A staggering 32 of 36 teams go into the final set of matches with their hopes of staying in the competition still alive
With seven wins from seven, Arsenal have a perfect record in the league phase. Only Bayern Munich and Inter have found the net against Mikel Arteta’s team, who dismissed Atlético Madrid 4-0 in October. The bottom side, Kairat, visit the Emirates Stadium on the final night, with Arsenal needing a draw to confirm top spot and, theoretically, the most favourable last-16 draw.
Bayern Munich are the only other team who have a shot at finishing top, having secured their top-eight place last week with a 2-0 win against Union Saint-Gilloise. Harry Kane and co need to beat PSV in Eindhoven and hope Arsenal lose to Kairat in a way that leads to a five-goal swing.
Here it gets tricky. Technically any team down to Galatasaray and Qarabag on 10 points can finish in the top eight but goal difference and the fact that some of the teams above them are playing each other makes this highly improbable.
Real Madrid, now led by Álvaro Arbeloa, gave their goal difference a massive boost with a 6-1 thumping of Monaco last week. Two points clear of ninth place, they take on a familiar face in José Mourinho on Wednesday: a win away at Benfica would confirm a spot in the last 16 and a draw would almost certainly be enough too. Liverpool are another team on 15 points and a win at home to Qarabag would take them through. Given their lesser goal difference, hampered by a 4-1 home defeat to PSV in November, a draw may not be enough.
