Champions League: What Can Be Decided on Matchday 5?

The 2020/21 Champions League group stage has reached matchday five.

A handful of clubs have already successfully booked their place in the knockout round, but a number of others can join them with a game still to spare if results go their way this week.

Group A-D fixtures are on 1 December, with Group E-H playing on 2 December.

Here’s a look at who can do what in the competition this week…

Group A

Reigning champions Bayern Munich have already qualified from Group A after winning a 17th consecutive European game on matchday four.

They can be joined in the knockout stages by Atletico Madrid, with the pair meeting at Wanda Metropolitano. But Atletico can only secure their progress this week if they beat Bayern, ending that winning streak, and if Lokomotiv Moscow fail to beat Red Bull Salzburg.

Lokomotiv or Salzburg each still have a chance of reaching the knockout round, although neither can do it this week and the odds are stacked against the latter. But Lokomotiv will actually leapfrog Atletico with only one game left if they win at home against Salzburg and the Spaniards lose.

Matchday five fixtures:
Lokomotiv Moscow (3pts) vs Red Bull Salzburg (pt)
Atletico Madrid (5pts) vs Bayern Munich (12pts)

Group B

Nothing is yet certain in Group B, but Borussia Monchengladbach and Real Madrid have the opportunity to both book their places in the last 16.

A home victory for Gladbach against winless Inter is going to be enough to take them through, while Real will join them if they beat Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine.

Even a draw will be sufficient for Gladbach as long as Shakhtar don’t beat Real. They can also win the group and be seeded for the last 16 draw if they win and Real lose.

Matchday five fixtures:
Shakhtar Donetsk (4pts) vs Real Madrid (7pts)
Borussia Monchengladbach (8pts) vs Inter (2pts)

Group C

Manchester City’s place in the next round is already secure and they can now turn their attention to staying top of Group C to be among the seeded teams.

A point against second-place Porto, having already beaten them earlier in the competition, is the minimum Pep Guardiola’s side need to do it.

But Porto have plenty to play for themselves and will be assured of their own place in the last 16 with a game to spare if they don’t lose. However, Porto can still qualify this week even if they lose to City, as long as Olympiacos fail to beat Marseille.

Matchday five fixtures:
Marseille (0pts) vs Olympiacos (3pts)
Porto (9pts) vs Manchester City (12pts)

Group D

Liverpool missed an opportunity to get through to the knockout rounds last week when they were surprisingly beaten by Atalanta at Anfield. They will do it this time if they avoid defeat to Ajax.

Jurgen Klopp’s side will also mathematically secure first place if they win the game and Atalanta do not beat Midtjylland in the other fixture.

Neither Ajax nor Atalanta can join Liverpool (probably) in the next round this week, but these results could go a long way to determining which of them will do it on matchday six.

Matchday five fixtures:
Liverpool (9pts) vs Ajax (7pts)
Atalanta (7pts) vs Midtjylland (0pts)

Group E

Chelsea and Sevilla have both already qualified from Group E and go head to head on matchday five. The biggest thing to play for is who will top the standings and be seeded in the last 16.

If either side wins their meeting at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, they will get that honour. A draw, as was the case when they met at Stamford Bridge, would see the issue pushed to matchday six.

The only other thing to play for in this group is whether Rennes or Krasnodar, both with just a single point four games in, will get third spot and qualify for the Europa League.

Matchday five fixtures:
Krasnodar (1pt) vs Rennes (1pt)
Sevilla (10pts vs Chelsea (10pts)

Group F

Borussia Dortmund and Lazio are playing each other in Group F this week and both have the chance to seal qualification. Dortmund will do it if they avoid defeat, while Lazio can get there with a win.

Dortmund would actually win the group with a game to spare if they win the contest, putting four points between them and the Serie A side with only three points left to play for.

Club Brugge still have a slim chance of making it through but they have to win against Zenit St Petersburg to realistically keep their hopes alive.

Matchday five fixtures:
Borussia Dortmund (9pts) vs Lazio (8pts)
Club Brugge (4pts) vs Zenit St Petersburg (1pt)

Group G

Barcelona and Juventus each secured their respective places in the last 16 with wins on matchday four last week. Who finishes first is the only thing left to play for in that sense.

Barcelona hold a three-point advantage going into the matchday five fixtures and will finish top if they beat Ferencvaros and Juventus fail to beat Dynamo Kyiv.

Alternatively, Barca can also get top spot if they only draw, as long as Juve lose.

Matchday five fixtures:
Juventus (9pts) vs Dynamo Kyiv (1pt)
Ferencvaros (1pt) vs Barcelona (12pts)

Group H

Manchester United recovered from an earlier setback by beating Istanbul Basaksehir last time out and are now on the brink of the knockout stages for only the third time in seven seasons.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side will secure progress with a game to spare simply by avoiding defeat against Paris Saint-Germain at Old Trafford. No other club can do it this week.

United can additionally take top spot if they beat PSG and RB Leipzig fail to win against Istanbul. If Leipzig actually lose in Turkey, a draw is all United need to finish top.

Matchday five fixtures:
Istanbul Basaksehir (3pts) vs RB Leipzig (6pts)
Manchester United (9pts) vs Paris Saint-Germain (6pts)

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