UEFA Champions League: Who’s through and who’s out?
Barcelona and Liverpool have at least secured a play-off spot. Sporting’s opponents Leipzig are among the teams already eliminated
With two games remaining in the UEFA Champions League , uncertainty is the order of the day. At this stage, only Liverpool , with an unblemished record, and Barcelona , with five wins from six games, have at least a play-off spot guaranteed.
On the other side of the coin, Young Boys , Slovan Bratislava and Leipzig , Sporting ‘s next opponent , all with zero points, already know that after January they will not play in European competitions this season.
The top eight teams will automatically qualify for the round of 16. The teams that finish between ninth and twenty-fourth place will have to play a playoff, which is equivalent to a sort of round of 32.
With 10 points each, the Portuguese representatives remain in the fight for the top 8. Sporting face the already eliminated Leipzig on Wednesday and end the league phase at home, against Bologna , who could arrive at Alvalade without any chance of progressing. Benfica host second-placed Barcelona , before traveling to Turin to face Juventus, who have only two defeats this season.
If we look at the current top 8, we can see the presence of surprising teams such as Aston Villa , Lille and, in particular, Brest . Conversely, if the league phase ended today, giants such as Bayern Munich and Real Madrid would have to play in the playoffs, while PSG would be out of the running.
The playoffs are scheduled for February 11/12 and 18/19, while the round of 16 will only take place in March.
This Tuesday the million-dollar ball will roll again, but the real probabilistic (and logistical) nightmare will happen on January 29th: all 36 teams in the competition will enter the field at 8 pm, in 18 games where two elements will not be missing: emotion and the calculator.
