2020-21 European Football Season Thread
09-05-2020
, 11:17 AM
It's about time we start a new thread for the European football leagues. The last season was thrown into turmoil due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which is still ongoing - Several leagues, including Ligue 1 and the Belgian league, were cancelled with just a few matches to go, while others, like the Bundesliga and Serie A were resumed after a weeks-long hiatus.
So, let's recap the prolonged 2019-20 season:
Bundesliga - 2013-2020 Winner: FC Bayern München
This season was definitely a weird one. Starting off with Niko Kovac, Bayern did struggle mightily in the first months of the season, culminating in a 1-5 loss against Frankfurt on Matchday 10. Despite being just 4 points off Gladbach at this point, Kovac was sacked and former assistant coach Hansi Flick took over the team. The first match was the "Klassiker" against Dortmund, where Bayern stormed to a 4-0 victory, and getting the same results against Düsseldorf the week after.
Everything seemed on the upswing, but two 1-2 losses against Leverkusen and Gladbach put the team down in 7th in early December, now seven points off Gladbach. This was finally the year of anyone-but-Bayern!
Except - Bayern didn't lose a single ****ing official match for the rest of the season, with just a single 0-0 draw against Leipzig in the league - unfazed by the COVID-19 break - finishing with a 1-0 in the Champions League final against PSG, destroying Neymar's dreams and completing the Triple, and sending Barcelona into week-long crisis.
I mean, look at all this green:
On the bottom end of the table, we found Düsseldorf und Paderborn who were relegated to the 2. Bundesliga, while Bremen barely avoided future league matches against HSV by scraping past Heidenheim in a 0-0/2-2 relegation play-off drama. Stuttgart and Bielefeld will be back in the top-tier of German football, as HSV blew another promotion chance in spectacular fashion.
So, if we ask ourselves: Who will win the Bundesliga in the coming season, there can only be one realistic answer:
The season will kick off on the 18th of September with Bayern vs. Schalke.
Betting odds (Bet365): Bayern 1.14, Dortmund 7.00, Leipzig 17.00, Gladbach/Leverkusen 51.00, [...], Arminia Bielefeld 2001.00
La Liga - 2020 Winner: Real Madrid
Having been paused after Matchday 27, the table looked like this, with both the title and top-4 fight in full swing:
After the lockdown ended, Barca struggled to get going and dropped 9 points in the 11 remaining games, which was enough for Real to win the title with one match to go (their 10-1-0 record in the post-lockdown part of the season was unmatched). It was Real's first league win since 2017, and only the second since 2012.
On Matchday 35, Barca sealed relegation for city rival Espanyol by winning the derby - Espanyol will join Leganes and RCD Mallorca in the second division this year. Up top, the usual suspects Atletico and Sevilla joined Real/Barca in the Champions League, while Villarreal, Real Sociedad and Granada ended up in the EL spots.
One tier down, the relegation of former CL finalist Deportivo La Coruna was pretty shocking - the season ended in chaos after the final match of CF Fuenlabrada, who still had a shot at promotion, was postponed due to several COVID-19 cases in the team. Only a draw was needed, but in the end the final game against already relegated Deportivo was lost 1-2, leaving Elche in 6th. Elche went on to win the promotion play-offs and join Huesca and Cadiz in La Liga this season.
This season will be interesting: Barca is still in shambles, even after Messi has decided to fulfil his contract for the upcoming season after a brief flirt with Manchester City. Real on the other hand is also known to enter crisis-mode quite quickly if things go south. So maybe Atletico can have another shot this year. Especially if there is more chaos due to the surging COVID-19 case numbers in Spain.
The season will kick off on the 11th of September with two planes hitting the World Trade Center Granada vs. Bilbao.
Betting odds: Real 1.66, Barca 2.75 (pretty much a reversal of last season's odds), Atletico 9.00, Sevilla 26.00, [...], Elche 2501.00
Serie A - 2012-2020 Winner: Juventus FC
9 in a row for Juventus. The title fight was much closer than previous years, with Atalanta, Inter and Lazio always relatively close behind. In the end, Juventus clinched the title with two games to go. Milan was especially strong post-lockdown, getting a 9-3-0 record in the 12 final games, and keeping Napoli out of European football for the first time in 11 years. Atalanta was the highest scoring team in the league with 98 goals.
Can Juventus win a historic 10th-in-a-row Scudetto in 2020-21? The competition might be tough enough to end the domination for once. The season is expected to kick off September 19th with Fiorentina vs. Torino.
