Champions League last-16 draw: how can Manchester City, Spurs and Leicester reach the knockout stages?

A look at how England's four teams can qualify from the knockout stages or finish top of their group

Alex Bowmer,Samuel Lovett
Thursday 03 November 2016 00:07 GMT
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Manchester City are now in a strong position to qualify after beating Barcelona on Tuesday night
Manchester City are now in a strong position to qualify after beating Barcelona on Tuesday night (Getty)

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How can Arsenal finish top?

Arsene Wenger’s side currently sit top of Group A tied with Paris Saint Germain on 10 points. After fighting back from 2-0 down against Ludogorets on Tuesday night to win 3-2, Arsenal secured their spot in the knockout stages. But the Gunners now face the challenge of finishing top of Group A to maximise their chances of avoiding one of the competition's bigger sides.

If the Gunners can beat PSG in their next match then the top spot will be theirs – but should they lose they’ll need to subsequently beat Basel and hope the Parisian side lose their last game. Goal difference would still play a factor in such a permutation though, and Arsenal would need to ensure their own was superior to PSG’s.

How can Manchester City qualify?

After pulling off a famous victory against Barcelona on Tuesday night, Manchester City have helped ease any concerns they may have had with regards to qualification. City can book their place in the last 16 from their following fixture against Borussia Mönchengladbach, providing that they can beat the German outfit.

Should they lose against the Germans, City and Mönchengladbach will be tied on seven points and the last qualification spot in Group C will come down to the final fixtures in December.

How can Leicester qualify?

Having drawn with FC Copenhagen on Wednesday night, Leicester were denied qualification - but it's still well within reach. They simply need one more win from their last two games and that top spot will be theirs. Even if the Foxes were to lose their following match to Club Brugge, Claudio Ranieri's men could still progress from their final game against FC Porto next month - should the result go their way.

How can Tottenham qualify?

Tottenham face a tough task to qualify from Group E after losing 1-0 to Bayer Leverkusen. Monaco currently sit top of the group on eight points, with Leverkusen second on six, Spurs third on four and CSKA Moscow bottom on two. As a result, two wins will see Spurs through but lose against CSKA next time out and they are all but out. Such is the close proximity of all the teams in the group that Spurs can still finish in any of the four positions with two games to go.

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