UEFA have confirmed that six teams have been confirmed for the group stages of the 2016/17 Champions League as of today. The teams that have made it to the group stages so far are Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain and Leicester City.
Across all leagues in Europe, the fact that only six teams have so far made sure of their position in the group stages of next season's Champions League gives a good idea of how good the competitive strength has been in general.
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The teams that have qualified so far come from La Liga, Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and Premier League. Both La Liga and Bundesliga have two teams each who have secured their places, and that is despite the league being pretty lop-sided, outside of the top two or three.
Though Barcelona have suffered a great dip in their recent form, they are still top of the La Liga table on goal difference, and have secured their place in next season's competition, having failed in their attempt to become the first team to successfully defend the trophy in the Champions League era.
Atletico, who eliminated the Catalans from Europe's top competition, have also secured their presence in the 2016/17 Champions League, primarily due to their consistency throughout the season, and their never-say-die attitude, which has seen them get level on points with Barcelona in the Spanish league as well.
In Germany, both Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund have sealed their place in the Champions League for next season. Though the 7-point gap between Bayern and Borussia is quite substantial, the gulf in quality is shown by the fact that the third-placed side, Bayer Leverkusen, trail Dortmund by 20 points. The gap between Leverkusen in third and Munich at the top is 27 points, while Hannover 96 at the bottom are 30 points behind Bayer, which indicates the vast difference in the teams’ levels.
Leicester City are having a great season, as they sit top of the Premier League table currently, five points ahead of Tottenham Hotspur in second place. The most surprising placings for the Champions League are from the EPL, with both Leicester and Tottenham not regular features in the competition.
As the league tables stand, the six teams mentioned above have a place in the group stages, while the others mentioned below will qualify if they retain their place in the Champions League placings reserved for their leagues.
2015/16 Champions League group stages
Spain – Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid
England – Leicester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City
Germany – Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen
Italy – Juventus, Napoli
Portugal – Benfica, Sporting CP
France – Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco
Russia – Rostov
Ukraine – Dynamo Kyiv
Netherlands – PSV Eindhoven
Belgium – Club Brugge
Switzerland – Basel
Turkey – Besiktas
Play-offs (through the league)
Villarreal (Spain), Arsenal (England), Hertha Berlin (Germany), Roma (Italy), Porto (Portugal)
The winners of the 2015/16 Champions League will also receive direct entry to the group stages next season, while the winners of the 2015/16 Europa League will qualify for the Champions League play-offs, unless the 2015/16 Champions League winners also qualify through their domestic league position, in which case the Europa League winners will get entry into the group stages.