Betting odds: Juventus 1.90 (!), Inter 2.87, Atalanta 13.00, Napoli 12.00, Lazio 21.00, Milan 23.00, Roma 41.00, [...], Spezia/Crotone/Benevento 4501.00
Ligue 1 - 2020 Winner: Paris Saint-Germain
The French top division was the only of the top-five leagues to be cancelled rather than paused during the summer lockdown - the final standings were calculated based on the points per game for the 27 or 28 matches the clubs had played. Unsurprisingly, PSG had the highest ppg ratio with 2.52 and was declared the 2019-20 champion (for comparison: Liverpool 2.61, Bayern 2.41, Real 2.29, Juventus 2.18).
Having won the domestic treble with league, national cup and league cup, PSG was all but set to finally win the big one, reaching the UCL final for the first time. In a closely contested final, they lost 0-1 to Bayern, however - and Neymar's disappointment was immeasurable and his day ruined.
The season has already started, and PSG is only in 14th - having played - no games so far. They will jump into action on the 10th of September with their match in Lens.
For this season's winner prediction, PSG is the no-brainer, and betting odds agree: PSG 1.08, Lyon 15.00, Marseille 26.00, Lille 51.00, Monaco 67.00, [...], Brest 1001.00
Primeira Liga - 2020 Winner: FC Porto
Traditionally a battle between Porto and Benfica (sometimes Sporting), this league will commence on September 18th, with no clear bookie favorite: Porto 1.90, Benfica 1.90.
Eredivisie - 2020 Winner: none
The Dutch Eredivisie was cancelled halfway through matchday 26 of 34, with Ajax and Alkmaar tied on points and Ajax ahead on goal difference. However, rather deciding the final standings based on a ppg calculation, the season was declared null and void, with no championship awarded and no relegation for ADO Den Haag and Waalwijk either. The new season will kick off on the 12th of September.
Betting odds: Ajax 1.61, PSV 3.75, Alkmaar 10.00, Feyenoord 11.00, [...], Sittard/Waalwijk 1501.00
Oh yeah, and some guy also joined Groningen, you better watch out, or else...
It's gonna be another season with many COVID-related questions: Which leagues will allow spectators? Will there be another lockdown? How hard will different teams be affected by potential outbreaks?
Let us GO GO GO!
So, let's recap the prolonged 2019-20 season:
Bundesliga - 2013-2020 Winner: FC Bayern München
This season was definitely a weird one. Starting off with Niko Kovac, Bayern did struggle mightily in the first months of the season, culminating in a 1-5 loss against Frankfurt on Matchday 10. Despite being just 4 points off Gladbach at this point, Kovac was sacked and former assistant coach Hansi Flick took over the team. The first match was the "Klassiker" against Dortmund, where Bayern stormed to a 4-0 victory, and getting the same results against Düsseldorf the week after.
Everything seemed on the upswing, but two 1-2 losses against Leverkusen and Gladbach put the team down in 7th in early December, now seven points off Gladbach. This was finally the year of anyone-but-Bayern!
Except - Bayern didn't lose a single ****ing official match for the rest of the season, with just a single 0-0 draw against Leipzig in the league - unfazed by the COVID-19 break - finishing with a 1-0 in the Champions League final against PSG, destroying Neymar's dreams and completing the Triple, and sending Barcelona into week-long crisis.
I mean, look at all this green:
On the bottom end of the table, we found Düsseldorf und Paderborn who were relegated to the 2. Bundesliga, while Bremen barely avoided future league matches against HSV by scraping past Heidenheim in a 0-0/2-2 relegation play-off drama. Stuttgart and Bielefeld will be back in the top-tier of German football, as HSV blew another promotion chance in spectacular fashion.
So, if we ask ourselves: Who will win the Bundesliga in the coming season, there can only be one realistic answer:
Spoiler:
The season will kick off on the 18th of September with Bayern vs. Schalke.
Betting odds (Bet365): Bayern 1.14, Dortmund 7.00, Leipzig 17.00, Gladbach/Leverkusen 51.00, [...], Arminia Bielefeld 2001.00
La Liga - 2020 Winner: Real Madrid
Having been paused after Matchday 27, the table looked like this, with both the title and top-4 fight in full swing:
After the lockdown ended, Barca struggled to get going and dropped 9 points in the 11 remaining games, which was enough for Real to win the title with one match to go (their 10-1-0 record in the post-lockdown part of the season was unmatched). It was Real's first league win since 2017, and only the second since 2012.
On Matchday 35, Barca sealed relegation for city rival Espanyol by winning the derby - Espanyol will join Leganes and RCD Mallorca in the second division this year. Up top, the usual suspects Atletico and Sevilla joined Real/Barca in the Champions League, while Villarreal, Real Sociedad and Granada ended up in the EL spots.
