Champions League permutations: What Arsenal, Man City, Celtic and Aston Villa need to reach knockout stages
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The Champions League is braced for a thrilling final set of group games next Wednesday, as the inaugural edition of its new league phase draws to a close. Those who finish in the top eight of the Champions League table will be seeded and head straight to the round of 16, while teams finishing between ninth and 24th will enter the play-off round.
![[Mohamed Salah and Harvey Elliott celebrate during Liverpool vs Lille]](https://static.standard.co.uk/2025/01/21/21/15/GettyImages-2195156443-(1).jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&width=960)
Finishing ninth to 16th means a team is seeded in the play-off round and will face a side that ended up between 17th and 24th in the final standings. Those who finish 25th to 36th will be immediately knocked out of the competition, and there is no longer any opportunity for eliminated teams to drop down to the Europa League.
![[Pep Guardiola reacts on the touchline during Man City's game with PSG]](https://static.standard.co.uk/2025/01/22/22/54/PepGuardiola2201.jpeg?quality=75&auto=webp&width=960)
With two teams already guaranteed a last-16 spot, Standard Sport explains what each of the British teams and big-hitters across Europe need from their final match in order to qualify for the knockout rounds…. Top of the table with seven wins from seven, Liverpool are already through to the last 16 where they will be seeded.
After winning a ding-dong affair against Benfica 5-4 on Tuesday, Barca are also through and will be seeded. They face Girona away from home in their final match. With a much better goal difference than all the teams on 13 points, and on 16 points themselves, Arsenal are all-but into the round of 16 as one of the top eight teams.
