The championship phase of the Champions League is coming to an end.
With one day remaining, what each team needs to progress has finally become clear. Or at least a little clearer.
While Arsenal are safely through to the round of 16, where they will be joined by Bayern Munich, everyone still has work to do.
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So, who needs what to secure a place in the knockout stage?
Who is already qualified for the round of 16?
Leaders Arsenal have won all seven of their matches and a single point at home to Kairat Almaty would be enough to clinch top spot ahead of Bayern Munich.
In terms of round of 16 seeding, it makes no difference with the top two in the draw facing either the winners of the play-off between 15th and 18th or 16th and 17th.
Bayern need a point at PSV Eindhoven to secure a top-two spot.
The top two are also guaranteed to play the second leg at home in each round until the final.
(BBC)
Battle for the top eight
This is where things get interesting.
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Let’s start with the easiest. For Real Madrid and Liverpool, both on 15 points, and Tottenham, on 14 points, a victory on matchday eight would guarantee direct entry into the round of 16 draw.
As Spurs face already eliminated Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany, Arne Slot’s side host Qarabag, who can still make the top eight.
“It’s very important because you miss the play-offs, and it helps with the intense schedule we have,” Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk told UEFA.
“It’s up to us again next week at home. Let’s make sure we’re in the top eight. We’ve put ourselves in a good position, but that’s next week.”
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Madrid are away at Joe Mourinho’s Benfica, who need a win to have any chance of sneaking into the play-offs.
Behind Spurs are a group of eight teams, starting with defending champion Paris St-Germain in sixth place, all the way to 13th-placed Atalanta on 13 points.
Newcastle, Chelsea and Manchester City are all in this group that needs a win – and even then, knowing their fate could come down to goal difference.
Eddie Howe’s side face the daunting task of traveling to PSG, while Chelsea are away to Napoli and City host Galatasaray.
Everyone up to Qarabag, 18th, still has a mathematical chance of automatically progressing.
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That’s partly because, although 16 teams are still in contention for the remaining six spots in the top eight, only two of next Wednesday’s 18 matches will be between those teams.
Newcastle’s trip to Paris is one, Borussia Dortmund at home against Inter Milan is the other.
Play-off hopes
The play-off fight is also incredibly close, with everyone down to 32nd-placed Ajax still in contention.
Only the bottom four, Frankfurt, Slavia Prague, Villarreal and Kairat, were eliminated.
Just three points separate 19th-placed Marseille and Ajax, while even 16th-placed Dortmund, two points ahead of the French and still with faint hopes of finishing in the top eight, have not officially secured a play-off place.
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Once again, the way the matches were played out meant that only two matches were direct matchups between the play-off hopefuls: Ajax versus Olympiacos and Marseille’s trip to Club Brugge.
(BBC)
Last round of meetings
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Atlético Madrid vs. Bodo/Glimt
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Bayer Leverkusen vs. Villarreal
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Borussia Dortmund vs. Inter Milan
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Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Tottenham
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Manchester City vs. Galatasaray
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PSV Eindhoven vs. Bayern Munich
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Paris Saint-Germain vs Newcastle
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Union Saint-Gilloise vs. Atalante
All matches will start at 20:00 GMT on January 28.
Watch highlights of every Champions League match on Wednesday from 10:00 p.m. on BBC iPlayer and on the BBC Sport website and app.
There will also be a Champions League Match of the Day on BBC One on Wednesday, from 10.40pm to midnight.
