Champions League final day: What are the permutations for the English clubs? | OneFootball

The Champions League group phase comes to a close this week, with only two clubs officially qualified into the round of 16.

Liverpool and Barcelona have confirmed their place into the knockout rounds, with the Premier League leaders the only team to have won all seven of their matches.

Arsenal have all but qualified directly to the final 16, barring a massive swing in their goal difference, were Girona to mount the heaviest of heavy defeats on the Gunners.

Teams from fourth down to 20th place are all still in with a chance of automatically qualifying and avoiding the extra two matches that comes with the play-offs. Regular European heavyweights Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Manchester City have all struggled this campaign, whilst debutants Stade Brestois have impressed in their debut season.

It is possible that all five British clubs could still make it to the final 24, but anything but a win for City will see them eliminated from the group phase for the first time since 2012/13.

Here are the permutations for all the English clubs in the Champions League:

Liverpool

Top of the table and on course to become the first team to win all eight of their games in the new format. An away game at PSV and a return for Arne Slot is all that stands in the Reds’ way of completing that feat. Whilst the final couple of matches have not been the most convincing, a point is all Liverpool need to ensure top spot in the league phase is confirmed.

Arsenal

Mikel Arteta’s side have hit form in Europe at the right time. Since losing 1-0 away at Inter, the Gunners have won their last three matches in the competition, scoring 11 and conceding just once. Currently third in the table with a far superior goal difference to their rivals below, qualification into the top eight appears to be guaranteed.

Aston Villa

Only out of the coveted top eight positions on goal difference, Aston Villa have enjoyed a mixed return to Europe’s elite club competition. The highs of beating Bayern Munich at Villa Park mixed with a disappointing defeat to Club Brugge has not aided Unai Emery’s quest in guiding the Villains to the knockouts. Defeat last time out to AS Monaco was not ideal, so a win against Celtic is a must if they want to avoid the playoffs.

Manchester City

Champions of Europe just two seasons ago, this has been a campaign to forget thus far for Pep Guardiola and Manchester City. Defeat to PSG was their third of the league phase, after losses to Sporting Lisbon and Juventus. Drawing 3-3 with Feyenoord after being three goals up was the most humiliating collapse of the season for the Citizens, and they now find themselves 25th in the table and two points off the playoffs. Anything but a win against Belgian side Club Brugge would see Guardiola’s men eliminated from Europe.