Who Will Qualify for the Champions League Knockout Stages?
by Steve Ashfield | by Steve Ashfield
Champions League: which teams have already qualified for the last 16?
December 12 and 13 sees the final Champions League group games take place. There are still four places up for grabs and there will be some nervous games played next week as sides battle to ensure they make it into the knockout stages.
Groups A, C, F and H have all seen just the one team clinch their place in the last 16. There’s still one position up for grabs in each of those groups. We'll look at who may take the remaining places later in this news item. Don't forget to access our Champions League football livescore to keep up with all the latest news and statistics.
Last week saw some excellent games being played in the Champions League. Some sides managed to get the points they required to avoid a nail-biting final group fixture.
So far there are two English clubs through to the Champions League knockout stages. Arsenal had an excellent 6-0 home win over Lens last week and that didn’t just see them get through but also win the group. PSV have also qualified for the last 16 from that group. Defending champions Manchester City are also through as group winners after coming from 2-0 down to beat RB Leipzig 3-2.
Group F was always going to be a difficult group to get out of. Borussia Dortmund have excelled themselves and last week’s 3-1 win at Milan secured their place in the knockout stages. All the other three teams in that group can still qualify and we’ll look more at the situation later in this news item. They’re joined in the last 16 by Bayern Munich who have won Group A despite only drawing with Copenhagen last week.
After missing out twice in recent years, Barcelona are safely through after beating Porto 2-1. There will be a strong Spanish line-up in the last 16 with Real Sociedad, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid having also booked their places. Lazio will be in the knockout rounds after a home win over bottom-of-the-group Celtic. Last season’s losing finalists Inter are also into the last 16.
Here is the list of teams qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League:
- Bayern Munich
- Real Madrid
- Real Sociedad
- Inter Milan
- Lazio Rome
- Atletico Madrid
- Borussia Dortmund
- Manchester City
- RB Leipzig
- FC Barcelona
- Arsenal
- PSV
Champions League - Who Can Still Qualify?
Get yourself ready for a tense climax to the Champions League group stages. That’s particularly the case in Group F. We expected this to be a tight battle for qualification and a couple of big names not making it into the last 16. We probably didn't anticipate that one of those potential absentees might be PSG. It's possible the Ligue 1 champions could end up playing in the Europa League after Christmas.
They go into their final game at the already qualified Borussia Dortmund, second in the group with seven points. That’s two points ahead of Newcastle and Milan who face each other at St James’ Park. If that game in England ends in a draw, then PSG will go through. A win for them in Germany would also see them win the group. However, if they don’t win and Newcastle United do, then the Premier League side will go through on head-to-head results, leaving PSG only third. Milan winning would need PSG to lose for them to finish in the top two.
It's also tight in Group A where as expected, Bayern Munich have dominated the group. We could see a surprise qualifier when the final group games are played on Tuesday December 12. Don't forget to read our free Champions League betting tips page for all the fixtures.
Copenhagen are currently in second place and host third placed Galatasaray in their final game. Both are on five points and a win for the Danes will see them go through. Their opponents will take second spot if they win in Copenhagen.
Looking to ruin it for those two sides are Manchester United. They are bottom of the group with four points and have to beat Bayern Munich at home and hope the other game ends in a draw. It may be the best they can hope for is to finish third and go into the Europa League but that won’t happen if they lose to Bayern. Check out all the Champions League football odds.
Napoli are in a good position to qualify from Group C. They are home to third-placed Braga in their final group fixture. A draw would be good enough to see the Italians progress into the knockout stages. Braga lost 2-1 at home to Napoli and are three points behind them so would need a big win in Italy to overturn the deficit.
Finally, Porto look to finish second in Group H. They are level on points with Shakhtar Donetsk who they host in their final game. They won the reverse fixture 3-1 and a draw will be enough to see them through. Whoever qualifies, it's going to be a great end to the Champions League group stages.
