The inaugural Champions League league section is ready for an thrilling remaining day with 25 of the 36 groups nonetheless awaiting their destiny.
All 18 video games might be performed on the similar time – at 20:00 GMT on Wednesday, 29 January, with 16 matches having one thing on the road.
Manchester Metropolis are in main hazard of elimination after , whereas Liverpool are by means of, Arsenal are virtually there and Aston Villa and Celtic – who meet – are someplace in between.
The ‘because it stands’ desk might be continually updating with groups’ hopes probably counting on different outcomes.
It marks the primary season of the brand new format, in contrast with the previous four-team teams with two going by means of – the place typically there was nothing to play for by the top.
“It has been good, as a substitute of the borefest we have had for years on the final matchday,” wrote ex-Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher on social media.
“Subsequent week might be sensational.”
What number of groups qualify for the knockout section?
First, here is a reminder of what the 36 league-phase groups are aiming for.
These ending within the high eight routinely progress to the final 16, the place they are going to be seeded.
They may await the winners of eight two-legged knockout play-off ties that includes the golf equipment ranked from ninth to twenty fourth.
These ending between ninth and sixteenth might be seeded and face a crew positioned seventeenth to twenty fourth, with the benefit of taking part in the second leg at house.
The golf equipment twenty fifth or decrease are eradicated and don’t achieve entry to the Europa League.
The play-off ties happen mid-February, with the last-16 matches within the first two weeks of March.
Which groups have certified – and who’s out?
Prime-eight assured: Liverpool, Barcelona
Prime-24 assured (a minimum of): Arsenal, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, AC Milan, Atalanta, Bayer Leverkusen, Aston Villa, Monaco, Feyenoord, Lille, Brest, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Actual Madrid, Juventus, Celtic
Unsure of development: PSV, Membership Brugge, Benfica, PSG, Sporting, Stuttgart, Manchester Metropolis, Dinamo Zagreb, Shakhtar Donetsk
Eradicated: Bologna, Sparta Prague, Leipzig, Girona, Crimson Star Belgrade, Sturm Graz, Salzburg, Slovan Bratislava, Younger Boys
What do the British groups must undergo?
Manchester Metropolis have a quite simple permutation. In the event that they beat Membership Brugge at house they are going to go into the play-off spherical. In the event that they fail to win they are going to be eradicated.
They can not attain the final 16 routinely.
Aston Villa are assured a minimum of a play-off place.
A win at house to Celtic would give them likelihood of ending within the high eight, although they would wish considered one of 5 groups above them to slide up.
But in addition 4 groups are solely under Villa on aim distinction so a giant win for a kind of sides might see them overtake Villa too.
Celtic are just one level behind Villa so might conceivably end within the high eight, however they would wish to win and for lots of issues to occur above them.
Arsenal – away at Girona – are all however within the final 16 as they sit three factors away from the play-offs with a a lot better aim distinction than any crew on 13 factors.
Liverpool are considered one of two groups, together with Barcelona, who know they’re within the final 16 already, and might be assured a top-two place.
Bayern Munich and Actual Madrid are among the many giants within the positions between ninth and twenty fourth hoping for issues to go their technique to find yourself within the high eight.
Does it matter the place you end in high eight?
Positively.
The place a crew finishes within the league desk determines which opponents they face and after they can face them within the knockout stage.
Take Liverpool for instance. The Reds are actually assured a top-two end, which provides them a seeded route by means of to the final 16.
Which means the Reds will face a crew who completed fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth or 18th within the final 16.
The identification of the crew is not going to be identified till after the play-offs, however the pre-determined draw means it will likely be the winner of the ties involving groups that end in these 4 locations.
Liverpool can not face the crew who finishes second within the league section – or whoever finishes high if they’re overtaken on the ultimate matchday – till the ultimate.
Against this, a crew that finishes seventh or eighth might face a aspect that had completed slightly below them within the league section – in ninth or tenth.
For extra on who performs who within the play-offs, maintain studying…
What’s the distinction between ending ninth and twenty fourth?
Groups that end between ninth and sixteenth might be seeded within the knockout section play-off draw.
It means they are going to face a crew that finishes between seventeenth to twenty fourth.
Who the seeded groups will face might be decided by a draw however golf equipment will solely have two attainable opponents.
For instance, the groups that end eleventh and twelfth are paired collectively and can play a crew that finishes twenty first or twenty second.
One other bracket will pair the groups that end ninth and tenth within the desk, taking part in both the crew that was twenty third or twenty fourth.
The 2 pairs of fixtures might be drawn into reverse halves of the general draw and the seeded groups will play the second leg of the play-off at house as a reward for ending increased than their opponent within the league section.
In contrast to in earlier years, groups eradicated from the Champions League – both within the group section or through shedding a play-off – is not going to drop into the Europa League.
The draw for the play-off spherical is on 31 January at 11:00 GMT.
Has this format labored?
One in every of Uefa’s causes for altering to this format was so “each sport counts”.
It stated the format “will be sure that any consequence has the potential to dramatically change a crew’s place, proper as much as and together with the final matchday”.
And so it has panned out with solely two useless rubbers (Sturm Graz v Leipzig and Younger Boys v Crimson Star Belgrade) and 16 video games with one thing on the road.
There are a number of video games the place each golf equipment are battling for a similar aim, like Manchester Metropolis v Membership Brugge, Stuttgart v PSG, Brest v Actual Madrid and Inter Milan v Monaco.
It might result in pleasing mayhem for followers with some groups probably being affected by greater than 10 different video games. Aston Villa, for instance, might overtake six groups or be overtaken by 15 groups (albeit not all 15) – together with opponents Celtic.
One more reason Uefa gave for the brand new format was to make sure extra matches between the highest groups within the preliminary phases of the match.
This yr has seen Actual Madrid face Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool in repeats of three latest finals, and Barcelona play Bayern Munich, whereas Paris St-Germain have confronted Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich and Manchester Metropolis.
What’s monetary affect of ending the place?
Failing to qualify for the subsequent spherical means taking a monetary hit.
Each membership within the league section will get 18.62m euros for taking part, with efficiency bonuses of two.1m euros per win and 700,000 euros per draw.
Every place within the desk is price 275,000 euros, too. So the crew that finishes thirty sixth earns that a lot, thirty fifth claims 550,000 euros by means of to 9.9m euros for the table-toppers.
Groups ending first to eighth additionally earn a 2m euros bonus, with groups ending ninth to sixteenth getting 1m euros.
The prize cash for reaching every knockout spherical is proven under.
Uefa has additionally launched a “worth pillar” that splits the printed income. This once more will increase relying in your ending place within the league section.
That’s earlier than matchday income and different components are taken into consideration.
In different phrases, it’s pretty pricey to be eradicated early.
Watch highlights of each Champions League sport from 22:00 on Wednesday on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport web site and app.
There may also be a Champions League Match of the Day on BBC One on Wednesday, from 22:40 to 00:00.