The final round of Champions League group stage fixtures is upon us and a number of teams face a do-or-die situation as they look to qualify for the Round of 16. The top two teams from the eight groups go through to the knockout stages with the third place team dropping one level down to the Europa League knockout round.Some groups have already got two teams through to the next round, with the last fixture deciding who tops the group. Other teams have an unassailable lead at the top and fans will consider this fixture as nothing more than one of academic interest.So what does each team need to do to qualify? We take a look.
#1 Teams that have already qualified
Group A: Real Madrid (13 points) and PSG (10 points) have already qualified and PSG cannot top the group.
Group C: Benfica and Atletico Madrid (both 10 points) have already qualified. They play each other and either team can top the group but a draw will see Benfica top.
Group D: Juventus (11 points) and Manchester City (9 points) have already qualified. Juve will finish second only if Sevilla beat them and Man City beat Borussia Monchengladbach.
Group E: Only Barcelona (13 points) have qualified.
Group F: Only Bayern Munich (12 points) have qualified.
Group H: Only FC Zenit St. Petersburg (15 points) have qualified.
#2 Group B
# | CLUBS | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | VfL Wolfsburg | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
2 | Manchester United | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
3 | PSV Eindhoven | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 |
4 | CSKA Moscow | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -3 | 4 |
Fixtures: Wolfsburg vs Manchester United and PSV Eindhoven vs CSKA Moscow
Wolfsburg will be through even if they manage just a draw. CSKA Moscow have won only once and have no chance of qualifying and PSV Eindhoven have won both their home games so far.
If Wolfsburg and PSV Eindhoven win, both teams are through. Manchester United need to win to ensure they top the group. Else their progress depends on CSKA Moscow beating PSV.
If Manchester United beat Wolfsburg, they will top the group. But second place could go to either Wolfsburg or PSV, again depending on whether Moscow can get all three points in Eindhoven.
With the top three sides all in the mix, each club would go for the win to play it safe.
#3 Group E
# | CLUBS | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Barcelona | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 13 |
2 | AS Roma | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | -5 | 5 |
3 | Bayer Leverkusen | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
4 | BATE Borisov | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -7 | 4 |
Fixtures: Bayer Leverkusen vs Barcelona and AS Roma vs BATE Borisov
All three of the teams placed second to fourth can still qualify along with Barcelona. Roma will finish second if they beat Borisov – a team that has lost three games already.
Bayer Leverkusen have it all to do as they host an unbeaten Barcelona, who are also the defending champions. Whether Luis Enrique will rest his star players remains to be seen. But if the German side are to qualify, they must beat Barcelona and hope Roma don’t win. Even if Roma and BATE Borisov draw and Leverkusen win, the Bundesliga side go through.
BATE Borisov simply need to win and hope Barcelona lose to Bayer Leverkusen to qualify along with the Spanish side.
#4 Group F
# | CLUBS | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bayern Munich | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 12 |
2 | Olympiakos | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | -4 | 9 |
3 | Arsenal | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | -1 | 6 |
4 | Dinamo Zagreb | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | -9 | 3 |
Fixtures: Olympiakos vs Arsenal and Dinamo Zagreb vs Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich are already through and Dinamo Zagreb have no chance of qualifying for the Round of 16 or even the Europa League because of their goalscoring head-to-head record against Arsenal.
Arsenal have not won any of their matchday 6 matches away at Olympiakos in three attempts. But Wenger has usually gone with a second string side having already qualified. This time, they must win and also win by a margin of two goals having lost the reverse fixture 3-2 at the Emirates.
Olympiakos need only a draw to qualify along with Bayern Munich. Arsenal simply need to win 2-0 or win by scoring three or more goals if they win by just a goal.
#5 Group G
# | CLUBS | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Chelsea | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 10 |
2 | FC Porto | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 10 |
3 | Dynamo Kyiv | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 |
4 | Maccabi Tel-Aviv | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | -14 | 0 |
Fixtures: Dynamo Kyiv vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv and Chelsea vs FC Porto
Here, too, the top three teams can qualify. Dynamo Kyiv must win to stay in the hunt and hope either of Porto or Chelsea lose. If Porto and Chelsea play out a draw and Kyiv win, Chelsea will go through.
But if Chelsea and Porto draw and Maccabi Tel-Aviv somehow manage to beat Kyiv (they have lost all five matches so far), then both Porto and Chelsea will go through with the Portuguese side topping the group having beaten them 2-1 on matchday 2.
#6 Group H
# | CLUBS | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | FC Zenit | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 15 |
2 | Gent | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 |
3 | Valencia | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | -2 | 6 |
4 | Olympique Lyon | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | -6 | 1 |
Fixtures: Valencia vs Lyon and Gent vs Zenit Saint Petersburg
This group is a lot simpler. If Gent beat Zenit, both teams qualify with the Russian side having already topped the group for good.
But if they play out a draw, the other match’s result comes into the picture. If Lyon and Valencia draw or Lyon beat Valencia, then Gent are still through.
Valencia can only qualify if they beat Lyon and Gent lose or draw.