UEFA Champions League

Champions League Guide: Who needs what & who could miss out on the knockouts?

Champions League trophy ahead of tournament return
Liverpool top the Champions League table but Man City, Real Madrid and PSG are in trouble

As the Champions League swings back into action we look at how the table currently stands, who needs what to get through and the big teams in danger of missing out as we head towards the knockout stages.


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Champions League - As it stands

Liverpool have really taken to the new Champions League format, winning all six games and conceding just once to already secure at least a play-off place along with second-placed Barcelona.

With two games to go, it'd take something weird for Liverpool not to finish in the top eight but behind them it's close as Barca only have a three-point gap over Dortmund, Bayern Munich, AC Milan and Atletico Madrid who are lurking just outside the top eight.

Arsenal sit in third but just a point ahead of ninth after four wins, a draw and one defeat, a record matched by Inter and Bayer Leverkusen, alongisde a surprisingly good Aston Villa start and a shockingly good effort from Lille and Brest from France.

Young Boys, Slovan Bratislava and surprisingly RB Leipzig have all been eliminated already after losing all six games, with the biggest shock in those currently in the bottom 12 and heading out as it stands are PSG.

Man City and Real Madrid have had shocking starts two, and with just eight and nine points respectively they're just a point and two points clear of the drop zone - so have a lot of work to do.


Champions League table

# Teams P W D L GF GA PTS xGF xGA xGD EXP FCST
1 Liverpool 8 7 0 1 17 5 21 0 0 0
2 Barcelona 8 6 1 1 28 13 19 0 0 0
3 Arsenal 8 6 1 1 16 3 19 0 0 0
4 Inter 8 6 1 1 11 1 19 0 0 0
5 Atlético 8 6 0 2 20 12 18 0 0 0
6 Leverkusen 8 5 1 2 15 7 16 0 0 0
7 Lille 8 5 1 2 17 10 16 0 0 0
8 Aston Villa 8 5 1 2 13 6 16 0 0 0
9 Atalanta 8 4 3 1 20 6 15 0 0 0
10 Dortmund 8 5 0 3 22 12 15 0 0 0
11 Real Madrid 8 5 0 3 20 12 15 0 0 0
12 Bayern München 8 5 0 3 20 12 15 0 0 0
13 Milan 8 5 0 3 14 11 15 0 0 0
14 PSV 8 4 2 2 16 12 14 0 0 0
15 PSG 8 4 1 3 14 9 13 0 0 0
16 Benfica 8 4 1 3 16 12 13 0 0 0
17 Monaco 8 4 1 3 13 13 13 0 0 0
18 Brest 8 4 1 3 10 11 13 0 0 0
19 Feyenoord 8 4 1 3 18 21 13 0 0 0
20 Juventus 8 3 3 2 9 7 12 0 0 0
21 Celtic 8 3 3 2 13 14 12 0 0 0
22 Man City 8 3 2 3 18 14 11 0 0 0
23 Sporting 8 3 2 3 13 12 11 0 0 0
24 Club Brugge 8 3 2 3 7 11 11 0 0 0
25 Dinamo Zagreb 8 3 2 3 12 19 11 0 0 0
26 Stuttgart 8 3 1 4 13 17 10 0 0 0
27 Shakhtar D 8 2 1 5 8 16 7 0 0 0
28 Bologna 8 1 3 4 4 9 6 0 0 0
29 Crvena zvezda 8 2 0 6 13 22 6 0 0 0
30 Sturm 8 2 0 6 5 14 6 0 0 0
31 Sparta 8 1 1 6 7 21 4 0 0 0
32 Leipzig 8 1 0 7 8 15 3 0 0 0
33 Girona 8 1 0 7 5 13 3 0 0 0
34 Salzburg 8 1 0 7 5 27 3 0 0 0
35 Slovan 8 0 0 8 7 27 0 0 0 0
36 Young Boys 8 0 0 8 3 24 0 0 0 0
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How does the new knockout format work?

The new Champions League looks complicated at first but once the fixtures are decided it's not too hard to understand how the enlarged league system works when it comes to finally getting us into the more familiar last 16 knockouts.

Firstly, the top eight in the league go straight through into the last 16 of the competition, but there's an extra play-off to get through for the next eight to complete the last 16 line-up.

So, those teams who finish from ninth to 16th in the table will play a two-legged play-off against teams finishing from 17th to 24th, with the higher ranked sides playing the second leg at home.

The eight winners then play the top eight league finishers to play out the usual knockout stage to find the Champions League winner.


Champions League knockout phase schedule

Knockout phase play-off draw: 31 January
Knockout phase play-offs: 11/12 & 18/19 February
Round of 16, quarter-final, semi-final draws: 21 February
Round of 16: 4/5 & 11/12 March
Quarter-finals: 8/9 & 15/16 April
Semi-finals: 29/30 April & 6/7 May
Final: 31 May (Munich)


What do British clubs needs to get through?

Liverpool technically need a point against either Lille or PSV, but even if they lose both it'd take six teams below them to win twice, then one of those four lurking just outside to also win both games for the Reds to drop into the play-offs.

Arsenal face Dinamo Zagreb and Girona knowing two wins would book their top eight spot, the same task that awaits Aston Villa who go to Monaco then host Celtic - with the Scottish champions fighting for a play-off spot down in 21st with just a two-point cushion.

Man City are struggling though, and they face a massive game coming up away at PSG, who could leapfrog above Pep Guardiola's side should they win in Paris, and that would leave City needing to beat Club Brugge at home on the final day and possibly needing results elsewhere to go their way.


Which big teams are in danger of missing out?

As mentioned, City and PSG are in danger of being two massive casualties, with the French side having to go to Stuttgart after hosting Man City and they may well need six points just to survive.

Real Madrid aren't doing too good either as they sit in 20th after three wins and three defeats so have just two points between themselves and the drop zone ahead of their home game against Salzburg coming up.

They should win that, and that could leave them needing just a point away at Brest, but the French minnows could still be fighting for a top eight spot by then, where they currently sit.

The likes of Juventus and Benfica look relativelty safe for a play-off spot, while RB Leipzig going out so early was a big shock.


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