After the blink of an eye, there are only three matchdays left in the UCL group stage. The first half brought exciting fixtures, upsets and a table which saw powerhouses at the tip of being eliminated. Liverpool, Inter, and Barcelona lead the pack with Manchester City, Real Madrid, and PSG falling behind. After past weeks plagued with injuries and international breaks, matchday proved to be crucial for teams fighting for the advantage of avoiding the Rounds of 32.
Current standings
The current table lays out the importance of the positions and what is at stake for each team. For those teams that end in the top eight spots in the UCL table, they go directly into the Rounds of 16, however, those that end between nine and 24 must play an additional two-legged play off game before the Rounds of 16. This consequently means they will play both legs of the Rounds of 32, increasing the total amount of fatigue should that team make it to the final. Those finishing below the 24 place are automatically eliminated. That being said, currently teams are separated by at most two points — meaning that a positive outcome in this next half of the group stage has the potential to revive struggling clubs.
- Liverpool 15
- Inter 13
- Barcelona 12
- Dortmund 12
- Atalanta 11
- Bayer Leverkusen 10
- Arsenal 10
- Monaco 10
- Aston Villa 10
- Sporting 10
- Brest 10
- Lille 10
- Bayern 9
- Benfica 9
- Atlético de Madrid 9
- AC Milan 9
- Manchester City 8
- PSV 8
- Juventus 8
- Celtic 8
- Feyenoord 7
- Club Brugge 7
- Dinamo Zagreb 7
- Real Madrid 6
- PSG 4
- Shakhtar Donetsk 4
- VfB Stuttgart 4
- Sparta Praha 4
- SK Sturm Graz 3
- Girona 3
- Crvena zvezda 3
- RB Salzburg 3
- Bologna 1
- RB Leipzig 0
- Slovan Bratislava 0
- Young Boys 0
Key Fixtures
Tuesday
The fixture that has the most at stake this Matchday has to be Atalanta vs Real Madrid. As Los Blancos travel to Bergamo to face off the leaders of Serie A, they find themselves in a must-win scenario. Real Madrid are at the brink of UCL elimination in the group stages after managing only six points in five Champions League games. This game against Atalanta marks their toughest of their three remaining group stage fixtures, with the next two being RB Salzburg (32nd place) and Brest (11th place).
Real Madrid have had a rocky season so far to say the least. Although they find themselves second in La Liga, Ancelotti’s men have struggled to find form, winning three and losing two of their last five matches. Much of Los Blancos inconsistency can be pinpointed to their numerous issues; first of all, Kylian Mbappe’s start to his time in Madrid has not gone to plan. He has two missed penalties in eight games (same man who made three in a row in a World Cup Final). While the midfield has been feeling the absence of Toni Kroos, there is no true nine in the team which leads to chaos in the front line as Ancelloti insists on playing two natural left wingers. Not to mention, the Real Madrid back four lacked in performance as they miss key leaders, Dani Carvajal and Nacho.
Atalanta, on the other hand, are in their best form in years. They are leading an airtight Serie A title race while standing in fifth place of the UCL. Led by 23-year-old Charles de Ketelaere and 27-year-old Ademola Lookman, the Bergamo-based club recently beat AC Milan in a huge match for the title. However, their game against Real Madrid marks the start of three crucial Champions Leagues fixtures for La Dea as they look to overcome Real Madrid, SK Sturm Graz and Barcelona to secure a bye for the next phase. Despite the huge challenge ahead, after their recent convincing performances, Atalanta are on pace to further extend their underdog run.
Wednesday
Wednesday’s matchup sees third placed Barcelona travel to Signal Iduna Park to take on fourth placed Borussia Dortmund, in what is the highest ranked matchup this week. Barcelona’s rampant start to the season was stagnated after Hansi Flick’s men managed to get only five points out of a possible 15 in the last five games. Both teams have struggled in their recent games, with Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona winning only two out of their last five games. However, the stakes in this matchup are high as both teams are tied at 12 points.
As favorites, Barcelona will be looking to get back on track and avoid the Rounds of 32. Despite their last minute tie against Real Betis on Dec. 7, the return of Lamine Yamal has lit a spark in the Catalan club. As Barcelona travel to Western Germany, the Blaugrana look to make it five wins in a row for the first since the 2019 UCL campaign. A win against Dortmund is just what they need to get out of the rut they find themselves in as they look to cement their status as top contenders for this year’s Champions League.
Dortmund, on the other hand, will have to manage with their lack of fitness throughout the squad. For Wednesday’s matchup BVB will have to deal with the notable absences of both Niklas Süle and Waldemar Anton. Julian Brandt and Karim Adeyemi are both questionable to be fit in time before this fixture, while Gio Reyna has been back for two weeks, however, without a huge amount of playing time.
Both teams will look to get ahead as positioning in this format is crucial. If Inter lose against Bayer Leverkusen, that would mean that the winner of this fixture would be right behind leaders Liverpool.
Players to look out for
Charles de Ketelaere
The main player to look out for this matchday is Charles de Ketelaere. The 23-year-old Belgium international has become one of the key players for Atalanta during their title charge. Following his three assist and two goal performance, he is set to be one of the key players this matchday.
Florian Wirtz
Florian Wirtz has shown time and time again that when he is needed he can step up. Following his man of the match performance against Salzburg, there is no reason as to why he will not be the difference maker against Inter Milan.
Potential Upsets
Atalanta over Real Madrid
Rarely is a higher ranked team on a table considered an underdog, however, when the team they are facing is Real Madrid, that might just be inevitable. Atalanta are in unbelievable form, beating out Napoli, Inter, Fiorentina and Lazio to the top of the Serie A. Furthermore, they are unbeaten in their last 17 games with their last coming against Inter Milan on Aug. 30. When you look at both teams in this contest, Atalanta is the more in-form team.
RB Leipzig over Aston Villa
RB Leipzig have lost every Champions League game this year, making their qualification to the next phase unlikely. However, in two of those matches (against Inter and Liverpool), Die Roten Bullen narrowly missed out on points. The German club is long overdue for a win this season in the UCL, making this game the perfect opportunity.
Image links:
https://www.marca.com/en/soccer/laliga/betis-barcelona/2024/12/07/01_0101_20241207_185_178-live.html
Welcome to FUT11 
Leave a comment