The brand new league section of this season’s expanded Champions League is all set for a frantic conclusion on Wednesday, as 18 matches are performed concurrently throughout Europe and the likes of Manchester Metropolis and Paris Saint-Germain battle to keep away from an early exit.
AFP Sport rounds up what’s at stake forward of the ultimate spherical of video games within the league section:
– High 8 locations up for grabs –
There’s a actual incentive for ending within the prime eight locations of the enormous, 36-team standings — these sides will skip the two-legged knockout spherical play-offs subsequent month, getting some valuable relaxation as they advance straight to the final 16 in March.
Liverpool, with seven wins out of seven, and Barcelona are the one two groups to have already assured a spot within the final 16 after seven video games within the league section.
Arsenal, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, AC Milan, Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen occupy the opposite six spots for now, however a lot might change on the ultimate evening.
In spite of everything, Stuttgart in twenty fourth place are solely three factors behind Leverkusen in eighth, with 15 sides in between them.
Arsenal and Inter want solely draw away to Girona and at dwelling to Monaco respectively with a view to safe their last-16 spots.
With so little between groups by way of factors, a lot might down boil right down to purpose distinction, establishing a probably chaotic last evening.
– Who could possibly be eradicated? –
Large names like reigning champions Actual Madrid, final season’s runners-up Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich and Juventus are all nonetheless hoping to clamber into the highest eight, however are already assured to not less than be in February’s play-off spherical.
The truth is, solely 9 of the 36 groups will come into the ultimate matchday nonetheless combating to safe qualification for the subsequent section, together with former European Cup winners PSV Eindhoven and Benfica.
The largest title below risk is Manchester Metropolis, with the 2023 champions presently languishing in twenty fifth place, one place and two factors exterior the qualifying spots.
Pep Guardiola’s group had been overwhelmed 4-2 away at PSG final week and have taken a single level from their final 4 video games within the competitors.
“At this time we do not deserve it,” Guardiola stated when requested following the PSG defeat if the brand new format was honest.
“What’s the argument that it’s not honest? I stated to the gamers to just accept it and recuperate. We have now to recuperate our sport, that’s what we now have to do.”
There may be jeopardy for Metropolis, however on the similar time they know a win of their final match will take them by way of, and they are going to be anticipated to beat Membership Brugge on the Etihad Stadium.
PSG’s win at dwelling to Metropolis eased their fears of being eradicated, though it might nonetheless occur — the French champions go to Stuttgart, the place a draw might be sufficient to take each groups by way of.
For others, the heaviest value to pay for inconsistent leads to the league section might be having to enter the play-offs.
“The desk doesn’t lie. In the intervening time we aren’t a prime group. High groups do not lose as many video games. However we nonetheless have the sensation that we’re in a course of and on path,” stated Bayern’s Joshua Kimmich after his group’s 3-0 loss at Feyenoord final week.
– What’s going to occur subsequent? –
The groups ending from ninth to twenty fourth within the standings will go into Friday’s draw for the play-offs, with the primary legs to be performed on February 11 and 12 and the return matches every week later.
The groups ending between ninth and sixteenth might be seeded, and the draw might be based mostly on a pre-determined bracket. This implies the groups ending ninth and tenth will face the facet both in twenty third or twenty fourth place, whereas fifteenth and sixteenth will face both seventeenth or 18th.
There may be nothing to cease groups from the identical nation dealing with one another, and groups can be drawn in opposition to opponents they already met within the league section.
A lot is sure to vary on Wednesday, however based mostly on the present standings PSG might play French rivals Lille within the play-offs, whereas Bayern or Actual Madrid might play Juventus or Celtic.
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