UEFA Champions League standings: Perfect Liverpool close to top eight as PSG and Man City fight for survival

With six UEFA Champions League matches played at the end of 2024, the picture becomes clearer in the league stage as we head into the seventh and eighth rounds of play in early 2025. Liverpool are the only team to having won all six of their matches. matches for a total of 18 points, putting them three clear of Barcelona and literally in the waiting room for a top eight finish. Although 10 points should be enough to finish in the top 24 and therefore a place in the UCL round of 16, there are no guarantees as the seven teams capable of reaching or exceeding the 10 point mark are all still within reach with a match to play. With that in mind, the revised figure will likely be 11, which makes for some great scenarios that we’re looking forward to in the new year. As this is a brand new format being played for the very first time right now, there will likely be further twists and turns, but the two undoubted teams progressing at the moment are Liverpool and Barcelona with only RB Leipzig, Young Boys and Slovan Bratislava. sure to come home.

We take a closer look as the two remaining matches draw closer over the Christmas period.

Qualified teams

Liverpool and Barcelona: The Premier League-topping Merseysiders are one of only two teams guaranteed at least a playoff place, although they are almost guaranteed an automatic place in the round of 16 in finishing in the top eight. With Lille (at home) and PSV Eindhoven (away) to come and already six points ahead of ninth place, it is difficult to see Slot’s men not automatically advancing. The more pertinent question might be whether or not the Reds end up winning all of their games – or at least remaining undefeated – given that they are already six wins out of six and their toughest matches have already been disputed.

Teams eliminated

Leipzig, Young Boys and Slovan Bratislava: Few expected the Germans to perform as poorly as they have so far this season, with the situation likely to be made worse for Red Bull by the fact that Salzburg are also expected to miss the cut after also experiencing a sad continental form. Young Boys and Slovan Bratislava are less surprising but have also struggled to compete with the current eliminated trio, all useless with two games remaining to at least salvage some pride.

Surprise artists

Aston Villa, Brest and Lille: The current top eight was not expected to include the Premier League side and two Ligue 1 sides, but Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen and Inter currently share direct passages to the knockout stages with the surprise trio . Of these three, although Lille OSC have had excellent results, it’s hard to dispute that Stade Brestois 29 is the biggest shock name at the position given this is their first ever European foray . Villa’s turnaround under Unai Emery has been impressive, but as an EPL side, the money to compete at this level is difficult, if not impossible, for French clubs to obtain, making Brest and LOSC the real overachievers.

Surprise wrestlers

Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain battle it out underground on the penultimate matchday when they meet in the French capital, it’s something few would have dared to predict at the start of the league stage. Yet here we are after six games, with both teams struggling on either side of the elimination cutoff point, with Luis Enrique’s men currently chasing Pep Guardiola’s side. Ligue 1 is currently supported by Monaco, Brest and Lille and a premature exit from Paris would be a major blow to France’s UEFA coefficient performance, which has been respectable until now. The early evidence, however, is that the UEFA format shake-up is making things interesting and that the final two games will represent extremely high stakes for the likes of Parisians. It can be argued that Real Madrid only have nine points so far, but that situation appears to be turning around while Bayern Munich might have expected to occupy a top eight spot instead of 10th. current place, just outside the count. .

Coefficient scenarios so far

• Additional UCL 1 berth: England – 13,642 points – 7/7 clubs
• Additional UCL 2 berth: Italy – 12,109 points – 8/8 clubs
• Currently in third grade: Portugal – 11,755 points – 5/5 clubs

England are leading the race for an extra Champions League place for next season thanks to their strong collective performances in the Premier League and the bigger question is who will join them rather than who could catch up with them. Italian Serie A sides could claim yet another second place in the UCL in as many seasons given the Italians are currently closest to the pace of the English sides. However, Portugal cannot be completely excluded in third position even if the gap is widening. When it comes to the top five coefficient spots, the French Ligue 1 holds its own against the Dutch Eredivisie, which was a developing story last year, and the Italian Serie A remains behind the English EPL with Spain third and Germany fourth, but are trying to close the gap between La Liga and Ligue 1. Bundesliga.

Key matches of the 7th round

All at 3 p.m. ET

• Tuesday January 21: Liverpool versus Lille and Atletico Madrid versus Bayer Leverkusen.
• Wednesday January 22: Paris Saint-Germain against Manchester City and Feyenoord against Bayern Munich.

While Liverpool v Lille, Atletico Madrid v Bayer Leverkusen, Feyenoord v Bayern Munich and even Monaco v Aston Villa are all worth mentioning, it’s impossible to look beyond PSG v City in Round 7. A small match at best, this one takes on gigantic proportions given the higher-than-usual stakes and the very real potential consequences of a defeat for both sides in this match at the Parc des Princes.

Ranking

Key: Positions 1 to 8 qualify for the round of 16 while positions 9 to 24 qualify for the play-offs of the elimination phase and positions 25 to 36 are eliminated.

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