The Champions League will enter the 7th round of the qualifying round in the middle of this week. After that, the tournament has only 1 more match before determining the teams to go straight to the knockout round, the play-off group and the elimination group.
Liverpool is currently flying high with the top spot and an all-win record. Meanwhile, PSG, although highly rated, is in the elimination group. Everything is possible in the last two rounds, and there are expected to be countless surprises.
Liverpool have 18 absolute points after 6 matches. Despite losing the remaining 2 matches, Arne Slot's team is still sure to have a place in the Top 8 (teams that go straight to the knockout round). Barcelona is behind Liverpool with 15 points, almost certain, regardless of which scenario occurs in the last two rounds. According to the Opta supercomputer's prediction, The Kop have a 99% chance of reaching the knockout round, while the Blaugrana have a 90%.
The teams ranked from 3rd to 8th are currently on 13 points. To be sure to be in the Top 8 after the final match, they need to win 6 absolute points in the remaining 2 matches. Teams outside the Top 8 chasing right behind and with the same 12 points must also win the last 2 matches to hope to decide the ticket to the next round.
If the teams get points after the qualifying round ends, the goal difference is the first criterion to determine which club is higher. Next are the number of goals scored, away goals, wins and losses.
One of the most attractive points of the qualifying round format is the unpredictability of the final round. Among the clubs outside the Top 8, Dortmund, Bayern, Atletico and Milan are the teams with the best positions to break away after the 7th round. These teams all have 12 points, 1 point behind Lille. Lille are currently 8th in the table and will face Liverpool this week. If Lille cannot beat Liverpool, any team currently between 9th and 15th will overcome the French representative if they get 3 points.
According to Opta's prediction, any team ranked 26th or higher can have a chance to end the qualifying round in the Top 8, even if some teams achieve this rate of less than 1%. Among the teams outside this leading group, Bayern has the highest chance to end the qualifying round with a ticket straight to the next round (65% according to Opta's prediction).
That is the situation of the above group. As for the eliminated group, after the 6th round, 3 representatives including RB Leipzig, Slovan Bratislava and Young Boys have been identified. It is not ruled out the possibility of a 4th team appearing after this week's matches.
In the group holding the red light, PSG is the most notable name. Luis Enrique's side are in 25th place with just seven points from six games. In the middle of this week, they will face Man City who are in very good form at home. On the other side of the front line, Man City is only 1 point ahead of PSG and if they lose, Pep Guardiola and his team could fall into danger.
