One more round of games is what we are left with before the start of Round of 16 in UEFA Champions League. All the groups except for Group B, Group C, and Group F have clear winners that were qualified to the next round. The final round will be a contest for their final position in the table.
This is the first of two articles covering Groups A to D. All the Group A to D matches happen on 11th December 2018. For Groups E to H, please visit the link.
What teams need to do in their final round:
Group A: Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund are qualified to Round of 16
Atletico Madrid did enough to keep them at the top of the Group table. They won four games so far. Their only loss came against the closest competitor Borussia who had a bit of go at their home. They lost to Dortmund 0-4 away. Atletico returned the favor with a 2-0 win at home. They play Club Brugge on 11th December away.
Borussia Dortmund stays 2 points below the table leaders Atletico Madrid. They play Monaco away on 11th December. Monaco is able to score only two goals so far this tournament. Dortmund would fancy their chances but their position would depend on the result of Atletico.
Points Table:
Scenarios: For Dortmund, to finish at the top of the table, they should win the game and hope Atletico will either lose or draw the game against Club Brugge.
Group B: FC Barcelona is qualified to Round of 16
Barcelona is one of the favorites to win the league this season. It shows in their performance so far. They are yet to lose a game in this tournament. Their only draw came against Inter away from home. Irrespective of Match Week 6 results, they will finish at the top of Group B table.
Inter and Spurs fight it out for the second spot in the group. Both teams have managed 7 points so far – each won two games and drew two games. Inter have a relatively easy fixture to manage as Spurs face Barcelona away. PSV Eindhoven has all the chances to push Inter. Spurs to do have any chances but all guns blazing against the table leaders.
Points Table:
Scenarios: Both Inter and Spurs have to watch out for others’ performance. Assuming a similar result (win or loss), they need to outperform another team in terms of GD. Assuming a draw, Spurs will proceed in terms of overall goals scored.
Group C: Napoli, PSG, and Liverpool have the opportunity to qualify to Round of 16
Group C is still the most open group for Round of 16 qualifications. All the three teams have the opportunity to proceed to the Round of 16. Napoli currently stands at the top of the table. Two wins and three draws put them in a strong position ahead of the other two teams. Liverpool has toughened their chances after the loss against PSG last night.
Red Star Belgrade have a chance to destroy the chances of PSG when they host the Ligue 1 champions. It is going to be a tough fight at Anfield when Napoli visits Liverpool on 11th December.
Points Table:
Scenarios: Napoli can go defensive in the game against Liverpool. They could either draw the game or lose the game by not more than 1 goal. PSG draw should be sufficient for them irrespective of the other game. It would be a very interesting scenario if Liverpool win and PSG draw.
Group D: Porto and Schalke 04 qualify first and second to Round of 16
Match week 6 of Group D is going to be a dead rubber in terms of Champions League proceedings. The contest would be between Galatasaray and Lokomotiv Moskova will have sub-contest going between them for the race to Round 32 of UEFA Europa League.
With 4 wins and no loss so far, Porto joins the league of Bayern, Barcelona, and Atletico. With a goal difference of 8, they are only third in the list for most differential goals. Unsurprisingly, Schalke 04’s only loss of the tournament was against Porto. They lost the game 3-1 away.
Points Table:
Notes:
The final leg of the games is scheduled to be played on 11th and 12th of December 2018. The draw for the Round of 16 will happen on 17th of December 2018.
(c) All the images and data are copyrighted to UEFA.
The Hermesian 