Born in the south east of Ireland, Simon put his life-long love of football to good use when he started a successful independent blog in 2010. That opened up an alternative route to a career in journalism, and having had work published across a number of sites and publications, Simon joined the staff at Spotlight Sports Group in 2018.
The final set of UEFA Champions League group fixtures are set to played this week, over what promises to be two dramatic evenings of action on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Below we take a detailed look at the various permutations and potential positional reshuffles that could take place across the 8 Champions League Groups depending on the results therein.
Make sure to check out all of our Champions League match previews, predictions and betting tips to find out which teams are most likely to get the results they need this week.
Group A
Already Qualified: Atletico Madrid & Borussia Dortmund
Europa League: Club Brugge
Eliminated: AS Monaco
Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund have already qualified for the Champions League knockout phase, while Belgian side Club Brugge are guaranteed a spot in the Europa League. Ligue 1’s Monaco’s miserable season continues with their early UCL exit.
To secured top spot in the group, Atletico will need to beat Club Brugge in Belgium. Failing that, they will still finish top if Borussia Dortmund fail to win their game in France against Monaco.
If Dortmund claim maximum points and Atletico fall to a surprise defeat in Brugge, the Germans will finish as group winners due to their superior head-to-head goal difference.
Group B
Already Qualified: Barcelona
Europa League: ?
Eliminated: PSV Eindhoven
Barcelona qualify for the next phase as Group B winners, though the identity of the team joining them next year remains unclear.
Spurs currently occupy second place on head-to-head away goals, though they will need to match or better Inter’s result (in terms of points) in their final Group match to hold on to their runners up spot.
Inter play bottom side PSV in Milan, while Tottenham face the daunting task of trying to earn a positive result at the Nou Camp in Barcelona.
Group C
Already Qualified: ?
Europa League: ?
Eliminated: ?
Group C is easily the most complicated section when it comes to possible permutations and potential positional reshuffles ahead of the final round of Champions League Group fixtures.
Napoli, PSG and Liverpool, who currently occupy the Group’s top 3 places, can all still qualify for the knockout phase, while bottom side Red Star Belgrade can still drag themselves into the Europa League.
Liverpool MUST beat Napoli to stand any chance of qualifying. If they beat the Partenopei by more than 1 goal, their place in the next stage is guaranteed.
If Red Star can hold PSG to a draw in Serbia, Liverpool will qualify with any victory against Napoli. Three points for Liverpool in that scenario would leave them tied with PSG and Napoli on 9 points, though the Merseysiders would top the group on the 3-way head-to-head records.
Check out the latest and best Champions League betting offers ahead of this week’s action
Group D
Already Qualified: FC Porto, Schalke 04
Europa League: ?
Eliminated: ?
Having won 4 of their 5 Group D matches, Portuguese giants FC Porto are guaranteed to top the section ahead of Bundesliga side Schalke 04 in second.
European regulars Galatasaray will finish in 3rd place if they beat FC Porto in Turkey, or if Lokomotiv Moscow fail to win their fixture in Germany against Schalke.
Lokomotiv can steal the Europa League qualification spot if they win in Gelsenkirchen and Galatasaray don’t beat Porto in the Group’s other game.
Group E
Already Qualified: Bayern Munich, Ajax
Europa League: Benfica
Eliminated: AEK Athens
The knockout phase qualifiers, Europa League participants and bottom club have all been decided in Group E, though the order in which the top two make it through will be decided this week.
Bayern Munich can secure top spot with a draw away to Ajax in Amsterdam, though the hosts can finish first themselves with a win against the Bundesliga champions.
Group F
Already Qualified: Manchester City
Europa League: ?
Eliminated: ?
Manchester City have already booked their place in the next phase of the competition, though they aren’t guaranteed to qualify as Group winners just yet.
French club Lyon can still finish at the summit of Group F if they can beat Shakhtar Donetsk and City lose their game against Hoffenheim.
City could finish in first place with a draw if Lyon fail to win in the Ukraine however. Shakhtar still have their destiny in their own hands too. A win for Donetsk at home to Lyon would push them through as runners up.
A draw for Shakhtar against Lyon would see them enter the last 32 of the Europa League. That’s a competition Hoffenheim also hope to reach. They can get there if they beat City and Shakhtar lose at home to Lyon.
Group G
Already Qualified: Real Madrid, Roma
Europa League: ?
Eliminated: ?
Real Madrid and Roma are firmly cemented into positions 1 and 2 in Champions League Group G, and they will stay there no matter what happens on Wednesday evening.
Below them, Viktoria Plzen and CSKA Moscow are locked on 4 points each, though the Czech side are currently in third position due to their superior head-to-head record.
Viktoria can claim their place in the Europa League this week if they match CSKA’s result on Wednesday. CSKA must get a better result away to Real Madrid than Plzen do at home to Roma if they are to progress to the UEL.
Group H
Already Qualified: Juventus, Manchester United
Europa League: Valencia
Eliminated: Young Boys
Juventus and Manchester United have already earned their place in the Champions League knockout phase, though the Old Lady could still lose her grip on top spot if results don’t go Juve’s way on Wednesday.
Juventus will stay in first if they win in Switzerland, while United will advance as group winners if they beat Valencia in Spain and Juve fail to beat Young Boys.
Valencia will switch to the Europa League after Wednesday’s game, while Young Boys will make an early continental exit.
