With just one round of this season’s UEFA Champions League (UCL) remaining, qualification remains wide open for the majority of teams and the stakes remain high.
Some of Europe’s top clubs remain on high alert heading into the final round as teams look to bypass the play-off stage and qualify directly for the last 16.
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But many other teams, including past winners and current league champions across the continent, fear the reality of an early exit.
Al Jazeera Sports takes a closer look at who needs what from the day of the league’s final match to survive in the UCL.
How is Champions League qualification determined from the league stage?
Of the 36 teams participating in the first round of this season’s Champions League, the top eight teams in the league stage will qualify directly to the last 16.
The 16 teams in the table below will be sent to the play-off stage, where each team will play a two-legged tie, with each aggregate winner joining the eight automatically qualified teams for the next knockout stage.
The bottom eight teams at the end of the league will be eliminated from all European competitions this season. Under the old format, teams that finished third in the group stage were given the comfort of being relegated to the knockout stages of the UEFA Europa League.
Who has already qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League?
Arsenal: The north London club became the first team to reach the last 16 with a 3-1 win over Inter Milan on Tuesday. The league phase leaders, who are also at the top of the English Premier League with a seven-point difference, have a three-point lead in the UCL standings and will face bottom club Kairat in the final round.
Bayern Munich: The German giants also qualified with a 2-0 home win over Union Saint Giroise on Wednesday and will be hoping to challenge the Gunners for top spot when they face PSV Eindhoven in the final round. However, this will be a difficult task as the hosts, the Netherlands, are in a precarious position just above the bottom eight.
Could Real Madrid, Barcelona, PSG and Liverpool miss out on automatic qualification to the UCL last 16?
yes.
If Real Madrid, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain or Liverpool lose in the final round of the league, they will miss out on a place in the top eight.
Liverpool beat Marseille 3-0 on Wednesday, Barcelona worked towards a 4-2 win against Slavia Prague and Real beat Monaco 6-1 on Tuesday. PSG lost 2-1 to Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday, missing out on a chance to secure a place in the play-offs.
Which teams have already been eliminated from the Champions League at the league stage?
Of the 32 teams competing at this stage, only four have already been eliminated: Eintracht Frankfurt, Slavia Prague, Villarreal and Kairat.
Who provided the surprise package in this season’s Champions League?
Tottenham currently sit in fifth place with 14 points, but this is in stark contrast to their performance in the Premier League, where they sit 14th in the domestic table and have not won in four games, losing two of them.
Which top team is most at risk of missing out on the Champions League play-offs?
Barcelona: The La Liga champions currently sit in ninth place and are the biggest name to miss out on automatic qualification. The good news for the Catalan club is that PSG will play Newcastle United in the final round, and with both teams currently in the top eight, a win in Barca’s final game against Copenhagen will qualify them.
PSG vs. Newcastle: Like Barça, both teams have 13 points, so a draw at the Camp Nou on Wednesday could be enough to qualify, assuming there is a winner in Paris.
Considering Barça’s current position, teams below Barcelona cannot rest easy with their fate in their hands.
Eight teams are tied with 13 points, from 6th place (PSG) to 13th place.
This includes Chelsea, Manchester City and Atletico Madrid in eighth place. Inter Milan and Juventus both have 12 points.
Can one of the smaller teams break into the top eight spots in the Champions League?
Borussia Dortmund and Galatasaray sit just below Juventus with 11 and 10 points respectively, while Qarabag are also level with the latter. The Azerbaijani club, which was only founded in 1987, could theoretically advance to the top eight if their results go well and they win their final match. However, it is an away match for Liverpool.
Sporting Lisbon and Atalanta, who currently sit in the group of teams with 13 points, could also move into the top eight in the final rankings, although they are far from being among the smaller clubs on the European stage.
Which big teams could be eliminated from the Champions League at league stage?
Four-time European champions Ajax sit just above the eliminated bottom four teams and must beat Olympiakos in their final match at home to qualify for the play-off stage.
These 14 teams are separated by just three points, from the Dutch giants in 32nd place with six points to Marseille in 11th place.
Among the teams currently in the bottom eight are Italian champions Napoli, who face a difficult trip to play Chelsea on Wednesday, and Portuguese giants Benfica, who entertain Spanish superclub Real Madrid.
Galatasaray and Qarabag can still dream of a top-eight finish, but Marseille, Bayer Leverkusen, Monaco, PSV, Athletic Bilbao and Olympiakos are also at risk of falling into the league elimination zone.
Who is at least confirmed to advance to the playoff stage?
The following teams are guaranteed to at least make the playoffs.
Atalanta, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Inter, Juventus, Liverpool, Manchester City, Newcastle, PSG, Real Madrid, Sporting CP, Tottenham.
When is the final round of the league phase of the Champions League?
All final rounds will take place on Wednesdays, with all kick-offs at 20:00 GMT.
What is the final round of the league phase of the Champions League?
ajax vs olympiakos
Arsenal vs Kairat Athletic Bilbao vs Sporting Lisbon Atletico Madrid vs Bodo/Glimt Barcelona vs Copenhagen Bayer Leverkusen vs Villarreal Benfica vs Real Madrid Borussia Dortmund vs Inter Milan Club Brugge vs Marseille Eintracht Frankfurt vs Tottenham Hotspur Liverpool vs Qarabag Manchester City vs Galatasaray Monaco vs Juventus Napoli vs Chelsea PSV Eindhoven vs Bayern Munich Paphos vs Slavia Prague Paris Saint-Germain vs Newcastle United Union Saint Giroise vs Atalanta
When will the Champions League playoffs take place?
The two races will be held on February 17-18 and February 24-25.
When will the last 16 matches of the Champions League be held?
The two Round of 16 matches will be played on March 10-11 and March 17-18.
When and where will the UEFA Champions League final be held?
After the quarter-finals and semi-finals, this season’s Champions League final will be held at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary. The match will take place on May 30th.
