The European football season has once again been halted due to another international break, with the remaining 2022 Qatar World Cup qualifiers set to bring the groups to an to end and ultimately decide the fate of several nations over the course of the next couple of weeks.
When club football eventually resumes in mid-November there is going to be a lot to play for in the Champions League. The majority of teams are still fighting for their place in the knockout rounds, while others will have their sights set on finishing third and ensuring that their European journey continues in the Europa League.
That said, read on as we take a look at how the Champions League group stages are looking at this stage of the competition.
Group A – Manchester City
One of the favourites to win the tournament in the latest Champions League winner odds, Manchester City are in command in Group A. A victory over Paris Saint-Germain will seal their place in the round of 16 as group winners, while they will also progress if they lose and Club Brugge don’t get the better of RB Leipzig.
If results don’t go in their favour in gameweek five, they will still likely go through as Club Brugge would need to beat both PSG and Leipzig, while City will need to lose both of their remaining games.
The French giants look to be rather safe in second, but it will be interesting to see how the battle for that Europa League spot pans out between Brugge and Leipzig.
1st: Man City – 9
2nd: PSG – 8
3rd: Club Brugge – 4
4th: RB Leipzig – 1
Group B – Liverpool
Deemed the ‘Group of Death’ when Group B was drawn back in August, Liverpool fans must have been dreading the prospect of having to go toe-to-toe with three European heavyweights in the form of Atlético Madrid, Porto and AC Milan.
However, Jürgen Klopp’s side, who won the tournament for a sixth time in 2019, have breezed their way through the group and have already secured their place in the round of 16 as group winners with four wins from four.
Second place looks set to be a two-horse between Porto and Atléti, but Milan can still progress as well — albeit needing a miracle as they currently only have one point.
1st: Liverpool – 12
2nd: Porto – 5
3rd: Atlético Madrid – 4
4th: AC Milan – 1
Group F – Manchester United
Manchester United may be sitting top of Group F after four matches, but their place in the round of 16 is far from confirmed as this group looks set to go down to the wire.
The Red Devils are joint-level on points (7) will Villarreal and Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s men will head to El Madrigal in Spain for a crucial top-of-the-table encounter in the next round of fixtures — where a defeat could see them drop down to third should Atalanta beat Young Boys.
Luckily, Man United round the group off with a home tie against the Swiss Super League side and with Atalanta and Villarreal having to go head-to-head, it is likely that the Old Trafford outfit will pick up the three points against Young Boys and feature in the round of 16. Nothing is to be taken for granted though, anything can still happen in this group!
1st: Manchester United – 7
2nd: Villarreal – 7
3rd: Atalanta – 5
4th: Young Boys – 3
Group H – Chelsea
Chelsea’s place in the round of the 16 may not be fully confirmed yet, but the defending European champions already have one foot in the first knockout round. The Blues’ only blemish in the Champions League this season was a 1-0 defeat away to Juventus, who are already in the next round, and with the Italians up next at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea have the opportunity to strike revenge and book their place in the round of 16 — a draw will also do Thomas Tuchel’s side.
Malmö, who are bottom of the group with zero points, need to beat Zenit at home in their next game if they want to stay in contention for the Europa League spot, while the Russian side will take that place with a draw or a win in Sweden. If Zenit pick up three points at the Eleda Stadium and Chelsea lose to Juve, they will go head-to-head with the Premier League side for second at the Gazprom Arena.
However, with Chelsea needing just one point from the remaining two matches, it looks extremely unlikely that the west London side are going to exit the Champions League in the group stages.
1st: Juventus – 12
2nd: Chelsea – 9
3rd: Zenit – 3
4th: Malmö – 0
