The final day of the preliminary round of the Champions League has never been more exciting and tense!Ahead of this Wednesday night, there are dozens of different scenarios – many of them mutually opposed – that will decide which teams will progress to the Round or the knockout-stage playoffs, which precedes it, and which one will be eliminated. One thing is for sure – we’re promised a true spectacle with 18 Champions League matches starting at the same time, 11 PM, so bukcle up…18 games in one night 🤯Wednesday 🍿#UCL pic.twitter.com/OQjiMiwH2G— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) January 27, 2025 Who is safe? The only two teams that have secured their place in the Round of 16 are the top two on the table – Liverpool and Barcelona. It seems that the battle for first place is more a matter of pride, considering that both the Reds and the Blaugrana will find out who their next opponents will be after a draw.According to the new format, these two teams will face two winners from head-to-head ties between sides ranked from 15th to 18th position. At this moment, those teams are Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Juventus, and Celtic. Huh, not the easiest challenge for Liverpool and Barca, we would say… Of course, many things could change in the final round, so this is not 100% certain yet.At the end of round 7 in the UCL league phase, these teams have secured their spots in the round of 16 ✅️ pic.twitter.com/LcouyBiC6y— The Shinguards (@shinguardss) January 23, 2025 What about third-placed Arsenal? Their chances to get to the Round of 16 directly are only slightly lower than those of the Scousers and the Catalans. A miracle would have to happen for Mikel Arteta’s squad not to make it, though. In case of their away victory against already-eliminated Girona, the North Londoners will secure not only the place in the Round of 16, but won’t be placed be lower than fourth.Arsenal secure a top eight place in the Champions League##NAJAVA_MECA_8667389##Anyhow, here’s what needs to happen, all in the same time, for Arsenal to drop to knockout-stage playoffs (if you’re the Gunners’ fan, brace yourself):- Arsenal lose or draw at Girona- Inter beat Monaco or Monaco win but with a staggering goal-difference to top Arsenal’s (which is +12, compared to Monaco’s +3)- Atletico Madrid defeat Salzburg- Milan celebrate a triumph against Dinamo Zagreb- Atalanta knock down Barcelona- Bayer Leverkusen batter Sparta Prague in order to top Arsenal in terms of goal difference (+6, compared to Arsenal’s +12)- at least one of these teams – Aston Villa/Feyenoord/Lille/Brest – win and top Arsenal in terms of goal differenceOk, now that we’ve done that sience-fiction section, let’s take a look at the the rest of top eight clubs. They’re facing some more complicated scenarios than the Gunners, but they also have good chances for progressing to the next stage.##NAJAVA_MECA_8667508##Inter need a single point to stay in the top 8, while Atletico Madrid and AC Milan both need to win, as teams as far down as 18th place are within reach. Leverkusen are in the top 8 only thanks to a goal difference at the moment, so only a win against the already-eliminated Sparta Prague will guarantee them the direct path to the Road of 16.When it comes to Aston Villa, their loss in the previous round to Monaco has put them in a difficult situation, as they are now one place away from that direct lane. They will now have to hope that some of those four teams above them would slip in the ultimate 90 minutes. Villa await Celtic, and along with their obligatory win, they will be closely monitoring the results of Atletico Madrid, Milan, Atalanta, and Bayer Leverkusen.##NAJAVA_MECA_8667411##Aston Villa hits hard – Disasi has already agreed, now waiting for FelixAmong the other teams, Lille have no chance of qualifying directly. In the last game, they will face Feyenoord, where they need a win and favorable results in the other matches to book a playoffs’ ticket. Brest are in a similar position, but they await the defending champions, Real Madrid, who are with their backs to the wall, and it’s highly improbable we’ll see Brest celebrating a win in such circumstances. Interestingly, Ligue 1’s third representative in the UCL, AS Monaco are tied with Brest and Lille, and will face Inter at the Guissepe Meazza Stadium.Can there be more than this? A billion for ViniciusBorussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Juventus, Celtic, PSV, and Club Brugge are the teams that still have a chance to sneak into the top 8, but their chances are very slim. They need a series of other results to go their way in order to secure a spot in the Round of 16.Benfica, Paris Saint-Germain, Sporting CP, and VfB Stuttgart all have 10 points, but they don’t have a chance to go through directly to the top 8 due to the matches played by teams above them, such as Lille and Feyenoord.A big #UCL night at the Etihad 🔜 pic.twitter.com/67NkILYUnT— Manchester City (@ManCity) January 27, 2025 Of the remaining teams, Stuttgart and Manchester City have good chances to reach the playoffs. Stuttgart needs just one point, while for City, a win against Brugge is enough to advance to the playoffs. Any other scenario would be nothing short of disaster.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 8Wednesday 23.00: (1.60) Aston Villa (4.20) Celtic (6.00)23.00: (1.80) Barcelona (4.00) Atalanta (4.50)23.00: (1.02) Bayern (17.0) Slovan B. (75.0)23.00: (8.00) Brest (5.30) Real Madrid (1.40)23.00: (6.00) Dinamo Zagreb (4.30) Milan (1.53)23.00: (1.37) Dortmund (5.10) Shakhtar (7.75)23.00: (5.60) Girona (3.70) Arsenal (1.65)23.00: (1.70) Inter (3.90) Monaco (5.50)23.00: (2.20) Juventus (3.35) Benfica (3.35)23.00: (1.12) Leverkusen (12.0) Sparta Praha (19.0)23.00: (2.15) Lille (3.50) Feyenoord (3.60)23.00: (1.18) Man.City (7.75) Club Brugge (13.0)23.00: (3.05) PSV (3.70) Liverpool (2.35)23.00: (9.00) Salzburg (5.00) Atl.Madrid (1.35)23.00: (1.50) Sporting (4.30) Bologna (6.50)23.00: (3.90) Sturm (3.50) RB Leipzig (1.95)23.00: (3.60) Stuttgart (2.45) PSG (2.75)23.00: (2.60) Young Boys (3.50) Crvena Zvezda (2.80)***odds are subject to change***
