THE exciting new Champions League format has the potential to serve up some cracking knockout sides.
It is all to play for heading into the final matchday next Wednesday when there is 18 matches on at the same time.
Manchester City are in danger of crashing out and need to beat Club Brugge and hope other results go in their favour.
Aston Villa will aim to see off Celtic and land a spot in the all-important top eight of the table.
European giants like PSG, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Juventus all have their positions hanging in the balance.
Meanwhile, Liverpool are guaranteed to get a bye from the play-offs and go into the last-16 as a seed.
And it would take several surprise results to see Arsenal not in the top eight.
Once the league phase comes to an end next Wednesday, the bottom 12 teams are eliminated from the competition and there is no dropping down to the Europa League.
The top eight sides go straight into the last-16 as the seeded teams in a tennis-style draw.
Sides that finish from 9th to 24th go into a play-off round to join them, with the top eight of this middle section seeded.
They are then put in pairs, for example, 9th and 10th together, 11th and 12th together, and so on.
The duos are then put into fours based on their league finishes and there is then a draw to decide the match-ups from the quartets.
For example, 9th and 10th will play worst qualifiers either 23rd or 24th; 11th or 12th will be drawn against either 21st or 22nd, and so on.
If you have managed to wrap your head around that – here are some eye-catching ties that could come our way in the play-off and last-16 rounds.
Barcelona vs Real Madrid – last-16
There are no rules preventing teams from the same nation going head-to-had after the league phase.
And there is a real chance El Clasico could be a thrilling last-16 contest.
Barcelona have cruised through the first phase of the tournament, including an incredible 5-4 comeback win over Benfica.
As for Real Madrid, they suffered defeat to Lille, AC Milan and Liverpool and they are in danger of not finishing in the top eight.
As things currently stand, Los Blancos are 16th and Barca are 2nd, meaning a last-16 clash is possible.
Liverpool vs Celtic – last 16
A battle of Britain could await Liverpool after their bye from the play-off round.
Celtic currently find themselves 18th and would therefore be in a quartet set to play either Barca or Liverpool should they come through the play-off round.
Liverpool vs Bayern Munich – last 16
If the table after seven games was final, we would have a 25 per cent chance of seeing Liverpool vs Bayern.
But for Harry Kane to get his comeback to England, the German giants may have to come through a play-off clash.
Bayern will be facing their chances of coming in the top eight as they have Slovan Bratislava on Wednesday and the Slovaks are second-bottom without a point to their name.
But defeats earlier in the campaign to Feyenoord, Barca and Villa means it is out of their hands.
Man City vs Aston Villa – play-off round
City are on the brink of elimination after throwing away their two-goal lead to PSG last night.
Pep Guardiola’s side need to beat Club Brugge next Wednesday to sneak into the top 24.
Three points will only take them to the bottom end of the qualifying teams, meaning they will face one of the unlucky clubs narrowly missing out on the bye.
Villa could easily be one of them as they are currently out the top eight on goal difference.
A draw against Celtic could see them be in opposing pairs for the play-offs.
Man City/Aston Villa vs Arsenal – last 16
City and Villa may not be needing their passports for some time.
They could get paired together and then face Arsenal, who look extremely likely to be a seed in the last-16 draw.
The Gunners are currently third in the standings and if results fell a certain way, including a City win and a Villa draw, there is a real chance of an all-Premier League battle to the quarter-final.
Man City vs Real Madrid – play-off
Real Madrid and City have faced each other in the last three seasons in the knockout stages of the Champions League.
And whoever has won the tie has gone on to lift the trophy.
The current holders are currently a point off the magic eight – but there is seven teams between them and the last remaining spot.
A blockbuster play-off clash is a possibility.
Read the full article here
