Explainers

DESPITE the loss to Monaco last week, Aston Villa are still among possible contenders for automatic Champions League qualification.The Villans’ high flying Champions League campaign took another hitch as an uninspiring 1-0 defeat in Monaco left them outside the top eight – which guarantees progression to the last 16.A win in Villa’s final league game will give them a chance of qualifying for the Champions League last 16Credit: ReutersUnai Emery’s men are ninth in the League Phase table, joint on 13 points with five other teams, including Bayer Leverkusen, who occupy the final automatic spot. So far, Villa have won four, drew once and lost twice.What do Aston Villa need to do to guarantee Champions League round of 16 qualification?Their final game, Celtic at home, provides an enticing affair where only a win will give them a chance to go straight into the Round of 16. The opportunity arose after Bayern Munich’s shock defeat to Feyenoord and Brest’s defeat.read more on aston villa Those not in the top eight positions either fall into the play-off spots – ninth to 24th – or are immediately eliminated.Villa are offered the security blanket of at least a play-off spot.Opta have calculated that the Midlands side are favourites to scrape the all-decisive eight spot.A supercomputer simulation – that estimates the likelihood of teams finishing in the competition – has Villa down for a 52.6 per cent probability of clinching it.Most read in Champions LeagueFor that to happen, Villa will have to beat Celtic and also need one of Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, AC Milan or Atalanta to not follow suit. The teams behind Villa – Monaco, Feyenoord, Lille and Brest – can also match the former’s final tally but their goal difference is inferior.Champions League club send Micah Richards shirt with very cheeky nickname on the back thanks to his Brest obsession Villa’s potential for a seeded spot will likely hinge on Atalanta and whether they can beat Barcelona – which would be needed to stay in the top eight. All outcomes are permutation-driven and ultimately out of Villa’s hand, who can only win to give themselves the best possible chance. More

THE expanded Champions League has delighted and confused fans in equal abundance this season.More teams and more matches – plus a league table to contend with – have left many fans wondering what exactly is going on.Liverpool are already into the hat for the Champions League Round of 16 draw – but have will have to wait to find out who their opponents areCredit: APThere is just one round of matches to play after Wednesday’s fixtures, with all remaining games set to take place on January 29.But then what?There will be a draw next week – but with some teams already into the knockout phase, it’s not how it was before.Here’s everything you need to know about the Champions League knockout draw and stages.When is the Champions League knockout stage draw?The main draw for the knockout phase takes place on Friday, February 21.However, there is ALSO a draw taking place for the knockout phase play-offs.Under the new league table format, which has 36 teams, the top eight teams in the table are automatically put into the Round of 16 and are seeded.The bottom eight teams are eliminated from European competition, with no move into the Europa League like in previous years.Most read in Champions LeagueThe next 16 teams – those that finished between 9th and 24th – then head into the knockout phase play-offs.The teams that finished 9th to 16th will be seeded and drawn against teams that finished 17th to 24th (unseeded).The draw for that round of games take place on Friday, January 31.While Liverpool have already guaranteed qualification, fellow English sides Arsenal, Aston Villa and Man City still have it all to play for.New Champions League format is a snorefestBy Dan KingUEFA sold the idea of expanding the Champions League from 32 to 36 teams, with each playing eight games instead of six in the opening phase, as a way of creating more competitiveness and excitement.The biggest clubs would have two matches against their peers, rather than having to wait until the knockout stage to meet.The smaller clubs would meet teams of a similar level twice and have a chance of tasting victory that was so hard to achieve if you were the bottom seed in a group of four.Ignoring for a moment the fact that the real motivation was the simple equation of more games = more money, the theory itself already looks flawed.None of the matches between European giants has delivered a compelling contest yet.And why would they? At the start of the long season with more matches in it, why would any team with ambitions to win things in the spring, go out all guns blazing in the autumn?Especially when they know they have six games NOT against big sides to make sure they accrue enough points to qualify at least for the play-off round (and even more games).There is even less jeopardy than before.Read the full column on the Champions League format fail and why everyone – including YOU – needs a rethink.When does the Champions League knockout phase play-offs take place and when is the Round of 16?Teams that finished in the top eight and automatically reached the Round of 16 have a little bit of a wait on their hands.After the final league phase game on January 29, the likes of Liverpool and Barcelona will not play their Champions League last 16 games until March.Those fixtures are scheduled to take place on March 4-5 and 11-12.For the knockout phase play-offs, there is a slightly shorter wait – those two-legged games take on February 11-12 and 18-19. More