Twelve teams have already punched their ticket to the knockout round, but there are still plenty of questions in the air as the final matchday of the group stage gets underway. The following is a breakdown of each group and the possible scenarios that could play out in the coming week.
Group A
Dortmund missed a chance to clinch first place when they drew a scoreless match at home against Club Brugge, allowing Atletico Madrid to slide into the top spot. Diego Simone's team will now have the chance to clinch 1st when they take on Brugge in their final match of the group stage next Tuesday the 11th. Dortmund meanwhile will need a win against Monaco and hope for a low-scoring affair in the Atletico Madrid-Brugge game to re-take the top seed.
Either way, it will be Atletico and Dortmund who advance. Monaco ends its campaign with a lone point, while Club Brugge moves on to the Europa League.
Group B
Predictably, Lionel Messi and Barcelona locked up first place in this group without any issue. Second place is a dogfight, however, with Tottenham and Inter tied in points thanks to a Christian Eriksen goal that was the deciding factor in a 1-0 matchup between those two clubs. Tottenham now has to beat Barcelona to clinch the second place spot, while Inter will need to tally more than two goals to beat Tottenham on goal differential.
Group C
This group offers all the drama one can handle; Napoli, PSG, and Liverpool all have skin in the game, and nobody has locked up a spot yet. Since PSG topped Liverpool in Paris, the game to watch will be Liverpool vs. Napoli, as last year's runner-up faces elimination with a loss. Even with a one-goal win, Liverpool's fate is not certain, as Napoli has more away goals in group games. In that situation, they would need PSG to tie their game with Red Star to advance. Meanwhile, PSG can capture the top spot with a win against Red Star and a Napoli draw or loss against Liverpool.
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Group D
This group is much more defined, with FC Porto already having locked up first place and Schalke cemented in the second place spot after Lokomotiv Moscow's win over Galatasaray. Schalke will take on the Russian side on the last day of matches while Porto finishes the group stage with Galatasaray.
Group E
Bayern Munchen and the thrilling AFC Ajax are the two teams that will advance from this group, but who finishes first will remain to be seen after the final matchday when the two clubs meet in Amsterdam. Their first battle was a 1-1 draw in Munich. Lewandowski has been a force, tied for the lead in goals with six so far. Regardless of who wins, it will be the first time in 16 years that Ajax has advanced to the round of 16. Benfica takes on Athens in their final game, with neither team having a chance to advance.
Group F
There is still room for much movement on the final matchday for this group, although the likelihood of the standings changing is slim. Manchester City sits atop the table and will clinch with a win at home vs. Hoffenheim. If City fails to do so, Lyon could grab the top spot with a win against Shakhtar Donetsk in which they net more than three goals. However, A Shakhtar Donetsk win over Lyon would vault the Ukrainians into the round of 16 and leave Lyon on the outside looking in.
Group G
Real Madrid locked up the top spot with a win against Roma on November 27th, and Roma has a lock on the second seed after a 3-0-2 campaign in the group stage. Madrid had a scare back in October when they dropped their second game to CSKA, but bounced back with a vengeance and won their next three games by a combined score of 9-1. Otherwise, this has been one of the most straightforward groups in the whole tournament.
Group H
Were it not for a 2-1 victory on the road in Turin vs. Juventus, plus an injury-time thriller against Young Boys in week 5, Manchester United might have exited in the group stage. However, thanks to Marouane Fellaini's heroics, United are in behind Ronaldo and company, who lead the group with 12 points. Should Juventus lose to YB and United win vs. Valencia on Wednesday, United will overtake the 1st seed.
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