Uefa Champions League table: Which clubs will qualify and are Man City, PSG and Real Madrid in trouble?


Steve Luckings
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We are well past the halfway stage of the revamped Uefa Champions League, in which 36 teams battle in a league phase, leaving some of the giants of European football wondering whether they will make it to the knockout rounds.

Three games remain in the league phase, with English side Liverpool in pole position with a perfect 15 points from their five matches so far.

The top eight automatically progress to the last 16 and, crucially, skip the two-legged knockout play-off round.

But, not everyone is enjoying the new format. English champions Manchester City find themselves in 17th place after five matches.

Real Madrid, the reigning kings of the continent, are in an even worse position. The 15-time winners languish in 24th place having picked up just six points.

That is one place and two points better off than French champions Paris Saint-Germain. The clubs 25th or lower are eliminated and do not gain entry into the Europa League.

Points target

As this is the first season under its new format, it's a little hard to predict just how many points would be needed, at this stage, to secure a top-eight finish and with it automatic qualification to the last 16.

Equally, it's just as futile trying to work out how many points would keep each team safe from elimination.

Before the start of this season's Champions League, Opta, a British sports analytics company, calculated each team's projected points tallies and likelihood of progression based on 50,000 simulations of the league phase.

They found that 16 points would give a team a 98 per cent chance of finishing in the top eight, whereas 10 points would give each club a 99 per cent chance of securing a place in the top 24.

However, any team collecting fewer than nine points can expect their involvement in European competition this season to come to an end, according to its calculations.

Based on those calculations, leaders Liverpool would require one more point from their remaining three games – against Girona, Lille and PSV – to assure their place in the last 16.

As it stands, Arne Slot's side are assured of at least a play-off place, with Opta predicting before the tournament that 15 points would give any club a 73 per cent chance of finishing in the top eight.

Italian champions Inter Milan are currently second, on 13 points, and, according to Opta, are predicted to finish their group assignments with a total of 18 points.

Like Inter, fellow Italian club Atalanta are also unbeaten and currently sit fifth on 11 points. Four points from their remaining fixtures – against Real Madrid, Sturm Graz and Barcelona – would give them 15 points and an 86 per cent chance of securing a place in the last 16, according to Opta.

Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Arsenal and Monaco are also currently in the top eight as things stand.

Who is in danger of missing out?

The likes of Bayern Munich (13th), AC Milan (15th) and Real Madrid (24th) – all multiple-time winners of the Champions League – as well as Manchester City (17th), have it all to do to stay in this year's tournament, or avoid elimination altogether.

According to Opta's pre-tournament simulations teams with eight points at this stage – currently City, PSV, Juve and Celtic – avoided elimination 16 per cent of the time.

With nine points they reached the next round 69 per cent of the time and with 10 points they advanced in 99 per cent of run throughs.

Remaining Champions League matches in the league phase

  • Matchday 6: December 10/11, 2024
  • Matchday 7: January 21/22, 2025
  • Matchday 8: January 29, 2025

Champions League knockout stages

  • Knockout round play-offs: February 11/12 and February 18/19, 2025
  • Last 16: March 4/5 and March 11/12, 2025
  • Quarter-finals: April 8/9 and April 15/16, 2025
  • Semi-finals: April 29/30 and May 6/7, 2025
  • Final: May 31, 2025

When and where is the Champions League final?

The 2024/25 final will take place in Munich at the Allianz Arena on May 31, 2025.

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Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015

- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France

What is the FNC?

The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning. 
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval. 
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
 

Desert Warrior

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Director: Rupert Wyatt

Rating: 3/5

THE SIXTH SENSE

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Director: M. Night Shyamalan

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What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE

Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.

How to avoid crypto fraud
  • Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
  • Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
  • Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
  • Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
  • Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
  • Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
  • Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
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  • AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
  • £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
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The more serious side of specialty coffee

While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.

The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.

Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”

One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.

Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms. 

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Changing visa rules

For decades the UAE has granted two and three year visas to foreign workers, tied to their current employer. Now that's changing.

Last year, the UAE cabinet also approved providing 10-year visas to foreigners with investments in the UAE of at least Dh10 million, if non-real estate assets account for at least 60 per cent of the total. Investors can bring their spouses and children into the country.

It also approved five-year residency to owners of UAE real estate worth at least 5 million dirhams.

The government also said that leading academics, medical doctors, scientists, engineers and star students would be eligible for similar long-term visas, without the need for financial investments in the country.

The first batch - 20 finalists for the Mohammed bin Rashid Medal for Scientific Distinction.- were awarded in January and more are expected to follow.

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Updated: November 29, 2024, 10:50 AM