2022/2023 Conference League Group G: Slavia Praha - CFR Cluj - Sivasspor - Ballkani

[Dragonite]

[Dragonite]

Slavia Praha




Road to Conference League:
Conference League QR2: St. Joseph's
Conference League QR3: Panathinaikos
Conference League Playoff: Rakow


CFR Cluj




Road to Conference League:
Champions League QR1: Pyunik
Conference League QR2: Inter d'Escaldes
Conference League QR3: Shakhtyor Soligorsk
Conference League Playoff: Maribor


Sivasspor




Road to Conference League:
Europa League Playoff: Malmö


Ballkani




Road to Conference League:
Champions League QR1: Zalgiris
Conference League QR2: La Fiorita
Conference League QR3: KI Klaksvik
Conference League Playoff: Shkupi



Prediction:
1. Slavia Praha
2. CFR Cluj
3. Sivasspor
4. Ballkani

[matt]

Slavia Praha (they face three weaker teams than Rakow)
Sivasspor
CFR Cluj
Ballkani

[Jua Ferreira]

prediction:

Slavia Prague
Cluj
Sivasspor (there is a slight chance for 2nd spot)
Ballkani

[Polak]

Prediction
1. Slavia Prague
2. Sivasspor
3. Cluj
4. Ballkani

[quelhar]

All clubs got a 1-1 draw in their first match. I guess this result is most valuable for Sivasspor, as it is a point against a favourite of the group, and then for Slavia, as it is an away point against a somewhat competitive club in the fight for top two spots. Cluj can't be satisfied with a draw against the outsider of the group and for Ballkani a point at home is not enough to start thinking about qualifying for the next round.

I wonder if Sivasspor is really a stronger club than Cluj these days, because they were far weaker than both Panathinaikos and Rakow, Slavia collected xG of 3.89 according to Wyscout database and surely should have won this match, even with number of players being ill or injured and playing with a right midfielder as a left back.

[Dragonite]

Disappointing results for Slavia Praha and CFR Cluj.

Last season Slavia Praha defeated "Turkish giant" Fenerbahçe twice, but now they couldn't defeat "Turkish minnow" Sivasspor.


CFR Cluj used to be awesome in round 1 matches, but now they lost that power, and even Ballkani is able to stop them.

2008/2009 CL round 1: 2-1 away win vs Roma
2009/2010 EL round 1: 2-0 home win vs Copenhagen
2010/2011 CL round 1: 2-1 home win vs Basel
2012/2013 CL round 1: 2-0 away win vs Braga
2019/2020 EL round 1: 2-1 home win vs Lazio
2020/2021 EL round 1: 2-0 away win vs CSKA Sofia
2021/2022 Conference League round 1: 0-1 away defeat vs Jablonec
2022/2023 Conference League round 1: 1-1 away draw vs Ballkani

Perhaps CFR Cluj is just more comfortable playing at the highest levels against strong opposition, and here in the Conference League against weaker opponents CFR Cluj's "playing style" isn't as effective.

It's counter-intuitive, but maybe this explains what's happening here.

CFR Cluj

Change in CFR Cluj's lineup considering the squad for the group stage: Betancor out, Janga in

Sivasspor

Change in Sivasspor's lineup considering the squad for the group stage: Kerem Kesgin out, Charisis in

[Jua Ferreira]

prediction:

Slavia Prague
Cluj
Sivasspor (there is a slight chance for 2nd spot)
Ballkani

updated prediction after md2:
Slavia Prague
Sivasspor
Cluj
Ballkani

[Dragonite]

Congratulations Sivasspor!


They won in Romania, have a 3 points advantage over CFR Cluj, and now in the following two rounds they will play against tiny Ballkani, while CFR Cluj will play against the mighty Slavia Praha. So by the time that Sivasspor and CFR Cluj meet again, this time in Turkey, it's likely that Sivasspor's advantage will be even bigger, perhaps even irreversible.

[EarlofBug]

Ok, This is the most frazy group so far

[Dragonite]

Congratulations Ballkani and CFR Cluj!



We have a 4-4-4-4 group in EL, but here we have a 4-4-4-4 group where even the goal difference is balanced too!!

Sivasspor lost all the "credit" from their round 2 win against CFR Cluj with this round 3 defeat against Ballkani.

And CFR Cluj recovered in Prague the 3 points that they lost against Sivasspor in round 2 (now they still need to recover the points that they also lost against Ballkani in round 1).

[bbi]

such a shame to manage to get points from Slavia, but lose vs the other teams. at least the group is wide open. and CFR started to look a bit better (not necessary because of the Slavia game), they could manage to qualify. the win vs Slavia is also important as it didn't allow Slavia to distance itself and will need every point the last 3 games as well.

[apurvdanke]

Sivasspor is doing what Osmanlispor did few years ago in the EL, when they got 10 points and qualified from a group containing Villareal, Steaua Bucharest and Zurich and finished on top. These are bonus coefficient points for Turkey. No one would have expected many points from them.

[matt]

If Sivasspor win against Cluj in the next round Slavia Praha are probably out, because if the three teams end up with 10 teams Slavia would finish in the third place, and Sivasspor first.

[bjkman1903]

If Sivasspor win against Cluj in the next round Slavia Praha are probably out, because if the three teams end up with 10 teams Slavia would finish in the third place, and Sivasspor first.

Probably, but there would still be a chance for Slavia to qualify (and even win the group on H2H) as long as they beat Sivasspor and Cluj fails to get 3 points against Ballkani at home.

Sivasspor v Cluj is a crucial game for both teams, and even more for Sivas.

The Turkish team is qualified with a win, otherwise they would need a result in Prague.
For Cluj, even if they lose, they are qualified as long as they beat Ballkani at home.