will win the title in the end. Liverpool were probably the biggest team in the Europa League last season and everyone was saying that Liverpool would win the Europa League title last season but Liverpool couldn't do it. Far from winning the title, they exited the tournament before qualifying for the semi-finals. 
Like last season, Manchester United is considered as a worthy contender to win the title this season but Manchester United may not be able to win the Europa League title. 
Maybe we'll see another team win the Europa League title.

Nobody can predict what will happen on the field. Last season Liverpool came into the UEL as favourites, they managed to win every game before Atalanta stopped them. This season there will be a new champion in UEL, Lazio is the most consistent team so far, but that doesn't mean they can win the trophy at the end of the competition.
I don't think Man United are capable of competing in the title race, just look at their performance in the EPL, they always get minor results even though the opponents they face are not too strong.

You're right. Manchester United can no longer compete in the title race because of their performance in the league competition. I don't think they will have the opportunity to win trophies this season because their performance has been very poor this season, and they were hoping to improve but they are still losing, and they will play against Liverpool in the league this weekend. So am just thinking that Lazio is the favorite of winning the Europa League currently. yet we don't know what will happen once the group stages as concluded, because that is how Leverkusen do last season they are in a better shap and be winning games virtually finished the season without defeat and everyone as be saying that Leverkusen will win the Europa League but unfortunately Atalanta defeat them with a surprise. Because know one believe that Leverkusen will lose the final. So anything can still possible, since Manchester United are still in the competition they still in the game and if they can do well they can probably won the trophy.

[MarjorieZimmermanGinger]

Manchester United still have to make a more accurate improvement in themselves in this season and if Manchester United is able to make a more attractive surprise in the European League this season, I will also not be surprised by that. Because it is true that as you say that in the European League it is always quite difficult to make predictions from the beginning because of the changes can still occur through every surprise in a team that is not favored so far. Lazio is already quite great in the European League this season, but teams like Lyon, Galatasaray and Tottenham Hotspur must also be watched out by Lazio.

In the Europa League Manchester United has improved slightly after Amorim became their coach but there are still many changes that need to be made because so far Manchester United's performance has not been stable. Amorim's motivation may be very high in the Europa League because in almost all competitions they have lost the opportunity to achieve a trophy so that only the Europa League is the only hope they can realize when they are able to play much better in the future.

Another challenge is only in this competition the opportunity for Manchester United to qualify for the Champions League by winning the Europa League and will give them one ticket to qualify for the Champions League. The tight competition in the Premier League makes it difficult for them to break into the top four, making it difficult for them to catch up with the points collected by several teams in the top five.

[Palakka]

Calling Roma a Big team for me should come with some relativity and that is because of the instability around their performance in their domestic and even the Europa league so far, some how their strength as a big team is been seen mostly when they are actually playing against a small or average team in their domestic league, but in the Europa, i don't see them in that light as they have actually struggled to this point in the Europa so far.

Roma's performance after changing coaches has not been good but they are still one of the big teams with a good mentality so that is something to be aware of and a team like Roma has everything to be able to make a surprise so I think they cannot be underestimated even though they are not in their top performance so far.
And indeed the competition in the Europa League is quite fierce so as always happens every season if there will be a big surprise that happens so it is not easy to predict something in the Europa League.

AS Roma is indeed a big Serie A club and has impressive experience in the Europa League but this season they have experienced a decline in both Serie A and the Europa League so that people consider Roma as an ordinary club, after changing coaches Roma's performance has not improved but it seems that Claudio Ranieri needs time to improve Roma's performance gradually this season Roma also still has a chance to qualify for the last 16 without a play-off if he can win his 2 matches.

Roma indeed have a long history with their success, but in the last few seasons they no longer have the mentality of competing for the title after the last time they won the conference league, many changes of coaches have made them often spend a lot time on transitions and actually make them always late in the championship competition including this season, I think even though they are a big team but to win the UEL this season seems to be It's very difficult, especially so far they have had poor consistency in every game, I personally see that Lazio, Bilbao, Galatasaray and even Manchester United are more inclined to be the favorites to championship than Roma.

[Ruttoshi]

Manchester United still have to make a more accurate improvement in themselves in this season and if Manchester United is able to make a more attractive surprise in the European League this season, I will also not be surprised by that. Because it is true that as you say that in the European League it is always quite difficult to make predictions from the beginning because of the changes can still occur through every surprise in a team that is not favored so far. Lazio is already quite great in the European League this season, but teams like Lyon, Galatasaray and Tottenham Hotspur must also be watched out by Lazio.

