CL Preview: Which teams will drop out?
It’s all on the line on the final day of the CL league phase on Wednesday with all 36 teams in action and much to be decided. The new format has been met with both positive and negative feedback but it can certainly be said that the last couple of game weeks have had a certain amount of jeopardy about them.
With the top eight going through as seeded teams it is left to the following sixteen teams to playoff against each other for the right to play the top eight. The bottom eight teams will be ending their European adventure. So far, only Liverpool and Barcelona are guaranteed their place in the top eight, with the former managing to win every match so far. Inter, Atlético Madrid and AC Milan are almost guaranteed to be in the next round too but below them, there is all to play for.
Aston Villa find themselves in ninth spot whereas German giants Bayern Munich and Dortmund are both in the second group of teams, in fourteenth and fifteenth spots respectively. Even more surprising is the fact that defending champions Real Madrid are even further down, they are in sixteenth spot, but at least guaranteed a place in the playoff round. Italian giants Juventus are also in the bottom half of the table and so are PSG, who managed a priceless win over Manchester City last weekend to all but guarantee their presence in the next round. The English Champions have work to do as they are just outside the top 24 and simply must win their tie against Club Brugge to overtake one of either Stuttgart, Sporting, PSG or Benfica. Other than City, there are not too many surprises in the bottom twelve with the likes of Sturm Graz, Young Boys, Salzburg and Sparta Prague among the teams whose adventure in the CL will conclude after this game week.
There are a number of interesting matchups on the final day of this stage including a clash between Aston Villa and Celtic and a battle between two teams in the top eight, Barcelona and Atalanta. Leverkusen, Dortmund and Bayern will be hoping to make it three wins out of three for the qualified Bundesliga teams whereas Manchester City simply must win their home match against Club Brugge. Liverpool will look to wrap up the group stage with a 100% record if they can win on the road at PSV.
Here is a quick look at our pick of the day’s best matches:
Aston Villa vs Celtic
Villa Park, Wednesday @ 21:00
Aston Villa go into this match on a three match winless run and that includes a defeat in the CL last week against Monaco. That result saw them drop out of the top eight after making such a positive start but they do have one more chance to put things right by winning this match at home against Celtic. A comfortable win in this match will give them the best chance of overtaking one of the teams currently in the top eight but even if they manage that, it is out of their hands. English sides overall have a good record against Scottish teams, winning seven of the last games hosted in England. Tyrone Mings limped out of the weekend match with a recurrence of his long term injury, so he will be a big loss for the midlands club.
Celtic’s league match was postponed at the weekend due to storm damage at Dundee’s stadium so they have had an extra long rest heading into this fixture. Celtic have won five of their last six matches but they will know this is a tough ask for them. They have guaranteed themselves a spot in the last round by finishing in the top 24 and the fact they have only won one of their last 21 away CL matches. Brendan Rogers however does have a very good record against Aston Villa, with nine wins to his name.
Barcelona vs Atalanta
Camp Nou, Wednesday @ 21:00
Barcelona are guaranteed their place in the last 16 and will be looking to end on a high note with a home win against another team who has had an excellent campaign so far, Atalanta. They warmed up for this match with an impressive 7-1 win over Valencia at the weekend which takes their goal tally to 101 in the 32 matches they have played so far. They have six consecutive wins in Europe and last time out they managed an impressive comeback victory over Benfica, a result which meant that manager Hansi Flick continues his impressive record in this competition, he now has a 91% win percentage. Barcelona are certainly fast starters as they have scored their opening goal within the first 20 minutes in seven of their last eight CL matches.
Atalanta stormed to a 5-0 win over Sturm Graz in the previous round to guarantee their place in the next round. They managed a slightly less convincing 2-1 win over Como in the weekend and another win here would guarantee their place in the last 16 as they are only one point ahead of six teams that are chasing them for one of the final places in the top eight. They have a poor record against Spanish teams however, with only one draw to show for their efforts in the last six meetings. On the flip side, they have won all three away matches in Europe this season and in Ademola Lookman they have a forward who has contributed four goals and two assists in the last five CL matches.
Manchester City vs Club Brugge
Etihad Stadium, Wednesday @ 21:00
This is unchartered territory for Manchester City over recent years. They have had a very poor season overall and this is reflected too in their position in the CL. The fact that they are so close to being eliminated after the league phase is not something that many fans would have thought possible at the start of the season. Last week they appeared to have gotten their qualification back on track when they went two goals up against PSG, only to fall to a 4-2 defeat. They bounced back from that with a 3-1 win at the weekend over Chelsea and they will be optimistic that they should be able to get the better of Club Brugge, especially since it is a home match.
Club Brugge will know that everything is at stake in this match as defeat will see them move below City and thus be eliminated from the competition. They are on an excellent record though, having no losses in their last 20 games, including four in this competition. Should they avoid defeat again they will guarantee a place in the knockout rounds but they do have a terrible record against English teams. The fact they have yet to win a single match in England in European competition should certainly worry their fans as well as the fact that City have won seven of their eight matches against Belgian opposition overall.
Stuttgart vs PSG
Neckarstadion, Wednesday @ 21:00
These two teams are right on the edge of being eliminated with PSG in 22nd spot and Stuttgart occupying the last place that carries a club into the next round, 24th spot. With the likes of Manchester City one place below them, the German team know that they cannot afford to slip up in this match but they face a very tricky opponent, one who only just lifted themselves into a safe position last weekend. They won their last two matches in the CL to keep their hopes of qualification for the next round alive, but the last time they won three matches in this competition was way back in 2003. Stuttgart were beaten by Mainz in the league at the weekend and the fact they face a side who are equally desperate for points makes life trickier.
PSG are only above Stuttgart thanks to a superior goal difference but their continued participation in the competition is at least in their own hands now, following their win over Manchester City last week. Their charge towards the league title stuttered last weekend as they could only manage a 1-1 draw against Reims but they will not be too concerned by that as their focus will 100% be on getting through to the next round of this competition, one which they have so far failed to win despite their well publicised attempts. One worry for PSG is the fact that they have a poor overall record against German teams, losing eight of their thirteen away matches in Germany.
Last Updated: 27.01.2025
