Author name: Omar Rodríguez

With only one matchday left to play, the fight for direct qualification to the Round of 16 and playoff spots is heating up, involving 28 teams. Matchday 7 of the UEFA Europa League has concluded, leaving the overall standings extremely tight ahead of the final round. These standings mean that 28 teams still have a chance to secure either direct advancement to the Round of 16 or a playoff berth. The Top Eight Lazio currently leads the competition with 19 points, guaranteeing their place in the Round of 16 with direct qualification. Eintracht Frankfurt sits in second with 16 points and a goal difference of +6. However, their 14 goals scored give them the edge over Athletic Club, which also has 16 points and a +6 goal difference but has scored only 12 goals, placing them in third. In fourth is Manchester United with 15 points. Below them, four teams are tied at 14 points, but their rankings are determined by goals scored: Olympique Lyonnais in fifth, Tottenham Hotspur in sixth, Anderlecht in seventh, and FCSB in eighth. The Race for Direct Qualification Galatasaray and Bodø/Glimt have the best chance of breaking into the top eight. With 13 points, they are ninth and tenth, respectively. Close behind them are Viktoria Plzeň and Olympiacos, each with 12 points, making the final matchday crucial for their chances at direct qualification. With slimmer chances but still mathematically in contention, Rangers, AZ Alkmaar, and Union Saint-Gilloise sit at 11 points. While direct qualification seems unlikely, these teams are in strong positions to secure playoff spots with a win in the final round. The Battle for Playoff Spots Teams ranked 16th through 20th—Ajax, PAOK, Real Sociedad, Midtjylland, and Elfsborg—each have 10 points. Although they cannot reach the top eight, they are focused on ensuring their place in the playoff round leading to the Round of 16. Further down, the teams currently occupying the remaining playoff positions (20th to 24th)—Roma, Ferencváros, Fenerbahçe, and Beşiktaş—all have 9 points. These clubs must secure victories in their final matches to avoid any surprises and lock in their playoff berths. Porto, sitting just behind them with 8 points, remains a serious contender for one of the playoff spots, looking to avoid a disappointing campaign. With 7 points each, Twente and Braga, in 26th and 27th places, still have slim but realistic chances of making the playoffs. Behind them, Hoffenheim and Maccabi Tel-Aviv, with 6 points each, are mathematically alive but face daunting odds in 28th and 29th places. The Eliminated Teams With no chance of advancing, Riga FS, Slavia Prague, Malmö, Ludogorets, Qarabağ, Nice, and Dynamo Kyiv round out the bottom of the table among the competition’s 36 teams.

With 25 teams still in the fight, the seventh matchday of the UEFA Champions League has left the table fascinating heading into the final round of the tournament. Matchday 7 of the Champions League is now in the books, and 25 out of 36 teams are still waiting to discover their fate in this new tournament format, with each team having played eight games. This matchday brought expected results, surprises, and most importantly, epic moments of football. The top eight direct qualifiers Liverpool leads Europe as the only team to have won all seven of their games, accumulating 21 points. Behind them is Barcelona, who, with a stunning comeback against Benfica, secured 18 points. Both teams have already secured direct qualification to the knockout stages, regardless of the result in their final group match. In third place, Arsenal holds 16 points, with a goal difference of +12, which gives them a significant advantage to stay among the top eight. While mathematically not yet guaranteed direct qualification, it seems unlikely they won’t make it into the elite group of teams advancing to the next round. Next in the table, Inter is fourth with the same 16 points, while Atlético Madrid and AC Milan follow in fifth and sixth place, respectively, both with 15 points. Atalanta is seventh with 14 points, and Bayer Leverkusen is eighth with 13 points and a +6 goal difference. A fierce battle for direct qualification to the knockout stage Excitement picks up from ninth to eighteenth place, as these teams have secured their playoff spots. However, Aston Villa, Monaco, Feyenoord, LOSC Lille, and Brest, with 13 points; Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Juventus, and Celtic, all with 12 points, still have a great chance to secure a top-eight spot with a win. This section of the table promises to be a thrilling spectacle as we see who can earn direct qualification and who will have to settle for a playoff spot in the final matchday. Teams fighting for playoffs PSV and Club Brugge, with 11 points in 19th and 20th place, respectively, still have a chance to make it into the top eight, but it looks very difficult for them to achieve this feat. A win, however, would almost guarantee their place in the playoffs. Benfica, PSG, Sporting Club, and Stuttgart, each with 10 points, are next and will only be focused on securing their playoff spot in their final match. Meanwhile, Manchester City in 25th, Dinamo Zagreb in 26th, both with 8 points, and Shakhtar in 27th with 7 points, must win at all costs and hope for favorable results from the teams above them to have a chance at the playoffs. Eliminated teams Finally, the teams already eliminated, ranked 28th to 36th, are Bologna, Sparta Prague, RB Leipzig, Girona, Red Star Belgrade, Sturm, RB Salzburg, Slovan Bratislava, and Young Boys.

The Champions League is back in action this January thanks to the new format featuring eight matches per team. Today, the tournament resumes with the fixtures of Matchday 7. Midday Action Kicks Things Off Under UEFA’s new Champions League format, implemented this season, each team now plays eight matches—four at home and four away—adding two extra matchdays compared to the previous group-stage format with four teams per group. As a result, Matchday 7 begins today at 11:45 a.m. (Central Mexico Time) with two early games: Monaco vs. Aston Villa and Atalanta vs. Sturm Graz. Big Showdowns in the Afternoon The prime-time slot kicks off at 2:00 p.m. (Central Mexico Time), with seven matches scheduled to take place simultaneously. The headline clash of the day is undoubtedly Atlético Madrid vs. Bayer Leverkusen, as both teams battle for a top spot in the overall standings. Atlético currently sits in 11th place with 12 points, while Leverkusen occupies 4th, holding a slim one-point advantage. Meanwhile, Benfica will face the second-place team, Barcelona, who are on 15 points and determined to prevent any slip-ups that could allow their rivals to overtake them. Benfica, on the other hand, aims to secure their playoff spot with a strong performance. Elsewhere, the league leaders and only undefeated team in the competition, Liverpool, will host LOSC Lille, a surprise contender sitting in 8th place and within the automatic qualification zone. The Reds boast a perfect record, holding a three-point cushion over the second-placed Barcelona. Despite this, they’ll undoubtedly aim to maintain their dominance with another win. In the other fixtures, PSV Eindhoven will look to stay in the playoff race against Red Star Belgrade; Juventus and Club Brugge will engage in a direct battle to climb the playoff standings; Stuttgart, needing a win to keep their playoff hopes alive, will face already-eliminated Slovan Bratislava; and finally, Borussia Dortmund seeks to return to the automatic qualification spots as they take on Bologna, a team clinging to slim mathematical chances of making the playoffs.