of champions league The competition resumes on Tuesday after the winter break, with Arsenal traveling to Inter Milan with their only 100% record, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Manchester City will be aiming for wins to secure automatic qualification.
Arsenal have won six games in a row and need a point to become the first team to qualify for the round of 16. After losses to Atlético Madrid and Liverpool, Inter The defeated finalist They fell to 6th place last season, but they want to avoid losing three consecutive tournaments for the first time.
Only the top eight teams advance directly to the last eight, with many of Europe’s top teams fighting to avoid falling from 9th to 24th place and having to make the playoffs.
Madrid, who have won a record 15 times, are one of them, finishing seventh. With 12 points (same as 9th place Liverpool), the Spanish giants host Monaco.
Madrid’s new manager Alvaro ArbeloaIt will be his third game in charge and his first in charge of a Champions League match. Star striker Kylian Mbappe will play against his former club for the first time.
PSG, who are in third place with one point left, and Man City, who are in fourth place, will travel to Sporting Lisbon and Bodø/Glimt in northern Norway respectively.
Both European contenders made the play-offs last season, so barring a surprising loss this week, they are in a more comfortable position 12 months on.
Of the 36 teams competing in the Champions League, 11 have changed managers this season, and one more team could change managers if Tottenham’s poor performance continues when Borussia Dortmund visit.
thomas frank He continues to be in charge of Tottenham, but his footing is unstable and he has been the subject of jeers from fans in recent matches.
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Steve Douglas is https://twitter.com/sdouglas80
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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
