Champions League crunch time is upon us. With just two rounds of group fixtures left, the last-16 lineup is starting to take shape.
Many teams are battling for a spot in the knockout stages, others are trying to claim a place in the Europa League, and an unfortunate selection of eight dropouts will exit continental football altogether for the rest of the season.
A plethora of group and qualification permutations are set to be decided on the penultimate matchday, as detailed below.
Groups and Qualification Permutations
Group A
Last season's finalists Atletico Madrid will book their place in the knockout rounds with a win over Olympiakos. If Juventus fail to emerge victorious from their trip to Malmo, a draw will see Diego Simeone's side take the group plaudits.
Juve can't be knocked out during this round of fixtures, while a draw in Sweden will confirm at least a place in the Europa League. Olympiakos can confirm their top-two finish with three points in the Spanish capital.
Malmo must avoid defeat to remain in the competition. As noted by UEFA, the underdogs will be eliminated if they pick up fewer points than the Greeks.
Group B
It's safe to say an already qualified Real Madrid can take it easy during their trip to face Basel. The Swiss side would need to beat the European champions by five clear goals to have any chance of ousting Carlo Ancelotti's men from top spot on Matchday 6.
However, things are mighty serious for the rest of the group. Basel will confirm second on the night if they win and Liverpool fail to topple Ludogorets. The Bulgarians will say goodbye to the competition with a loss, while the Reds will take at least third if the result goes their way.
Either way, Liverpool will need to beat Basel by at least two goals on the final matchday to come second if they at least match the Swiss side's result this week.
Group C
Bayer Leverkusen are in the profitable position of winning the group with victory over Monaco. The Germans will also qualify with a draw in front of their home crowd. Monaco's lack of victories means they can't guarantee qualification during this round of fixtures.
Zenit will be eliminated if the French side win and they do not, however. Benfica are hanging on to little hope and will exit if they fail to claim their second success of the competition, presuming Monaco beat Leverkusen.
Group D
Only two teams really look like making it out of this group. Borussia Dortmund are yet to drop a point and will clinch the group with a draw against Arsenal.
Jurgen Klopp's men are already through but will be joined by the Gunners if a point is shared either at the Emirates or between Anderlecht and Galatasaray.
The Belgians must secure six points from their last two matches and hope Arsenal lose both of their games to grab second. Anderlecht guarantee third with a win over Galatasaray, who need to win and then beat Arsenal to have any chance of making second. Arsene Wenger's side would also need to lose against Dortmund for that to happen.
Group E
Pep Guardiola's Bayern Munich side have already wrapped up their group and travel to Manchester City with little to play for. The Germans are eight points clear of second place heading into the final two fixtures, but there's plenty at stake below their perch.
Most notably, Roma will qualify in second if they beat CSKA and City fail to overcome the Bavarians. Prior to the match, Guardiola told ITV Football's Gabriel Clarke, "They (City) have quality, but they don't have the history and sometimes these little details, like the T-shirt, makes the difference."
Should City fail to win, Roma's trip to CSKA must end in a draw for the Premier League side to remain in contention. CSKA must beat Roma by more than four clear goals (after their 5-1 loss in Italy) to advance on the night, provided City fail to win.
Group F
Paris Saint-Germain have already qualified but can win the group with three points and a Barcelona loss. Laurent Blanc's side take on an Ajax outfit who cannot qualify for the knockout stages. Even so, the Dutch team will confirm a spot in the Europa League if they overcome PSG and APOEL lose to the Blaugrana.
The Cypriot side have an outside chance of progressing to the Europa League if they grab at least a point from Barca.
Group G
Sky Sports tweeted a handy guide to Group G, which should see Chelsea advance with minimal fuss:
Group H
Porto's unbeaten run has confirmed their place in the knockout rounds, but in order to secure top spot, they need to beat BATE Borisov and hope Shakhtar Donetsk fail to pick up three points when they host Athletic Bilbao.
BATE will be extra motivated to shock the Portuguese side, however.
They can guarantee at least a Europa League place with victory and a Bilbao loss. Shakhtar could still do the unthinkable and drop out of the competition with two losses, but BATE would need to grab six points from their final matches to eliminate the Ukrainians. Bilbao need to grab their first win of the competition to remain hopeful of grabbing third place.
Most teams have an exciting, pressure-filled 90 minutes ahead to remain in the competition. As ever, we can expect unbridled joy, heartache and plenty of drama as the final matchday approaches.
No comments:
Post a Comment