While 11
teams have secured their qualification to the Round of 16, there is plenty to
play for in the final UEFA Champions League matchday as heavyweights and minnows battle to keep
their European campaigns alive.
All four English
teams have secured their spot among the final 16 but Real Madrid could be the
only Spanish side in the knockouts with the fates of Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla and Villarreal still uncertain.
Manchester
City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Paris-Saint
Germain, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Ajax Amsterdam, Sporting Lisbon and Juventus
are the teams to have secured their place in the knockouts so far.
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Let’s take
a look at who all could join them from each group:
Group A
Matchday 6
fixtures:
RB Leipzig
vs Manchester City
PSG vs Club
Brugge
Both City
and PSG have secured their qualification to the knockouts, with Pep Guardiola’s
side also assured of the top spot in the group. However, Leipzig and Brugge can
still vie for spot in the Europa League. The German side have a better
head-to-head record against the Belgians, who will need to better Leipzig’s
result to secure third spot.
Group B
Matchday 6
fixtures:
FC Porto vs
Atletico Madrid
AC Milan vs
Liverpool
Group B has
a three-way contest for both the second and third spots with AC Milan, Atletico
Madrid and FC Porto in the fray for qualification. Milan and Atletico are locked
on four points each, with the latter bottom of the table on goal difference,
while Porto are just a point above the two giants.
Here are
the possible scenarios:
If Porto
win: If Porto can beat Atletico, they will progress to the knockouts regardless
of the result in the other match. Milan can secure a spot in the Europa League
if they can better Atletico’s result.
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If Atletico
win: A win for Atletico will at least secure a Europa League spot while their place
in the last 16 will be confirmed if Milan draw or lose against Liverpool. Even
if Milan win, Atleti will have to hope the margin is narrow enough for their
goal difference to remain better than the Italian club’s. A win for Diego Simeone’s
men will end Porto Champions League campaign, who can still make the Europa
League if Liverpool beat Milan.
If Porto-Atletico
draw: A draw between Porto and Atletico will make Milan the favourites to make
the last 16, given that they can beat Liverpool. They will reach the Europa League
if they can at least get a point.
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If Milan
win: A win for Milan will at least secure their Europa league spot. They can reach
the Ro16 if Porto-Atletico ends in a draw, or if Atletico win by a smaller
margin than them.
If Milan draw
or lose: A draw against Liverpool will end Milan’s Champions League campaign,
but they will be assured of a Europa League spot. They can also still make the
second-tier competition after defeat, if Porto can beat Atletico.
Group C
Matchday 6
fixtures:
Ajax Amsterdam
vs Sporting Lisbon
Borussia
Dortmund vs Besiktas
While the
group is more-or-less over, mathematically, Dortmund can still pip Sporting to the
second spot with a big swing in results. Dortmund need to beat Besiktas
and hope Ajax can crush Sporting by a big enough margin to improve their goal
difference compared to the Portuguese side.
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Any other result will see Ajax and Sporting
progress as group winners and runners-up respectively, while Dourtmund will head
to the Europa League.
Group D
Matchday 6
fixtures:
Real Madrid
vs Inter Milan
Shakhtar
Donetsk vs Sheriff Tiraspol
The qualification
spots have been confirmed in this group, with Real Madrid and Inter Milan
heading to the Ro16, while Sheriff will play in the Europa League. The winners
between Madrid and Inter will be the group winners.
Group E
Matchday 6
fixtures:
Bayern
Munich vs Barcelona
Benfica vs
Dynamo Kiev
The stakes
are high in this group as Barcelona could miss out on Champions League knockout
football for the first time in 21 years. However, Xavi’s men have their destiny
in their own hands and will need to beat Bayern away from home to confirm their
place in the Ro16.
In case
they fail to beat the German giants, Barca will hope Benfica drop points
against Kiev. Whichever side fails to progress from the group will end up in
the Europa League, with Kiev guaranteed to finish fourth.
Group F
Matchday 6
fixtures:
Manchester
United vs Young Boys
Atalanta vs
Villarreal
Manchester
United are confirmed of progression and will finish as group winners if they
beat Young Boys, while the winners between Villarreal and Atalanta will head to
the Ro16. Villarreal can also progress to the knockouts with a draw.
Young Boys
can make the Europa League at Atalanta expense if they can script a shock win at Old Trafford and the Serie A side lose.
Group G
Matchday 6
fixtures:
Wolfsburg
vs Lille
RB Salzburg
vs Sevilla
Each team
in the group can progress to the knockouts in what is one of the tightest groups
this season. Lille are top of the table and hold the edge in the qualification race.
The French side will be guaranteed to progress with a win and have to hope the
other match also ends in a draw if they get a point against Wolfsburg.
The winners
between Salzburg and Sevilla will also be confirmed a place in the Ro16, while
a draw will give second-placed Salzburg the edge. Bottom-placed Wolfsburg need
to beat Lille and hope to better their goal difference (-3) along with
favourable result in the other match.
Group H
Mathday 6
fixtures:
Zenit Saint
Petersburg vs Chelsea
Juventus vs
Malmo
While
Chelsea and Juventus have secured qualification to the knockout rounds, either
of them can still end up as group winners, depending on which side can get a
better result in their final game. Zenit will go to the Europa League as Malmo
are unlikely to overturn a -12 goal difference even if they can miraculously
beat Juve to draw level on points with the Swedish side.
