Soccer
Champions League permutations: How Liverpool, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Manchester City and Celtic can advance
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The final matchday of the Champions League's new league phase is upon us, and all five British-based clubs will be in action on Wednesday.
All five sides have a chance to move on to the next round, and DAZN News breaks down what exactly is needed from each club in order to advance.
Liverpool
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Nothing. They're already through to the round of 16.
The Reds have been flying on all fronts this season and the newly expanded Champions League campaign is no different as Arne Slot's men have won all seven of their matches and lead all 36 clubs as a result.
Liverpool's final league phase match at PSV is a formality, but a victory against the Dutch side assures them the top seed in the last 16.
Arsenal
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The Gunners have it nearly as good as Liverpool do as they head into the final matchday in third place and are virtually assured of skipping past the knockout phase play-offs altogether.
Arsenal need a single point at Girona on Wednesday to guarantee themselves a berth in the round of 16, but any dropped points by several of the clubs behind them would do it as well.
Aston Villa
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Villa are guaranteed a play-off spot but of course would prefer to jump directly into the last 16.
They are ninth on the table, just outside the cut-off for automatic qualification to the round of 16. A win against visiting Celtic would boost their chances, but they'll also need one of Bayer Leverkusen, Atalanta, Milan, Atletico Madrid, Inter or Arsenal to lose on Wednesday (and the latter two would still be tied on points with Villa, meaning tiebreakers would come into play).
Additionally, a Villa draw could also see them through to the last 16 as long as Bayer Leverkusen also lose while several other clubs further down the table don't win.
Manchester City
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City have not made it easy on themselves after squandering a two-goal lead in the second half at PSG last week.
That result means the Sky Blues are on the outside looking in to advance past the league phase at all. In 25th place after seven matches, only a victory would suffice — and that might not even be enough.
City will need to defeat visitors Club Brugge on Wednesday and hope that at least one of the six teams directly above them stumble. Pep Guardiola's men would still only make the play-off round, but that's better than crashing out altogether.
Celtic
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Celtic will play on past the league phase, but whether its in the play-offs or in the last 16 remains to be seen.
The Glasgow club put themselves in a good position with their last-ditch victory over Young Boys last week, and now they'll face the aforementioned Aston Villa with the potential to directly qualify for the round of 16 on the line.
A draw wouldn't do much for Celtic given the number of teams between themselves and the top eight, so a win is the only feasible route to avoid the play-offs.
Even a victory may not be enough, though.
