What is at stake on the final day of the Champions League league stage? | OneFootball

The final round of group games in the Champions League take place this Wednesday and there is a lot on the line.

Arsenal currently lead the pack and have remarkably won all seven of their games, scoring 20 goals and only conceding twice. 

They are three points clear of nearest challengers Bayern Munich, while Real Madrid are third on 15 points. 

In the new league stage, only the top eight teams qualify for the round of 16 stage automatically.

The other teams who currently round out the top eight are Liverpool, Tottenham, PSG, Newcastle and Chelsea.

After the eighth and final games have been played on Wednesday evening, the 16 teams between ninth and 24th will enter into a two-legged playoff round with the winner of each tie then progressing to the round of 16. The loser will be knocked out. 

The teams who finish below 24th will be instantly eliminated and neither they nor the losers of the playoff round will drop into the Europa League.  

Barcelona, Manchester City, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, Juventus, Borussia Dortmund and Marseille are among the teams positioned between ninth and 24th.

The teams who finish between ninth and 16th in the league phase will be seeded, and the teams who finish between 17th and 24th in the league phase will be unseeded.

The teams who finish 9th and 10th will be drawn against the teams who finish 23rd and 24th.

The teams who finish 11th and 12th will be drawn against the teams who finish 21st and 22nd.

The teams who finish 13th and 14th will be drawn against the teams who finish 19th and 20th.

And the teams who finish 15th and 16th will be drawn against the teams who finish 17th and 18th.

The draw for the playoff stage takes place this Friday January 30th.

Teams can play another team from the same national association in the play-off phase, and they can also be drawn to play a team they have already played in the league phase.

The first legs of the playoff round will be played on February 17th and 18th, and the second legs will be played on February 24th and 25th.

Ahead of Wednesday’s games, only Arsenal and Bayern Munich currently have their places in the round of 16 secured, and every other team is at risk of entering into the playoff stage.

Those teams at risk will be all too aware of the unnecessary extra burden that will be placed on them if they do not qualify automatically. 

Napoli, Ajax and Jose Mourinho’s Benfica are among the clubs not currently in the top 24.

All three clubs are still in with a chance of making the playoff round, but Napoli face Chelsea and Benfica are up against Real Madrid. 

There will be more than a fair share of drama on Wednesday but perhaps the main game to look out for is Napoli against Chelsea. Napoli have to win to guarantee a place in the play-off round and Chelsea likely have to win to ensure automatic qualification. 

There has been plenty of debate over whether the changes to the UCL format that were implemented at the beginning of last season have made the competition better or worse, but one thing that is for certain is that the final round of group games all being played on the same evening makes for one of the most exciting days of the season.

Whats’s at stake for the English clubs?

Arsenal have already booked their place in the last 16 and it is expected manager Mikel Arteta will use their last game against Kairat Almighty to rest some key players and give a few youngsters a run out.

Liverpool are currently fourth on 15 points, but that is only two points ahead of those immediately outside the top eight. The Reds face Qarabag and likely need a win to secure automatic qualification.

Tottenham are fifth and on 14 points. They play Frankfurt away, also likely needing a win for a top-eight finish.

Newcastle are seventh on 13 points and currently only in the top eight on goal difference. They face an extremely tough test away to PSG, almost certainly needing a win to qualify automatically.

Chelsea are eighth and also on 13 points, and head to the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium to face Antonio Conte’s Napoli with their top eight hopes in their own hands.

Surprisingly, Manchester City are the only English team not currently in the top eight. They are 11th, but interestingly also on 13 points with Newcastle and Chelsea.

It seems very likely that making the top eight will come down to goal difference. Newcastle’s is plus 10, Chelsea’s is plus six, and Manchester City’s is plus four.

Guardiola’s side do, though, have a very favourable home fixture against Galatasaray, who are 17th.