Clubs scrap for seven Champions League places
Seven Champions League second phase places remain up for grabs this week in the final round of opening group stage matches.
Seven Champions League second phase places remain up for grabs this week in the final round of opening group stage matches.
Group D is the most wide open of all, with Inter Milan, Ajax Amsterdam and Olympique Lyon scrapping for the two qualification spots.
The big game is in the Netherlands on Tuesday when Ajax host Inter. Both teams have eight points, with Lyon, who travel to eliminated Norwegian side Rosenborg Trondheim, on seven.
English premier league leaders Liverpool could join Bayern Munich as high profile casualties if they fail to beat Basel in Switzerland on Tuesday and claim the second qualifying spot in Group B.
Basel go into the game a point ahead in the group from which Spanish side Valencia have already qualified.
Liverpool could exit alongside fellow English side Newcastle United who visit Dutch team Feyenoord in Group E on Wednesday needing to win and hope that Dynamo Kiev fail to do so at home to already qualified Italian side Juventus.
Italian side AS Roma are favourites to join holders Real Madrid in qualifying from Group C.
They host AEK Athens needing a draw to progress, although a win for the Greeks, who are three points behind Roma, would put them through on a better head-to-head record.
Either Deportivo Coruna of Spain or French side RC Lens will qualifying alongside AC Milan from Group G. Deportivo have a two-point advantage but must face Milan at the San Siro in their last game on Wednesday, while Lens visit a sore Bayern Munich.
Barcelona look to make it a perfect six wins out of six in Group G as Club Bruges, Galatasaray and Lokomotiv Moscow battle it out for the second qualifying spot.
Bruges, who have a point advantage over the other two, visit Lokomotiv, while Galatasaray travel to the Nou Camp.
Groups A and F are the only ones whose two qualifiers are already decided.
In Group A Borussia Dortmund of Germany and English champions Arsenal are out of reach of PSV Eindhoven and AJ Auxerre.
Anglo-German dominance also marks Group F with Manchester United and last year's losing finalists, Bayer Leverkusen, already assured of qualification.
Those teams that miss out and finish third will at least be able to console themselves with a place in the UEFA Cup third round draw, which like the Champions League second group phase draw, takes place in Switzerland on Friday.
In the UEFA Cup second round on Thursday the principal focus will again be on two neighbourly encounters.
Security will be tight as Greek side Panathinaikos host Turkish rivals Fenerbahce with the sides level at 1-1 after the first leg.
England's Blackburn Rovers seek to overturn a 1-0 first leg deficit against Scottish champions Celtic in their all-British clash at Ewood Park.