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On Tuesday and Wednesday, the pre-last round of group stage matches will be played in the UEFA Champions League. Four teams have already secured their places in the knockout stage, leaving 12 spots still up for grabs. Let's look at the chances and standings of the teams as the group stage matches approach the end.
Group Tables
Schedule
Group A Leader Piraeus' "Olympiacos" will progress if they manage to overcome the injury-hit La Coruna's "Deportivo", while "Monaco" at home fails to beat the "Liverpool" team. Last season's finalist "Deportivo" must win in Greece to stay in the tournament, while a victory for "Liverpool" in France would open the door to the quarter-finals.
Group B Three teams in the group are level on points, and the winner of the match between Madrid's "Real" and Leverkusen's "Bayer" at the Santiago Bernabeu will secure at least second place. The group leader Kiev's "Dynamo" will face "Roma" with a six-point deficit. "Roma" practically has no hopes of advancing but must win to keep alive the chance of finishing third and continuing in the UEFA Cup.
Group C With Turin's "Juventus" already the group winner, Munich's "Bayern" is the front-runner for the remaining second place. They have a three-point advantage over their rivals and can progress if they defeat Tel Aviv's Maccabi at home, while Amsterdam's "Ajax" fails to win against "Juve".
Group D Lyon's "Olympique" has already secured a place in the next stage, and "Man Utd" could join them if they defeat the French champions at home. Even if "Man Utd" loses, the second position could be guaranteed if "Fenerbahce" does not defeat the already eliminated "Sparta" team. If "Man Utd" draws and "Fenerbahce" wins, the Turkish team will need to beat Ferguson's team in the last group match by a four-goal margin to qualify.
Group E In this group, Eindhoven's "PSV" club is leading and will face London's "Arsenal" at home on Wednesday. A win would secure a spot in the quarter-finals for the Dutch team if they achieve at least the same result as "Panathinaikos" in the away match against "Rosenborg". So if "Panathinaikos" loses, "PSV" could also afford a loss and still advance to the next stage. A victory for "PSV" would allow them to secure the first place, while "Rosenborg" must win, and "Arsenal" could progress by beating "PSV" and "Panathinaikos" losing.
Group F Leading clubs "Milan" and "Barcelona" have a six-point advantage, so all they need is a draw at home. A more interesting battle would be for the third place, which "Shakhtar" and "Celtic" will be vying for. We will only know the outcome in this round if "Celtic" loses in Barcelona and "Shakhtar" wins in Milan - then the Ukrainians would take the third place and continue in the UEFA Cup.
Group G "Inter" has good chances to follow the example of "Inter" and get a ticket to the quarter-finals. The German champions "Werder" are five points ahead of the "Valencia" team and must defeat the already eliminated "Anderlecht" and hope that "Werder" does not win three points in their match. A victory for "Inter" would secure them the first position in the group.
Group H The winner of this group is already London's "Chelsea". Meanwhile, the defending league champions "Porto" are in last place and must win against "CSKA" in Moscow on Wednesday if they want to avoid relying on others. If "Porto" draws and "Chelsea" fails to beat "PSG", then the Portuguese team will be out of further competition. If "Porto" loses, they will not finish last only if "PSG" also loses.
