Champions League View: Bayern Munich and Liverpool FC could get 10 points and still not qualify.

An entertaining set of Champions League games threw up some unexpected results, great games and the odd ninja (but not a very effective one). Almost all of the big names have a chance to reach the knockout stages, even though the likes of Bayern and Liverpool have made it very, very difficult for themselves.

Some teams have already fired their managers, some teams might do so in December if results don’t go their way domestically and in Europe.

Let’s look at each of the 8 groups, the teams, the remaining fixtures and what’s likely to happen by 9th December. Despite the drama, you’ll notice that apart from the odd team being in serious trouble, all the teams tipped to qualify at the start of the season are set to go through.

Teams already qualified are in bold. Remember, If two or more teams are level on points they are split by their head to head performances.

Group A

(Bordeaux 10, Juventus 8, Bayern Munich 4, Maccabi Haifa 0)

Bordeaux are through to the knockout stages, courtesy of their back to back wins over Bayern Munich. having held Juventus to a 1-1 draw away, Bordeaux be confident of finishing top of their group with a home game to Juventus and an away game to bottom-rung Maccabi Haifa coming up. 2 points should do the trick.

Juventus travel to Bordeaux next before hosting Bayern Munich on Matchday 6. A win against Bordeaux will see them through to the next round but the more likely outcome could be a draw (coupled with a win for Bayern who are at home to Haifa), which would turn the final game into a battle worth tens of millions of euros.

Bayern Munich could end up winning both games and STILL go to the Europa League if Bordeaux lose at home to Juventus.

Prediction: [CL: Bordeaux, Juventus. EL: Bayern Munich]

Group B

(Manchester United 10, Wolfsburg 7, CSKA Moskva 4, Besiktas 1)

Manchester United have qualified thanks to their superior head-to-head record against CSKA Moscow, and with a home game to Besiktas next they are likely to end up on 13 points going into the Matchday 6 game away to Wolfsburg. Depending on results United could end up second in their group so United eyes will be watching the Matchday 5 game at Luzhniki stadium between CSKA and Wolfsburg with great interest.

Wolfsburg are in a strong position – the key to their qualification chances is avoiding defeat against CSKA Moscow – if they do that, they should go through. Wolfsburg need a point against CSKA away (better head-to-head against CSKA) but they will be looking for at least 4 points from the remaining 2 games, and I’d back them to hold United to a draw at least, if not beat them.

CSKA Moscow need to win their last two games (home Wolfsburg, away Besiktas) to qualify for the Champions League, and given their spirited performance against Manchester United on Tuesday you wouldn’t put it past them to go through. It will come down to the game at Matchday 5 – although going away to Besiktas and winning is not easy either.

Prediction: [CL: Manchester United, Wolfsburg. EL: CSKA Moskva]

Group C

(AC Milan 7, Real Madrid 7, Marseille 6, FC Zurich 3)

Real Madrid and AC Milan managed to navigate their double-header without losing their grip on the Group.

Madrid host Zurich before traveling to Marseille, while Milan host Marseille before traveling to Zurich. Home wins for the two most successful clubs in European football on Matchday 5 will see them qualify, and we should at least see Madrid qualify with a game to spare.

AC Milan could draw at home to Marseille and still win as long as they beat Zurich away, but given their recent troubles, a win by Marseille at the San Siro could flip everything upside down.

Marseille thrashed Zurich 6-1 on Tuesday and will be hoping they can get a point or more at the San Siro, knowing that Zurich have beaten Milan there in Europe before. This is the same Marseille who lost at home to Milan earlier on this season, so there’s little guarantee on a result either way.

Could Zurich sneak through? Not likely – a point at Bernabeu coupled with a win against Milan at home would see them take 7 points but that won’t be enough. Beat Madrid in Spain? They’ve down Milan, and Kazan beat Barcelona away too, so it could happen…

Prediction: [CL: Real Madrid, AC Milan. EL: Marseille.]

Group D

(Chelsea 10, Porto 9, Atletico Madrid 2, APOEL Nicosia 1)

This group is done and dusted – Atletico might have had an outside chance if they had beaten Chelsea but a draw wasn’t enough. You don’t qualify on brilliant individual performances alone and with Atletico Madrid failing again (and not doing great in the league either), there will be renewed speculation that Sergio Aguero might be leaving next summer.

The remaining battles are for the top spot (Chelsea travel to Porto next) and for the Europa League (Atletico travel to APOEL). The Chelsea-Porto game should be a cracker but I doubt that it will be anything other than a draw. Matchday 6 sees Chelsea host APOEL and Porto travel to Atletico, so a point against Porto will pretty much seal the top spot for the Blues.

Porto will be going all out for a home win – with with Atletico so vulnerable this season, two wins to end the group stages will put Porto in the lead going into the second round.

Atletico Madrid drew with APOEL at home and they’ll be relying on the likes of Aguero to bail them out against APOEL away on Matchday 5. A point should do it, but ideally Atleti would want a win to at least confirm progress to the Europa League. The final home game against Porto also gives them some backup in case they drop points to APOEL.

Prediction: [CL: Chelsea, Porto. EL: Atletico Madrid]

Group E

(Lyon 10, Fiorentina 9, Liverpool 4, Debrecen 0)

One of the more interesting groups this season, thanks to Fiorentina’s win against Liverpool at home and Lyon’s 4 points against Liverpool home and away.

That 1 point will come in extremely handy for Liverpool though as they push on for qualification after the international break. Liverpool travel to Hungary to take on Debrecen (soundly beaten in all their games so far) on Matchday 5 and while they will fancy their chances of a win, one eye will be on the Fiorentina-Lyon game, the result of which could keep Liverpool out of the second round.

