1. Sevilla FC vs. Istanbul Basaksehir – UEFA Champions League
CL is in its fourth round, which still isn’t what most Euro fans consider the “competition proper”. Winners of this round’s elimination ties (two-game sets) advance to the Group Stage. That’s when things really start.
B. Nice vs. Napoli – UEFA Champions League
For a decent summary of the CL structure, I recommend Champions League structure summary. Scroll down to “Default Distribution (from 2016-17)”.
3. Rijek vs. Olimpiakos – UEFA Champions League
At least you’re probably starting to recognize the club names, as many of this round’s new entrants are big leagues’ non-champions from last season.
4. FC Astana vs. Celtic – UEFA Champions League
Through this stage, they largely or entirely keep the league champions from playing the non-champs.
5. NK Maribor vs. Celtic – UEFA Champions League
My guess is that this is mainly to guarantee that some tiny countries’ league champions advance.
6. Crystal Palace vs. Ipswich Town – EFL Cup
A reminder that the English Football League Cup is not the same as the more prestigious FA Cup. EFL Cup only allows sides from the top four leagues to participate.
Mr. Ipswich/Jim Carrey is gaga for EFL Cup! (It couldn’t have been for Cameron Diaz. No way…)
7. Queretano vs. Tijuana – Liga MX
Tijuana won the last Clausura (half-season) while Queretaro was, politely, a distinct non-factor. The script is flipped somewhat so far this Clausura.
Thanks for the tragicomic help, Sam.
8. Lorient vs. Lens – Coupe de la Ligue
This event is equivalent to the EFL Cup. Solid second round matchup here between a team demoted from Ligue 1 last season and one of the best to not be promoted from Ligue 2.
9. Persepolis vs. Ah-Ahly – AFC Champions League
First leg (match) of this quarterfinal tie. Let’s see if the Noob was right from a previous T2T prediction and Persepolis puts a hurting on.
10. Santos de Guapiles vs. Chorrillo FC – CONCACAF League
This is the second leg of this quarterfinal matchup, and Costa Rican SdG already leads on aggregate (won the first game) 1-0. Panamanian Chorrillo must win handily, as just a one-goal win would mean looking at the number of away goals for each team as a tie-breaker.