Which teams can qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League? How are things going? Latest table, scenarios

Well, the new UEFA Champions League format has delivered exactly what it set out to: more drama and excitement.

33 of the 36 teams are still in the hunt for the last 16.

MORE – Champions League schedule

With six of the eight matchweeks in the books in the 36-team league stage and a break until the end of January for the final two matchweeks to be played, there are only a handful of teams flying at the top or adrift at the bottom.

The rest is chaos as just three points separate Arsenal in third place and Club Brugge in 19th, with up to 24 teams still in the hunt for what appears to be six places in the top eight. Securing a place in the top eight means direct passage to the last 16, while tams finishing ninth to 24th will play in a two-legged play-off for the prize of reaching the last 16.

MORE – Will Liverpool, Villa, Arsenal and City reach the last sixteen?

Below we take a look at which teams qualified for a place in the last 16, who was eliminated, the table and more.

Which teams have qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League 16?

With two games to go, no one has automatically qualified to reach the last sixteen by securing a spot in the top eight. But there are plenty of teams close by.

Liverpool and Barcelona are guaranteed at least a place in the top 24, so they have at least already qualified for a place in the play-off round.

Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Aston Villa, Inter Milan, Brest and Lille currently occupy the remaining spots in the top eight and a win in their next match could seal their place in the last 16 as they avoid the play-off round to play. .

How does the Champions League League stage work?

In the new competition phase of the tournament, each team will play eight matches against eight different teams. Four games at home and four away. Teams were placed into one of four pots and each team plays against two teams from each of the four pots. Teams play one match at home and one match away against a team from each pot.

The top eight teams in the league stage automatically qualify for the Round of 16, while the teams finishing in positions 9-24 qualify for the play-off round. Teams finishing 9-16 will be seeded for the playoffs, while teams in positions 17-24 will be eliminated. Teams finishing in positions 25-36 will be eliminated from the Champions League and will not play in any other European competition for the remainder of the 2024-2025 season.

The eight teams that advance to the knockout round will then face one of the teams that finished in positions 1-8 in the competition stage in the Round of 16, and from then on the tournament will be a normal knockout format.

Which teams are eliminated from the Champions League?

Young Boys, Slovan Bratislava and RB Leipzig have all been knocked out of the Champions League, with all three teams losing all six of their games so far. That means that with two games to go, there is no chance of them finishing among the top 24 teams and making it to the play-off round. The teams that finish in the bottom twelve positions of the competition stage are not from Europe at all.

UEFA Champions League tables – Latest standings of the 2024-25 competition phase

• The top eight places qualify directly for the knockout rounds

• Positions 9-24 are matched in two-legged play-off matches

• Positions 25-36 are eliminated from all European competitions

1. Liverpool — 6-0-0 — +23 GD — 18 points — Assured of at least a play-off spot (placed)

2. Barcelona — 5-0-1 — +14 GD — 15 points — Assured of at least a play-off spot (unseeded)

3. Arsenal — 4-1-1 — +9 GD — 13 points

4. Bayer Leverkusen — 4-1-1 — +7 GD — 13 points

5. Aston Villa — 4-1-1 — +6 GD — 13 points

6. Inter Milan — 4-1-1 — +6 GD — 13 points

7. Brest — 4-1-1 — +4 GD — 13 points

8. Lille — 4-1-1 — +3 GD — 13 points

9. Borussia Dortmund — 4-0-2 — +9 GD — 12 points

10. Bayern Munich — 4-0-2 — +9 GD — 12 points

11. Atletico Madrid — 4-0-2 — +6 GD — 12 points

12. AC Milan — 4-0-2 — +3 GD — 12 points

13. Atalanta — 3-2-1 — +9 GD — 11 points

14. Juventus — 3-2-1 — +4 GD — 11 points

15. AS Monaco — 3-1-1 — +5 GD — 10 points

16. Benfica — 3-1-2 — +3 GD — 10 points

17. Sporting Lisbon — 3-1-2 — +2 GD — 10 points

18. Feyenoord — 3-1-2 — -1 GD — 10 points

19. Club Brugge — 3-1-2 — -2 GD — 10 points

20. Real Madrid — 3-0-3 — +1 GD — 9 points

21. Celtic — 2-3-1 — 0 GD — 9 points

22. Manchester City — 2-1-3 — +4 GD — 8 points

23. PSV Eindhoven — 2-2-2 — +2 GD — 8 points

24. Dinamo Zagreb — 2-2-2 — -5 GD — 8 points

25. Paris Saint-Germain — 2-1-3 — 0 GD — 7 points

26. Stuttgart — 2-1-3 — -3 GD — 7 points

27. Shakhtar Donetsk — 1-1-4 — -8 GD — 4 points — Cannot qualify directly for the last 16, but can reach the play-off round (seeded)

28. Sparta Prague — 1-1-4 — -11 GD — 4 points — Cannot qualify directly for the last 16, but can reach the play-off round (seeded)

29. Sturm Graz — 1-0-5 — -5 GD — 3 points — Cannot qualify directly for the last 16, but can reach the play-off round (unseeded)

30. Girona — 1-0-5 — -6 GD — 3 points — Cannot qualify directly for the last 16, but can reach the play-off round (unseeded)

31. Red Star Belgrade — 1-0-5 — -9 GD — 3 points — Cannot qualify directly for the last 16, but can reach the play-off round (unseeded)

32. Red Bull Salzburg — 1-0-5 — -15 GD — 3 points — Cannot qualify directly for the last 16, but can reach the play-off round (unseeded)

33. Bologna — 0-2-4 — -6 GD — 2 points — Cannot qualify directly for the last 16, but can reach the play-off round (unseeded)

34. RB Leipzig — 0-0-6 — -7 GD — 0 points — Disabled

35. Slovan Bratislava — 0-0-6 — -16 GD — 0 points — Disabled

36. Young boys — 0-0-6 — -19 GD — 0 points — Disabled