In the Europa League Manchester United has improved slightly after Amorim became their coach but there are still many changes that need to be made because so far Manchester United's performance has not been stable. Amorim's motivation may be very high in the Europa League because in almost all competitions they have lost the opportunity to achieve a trophy so that only the Europa League is the only hope they can realize when they are able to play much better in the future.

Another challenge is only in this competition the opportunity for Manchester United to qualify for the Champions League by winning the Europa League and will give them one ticket to qualify for the Champions League. The tight competition in the Premier League makes it difficult for them to break into the top four, making it difficult for them to catch up with the points collected by several teams in the top five.

I feel this league would be in favor of United because this is their only hope to qualify to UCL if they can win the league. However, when the transfer window will open, Amorim will get some new players to strengthen the team and that should bring more hope for them to go far in this competition.

Amorim should focus more on this league and not EPL but I believe if he can improve the team's performance with the additional players, he can do better in both competitions.

[PremiumcryptoHub]

Liverpool were probably the biggest team in the Europa League last season and everyone was saying that Liverpool would win the Europa League title last season but Liverpool couldn't do it. Far from winning the title, they exited the tournament before qualifying for the semi-finals.  
Like last season, Manchester United is considered as a worthy contender to win the title this season but Manchester United may not be able to win the Europa League title.  
Maybe we'll see another team win the Europa League title.

Every team may not perform well in every season, just like Liverpool may not have performed well last season. For which they were eliminated from the tournament before reaching the semi-finals. But if you look at Liverpool's performance at the moment, you can see that they can win the title this time. Liverpool are currently performing better than most other teams. While observing the UEFA Europa League points table, I found that Liverpool is not in this year's UEFA Europa League, that is, they are not in the points table.

Manchester United is not at all a worthy contender to win this year's UEFA Europa League title, Manchester United may not be able to win the UEFA Europa League title. If Manchester United want to win the title, they will have to put in a much stronger performance.

[hahay]

No doubt that Roma is a bigger team compared to AZ Alkmaar but with the current situation of the club, it will be difficult for AS Roma to win AZ Alkmaar presently in the Europa League. AZ Alkmaar will have an added advantage because the match will be played at their home.

Sure, Roma is bigger than AZ Alkmaar. But it doesn't guarantee anything, especially since Roma performed quite badly both in Serie A and Europa League. Meanwhile AZ Alkmaar performed quite well in their domestic competition recently.

I don't totally agree with your prediction for the match between Twente and Malmo, there is always a possibility that Twente may pull an upset against Malmö.

It is difficult to predict which team to win the match. Both Twente and Malmo seem to have almost the same level. But Malmo may have a bigger chance to win because they will play at their home.

Although I also see or judge the quality of AZ Alkmaar and AS Roma is not much different but still, I feel AS Roma will still be able to get good results. Because I believe, Ranieri has a good effort to make AS Roma still qualify for the next round even through the playoff round. About Malmo vs Twente, I think there is nothing to debate because yes,  I think they can't qualify for the next round. Although indeed, they still have a chance to finish in the top 24 but at the same time, they also expect bad results for other teams above them. With a situation and position like that,  then I think the chances of Malmo and Twente will still be difficult to finish in the top 24.

[Justbillywitt]

Every team in the European League is almost equal, so competition is always high in the European League. Even if the big team can separate here, it cannot be said that the big team will win the title in the end. Liverpool were probably the biggest team in the Europa League last season and everyone was saying that Liverpool would win the Europa League title last season but Liverpool couldn't do it. Far from winning the title, they exited the tournament before qualifying for the semi-finals. 
Like last season, Manchester United is considered as a worthy contender to win the title this season but Manchester United may not be able to win the Europa League title. 
Maybe we'll see another team win the Europa League title.

A small number of people only see the results of the group stage but they forget that the most difficult competition is not in the group stage but when entering the round of 16, big teams can lose their performance when they get an equal opponent.
On the one hand, several popular teams in the group stage have their own strategies such as only competing with a performance that is not too strong to save the players' energy and when they have qualified for the round of 16, big teams will improve their performance to be stronger.
So in each round we will continue to see many changes and even teams that look weak at this time will experience a very high increase.

What if the teams that are saving their strength for the round of 16,  get knocked out from the group stage, what will be their gain? SoI don't really believe that big teams use to reserve their performance level in the group stage only to improve in the rounds of 16. You have to qualify from the group stage first before you can get to the next round. That's why you hear the managers saying they don't underrate any team when big teams are playing smaller ones.The only time I know teams do reserve their strength in the group stages is when they have already qualified to the next round with few games to spare. But if a team haven't qualified for they next round, they usually give their best performance. Any performance you see any team display at group stage is their best performance at that time and nothing more. Not that they are reserving their best performance.