With groups E-H having completed their penultimate round tonight, the road to the knockout stages is all but complete - or at an end - for most of those clubs involved.

Here we will look at the state of play heading into the sixth and final matchday, with reference to knockout stage qualification, UEFA Cup parachute entry, group leadership, and the dreaded fourth place.

Group E

Man Utd 9
Villarreal 9
Aalborg 5
Celtic 2

Manchester United have qualified for the knockout stage. They are ahead of Villarreal by two goals' difference, with an equal head-to-head record. If they stay level/ahead on points with Villarreal, and maintain a goal difference greater than that of Villarreal they will win the group. They meet AaB Aalborg in Matchday 6.

Villarreal have qualified for the knockout stage. They are behind Manchester United by two goals' difference, with an equal head-to-head record. If they go level/ahead on points with United, and produce a goal difference greater than that of Manchester United they will win the group. They meet Celtic away in Matchday 6.

AaB Aalborg cannot qualify for the knockout stages. They have secured their place in the UEFA Cup as Celtic cannot outdo them on points and have an inferior head-to-head record.

Celtic cannot qualify for the knockout stages. They are guaranteed a fourth place finish as they cannot outdo Aalborg on points and have an inferior head-to-head record.

Group F

Lyon 11
Bayern 11
Fiorentina 3
Steaua 1

Lyon have qualified for the knockout stage. They will meet Bayern in Matchday 6 at home for a match that will decide who wins the group. Currently Lyon lead Bayern on head to head (via away goals in their match) after a 1-1 draw in Munich. With a goal difference two worse than Bayern's, they must manage a 0-0 draw or a win to guarantee group leadership after Matchday 6.

Bayern Munich have qualified for the knockout stage. They will meet Lyon away in Matchday 6 for a match that will decide who wins the group. Currently Lyon lead Bayern on head to head on away goals after a 1-1 draw in Munich. With a goal difference two better than Lyon's, they must manage a scoring draw or a win to guarantee group leadership after Matchday 6.

Fiorentina cannot qualify for the knockout stage. Anything other than defeat at Steaua on Matchday 6 will see them through to the UEFA Cup.

Steaua Bucharest cannot qualify for the knockout stage. Anything other than victory against Fiorentina on Matchday 6 will see them finish fourth.

Group G

Arsenal 11
Porto 9
Dynamo Kiev 5
Fenerbahce 2

Arsenal have qualified for the knockout stage. A draw or a win at Porto in Matchday 6 will see them win the group.

Porto have qualified for the knockout stage. They must beat Arsenal in Matchday 6 to win the group.

Dynamo Kyiv cannot qualify for the knockout stage. Their current head-to-head record with Fenerbahce is that of a 0-0 draw; if they lose to Fenerbahce on Matchday 6 they will finish last on head-to-head. Otherwise they qualify for the UEFA Cup.

Fenerbahce cannot qualify for the knockout stage. They must win at Dynamo Kyiv on Matchday 6 to reach the UEFA Cup; otherwise they finish fourth.

Group H

Juventus 11
Real Madrid 9
Zenit 5
BATE 2

Juventus have qualified for the knockout stage. A draw against BATE on Matchday 6 will see them win the group, even if Real Madrid win their match, as they have a better head-to-head record than the Spaniards.

Real Madrid have qualified for the knockout stage. A win over Zenit, coupled with a Juventus defeat at home to BATE, is the only possible way in which they can win the group.

Zenit cannot qualify for the knockout stage. Even if they lose on Matchday 6 and BATE win they will finish third due to a superior head-to-head record with the Belarussians.

BATE cannot qualify for the knockout stage, nor the UEFA Cup.

As a reminder, here is the state of play prior to Matchday 5 for groups A-D, whose matches are to be played on Wednesday evening.

Group A

Chelsea 7
Roma 6
Bordeaux 6
CFR Cluj 4

Chelsea will qualify for the next stage if they win against Bordeaux. If they win and Roma lose they will guarantee group leadership.

Roma cannot guarantee qualification for the next round, and nor can they be eliminated, in Matchday 5.

Bordeaux cannot guarantee qualification for the next round, and nor can they be eliminated, in Matchday 5.

CFR Cluj must avoid defeat against Roma if they are to finish in the top two. They otherwise cannot be knocked out, and nor can they guarantee qualification.

Group B

Inter 8
Anorthosis 5
Panathinaikos 4
Werder Bremen 3

Inter will qualify with a win or a draw against Panathinaikos. They will be guaranteed first place if they win and Anorthosis fail to beat Bremen.

Anorthosis will reach the next stage if they beat Bremen and Panathinaikos lose to Inter. Furthermore they will be guaranteed at least a third place finish if they beat Bremen, regardless of results elsewhere. They can finish top if they beat Bremen and Inter lose to Panathinaikos, and results on Matchday 6 go their way.

Panathinaikos must not lose to Inter if Anorthosis beat Werder Bremen: if they do so they can only finish third. Otherwise they will remain in with a chance of qualification until Matchday 6.

Werder Bremen will be unable to finish second if they lose to Anorthosis. If they draw and Panathinaikos beat Inter the same applies. They will finish fourth if they draw 0-0 with Anorthosis and end Matchday 6 with an inferior goal difference to Anorthosis. (They are currently 0-0 on head-to-head.)

Group C

Barcelona 10
Sporting CP 9
Shakhtar 3
Basel 1

Barcelona have already qualified for the next stage. Victory over Sporting assures them of top spot.

Sporting have already qualified for the next stage. Victory over Barcelona will put them ahead of Barcelona by two points; depending on the margin of victory they may then only need a point on Matchday 6 to win the group. (They are currently 3-1 down on head-to-head.)

Shakhtar will finish third if they beat Basel. A draw will see them ahead on head-to-head, meaning that they would require just a draw on Matchday 6 to guarantee qualification.

Basel must not lose to Shakhtar to keep dreams of third place alive. A draw will see them needing a win, and for Shakhtar to lose, on Matchday 6 to finish third.

Group D

Atletico Madrid 8
Liverpool 8
Marseille 3
PSV Eindhoven 3

Atletico Madrid will qualify for the next stage if they win against PSV. They will qualify if they draw and Marseille do not win against Liverpool. They are, prior to kick-off, 1 goal ahead of Liverpool with identical head-to-head.

Liverpool are in the exact same scenario as Atletico Madrid, only with the teams reversed and being one goal behind Atletico Madrid.

Marseille must win to remain in contention for the knockout stages. If they lose and PSV lose, too, they remain ahead of the Dutch side on points and thus in pole position for 3rd place.

PSV are in the exact same situation as Marseille, only they have an inferior head-to-head record to Marseille so they will finish fourth if they end up level on points with them after Matchday 6.
source[goal.com]

 

I'll just wait for the draw for the round of 16 before I make any predictions... I think United, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Inter have the best shots. Bayern looked solid yesterday, too.

 

Cant wait for 2:30, ESPN is showing the Chelsea game.

 

^ Ugh..........that's all.

 

Barca!!!

 

Yeah, no kidding - Inter, too.

 

We were anemic today, probably the most lack luster performance I have seen under Scolari.

 

liverpool won today

 

sad to see fiorentina go, gilardino is one of my favorite strikers. although benzema was running the pitch in their match eh? he needs to get on a big club in january.

 

Big players almost never leave in January but I bet he'll be the most expensive signing of next summer