Table of Contents
The UEFA Champions League returns for the first time in the new year, ending the winter break as the revamped competition phase reaches an exciting conclusion.
The final two weeks of the league stage begin on Tuesday as teams race to get into the top 24, with several high-profile clubs battling for survival in the final rounds. That includes Paris Saint-Germain, which is in 25th place going into Matchday 7 and hosts 22nd-placed Manchester City on Wednesday. Reigning champions Real Madrid, meanwhile, will aim to climb out of 20th place with a match against RB Salzburg on the same day. At the other end of the table, Liverpool will be looking to maintain their perfect record when they host Lille on Tuesday, with the likes of Barcelona and Arsenal hoping to remain in the top eight as they reach the competition’s finish line.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of a big week in the Champions League.
How to watch
Biggest+ will have every minute of the action, with CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports Golazo Network provides additional coverage. Each day’s coverage kicks off with Champions League matchday on CBS Sports Golazo Network before the UEFA Champions League. Today’s pre-match show starts at 2:00 PM ET on CBS Sports Network And Biggest+. Select matches are broadcast on both CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports Golazo Network before the UEFA Champions League Today airs after the show CBS Sports Network And Biggest+. CBS Sports Golazo Network concludes its coverage each day with new editions of Scoreline and the Champions Club. The Golazo Show is also broadcast Biggest+ during the late series of games.
Champions League Standings
Key: Positions 1-8 qualify for Round of 16, while positions 9-24 qualify for the Knockout Stage Play-Offs and positions 25-36 are eliminated.
| Pos | Team | GP | W | D | L | G.F | GO | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | +12 | 18 |
| 2 | Barcelona | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 7 | +14 | 15 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 2 | +9 | 13 |
| 4 | Bayer Leverkusen | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 5 | +7 | 13 |
| 5 | Aston Villa | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 13 |
| 6 | Below | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 13 |
| 7 | Brest | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 6 | +4 | 13 |
| 8 | Lille | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 7 | +3 | 13 |
| 9 | Borussia Dortmund | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 9 | +9 | 12 |
| 10 | Bayern Munich | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 8 | +9 | 12 |
| 11 | Atletico Madrid | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 10 | +4 | 12 |
| 12 | AC Milan | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 9 | +3 | 12 |
| 13 | Atalanta | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 4 | +9 | 11 |
| 14 | Juventus | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 11 |
| 15 | Benfica | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 7 | +3 | 10 |
| 16 | Monaco | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 10 | +2 | 10 |
| 17 | Sporty Lisbon | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 9 | +2 | 10 |
| 18 | Feyenoord | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 15 | -1 | 10 |
| 19 | ClubBruges | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 8 | -2 | 10 |
| 20 | Real Madrid | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 11 | 1 | 9 |
| 21 | Celtic | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 9 |
| 22 | Manchester city | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 9 | +4 | 8 |
| 23 | PSV | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 8 |
| 24 | Dinamo Zagreb | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 15 | -5 | 6 |
| 25 | Paris Saint Germain | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 7 |
| 26 | Stuttgart | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 12 | -3 | 7 |
| 27 | Shaktar Donetsk | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 13 | -8 | 4 |
| 28 | Sparta Praha | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 18 | -11 | 4 |
| 29 | Sturm Graz | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 9 | -5 | 3 |
| 30 | Girona | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 10 | -6 | 3 |
| 31 | Crvena Zvezda | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 19 | -9 | 3 |
| 32 | RB Salzburg | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 18 | -15 | 3 |
| 33 | Bologna | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 | -6 | 2 |
| 34 | RB Leipzig | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 13 | -7 | 0 |
| 35 | Slovan Bratislava | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 21 | -16 | 0 |
| 36 | Young boys | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 22 | -19 | 0 |
Matchday 5 TV schedule
Always oriental
Storylines for Matchday 7
1. High-stakes battle in Paris
Without a doubt, the most anticipated fixture of Matchday 7 is Manchester City’s trip to Paris Saint-Germain, a must-win encounter for both teams. The continental heavyweights are surprisingly fighting to stay in the competition, with City’s place in the top 24 just one point strong and PSG just one point away from a place that would take them into the knockout rounds. PSG’s poor performance in the Champions League comes after a tough draw that included games against Arsenal, Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich, where they failed to make much of an impact in their post-Kylian Mbappe era. They will need to change course with a statement win on Wednesday to reduce the risk of early elimination – and have acted accordingly in the transfer window.
PSG returns to the Champions League with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who officially came over from Napoli on Friday. He was unable to feature in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Lens but could make his debut against City on Wednesday when he may look to justify his big move. Kvaratskhelia is one of Europe’s best strikers but scored just four goals for Napoli before leaving and is as much in need of a big performance as his new club. It makes for a fascinating dynamic against City, who have recorded four wins in their last five, but three of them against teams ranked 14th or lower in the Premier League and the other against League Two side Salford City in the FA Cup. Pep Guardiola’s side may not be in crisis mode at the moment, but Wednesday’s match will answer the question of whether their earlier woes are behind them or whether the fixture schedule only gave them a brief reprieve.
2. Lille and Brest’s quest to stay in the top eight
While problems for teams like PSG and City have led to the biggest shocks of the league stage, a pleasant surprise has been the ability of teams like Lille and Brest to hold on to a place in the top eight heading into Matchday 7. They have a good reputation. to advance to the knockouts no matter what, but with a direct passage to the round of 16 as an option, those two will no doubt do everything they can to stay exactly where they are.
Brest have a favorable matchday 7 fixture against 27th-place Shakhtar Donetsk, although the same cannot be said for Lille. They travel to Champions League leaders Liverpool, who have a perfect record so far and are in the hunt for the round of 16. The Reds haven’t been in high-flying form lately though; they have recorded just two wins in their final season. five, one of which was against League Two’s Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup. The fatigue of a long season could already be catching up with them, perhaps leaving them uniquely vulnerable against Lille, so Tuesday’s match will also be a test of their mettle.
3. Atletico and Leverkusen go head to head
Another match worth keeping an eye on on Matchday 7 is Bayer Leverkusen’s trip to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, a match between two in-form teams who have ambitious targets this season after hitting some bumps early in the season. survived the season.
Last season’s Bundesliga champions Leverkusen have done well enough in the Champions League to sit in fourth place heading into Tuesday’s match, and are also just four points behind Bayern Munich in the domestic title race. They are unbeaten in thirteen games since the 4-0 defeat to Liverpool on matchday four. They won all but one match and conceded just nine times, recovering from a defensively shaky start to the season. Atletico, meanwhile, is on a 16-match unbeaten run that has revived Diego Simeone’s approach, leaving them 11th in the Champions League and just two points behind Real Madrid in La Liga.
Both sides have enjoyed big wins during their series, with Leverkusen beating Inter in the Champions League and Atletico beating Barcelona shortly before the New Year. Whether they can add another to their impressive unbeaten run will be the big question in Madrid on Tuesday.