UEFA Champions League permutations: Which teams can qualify for last 16? Who could get knocked out?

The UEFA Champions League is set for a frantic final week, with the League Phase wrapping up on Wednesday.

MORE — Champions League schedule

All 18 games on matchday 8 will kick off at the same time (3 pm ET), with so much still to play for on all levels: last-16 places, as well as seeded and unseeded spots in the playoff round.

MORE — Will Liverpool, Aston Villa, Arsenal and City qualify for the last 16 automatically?

As a reminder to how it all works: the teams who finish 1-8 in the League Phase table reach the last 16 automatically, while the teams who finish 9-24 play a two-legged knockout round game (teams 9-16 seeded and 17-24 unseeded) to reach the last 16. The teams who finish 25-36 are eliminated from Europe altogether.

Below are a look at the scenarios for each team, with so much still to play for.

Which teams have secured a spot in at least the Champions League playoffs for last 16?

Liverpool and Barcelona are the first two sides to officially clinch their places in the last 16 via the automatic berths as they are guaranteed a top eight finish.

Arsenal and Inter Milan are guaranteed within the realm of every likelihood to join them, leaving four automatic places up for grabs on the final day of group play. Arsenal, Inter, Atletico Madrid and AC Milan are all guaranteed at the very least to have a seeded spot in the last 16 playoff round.

How are the Premier League teams getting on?

Liverpool (1st – 21 points) are the only side with a 100-percent win record and conceded just two goals while scoring 15. Arsenal (3rd – 16 points) haven’t dropped a point against a non-Italian side and will benefit greatly from not having to play in the first knockout round. Aston Villa (9th – 13 points) were in the top-8 until they were beaten by Monaco in matchweek 7, but can return with a victory over Celtic next week. Manchester City (25th – 8 points) are not only having a miserable time in the Premier League, but in the Champions League as well. Pep Guardiola’s side needs a win over Club Brugge just to reach the knockouts.

Which teams are in the hunt to qualify automatically for the Champions League last 16?

18 teams are still able to finish in the top eight and qualify automatically for the last 16:

Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Aston Vila, Inter Milan, Brest, Lille, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, AC Milan, Atalanta, Juventus, Benfica, Monaco, Sporting Lisbon, Feyenoord, Club Brugge, Real Madrid, Celtic, PSV Eindhoven and Club Brugge

Which teams cannot advance to the last 16 automatically, but can still reach the playoff round?

Benfica, Paris Saint-Germain, Sporting CP, Stuttgart, Manchester City, Dinamo Zagreb, Shakhtar Donetsk

Which teams have been eliminated from the Champions League?

Young Boys, Slovan Bratislava, Red Bull Salzburg, Sturm Graz, Red Star Belgrade, Girona, RB Leipzig, Sparta Prague and Bologna cannot qualify for the playoff round and will be eliminated from Europe (no dropping down to the Europa League anymore) for the rest of the season.

UEFA Champions League tables — Latest standings from 2024-25 league phase

Top eight spots qualify directly for knockout rounds
Positions 9-24 are matched up in two-legged playoff ties
Positions 25-36 are eliminated from all European competitions

Liverpool — 7-0-0 — +13 GD — 21 points — Advance to round of 16 (seeded)
Barcelona — 6-0-1 — +15 GD — 18 points — Advance to round of 16 (seeded)
Arsenal — 5-1-1 — +12 GD — 16 points — Assured of at least a playoff spot (seeded)
Inter Milan — 5-1-1 — +7 GD — 16 points — Assured of at least a playoff spot (seeded)
Atletico Madrid — 5-0-2 — +11 GD — 15 points — Assured of at least a playoff spot (unseeded)
AC Milan — 5-0-2 — +4 GD — 15 points Assured of at least a playoff spot (unseeded)
Atalanta — 4-2-1 — +14 GD — 14 points — Assured of at least a playoff spot (unseeded)
Bayer Leverkusen — 4-1-2 — +6 GD — 13 points — Assured of at least a playoff spot (unseeded)
Aston Villa — 4-1-2 — +5 GD — 13 points — Assured of at least a playoff spot (unseeded)
AS Monaco — 4-1-2 — +3 GD — 13 points — Assured of at least a playoff spot (unseeded)
Feyenoord — 4-1-2 — +2 GD — 13 points — Assured of at least a playoff spot (unseeded)
Lille — 4-1-2 — +2 GD — 13 points — Assured of at least a playoff spot (unseeded)
Brest — 4-1-2 — +2 GD — 13 points — Assured of at least a playoff spot (unseeded)
Borussia Dortmund — 4-0-3 — +8 GD — 12 points — Assured of at least a playoff spot (unseeded)
Bayern Munich — 4-0-3 — +6 GD — 12 points — Assured of at least a playoff spot (unseeded)
Real Madrid — 4-0-3 — +5 GD — 12 points — Assured of at least a playoff spot (unseeded)
Juventus — 3-3-1 — +4 GD — 12 points — Assured of at least a playoff spot (unseeded)
Celtic — 3-3-1 — +1 GD — 12 points — Assured of at least a playoff spot (unseeded)
PSV Eindhoven — 3-2-2 — +3 GD — 11 points
Club Brugge — 3-2-2 — -2 GD — 11 points
Benfica — 3-1-3 — +3 GD — 11 points
Paris Saint-Germain — 3-1-3 — +2 GD — 10 points
Sporting Lisbon — 3-1-3 — +1 GD — 10 points
Stuttgart — 3-1-3 — -1 GD — 10 points
Manchester City — 2-1-4 — +2 GD — 8 points — Can’t qualify for last 16 directly, but may reach playoff round (unseeded)
Dinamo Zagreb — 2-2-3 — -8 GD — 8 points — Can’t qualify for last 16 directly, but may reach playoff round (unseeded)
Shakhtar Donetsk — 2-1-4 — -6 GD — 7 points — Can’t qualify for last 16 directly, but may reach playoff round (unseeded)
Bologna — 1-2-4 — -5 GD — 5 points — Eliminated
Sparta Prague — 1-1-5 — -12 GD — 4 points — Eliminated
RB Leipzig — 1-0-6 — -6 GD — 3 points — Eliminated
Girona — 1-0-6 — -7 GD — 3 points — Eliminated
Red Star Belgrade — 1-0-6 — -10 GD — 3 points — Eliminated
Sturm Graz — 1-0-6 — -10 GD — 3 points — Eliminated
Red Bull Salzburg — 1-0-6 — -15 GD — 3 points — Eliminated
Slovan Bratislava — 0-0-7 — -18 GD — 0 points — Eliminated
Young Boys — 0-0-7 — -20 GD — 0 points — Eliminated