Champions League Permutations: What Your Club Needs Heading Into Final Round

Ahead of the final matchday in the inaugural league phase of the revamped Champions League. We’ve taken a look at what each British club will be looking for on Wednesday Night along with some of the other big stories.

The new Champions League format brought in at the start of the season was hotly debated by supporters. However, it’s certainly brought high entertainment and jeopardy with 25/36 teams still with something to play for.

Champions League Permutations

How Many Qualify?

• 24/36 teams will progress to the knockout phase of the competition.
• The Top-8 will automatically qualify for the Champions League Last 16.
• 9th-16th finishers will be seeded and drawn against a side who finished 17th-24th for a two-legged knockout playoff. The winners will then play those from the Top-8.
• 25th-36th will be eliminated from Europe with no backdoor to the Europa League, unlike previous seasons.

Who's In, Who's Out & What's To Play For

• Top-8 Guaranteed (Last 16): Liverpool, Barcelona
• Top-24 (Guaranteed) (Playoff): Arsenal, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, AC Milan, Atalanta, Bayer Leverkusen, Aston Villa, Monaco, Feyenoord, Lille, Brest, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Juventus, Celtic
• Uncertain: PSV, Club Brugge, Benfica, PSG, Sporting, Stuttgart, Manchester City, Dinamo Zagreb, Shakhtar Donetsk
• Eliminated: Bologna, Sparta Prague, Leipzig, Girona, Red Star Belgrade, Sturm Graz, Salzburg, Slovan Bratislava, Young Boys

The Top 2

Liverpool and Barcelona are both guaranteed a spot in the top two and there’s no difference between both places as the pathway for both will be decided at random.

What do Arsenal need? 

Arsenal head into the final matchday away to Girona currently occupying 3rd place in the league phase.

Mikel Arteta’s side have all but booked their place in the last 16 due to them being 3 points above the playoff spots with a substantial goal difference.

For Arsenal to drop into the playoff spots 5/6 of these results must occur.

• Inter win or draw OR Monaco win and make up a goal difference of nine to Arsenal.
• Atlético Madrid win (vs Salzburg)
• Milan win (vs Dinamo Zagreb)
• Atalanta win (vs Barcelona)
• Leverkusen win and make up a six-goal difference to Arsenal (vs Sparta Prague)
• One of Aston Villa/Feyenoord/Lille/Brest win and make up a goal difference of seven to ten.

Arsenal are guaranteed a place in the top-four places with a win and are currently priced at 11/20 to win per the latest odds at BoyleSports.

Check out our preview of Girona v Arsenal .

Top-8 Contenders

Inter, Atletico, Leverkusen and Milan all round out the top-8 positions and look likely to remain so with a playoff spot guaranteed at a minimum.

Inter need a point at home against Monaco, Atletico must win away to RB Salzburg while Milan must win away to Dinamo Zagreb.

Leverkusen are only there on goal difference so must beat Sparta Prague.

What do Aston Villa need?

Aston Villa are currently 9th ahead of their game with Celtic at Villa Park. To qualify Villa must win and will need one of the five sides above them to lose or draw.

The Villains are priced at 1/2 to defeat Celtic in this game per the latest odds at BoyleSports.

What do Celtic need?

Celtic are 10th just behind Aston Villa and will need a win and for results to go their way if they’re to reach the top 8.

What do Man City need?

City currently sits one spot and two points outside of the qualification places and hosts Club Brugge in their eighth and final match.

A win would be enough to qualify but anything less and they will be knocked out of the competition.

As per our preview , Club Brugge are unbeaten in their 20 games and can be gotten at 4/1 Double Chance to Win or Draw.

Other Clubs

Lille could sneak into the top 8 but would need to win and see multiple results land their way. It’s a similar story for Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Brest, and Real Madrid with a place in the playoffs more likely.

Benfica, PSG, Sporting, and Stuttgart are all on 10 points 3 off the top-8 but cannot make the jump with Lille and Feyenoord both facing one another.

*Prices are subject to fluctuation.

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