the potential posters for the play-offs and the 1/8 finals already promise heavy action

Last night, Paris Saint-Germain had a crazy evening at the Parc des Princes. Opposed to Manchester City, the Ile-de-France residents won 4-2 on the wire after being led 2-0. A victory in the manner which allows Luis Enrique's men to get a good breath of fresh air, while they were in a very bad position before the start of the match against the Skyblues. Thanks to their success, they therefore moved from 26th to 22nd place in the ranking during this 7th and penultimate day of the championship phase of the UEFA Champions League, new version (10 points, 3 wins, 1 draw and 3 defeats). According to The Teamthe Parisians now have an 80% chance of qualifying for the C1 play-offs.

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It should be remembered that only the 8 teams at the top of the ranking will qualify directly for the 1/8 finals of the premier event. The following 16 teams, those ranked from 9th to 24th place, will compete in the play-offs in a double round-trip confrontation. Among them, the 8 teams best positioned in the ranking (between 9 and 16th place) will benefit from seeded status and will receive in the return match. Currently, Paris Saint-Germain (22nd) is among the teams which will compete in these famous play-offs. The capital club can still be eliminated in the event of a defeat against Stuttgart on matchday 8 and if some of their pursuers who are in the elimination zone, notably Manchester City, Dinamo Zagreb and Shakhtar Donetsk, impose at the same time.

UEFA has already predetermined the posters for the play-offs and the 1/8 finals

It would therefore take a disaster scenario for PSG to fall by the wayside. A victory or a draw will be enough to advance to the next round and the play-offs. The residents of the Parc des Princes will know the identity of their opponent during a draw organized on January 31, after the last matches have delivered their verdict on January 29. Concerning the play-offs, UEFA had already predetermined the posters, without any limit concerning clashes between clubs from the same country. Thus, the teams ranked 9th and 10th will cross swords with one of the teams positioned in 23rd or 24th place. The 11th and 12th may fall on the 21st or 22nd, the 13th and 14th will face the 19th or 20th. And finally, the 15th or 16th will be opposed to the 17th or 18th.

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If the last day will be decisive for knowing the final ranking and the possible posters, at the moment, some potential confrontations are emerging. PSG, like Benfica (21st), could therefore challenge Feyenoord (11th) or LOSC (12th). The Parisians would not have home advantage during the return match. Concerning the other French representatives, AS Monaco, which is currently in 10th place in the ranking (Aston Villa, 9th), could currently fall on Sporting CP (23rd) or Stuttgart (24th). Regarding Stade Brestois (13th), which lost 2 to 0 yesterday against Shakhtar Donetsk, it is still possible to finish among the top 8, just like Monaco and LOSC. But we will have to assert ourselves and hope for a misstep from opponents ranked ahead.

French clubs could come across big pieces

If things were to remain this way, SB29 could, like Borussia Dortmund (14th), face PSV (19th) or Club Bruges (20th). Concerning the teams ranked in 15th and 16th position, namely Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, they would challenge Juventus (17th) or Celtic (18th). Beautiful posters in perspective. And this will again be the case during the 1/8 finals, the draw for which will take place on February 21. If the French teams were to win their play-off, they could face very heavy challenges. Thus, PSG or LOSC could challenge one of the teams ranked in 5th or 6th position, either Atlético de Madrid or AC Milan. For its part, AS Monaco, in the event of success in the play-offs, could fall on Atalanta (7th) or Bayer Leverkusen (8th).

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The Brestois will have a big piece since they could cross paths with Arsenal (3rd) and Inter Milan (4th). Like them, Real Madrid or Bayern Munich can fall on heavy ground since the winners of the play-offs between the 15th or 16th and the 17th or 18th will challenge the first or second in the championship phase, currently Liverpool (1st) or FC Barcelona (2nd). Which could offer us a nice Clasico in the Champions League and other great posters with the new format put in place by the governing body of European football. All these little people will be definitively fixed next week after the last day of C1. A final act where almost everything could still be turned upside down.