Contenders vie for vacant spots

With two rounds remaining in the UEFA Champions League group stage, the qualifying picture is becoming ever clearer. Six teams are already through – Liverpool FC, PSV Eindhoven, FC Bayern München, Valencia CF, Olympique Lyonnais and Real Madrid CF – while ten places remain up for grabs. With some sections set to go to the wire on Matchday 6, the penultimate batch of fixtures could prove the most dramatic.

Group A
Chelsea FC will win the group with just a draw at Werder Bremen, regardless of results elsewhere. But should Bremen better the 2-0 loss they suffered at Stamford Bridge on Matchday 1, they would take pole position in the section. An FC Barcelona victory at PFC Levski Sofia would guarantee their qualification chances going into the final round, but a draw or a defeat for the holders combined with a Bremen win would end their hopes. Levski must prevail to have any possibility of taking third place.

Group B
Already qualified Bayern will clinch the group with victory at FC Spartak Moskva. A draw would also confirm top spot should the match between FC Internazionale Milano and Sporting Clube de Portugal end in a draw. Inter will go through with three points. Spartak can no longer finish in the leading two places and must win to keep UEFA Cup qualification in their own hands.

Group C
With both Liverpool and PSV through, three points for either side at Anfield would see them confirmed in pole position. The same applies in the UEFA Cup showdown between FC Girondins de Bordeaux and Galatasaray SK. A draw in either contest would leave matters unresolved until the final matches.

Group D
Valencia are in the last 16 and can seal first place against Olympiacos CFP if they better AS Roma's result at FC Shakhtar Donetsk. Should Valencia lose and Roma win, as 2-1 victors in the clubs' first meeting the Spanish team would still have the edge going into their Matchday 6 contest in Italy. A point would be enough for Roma to confirm their progress. Olympiacos must prevail to keep in contention and then hope Roma lose at Shakhtar, who themselves have to take three points to stay alive.

Group E
Lyon and Madrid will contest top spot when they meet in Spain. Lyon have the advantage following their 2-0 Matchday 1 success and the Merengues need to win by a three-goal margin to usurp them going into the final day. A draw would confirm Lyon as section winners. FC Steaua Bucuresti will take the UEFA Cup berth if they draw against visitors FC Dynamo Kyiv - and will even maintain third position ahead of Matchday 6 with a defeat, provided it is not as heavy as the 4-1 opening-night loss Dynamo suffered at Steaua's hands.

Group F
While victory in Glasgow will ensure Manchester United FC top spot, a draw would also be enough to take the English club through, while Celtic FC can qualify if they win and the SL Benfica-FC København fixture ends all square. A Celtic success that betters the 3-2 defeat inflicted on them by United on Matchday 1 would take the Scottish champions through provided København do not win and also move them ahead of United in the race for pole position. Defeat for either Benfica or København would extinguish their knockout hopes, while a draw would do the same to both should Celtic win.

Group G
PFC CSKA Moskva can confirm a top-two finish with victory against visiting FC Porto, while that coupled with Arsenal FC failing to beat Hamburger SV at home would clinch top spot. With Hamburg already fixed in last place, any other sequence of results would still leave the qualifying picture wide open on Matchday 6.

Group H
AC Milan require just a point at AEK Athens FC to secure qualification, while three would win them the group. Should AEK fail to win, then LOSC Lille Métropole can also go through with a home success against RSC Anderlecht. A score draw will only keep the Belgian club's European aspirations alive if Milan stop AEK winning.