Champions League permutations: What Liverpool and Chelsea need to join Tottenham and Man City - (2021)

The last Champions League group matches take place this week with Liverpool and Chelsea looking to join Manchester City and Tottenham in the knockout phase.

We already know eight of the teams that have qualified – City, Spurs, Paris St-Germain, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Real Madrid, Barcelona and RB Leipzig – with another eight places still on offer.

This is how things stand for each English side:

• Tottenham: Through to the last 16 as Group B runners-up.
• Manchester City: Through to the last 16 as Group C winners.
• Liverpool: Need a point at Red Bull Salzburg to guarantee progress to the last 16. If they lose they will be out, unless Napoli also lose at home to Genk – or else the Reds score four away goals or more and only lose by one goal (eg a 5-4 defeat). A victory will take Liverpool through as group winners.
• Chelsea: Will qualify from Group H if they beat Lille at home. The Blues could also progress with a draw – but only if Valencia lose to Ajax. If Valencia and Ajax draw then a Chelsea win will take them through as group winners – courtesy of a better head-to-head record with Ajax. If Valencia and Chelsea both win then the Spanish side will top the group on the head-to-head against Chelsea.

Who is through from each group so far?

Group A: Paris St-Germain (winners), Real Madrid (runners-up)

Group B: Bayern Munich (winners), Tottenham (runners-up)

Group C: Manchester City (winners)

Group D: Juventus (winners)

Group E: None

Group F: Barcelona (winners)

Group G: RB Leipzig

Group H: None

Tables and fixtures

Group A

Ligue 1 champions PSG are through from Group A, topping the table with four wins and a draw. They have scored 12 goals and only conceded two.

Real Madrid, 13-time winners of the competition, are also through following Galatasaray's 1-1 draw with Club Bruges on Tuesday.

Remaining fixtures:

Wednesday, 11 December – PSG v Galatasaray, Club Bruges v Real Madrid

Group B

Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich have cruised through as Group B winners with five victories from five games, scoring 21 goals – the best total from any side in the group phase.

Last season's beaten finalists Tottenham fought back from 2-0 down to beat Olympiakos 4-2 on Tuesday to go through as group runners-up.

Olympiakos take on Red Star Belgrade in the final round of matches with the winner finishing third and moving into the Europa League.

Remaining fixtures:

Wednesday, 11 December – Bayern Munich v Tottenham, Olympiakos v Red Star Belgrade

Group C

Premier League champions Manchester City clinched top spot in the group thanks to a 1-1 draw at home against Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday.

The Ukrainian side are still the favourites to take second spot, but need to beat Atalanta at home in the final round of matches to be sure of joining City in the last 16. Dinamo Zagreb and Atalanta are still hoping to finish as runners-up.

Remaining fixtures:

Wednesday, 11 December – Shakhtar Donetsk v Atalanta, Dinamo Zagreb v Manchester City

Group D

Serie A champions Juventus qualified for the last 16 after matchday four and a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid on Tuesday guaranteed the Italians top spot.

Atletico will clinch the runners-up place if they beat Lokomotiv Moscow at home, while Bayer Leverkusen will need to beat Juventus and hope the Spaniards drop points.

Remaining fixtures:

Wednesday, 11 December – Atletico Madrid v Lokomotiv Moscow, Bayer Leverkusen v Juventus

Group E

The Reds could have qualified with a game to spare if they had beaten Napoli, but the Italian side held them 1-1 at Anfield. They are guaranteed a Europa League last-32 place at the very least.

Napoli will progress if they get a point at home to Genk in the final game.

Remaining fixtures:

Tuesday, 10 December – Napoli v Genk, Red Bull Salzburg v Liverpool

Group F

La Liga champions Barcelona qualified as group winners – for the 13th year in a row – with a 3-1 win over Borussia Dortmund.

Inter will qualify if they beat Barcelona at the San Siro in the final game. But if they fail to win, Dortmund – who host eliminated Slavia Prague – will qualify if they get more points than Inter.

Remaining fixtures:

Tuesday, 10 December – Borussia Dortmund v Slavia Prague, Inter Milan v Barcelona

Group G

RB Leipzig booked their place in the Champions League knockout stages with a 2-2 draw against Benfica.

Zenit St Petersburg will qualify if they win away to Benfica, who cannot finish in the top two. But Lyon – who are away to Leipzig – can still qualify if they pick up more points than Zenit from the final game.

Remaining fixtures:

Tuesday, 10 December – Benfica v Zenit St Petersburg, Lyon v RB Leipzig

Group H

Chelsea would have already qualified if they had they beaten Valencia in their last match, but it ended 2-2.

Ajax only need a draw to progress, while Valencia know a win would take them through.

Remaining fixtures:

Tuesday, 10 December – Chelsea v Lille, Ajax v Valencia