MANCHESTER, England — Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester City are among the giants of European football who cannot afford to stumble in a tense final round of the Champions League opening round on Wednesday.
They all face the possibility of being relegated to the playoffs on an 18-match night in Europe’s elite club competition.
Eight teams will advance directly to the round of 16. The next 16 will compete in two-game playoffs to complete the table in the direct elimination phase.
After seven rounds, leaders Arsenal and second-place Bayern Munich are the only teams that have secured their places.
All of this sets the stage for a potentially exciting night of action, as just three points separate third-placed Madrid and 15th-placed Juventus.
Too tight to predict
Eight teams, from sixth PSG to 13th Atalanta, come together with 13 points. This increases the possibility of upsets in the order of the standings depending on the results.
PSG will host Newcastle. The French giants are ahead of the English club in goals scored and a defeat or draw could see the reigning European champions drop out of the top eight.
Both Barcelona and City, both with 13 points, also want to climb into the automatic qualification zone.
Barcelona plays at home against Copenhagen and City, European champions in 2023, host Turkish Galatasaray.
“I’d rather have more (points) but it’s what we deserve. We need to concentrate and try to win our game and then see what position we end up in,” City manager Pep Guardiola said. “We will see the result in the last 10 minutes and then we will see (what we have to do). We have to concentrate on our game, that is the key.”
PSG and City finished in the playoffs last season with very different results. City were left out of the round of 16 after being eliminated by Madrid, while PSG won the trophy for the first time.
on the edge
Chelsea is in eighth place, but there is much more danger for Italian champion Napoli, their local rival.
Napoli is 25th in the standings, one place below the playoffs, and is at severe risk of being left out.
It is one of the most attractive crosses of the day by adding the seasoning that Antonio Conte, the current Napoli coach, directed at Chelsea in the recent past.
“I know them very well, I know their ambitions. They are club world champions,” Conte said. “We have to give it our all. We can’t underestimate them. We know what it means to play on our turf. It would be great to see a wave of blue supporting us.”
José Mourinho, a two-time Champions League winner, could be another prestigious coach who is fired in the first stage. His Benfica needs to beat Madrid, the Portuguese strategist’s former club, and depend on other results to reach the playoffs.
Madrid is third with 15 points and is not yet guaranteed to finish in the top eight.
Premier dominance
Five Premier League teams are in the top eight. Aside from Arsenal at the top, Liverpool sit fourth with 15 points.
Liverpool has qualification within reach. It’s their turn to host Qarabag, but the Azerbaijani club has been one of the revelations of this edition and is in the playoff positions.
Tottenham are fifth with 14 points and their performances in Europe have provided some encouragement for beleaguered manager Thomas Frank due to poor results on the domestic front. The Spurs will visit the already eliminated Eintracht Frankfurt.
Perfection
Arsenal should become the first team to complete a perfect league stage when they host bottom-placed Kairat. This is the second season of the new format which replaced the previous group stages.
In the previous format, 13 teams advanced with a clean record, but had to play six games before the knockout phase.
Arsenal could end their total of eight wins if, as expected, they beat Kairat of Kazakhstan.
Is the new format working?
While several top teams face the prospect of the playoffs, the automatic qualifying places could still be dominated by Europe’s elite if Barcelona and City gain entry.
The previous format had been considered obsolete, without sufficient risk in the matches.
Napoli would likely represent the only big surprise if they fail to make the playoffs, which could lead to reproaches that the new format still produces predictable results.
However, the fact that there is so much uncertainty leading up to the final date suggests that the format is creating enough danger until the end.
When is the playoff draw?
The playoff draw will be at noon in the European center on Friday.
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