Six English clubs, one huge night – all to play for in Champions League
Wins for Chelsea, Liverpool, Newcastle and Spurs last time out in the Champions League kept them each in the hunt for a top-eight finish
BySam Drury
BBC Sport journalist
- Published21 January 2026
Updated 5 hours ago
A blockbuster final day of games in the Champions League’s league phase in rich in dramatic potential, with 30 teams waiting for their fate to be decided.
Six English clubs are eyeing top-eight spots, while there are notable familiar faces looking to get the better of their former employers.
Arsenal are safely through to the last 16, where they will be joined by Bayern Munich, but just about everybody else still has work to do and major targets to aim for in a congested 36-team table.
The table-topping Gunners have been predicted as being best-placed to win the competition for the first time, with Opta ranking their chances at 31%, ahead of Bayern on 16.9%
Liverpool, Tottenham, Newcastle United and Chelsea are the other Premier League sides occupying a top-eight spot, and staying there would mean they avoid the play-offs and go straight into the last 16.
Manchester City – currently in a play-off spot – are behind seventh-placed Newcastle and eighth-placed Chelsea only on goal difference. The English trio feature among eight teams on 13 points heading into Wednesday’s final round of games, with all 18 matches kicking off at 20:00 GMT.
There have never been six clubs from one country in the competition before, never mind in the knockout stages.