These teams are competing for the final 5 spots in the knockout stages of the Champions League tournament:
Lyon: Lyon is in strong shape for the second round with a three point edge over Benfica and a five goal advantage overall. Also they will have the good fortune of playing against last place Hapoel Tel Aviv and can officially seal the spot with a win or draw in their final match this week.
Benfica: It is a tough road ahead for Benfica who need Lyon to lose badly in a shock upset and a large victory over the group’s only safe team Schalke 04. Benfica is one of the team’s that looks on their way out of the tournament,
FC Copenhagen: With a one point advantage over Rubin, Copenhagen can make their own destiny this week with a win against last place Panathinaikos. Their Greek opponent has only scored a single goal this tournament and allowed 10.
FK Rubin Kazan: One of the tournament’s best defensively so far, Rubin Kazan can make the tournament with a win or draw and a Copenhagen loss. If Copenhagen wins though, then Rubin Kazan’s run is over regardless of their output.
AS Roma:Roma is another club in the driver’s seat in their group as far as their hopes for the second round go. They lead Basel by 3 points and have the good fortune of facing the group’s weakest team in CFR Cluj-Napoca. A win or draw would seal the second round for the club.
FC Basel: Bayern Munich will likely make easy work of the team that has earned 6 points in 5 matches, but if Basel were to win and Roma were to lose then the club would advance over the Italians to the final spot.
Shakhtar Donetesk: The surprising first place squad will advance with a win or draw against Braga, but if they lose by 4 or more goals to the current third place squad then they will likely miss the playoffs. But a 3 goal loss this week would still advance them to the next round.
Arsenal: The Gunners have the best goal differential of any team in the group and the good fortune of playing against the group’s weakest side. Arsenal will play against Partizan Belgrade and the club is one of the few left that haven’s won a single game or earned a single point this tournament.
Braga: Braga appears to be the odd team out the group and need to win big to advance past Shaktar, but their most likely method of making it into the second round is with Arsenal losing or settling for a draw while they win. A draw will likely not be enough for the squad due to the likelihood of Arsenal not losing this week.
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