Champions League: City and PSG fight to finish, Arsenal must beat Dinamo

Champions League drama intensifies with crucial matchups for Barcelona, AC Milan, Arsenal, Man City, Real Madrid & more as teams fight for top 8 spot.

Manchester City and PSG are both fighting for their lives in the Champions League, which of them will come out tops in this fixture? (Photo credit: Sporting News)

Despite going down to ten men early, Diego Simeone's comeback win over Bayer Leverkusen added a lot of spice and thrill to the Champions League on Tuesday night.

Barcelona came from 3-1 down and from 4-2 down to beat SL Benfica 5-4 with lots of controversial referee calls trailing the game. Pavlidis scored a first-half hat trick, but Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha braces helped the Catalans overcome their Portuguese hosts.

The top eight finish is the most important thing for most top sides, the opportunity to knock out unnecessary playoffs, but some would have to make do with a two-legged playoff to get to the round of 16.

On Wednesday, AC Milan’s quest to make it through automatically will face a stern test against a Girona side that must win their remaining two games and hope for a miracle in other fixtures around them to stand a chance of entering the playoffs.

Leipzig is out of the Champions League; they’re among the three clubs with zero points on the board, and for Sporting CP, who were in the top three after the first four games, they need a big result in Germany to book their spot in the top 24 while pushing for a top-8 finish.

Arsenal’s form has been indifferent of late, and after crashing out of the FA Cup and being on the brink of Carabao Cup elimination, the Gunners’ hope of silverware rests largely on the Champions League. Dinamo Zagreb is next for Arsenal; they can’t make excuses.

Feyenoord can dream, but can they stop Bayern Munich from breaking into the top 8? The Germans would celebrate anything but a win; however, a draw is enough for the Dutch giant killers who derailed Manchester City’s campaign.

Speaking of the Premier League champions, fourteen points is the highest they can attain after their remaining two games; however, will that be enough for automatic qualification? They must first ensure they don’t drop out altogether; they must win their next game.

Manchester City’s opponent is PSG, a team that currently sits outside the top 24. This means a loss for the French champions automatically confirms their ouster from the tournament, and that must be embarrassing to Luis Henrique.

Real Madrid is another team struggling in the new format of the Champions League; the reigning champions are in danger of crashing out; they must beat Salzburg, another team needing two wins and external luck to advance.

Inter Milan went from being favourites to advance to now needing results in their remaining two games. Sparta Prague is their opponent on the day. Can the Italians brush them aside to climb deeper into the top 8?