Manchester United and Manchester City may already be safely through to the last 16 but it’s not quite so clear for Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.
Spurs gave themselves some hope by beating Inter Milan to move them up to second in Group B. They are above Inter as they have a better head-to-head record in their two matches – leading the Italians on away goals.
But Mauricio Pochettino’s men lost 2-1 in Italy back in September making it 2-2 on aggregate. If Spurs finish level on points with Inter they will go through. Spurs will qualify if their result at Barcelona matches or betters Inter’s result at home to PSV.
Looking at Liverpool – the picture is not quite so clear. On Wednesday they meet Napoli at Anfield and it’s a game they have to win to stand any chance of qualification.
If Jurgen Klopp’s men win and PSG lose at Red Star Belgrade – which admittedly is unlikely – then Liverpool AND Napoli progress. Both teams would have nine points while PSG would end up with eight. Liverpool can finish above Napoli win a 1-0 win or a victory by two clear goals.
Should PSG draw at Red Star Belgrade and Liverpool beat Napoli, then Liverpool, Napoli and PSG will all have nine points.
Then it would come down to their record in matches against each other which is where it gets very complicated. This is best explained as three-team group minus the results against Red Star.
If Liverpool win tonight, they will top this imaginary group with six points and PSG and Napoli will be level on five points.
Manchester City are already through but they can top the group with a win or a draw over Hoffenheim. If Manchester United beat Valencia they will top the group.