Premier League

6 things to watch out for in Champions League league phase finale

Pep Guardiola

The Champions League and unadulterated drama go hand-in-hand.

Europe’s leading competition seldom fails to deliver anything but excitement and chaos, with this season’s expanded and new-look format having continually set pulses racing across the opening seven weeks of the inaugural league phase.

Wednesday’s final round of fixtures is unlikely to disappoint as European giants battle for their berth in the last 16 or knockout play-off round. Plenty will be decided on and there will be no shortage of narratives.

Here are six things to watch out for during the last round of league phase matches.

Pep Guardiola

Man City need victory on Wednesday / Michael Regan/GettyImages

Few would have anticipated Manchester City‘s 2024/25 struggles and their underperformance has seeped into a torrid European campaign. Two wins, two draws and three defeats have left them in a perilous position, sitting outside the top 24 heading into a final encounter with Club Brugge.

Victory will secure their spot in the knockout phase but any other outcome will see them eliminated. Their Belgian opponents, in knockout contention themselves, should be unable to cope with the wealth of superstars. But this is not a City team we recognise despite improvements in recent weeks.

Any slip-up will cost them their place in the Champions League and see them fail to make the knockout stage of the competition for the first time since 2012/13.

Kylian Mbappe

Kylian Mbappe is in exceptional form / Angel Martinez/GettyImages

Despite having now secured their place in the next phase, Real Madrid were in a similar position to Manchester City several weeks back. An underwhelming beginning to the defence of their European crown left them in jeopardy and they still could miss out on automatic qualification for the last 16.

However, victory in a Matchday 8 clash with French overperformers Brest may see them breach the top eight and Kylian Mbappe could be the difference-maker for Los Blancos against the surprise success story of this year’s competition.

The former Paris Saint-Germain star returns to France in exceptional form, having scored eight times in his last five outings, including a hat-trick at the weekend. Mbappe, who has also scored nine goals in ten past games against Brest, suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Lille on his most recent French adventure and will want to avoid a similar outcome on Wednesday.

Adam Idah, Callum McGregor

Celtic make the trip to England / Ian MacNicol/GettyImages

Rangers have already faced Tottenham and Manchester United in…

Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at 90min EN…