Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Celtic feature in new Champions League format; 36 teams form a single league, with each entrant playing eight different clubs, four at home and four away; the top eight sides will qualify automatically for the last Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player.
We are in the home straight of the new league phase of the Champions League - with the five British teams looking to accomplish different feats in the new format.
Liverpool have won each of their opening seven games and need just one point to be certain of top spot in the standings. But can Arne Slot now afford to rotate his team in the final game? Not after Barcelona's dramatic win against Benfica. Hansi Flick's side are three points behind the Reds but currently hold a superior goal difference.
That is because there is an incentive to keep winning as every single finishing place matters in this new Champions League format. Read below to see all the permutations regarding the rest of the new Champions League structure and what British teams need to do to qualify Liverpool have guaranteed their place in the last 16 and will bypass the play-off round. So while Arsenal do still need at least a point to be mathematically certain of progression, only some very dramatic scorelines would demote them out of the top eight.
Arsenal are currently in third place which means, if they stayed in this position, they would face the winners of a play-off match featuring teams in 13th or 14th and 19th or 20th. Ninth-placed Aston Villa are one of the 10 teams within three points of Arsenal but such is the congestion that only a win next Wednesday against Celtic will realistically be enough for Unai Emery's side to have any hope of finishing in the top eight. Celtic's late victory over Young Boys means they will definitely be in the play-offs.
