Champions League results simulated as Chelsea could face Man City in knockout phase play-off amid UEFA ruling | OneFootball

A quirky set of results could set up the potential of an all-English tie in the play-offs

Chelsea and Manchester City are guaranteed a place in the Champions League knockout stage ahead of the final round of league phase fixtures.

Chelsea overcame Pafos 1-0 last week thanks to Moises Caicedo’s late goal, while Man City’s 3-1 loss away at Bodo/Glimt was not too damaging in terms of qualification.

Ultimately, both Premier League teams - as well as Liverpool, Newcastle and Tottenham - will have their fates decided on what is shaping up to be a dramatic night in the Champions League.

Chelsea can join them with a big win over Napoli on Wednesday, while Man City must beat Galatasaray at the Etihad Stadium and then hope results from elsewhere go in their favour.

Should Chelsea and Man City fail to finish in the top eight, they will have the safety net of the play-offs to fall back on in a bid to continue their respective journeys in Europe.

Interestingly, as per UEFA’s result simulator, there is a scenario - albeit a virtually impossible one - where Chelsea finish 15th and Man City finish 17th, meaning they can draw each other in the knockout phase play-off.

Final Champions League table simulated

UEFA

How the fixtures for the knockout phase play-offs are determined is as follows: ‘a. The clubs are paired based on their positions at the end of the league phase to form four seeded pairs (clubs in positions 9 and 10, 11 and 12, 13 and 14, and 15 and 16) and four unseeded pairs (positions 17 and 18, 19 and 20, 21 and 22, and 23 and 24).

‘b. The clubs in each seeded pair are drawn into the knockout phase bracket, against the clubs in each unseeded pair: clubs 9 or 10 against clubs 23 or 24, clubs 11 or 12 against clubs 21 or 22, clubs 13 or 14 against clubs 19 or 20, and clubs 15 or 16 against clubs 17 or 18.’

For this to happen, firstly the simulation has Chelsea losing by four goals away at Napoli and City by three goals at home to Galatasaray.

In addition, the simulation has Borussia Dortmund beating Inter Milan, Qarabag winning by three goals against Liverpool, Juventus avoiding defeat at Monaco and Atalanta doing the same against Union Saint-Gilloise.

Furthermore, unlike in previous years when teams from the same country were kept apart in the first knockout phase, Chelsea and Man City would NOT be kept apart if they ended up in the same knockout phase play-off path.

A projected path to the 2026 Champions League final

UEFA

A UEFA ruling states: ‘Sides can face another team from the same national association in the knockout phase play-offs. Clubs could also face opponents they met during the league phase.’