Simply put, Liverpool need to beat both Debrecen and Fiorentina and hope that Fiorentina don’t win against Lyon. If Fiorentina get a point against Lyon, Liverpool would then need to beat La Viola by 3 goals in the final game at Anfield to qualify. Needless to say, it’s out of Rafa’s hands at the moment but that 1 point gives Liverpool some cushion even if Fiorentina were to get a point on Matchday 5.

Fiorentina’s task is simple. They’re within touching distance, and 3 points against Lyon will take them through. Having beaten Liverpool at home and lost by a single goal to Lyon away, Fiorentina will fancy their chances and I’m tipping them to beat Lyon and qualify, regardless of what happens in Liverpool’s remaining two games.

Prediction: [CL: Lyon, Fiorentina. EL: Liverpool.]

Group F

(Inter Milan 6, Rubin Kazan 5, Barcelona 5, Dynamo Kiev 4)

The most interesting group of this year’s Champions League group stages. Any team can qualify for the second round at this stage, even Dynamo Kiev who travel to Kazan before hosting Barcelona (who have 2 points from 2 away games in Europe this season) on Matchday 6.

Inter Milan were bailed out of jail by Wesley Sneijder on Wednesday night but with an away game to Barcelona up next and a home game to high flying Rubin Kazan, they have a tough path to the second round. Jose Mourinho should be able to wring at least a point from the game Camp Nou, but a defeat there will really put pressure on the Italian champions, especially if Kazan beat Dynamo at home as well.

Barcelona’s task is simple – win their last two games as true ‘champions’ should to qualify for the second round. A defeat at home would have been out of the question at the start of the season but Kazan’s performances will give hope to Inter and more importantly Dynamo Kiev, who still harbour hopes of European football beyond December.

Rubin Kazan are in a fantastic position, all thanks to their hard work and Inter’s poor, poor performances. They might have lost to Dynamo Kiev on Matchday 1 but since then they’ve taken 5 points from 3 games against Barcelona and Inter Milan (and stayed unbeaten), a record that that the likes of Liverpool would kill for this year. A win at home against Dynamo Kiev will guarantee them European football, and a point against Inter in the final game could take them to the second round.

I wouldn’t put it past them.

In a group with three big stories, Dynamo Kiev tend to get ignored but that point at home against Inter has kept them afloat in this campaign. A win against Kazan would leave them needing 3 points against Barcelona at home (who have drawn their last two away games), an improbable but not impossible feat. 6 points = Champions League second round.

This is an almost impossible group to predict, but Inter *should* be able to beat Kazan at home, which means that even if they lose to Barcelona, they can still qualify for the second round.

A possible scenario could see Kazan beat Dynamo and Barca beat Inter, and then Inter and Dynamo winning their final two games. That would see Inter and Kazan go through thanks to Kazan’s better head-to-head record against Barcelona. It would be a shame (especially given Inter’s appalling performances), but it’s possible.

Prediction: [CL: Barcelona, Inter Milan. EL: Rubin Kazan]]

Group G

(Sevilla 10, Unirea Urziceni 5, Stuttgart 3, Rangers 2)

Sevilla have qualified and play Unirea Urziceni away before hosting Rangers in the final two games. A point from the last two games sees them top their group, and we expect them to at least get 4 points.

Unirea Urziceni’s claim to fame is their thrashing of Rangers this season, but to get to the second round they’ll need to beat Sevilla at home (or at least get a point) before beating Stuttgart away. Depending on how Rangers fare against Stuttgart at the Ibrox on Matchday 5, even just a point from the Stuttgart game should see them through (which would mean that a team could qualify for the second round with just 6 points).

Stuttgart will be looking to capitalise on the problems at Rangers and take 3 points away from the Ibrox. If Sevilla beat Unirea though, a point will suffice given that Rangers and Unirea travel to Sevilla and Stuttgart respectively on Matchday 6.

Rangers have the chance to mount a remarkable comeback and qualify for the second round by winning their last two games – or even getting 4 points out of them, although it must start with beating Stuttgart at home. Win at the Ibrox, and they move ahead of Stuttgart on head-to-head, and after that it’s all down to the last game for both Rangers and Stuttgart.

Assuming Unirea lose to Sevilla at home, that is…

Prediction: [CL: Sevilla, Rangers. EL: Unirea Urziceni]

Group H

(Arsenal 10, Olympiacos 6, Standard Liege 4, AZ Alkmaar 2)

Arsenal are more or less through – they host Standard Liege at the Emirates next with a trip to Olympiacos on the final day. A win at home should see them top the group. A straight-forward qualification in a relatively easy group.

Olympiacos travel to AZ Alkmaar next – Alkmaar have held both Standard and Arsenal to draws while Olympiacos have lost both their away games so far this season. A point won’t be enough to qualify even if Standard Liege lose – Olympiacos have an inferior head-to-head record to Standard Liege (equal points but Standard lead on goal difference) and need at least 2 points from the last 2 games and will hope that Arsenal wrap up qualification early.

Standard Liege can still qualify and with the final game at home against Alkmaar, they’ll fancy their chances of finishing on 7 points. Their fate is out of their hands though – it’s all down to how Olympiacos perform against Alkmaar and whether they can sneak a point against Arsenal at home as well.

AZ Alkmaar – home to Olympiacos and away to Standard – winnable games for them but it would be a massive, massive turnaround in form and performances, especially if they are to beat Standard away. I wouldn’t put a win against Olympiacos and a draw against Standard beyond them – that should see them into the Europa League, and if Olympiacos lose at home to Arsenal and AZ beat Olympiacos by 2 goals – they could be through to Europe.

Prediction: [CL: Arsenal, Olympiacos. EL: Standard Liege]