One tier down, the relegation of former CL finalist Deportivo La Coruna was pretty shocking - the season ended in chaos after the final match of CF Fuenlabrada, who still had a shot at promotion, was postponed due to several COVID-19 cases in the team. Only a draw was needed, but in the end the final game against already relegated Deportivo was lost 1-2, leaving Elche in 6th. Elche went on to win the promotion play-offs and join Huesca and Cadiz in La Liga this season.
This season will be interesting: Barca is still in shambles, even after Messi has decided to fulfil his contract for the upcoming season after a brief flirt with Manchester City. Real on the other hand is also known to enter crisis-mode quite quickly if things go south. So maybe Atletico can have another shot this year. Especially if there is more chaos due to the surging COVID-19 case numbers in Spain.
The season will kick off on the 11th of September with two planes hitting the World Trade Center Granada vs. Bilbao.
Betting odds: Real 1.66, Barca 2.75 (pretty much a reversal of last season's odds), Atletico 9.00, Sevilla 26.00, [...], Elche 2501.00
Serie A - 2012-2020 Winner: Juventus FC
9 in a row for Juventus. The title fight was much closer than previous years, with Atalanta, Inter and Lazio always relatively close behind. In the end, Juventus clinched the title with two games to go. Milan was especially strong post-lockdown, getting a 9-3-0 record in the 12 final games, and keeping Napoli out of European football for the first time in 11 years. Atalanta was the highest scoring team in the league with 98 goals.
Can Juventus win a historic 10th-in-a-row Scudetto in 2020-21? The competition might be tough enough to end the domination for once. The season is expected to kick off September 19th with Fiorentina vs. Torino.
Betting odds: Juventus 1.90 (!), Inter 2.87, Atalanta 13.00, Napoli 12.00, Lazio 21.00, Milan 23.00, Roma 41.00, [...], Spezia/Crotone/Benevento 4501.00
Ligue 1 - 2020 Winner: Paris Saint-Germain
The French top division was the only of the top-five leagues to be cancelled rather than paused during the summer lockdown - the final standings were calculated based on the points per game for the 27 or 28 matches the clubs had played. Unsurprisingly, PSG had the highest ppg ratio with 2.52 and was declared the 2019-20 champion (for comparison: Liverpool 2.61, Bayern 2.41, Real 2.29, Juventus 2.18).
Having won the domestic treble with league, national cup and league cup, PSG was all but set to finally win the big one, reaching the UCL final for the first time. In a closely contested final, they lost 0-1 to Bayern, however - and Neymar's disappointment was immeasurable and his day ruined.
The season has already started, and PSG is only in 14th - having played - no games so far. They will jump into action on the 10th of September with their match in Lens.
For this season's winner prediction, PSG is the no-brainer, and betting odds agree: PSG 1.08, Lyon 15.00, Marseille 26.00, Lille 51.00, Monaco 67.00, [...], Brest 1001.00
Primeira Liga - 2020 Winner: FC Porto
Traditionally a battle between Porto and Benfica (sometimes Sporting), this league will commence on September 18th, with no clear bookie favorite: Porto 1.90, Benfica 1.90.
Eredivisie - 2020 Winner: none
The Dutch Eredivisie was cancelled halfway through matchday 26 of 34, with Ajax and Alkmaar tied on points and Ajax ahead on goal difference. However, rather deciding the final standings based on a ppg calculation, the season was declared null and void, with no championship awarded and no relegation for ADO Den Haag and Waalwijk either. The new season will kick off on the 12th of September.
Betting odds: Ajax 1.61, PSV 3.75, Alkmaar 10.00, Feyenoord 11.00, [...], Sittard/Waalwijk 1501.00
Oh yeah, and some guy also joined Groningen, you better watch out, or else...
Spoiler:
Spoiler:
It's gonna be another season with many COVID-related questions: Which leagues will allow spectators? Will there be another lockdown? How hard will different teams be affected by potential outbreaks?
Let us GO GO GO!
09-05-2020
, 11:35 AM
09-06-2020
, 11:01 AM
09-08-2020
, 07:04 AM
09-11-2020
, 05:49 AM
Oops, didn't actually check that. I would have noticed if I had done the CL/EL thread first, I guess 
Anyway: DFB-Pokal starts off today with Havelse (4th tier) playing Mainz and Braunschweig vs. Hertha.
Anyway: DFB-Pokal starts off today with Havelse (4th tier) playing Mainz and Braunschweig vs. Hertha.
09-12-2020
, 09:33 AM
winning individual awards already thats whats up
