Six English clubs and old foes – all to play for on Champions League final day

Things are delicately poised heading into what promises to be a blockbuster final day of the Champions League league phase with 30 teams still waiting to decide their fate, six English clubs eyeing a top-eight spot and old foes looking to down former employers.

While Arsenal are safely through to the last 16, where they will be joined by Bayern Munich, everybody else still has work to do in a congested 36-team table.

Liverpool, Tottenham, Newcastle United and Chelsea are the other Premier League sides occupying a top-eight spot that would mean they avoid the play-offs and go straight into the last 16.

Manchester City – currently in a play-off spot – are behind Newcastle and Chelsea only on goal difference as part of a group of eight teams on 13 points heading into next Wednesday’s final round.

There have never been six clubs from one country in the competition before, never mind in the knockout stages.

Leaders Arsenal have won all seven of their matches and just a point at home to Kairat Almaty would be enough to clinch top spot ahead of Bayern.

In terms of seedings for the last 16, it makes no difference, with the top two paired in the draw and facing the winners of the play-off game between 15th and 18th or 16th and 17th respectively.

Bayern need a point at PSV Eindhoven to secure a top-two finish.

The top two are guaranteed to play the second leg at home in every round until the final.

The battle for the top eight is where things get interesting.

Let’s start with the easy bit. For Real Madrid and Liverpool, both on 15 points, and Tottenham, on 14, a victory on matchday eight will secure direct entry into the last 16.

Spurs face eliminated Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany, where the north London outfit won last year on the way to a Europa League triumph that secured them Champions League football this season.

Arne Slot’s Liverpool side are at home to Qarabag, who can still make the top eight.

“It’s all down to us again next week, at home. Let’s make sure we’re in the top eight,” Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk told Uefa.

“It’s very important as you miss the play-offs, and it helps with the intense programme that we’re having. We’ve put ourselves in a good position.”

Real are away to former manager Jose Mourinho’s Benfica.

Mourinho reached three Champions League semi-finals in a row with Real before leaving in 2013, but Benfica – with only two wins in their first seven games – will need to beat Real to have a chance of sneaking into the play-offs.

Behind Spurs come a group of eight teams, starting with holders Paris St-Germain in sixth down to Atalanta in 13th, on 13 points.

Newcastle, Chelsea and City are all in that group needing a win – and even then knowing their fate could come down to goal difference.

Chelsea are also up against a former manager in Antonio Conte, who won Serie A with Napoli last season but will welcome the Blues to Naples with his side sitting outside the play-off spots on goal difference.

City host Galatasaray, while Eddie Howe’s Newcastle side face the daunting task of travelling to PSG.

Everyone down to Qarabag in 18th still has a mathematical chance of automatically advancing.

That is in part because, remarkably, despite 16 teams still being in contention for the six remaining top-eight spots, only two of the 18 matches next Wednesday have those sides facing each other.

Newcastle’s trip to Paris is one and Borussia Dortmund at home to Inter Milan is the other.

It is also incredibly tight in the fight for the play-offs with everyone down to Ajax in 32nd still in the mix.

Only the bottom four of Frankfurt, Slavia Prague, Villarreal and Kairat have been eliminated.

Only three points separate Marseille in 19th and Ajax, while even Dortmund in 16th – two points ahead of the French side and still with faint hopes of a top-eight finish – have not officially secured a play-off berth.

Again, the way the fixtures have fallen means only two games are direct match-ups between play-off hopefuls – Ajax against Olympiakos and Marseille’s trip to Club Brugge.

All games kick off at 20:00 GMT, 28 January

Watch highlights of every Champions League game from 22:00 on Wednesday on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.

There will also be a Champions League Match of the Day on BBC One on Wednesday, from 22:40 to 00:00.