Several sides are on the cusp of qualification
for European football after Christmas ahead of this week's Champions
League action
With the Champions League group stages reaching the decisive
stages, a number of teams have set their sights on joining Bayern
Munich, Manchester City (both Group D), Atletico Madrid (Group G) and
Barcelona (Group H) in the round of 16.Groups A to D are in action on Wednesday, while the remaining four groups play out matchday five on Tuesday and several teams are one win away from the next round.
In Group A, Manchester United will book their ticket for the knockout stages with a win over Bayer Leverkusen at the BayArena, while even a draw will be enough if Shakhtar Donetsk are beaten by Real Sociedad. Leverkusen, meanwhile, seal progress if they beat United and Shakhtar spill points versus Sociedad.
Elsewhere, Real Madrid can seal top spot in Group B with at least a draw against Galatasaray, while even defeat will see them through if Copenhagen fail to beat Juventus.
French champions Paris Saint-Germain are on the verge of qualifying from Group C as a draw at home against Olympiakos will see them progress, while even a loss will be enough if Benfica fail to beat Anderlecht. That outcome will also see Olympiakos seal a place in the next round.
In Group E, a draw for Chelsea against Basel would see the Blues playing Champions League football after Christmas, while even a loss will be enough if Steaua Bucharest beat Schalke. Schalke will qualify if they beat Steaua and Basel lose to Chelsea.
Furthermore, Arsenal will progress from Group F if they defeat Olympique de Marseille and the game between Napoli and Borussia Dortmund ends in either a victory for the Serie A side or a draw. Napoli, meanwhile, will book their ticket for the knockout stages with a win or a draw against BVB.
Zenit St Petersburg can become the second team from Group G to reach the next round if they beat group leaders Atletico Madrid and victory eludes rivals Porto against Austria Wien.
Finally in Group H, AC Milan will reach the knockout stages if they beat Celtic in Glasgow and Ajax are beaten by Barcelona.
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