Champions League: How every team can qualify for the knockout rounds
Julien Laurens and Craig Burley preview the Champions League matchup between Tottenham and Marseille. (1:24)
We’re into the closing matches of the Champions League group stage, and many teams have booked their places in the round of 16.
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Here we take a look at the state of play across all eight groups.
The group winners and runners-up will go into the Champions League round of 16; third place drops into the Europa League knockout round to face group runners-up from that competition; and fourth is knocked out completely.
QUALIFIED AS GROUP WINNERS: Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Manchester City
QUALIFIED AS GROUP RUNNERS-UP: Borussia Dortmund
QUALIFIED, POSITION TBC: Benfica, Club Brugge, FC Porto, Inter Milan, Liverpool, Napoli, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid
ELIMINATED, COULD MAKE UEL: Ajax, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen, Dinamo Zagreb, Juventus, Maccabi Haifa, Rangers
ELIMINATED FROM EUROPE: Celtic, Viktoria Plzen
TIEBREAKERS:
– points in head-to-head matches among the tied teams
– goal difference in head-to-head matches among the tied teams
– goals scored in head-to-head matches among the tied teams
– overall goal difference
– overall goals scored
– overall away goals scored
– overall wins
– overall away wins
– disciplinary points
– UEFA club coefficient
Next fixtures, Nov. 1: Liverpool vs. Napoli, Rangers vs. Ajax
Napoli: Have qualified and will win the group with a win/draw against Liverpool, or if they lose by no more than three goals.
Liverpool: Have qualified but must beat Napoli by 4+ goals to top the group.
Ajax Amsterdam: Will qualify for the Europa League as long as they don’t lose to Rangers by 5+ goals.
Rangers: Have been eliminated and must beat Ajax by 5+ goals to reach the Europa League.
Next fixtures, Nov. 1: Bayer Leverkusen vs. Club Brugge, FC Porto vs. Atletico Madrid
Club Brugge: Have qualified and will top the group with a win away to Leverkusen, or a draw if FC Porto draw/lose vs. Atletico, or with a defeat if FC Porto lose.
FC Porto: Have qualified and will top the group with a win if Club Brugge draw/lose, or with a draw if Club Brugge lose.
Atletico Madrid: Have been eliminated and must beat FC Porto to guarantee a place in the Europa League. Will be in the UEL with a draw if Leverkusen draw/lose, or with a defeat if Leverkusen lose.
Bayer Leverkusen: Have been eliminated and will drop into the Europa League if they win and Atletico Madrid and Atletico draw/lose. A draw will be enough if Atletico lose. Cannot reach the UEL with a defeat.
Next fixtures, Nov. 1: Bayern Munich vs. Inter Milan, Viktoria Plzen vs. Barcelona
Bayern Munich: Have qualified as group winners.
Inter Milan: Have qualified as group runners-up.
Barcelona: Have qualified for the Europa League.
Viktoria Plzen: Have been eliminated from Europe.
Next fixtures, Nov. 1: Sporting CP vs. Eintracht Frankfurt, Marseille vs. Tottenham
Tottenham Hotspur: Will qualify with a win/draw at Marseille, while a win securing top spot. Cannot qualify with a defeat.
Sporting CP: A draw at home to Sporting guarantees a place in the round of 16, while a win gives them top spot if Spurs draw/lose.
Eintracht Frankfurt: Must win at Sporting CP, which secures a place in the round of 16.
Marseille: Guaranteed to go through win at home to Tottenham, and they will top the group if Sporting-Frankfurt is a draw.
Next fixtures, Nov. 2: AC Milan vs. FC Salzburg, Chelsea vs. Dinamo Zagreb
Chelsea: Have qualified as group winners.
AC Milan: Will go through in second with a win/draw at home to FC Salzburg.
FC Salzburg: Must beat AC Milan to go through in the Champions League.
Dinamo Zagreb: Have been eliminated from the Champions League and can only make it into the Europa League if they win at Chelsea and FC Salzburg lose.
Next fixtures, Nov. 2: Real Madrid vs. Celtic, Shakhtar Donetsk vs. RB Leipzig
Real Madrid: Have qualified for the round of 16 and will win the group with a victory at home to Celtic. A draw/loss will also be enough for top spot if RB Leipzig fail to beat Shakhtar Donetsk.
RB Leipzig: Must avoid defeat away to Shakhtar to qualify, and can top the group with a win if Real Madrid draw/lose.
Shakhtar Donetsk: Victory at home to RB Leipzig will send them through in second on head-to-head record.
Celtic: Have been eliminated from Europe.
Next fixtures, Nov. 2: FC Copenhagen vs. Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City vas Sevilla
Manchester City: Have qualified as group winners.
Borussia Dortmund: Have qualified as group runners-up.
Sevilla: Have qualified for the Europa League.
FC Copenhagen: Have been eliminated from Europe.
Next fixtures, Nov. 2: Juventus vs. Paris Saint-Germain, Maccabi Haifa vs. Benfica
Paris Saint-Germain: Have qualified and are top of the group only on goal difference, so even a win in Turin might not be enough to finished first — but it will leave Benfica needing a big score. The head to head between the two teams at the top is level, with both games finishing 1-1.
Benfica: Have qualified but trail PSG by a goal difference of 4, and have also scored 4 fewer goals. It means they realistically must better PSG’s result on Matchday 6 to finish top — if both teams win then Benfica must do so by at least 4 more goals than PSG win theirs.
Juventus: Have been eliminated from the Champions League. The head to head is level with Maccabi Haifa but Juve have a much better goal difference. It essentially means Juve will be in the Europa League if they match or better Maccabi Haifa’s result.
Maccabi Haifa: As their goal difference is 6 worse than Juve’s they will have to better the Italian side’s result on Matchday 6 to make the Europa League.