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On Tuesday and Wednesday the last group stage matches of the Champions League will take place. After the fifth round, nine teams had already secured their place in the round of 16. These teams are "Milan", "Barcelona", "Bayern", "Man Utd", "Juventus", "Lyon", "Inter", "Chelsea", and "PSV". In the last round of the group stage, seven more teams will try to secure their spot in the knockout stage. Here is an overview of the last round.
Group A Leaders "Olympiacos" only need a point away against "Liverpool", while the English team must win. If "Liverpool" wins by a different scoreline than 1-0, they will need "Monaco" not to beat already eliminated "Deportivo", otherwise they would finish behind "Olympiacos" on head-to-head difference. "Monaco" need a victory to advance, but they could also qualify with a different result if "Liverpool" fails to win. If "Monaco" draws and "Liverpool" wins, the English team and "Olympiacos" would progress, unless the latter loses by a margin of three goals or more - in that case, the French team would take the spot in the round of 16. Deportivo has no chance left and will definitely finish last, while the team in third place will enter the UEFA Cup.
Group B In group B, it is clear that after the last round of matches, "Roma" will be out of Europe, but they can prevent Madrid's "Real" from advancing to the next stage if they manage to beat the Spanish team at home in the empty "Olimpico" stadium. If this match ends in a draw, the Spaniards will hope for "Dinamo" to defeat "Bayer" in Germany, otherwise the Germans and Ukrainians will progress to the next round.
Group C "Juventus" and "Bayern" have already secured a place in the round of 16. The only thing left unclear in this group is who will play in the UEFA Cup - "Ajax" or "Maccabi". Both teams have three points each, and "Ajax" only needs to achieve a result against "Bayern" that is not worse than what "Maccabi" achieves against "Juve" to clinch third place.
Group D This group is the clearest. "Lyon" and "Man Utd" are already through to the next stage, while "Fenerbahçe" will play in the UEFA Cup. In the last round, only the first and second place will be decided. "Lyon" needs to defeat group's bottom team "Sparta" and hope that "Man Utd" cannot beat the Turkish team.
Group E "PSV", who have already secured a place in the next stage, only need to get a point against "Panathinaikos" to finish top of the group. If "Arsenal" wins at home against "Rosenborg" and "PSV" loses to the Greeks, the English champions will finish first, and the Dutch team will settle for second place in the group. However, if "Panathinaikos" defeats "PSV" and "Arsenal" fails to win against the Norwegians, the Greeks will advance to the round of 16, while "Arsenal" will continue their journey in the UEFA Cup.
Group F "Milan" and "Barcelona" are already through to the next stage, but it is still unclear who will finish first and who will finish second. "Milan" will only fail to win the group if they lose to "Celtic" and "Barcelona" defeats "Shakhtar". The teams' participation in the UEFA Cup is also uncertain. If "Celtic" beats Milan, even a win against "Barcelona" for the Ukrainians would not help them advance - which is highly unlikely. But if "Celtic" loses to the Italians, then "Shakhtar" only needs a draw against "Barcelona" to continue in the UEFA Cup.
Group G "Inter" awaits the round of 16 calmly, while the winners of the first leg between "Valencia", who beat "Werder", are faced with a daunting trip to Spain. The "Mestalla" stadium will be hoping for revenge for the painful 2-1 defeat in Germany. The Iberians need nothing less than a victory, preferably by a two-goal margin. If the match ends in a 3-2 or 4-3 victory for "Valencia", the Germans will advance to the next stage, as they will have scored more away goals. A 2-1 victory is also not enough for Valencia, as the overall goal difference will be the decider, which is not in the favor of the Spanish champions. However, "Valencia" will progress if they manage to secure a minimum 1-0 victory, as "Werder" missed an away goal in the first leg. The fourth team in this group, "Anderlecht", will definitely finish last - fourth. They are the only team in the Champions League not to have earned a single point yet.
Group H "Chelsea" have already secured the first place in the group, while the battle for the second place continues among the remaining three teams. Just like all teams can reach the round of 16, they can also end up playing in the UEFA Cup or finish last in the group. If "PSG" manages to defeat Moscow's "CSKA" at home, they will advance to the round of 16. "Porto" not only needs to beat "Chelsea" to progress to the next stage, but also rely on "PSG" not winning against the Russians. If "Porto" draws or loses to the English, and "PSG" manages a draw or a loss against the Russians, then the French will still have to win. If both "Porto" and "CSKA" win, the Portuguese will advance, the Russians will play in the UEFA Cup, and the French will finish last in the group.
