How the ground lies for hopefuls
Monday, 22 November 2004
There are four teams already qualified for the UEFA Champions League knockout
rounds and another 12 places waiting to be taken as the penultimate round of
group stage fixtures is played out this week.

Group A
Leaders Olympiacos CFP can qualify if they beat RC Deportivo La Coru?a and AS
Monaco FC fail to win at home to second-placed Liverpool FC. Deportivo,
semi-finalists last season, must win in Greece to stay in contention while a
Liverpool win in the Stade Louis II would take the English side through to
the last 16.

Group B
Three teams are level on seven points at the top and whoever wins the match
at the Santiago Bernabéu, where Real Madrid CF take on Bayer 04 Leverkusen,
will progress. AS Roma are six points adrift and must beat leaders FC Dynamo
Kyiv to retain hope of third place and entry into the UEFA Cup.

Group C
With Juventus FC already confirmed as group winners, FC Bayern München look
best placed to join them. They hold a three-point advantage in second place
and will go through if they win their home match with Maccabi Tel-Aviv and
AFC Ajax fail to win at Juventus. A draw will suffice if Ajax lose.

Group D
Olympique Lyonnais are already through and Manchester United FC can join them
by beating the French champions. Even if they lose tomorrow's match at Old
Trafford, United will be assured of second place should third-placed
Fenerbah?e SK fail to beat AC Sparta Praha, who are already out. If United
draw and Fenerbah?e win, the Turkish side would still need to beat Sir Alex
Ferguson's team by at least four clear goals in their last match to go
through.

Group E
Group E is led by PSV Eindhoven, who welcome Arsenal FC to the Philips
stadium on Wednesday. The Dutch side will progress provided they at least
match whatever result Panathinaikos FC take from their away game against
Rosenborg BK: PSV can thus lose and still qualify provided Panathinaikos also
lose - in which case both PSV and Arsenal would go through. A victory for
PSV, who have never progressed beyond the group stage, would leave them as
group winners. Anything but three points for bottom-placed Rosenborg BK,
meanwhile, will end their hopes.

Group F
AC Milan and FC Barcelona share a six-point cushion at the top and both need
only a home draw on Wednesday to go through. A more pressing question may be
which of FC Shakhtar Donetsk and Celtic FC will finish third, and the answer
will be known only if Celtic lose in Barcelona and Shakhtar win in Milan - in
which case Shakhtar will step into the UEFA Cup.

Group G
Werder Bremen are strongly placed to follow FC Internazionale Milano into the
next stage. The German champions sit five points above Valencia CF, who have
to win their match at RSC Anderlecht, who are already eliminated, to have a
chance of staying alive in the competition. Even if Valencia win, they will
be eliminated in the event of a Bremen victory over Inter. A victory for
Inter will secure them first place in the section.

Group H
Chelsea FC are already confirmed as winners. FC Porto, the reigning European
champions, sit bottom with just two points and could be eliminated on
Wednesday when they visit second-placed PFC CSKA Moskva, knowing only a
victory would maintain their hopes for certain. If Porto draw in Moscow and
Chelsea fail to win their home game against Paris Saint-Germain FC, then the
Portuguese team are out. If they lose to CSKA, they could yet qualify for the
UEFA Cup if Chelsea beat PSG.

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