Football’s top continental club competition, the UEFA Champions League reached midway in the group stage with two teams clinching knockout berths in gameweek 4. 14 places are up for grabs in round of 16, for which the draw will take place on November 7. Here’s all you need to know about who has qualified, who are in contention and which teams are nearing the end of their campaigns, having been eliminated or nearing elimination.
Qualified: The two teams who have qualified are English giants Manchester City and defending champions Real Madrid.
Eliminated: Scottish team Celtic were eliminated after losing 2-0 to RB Leipzig.
.
Other teams that may qualify in match day 4: Napoli, Club Brugge, Bayern Munich
Other teams that may get eliminated in match day 4: Rangers
Group-wise status
From Group A, Napoli could qualify tonight with a point from their match against Ajax while Liverpool who play Rangers in GW4 will need points in the final two games to ensure qualification to Champions League knock out stage. Chances for Ajax are slim who need to win at least two of the three games and hope other results are favourable. Rangers could get eliminated tonight.
From Group B, Club Brugge may become the surprise qualifiers in GW4 with a point against Atletico, who will be in a complex position if they lose tonight. Porto will be in a strong position to qualify with a win against Bayer Leverkusen who themselves need to win the match to stay in contention.
In Group C, Bayern Munich could clinch a knockout berth today with a win, but also need Barcelona to not win against Inter Milan. A win for Inter against Barca will see them qualify in GW4. Barcelona are in a difficult position with tonight’s game a must-win.
In Group D, Sporting Lisbon will be in a strong position to qualify if they win in GW4 against Marseille while Tottenham Hotspur will have a similar chance of getting through in GW5 with a win in GW4 against Frankfurt, who themselves could be in a strong position if they win against the North London team.
In Group E, Chelsea are in pole position with a win against AC Milan and need 2 points from the final two games. AC Milan need to win against Zagreb and hope Salzburg lose. Both Dinamo Zagreb and Salzburg are still in contention come final two match days.
From Group F, Real Madrid could be joined by RB Leipzig but they have tough competition from Shakhtar. The battle for the second berth is likely to stretch to the last match day when Shakhtar meet Leipzig. Celtic are already out.
Manchester City have qualified from Group G while Borussia Dortmund need 2 more points to clinch a berth. But a draw between Sevilla and Copenhagen will automatically put them through. Sevilla need to win their final two games and hope Dortmund win neither of their matches. Copenhagen look unlikely to qualify and need to win both and hope for favourable results in other matches.
In Group H, Paris Saint-Germain need 2 points to qualify but could do with 1 if Juventus do not win against Benfica, who also need 2 points and could go through with 1 if Maccabi Haifa fail to win. For Italian giants Juventus, both their final games are must wins but also need favourable results elsewhere.
READ | India at T20 World Cup 2022: Full Squad, complete schedule, time in IST; All details here
