What Premier League teams need to reach Champions League knockout stage
- Man City were the first English club to qualify with two games to spare
- Arsenal are guaranteed to top Group B
- Both Man Utd and Newcastle are in real danger of elimination
The final games of the Champions League group stage in its current format are upon us.
While the subdued nature of the campaign - and plenty of group stages in years gone by - may not prompt many tears for its departure, the new bloated format littered with even more safety nets for the big clubs may prove to be even more unpopular.
Before endless talk about Swiss models commences next year, here's what the Premier League clubs competing in this season's competition need to qualify for the knockout stages.
Arsenal
Position | Team | Games played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goal difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Arsenal | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | +12 | 12 |
2. | PSV | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | -2 | 8 |
3. | Lens | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | -6 | 5 |
4. | Sevilla | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | -4 | 2 |
Arsenal's first season back in the Champions League since the days of Arsene Wenger has been a success so far. The club's only group-stage defeat to date came on their trip to the coalfields of Lens in the second round of matches.
The French side travelled to the Emirates for the penultimate late of fixtures and were ruthlessly dismantled 6-0. That commanding victory not only booked Arsenal's place in the knockout stages but assured the Gunners of top spot in Group B.
PSV Eindhoven, a side that suffered their own humbling at the Emirates in September, will finish as runners-up. The Dutch outfit host Arsenal in the final, meaningless group game.
Arsenal's remaining Champions League fixtures
Date / Kick-off time (GMT) | Fixture |
|---|---|
12/12/23 - 17:45 | PSV vs Arsenal |
Man City
Position | Team | Games played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goal difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Man City | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | +10 | 15 |
2. | RB Leipzig | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | +2 | 9 |
3. | Young Boys | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -5 | 4 |
4. | Red Star | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | -7 | 1 |
Jack Grealish is billed as Manchester City's 24-hour party person but it was Pep Guardiola demanding more celebrations after his side qualified for the knockout stages with two games to spare.
"People say: 'Yeah, the group stage, it is easy,' but you have to do it," Guardiola pointed out.
City just about preserved their faultless record in Group G by overturning a 2-0 half-time deficit at home to RB Leipzig in November. The reigning champions cemented first place above Leipzig with a victory which was only secured by Julian Alavrez's 87th-minute winner.
Guardiola's side could become just the second English club to ever win all six group games if they can get the better of Red Star in Belgrade this month.
Man City's remaining Champions League fixtures
Date / Kick-off time (GMT) | Fixture |
|---|---|
13/12/23 - 17:45 | Red Star vs Man City |
Man Utd
Position | Team | Games played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goal difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Bayern Munich | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | +5 | 13 |
2. | Copenhagen | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | -1 | 5 |
3. | Galatasaray | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | -2 | 5 |
4. | Man Utd | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 4 |
If Manchester United are to have any hope of progressing to the knockout stages, they must defeat Bayern Munich at Old Trafford in their final group game.
The perennial German champions had a sequence of 17 consecutive Champions League group-stage victories ended by a 0-0 draw with FC Copenhagen in their previous outing. However, Bayern last lost at this stage of the competition six years ago.
Victory over the Bavarians is only one leg of United's challenge. Erik ten Hag's side are also entirely reliant upon the result of the other group game taking place at the same time in Denmark. A draw between Copenhagen and Galatasaray is the only outcome that would allow United to qualify.
Man Utd's remaining Champions League fixtures
Date / Kick-off time (GMT) | Fixture |
|---|---|
12/12/23 - 20:00 | Man Utd vs Bayern Munich |
Newcastle
Position | Team | Games played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goal difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Borussia Dortmund | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | +3 | 10 |
2. | PSG | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | +1 | 7 |
3. | Newcastle | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
4. | Milan | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | -2 | 5 |
Thanks to Paris Saint-Germain's hotly controversial equalising penalty, Newcastle United simply have to defeat AC Milan when they come to Tyneside on 13 December.
Borussia Dortmund have already qualified for the knockout stages and host second-placed PSG on the same night. The French giants must fail to win in Germany if Newcastle are to qualify.
A draw for PSG and Newcastle win would leave both clubs level on eight points but the Magpies boast a superior head-to-head record after taking four points off their similarly petro-fueled rivals. Dortmund have their own reasons to avoid defeat against PSG; any positive result would guarantee Edin Terzic's side first place in this year's 'group of death'.
Newcastle's remaining Champions League fixtures
Date / Kick-off time (GMT) | Fixture |
|---|---|
13/12/23 - 20:00 | Newcastle vs Milan |
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