10 Champions League talking points as Liverpool eye history and Jurgen Klopp wants revenge

After much than a month, the Champions League is back.

There are inactive 2 matchweeks near successful the revamped competition, with the archetypal starting connected Tuesday. Liverpool presently pb the mode successful the league phase, with Arsenal and Aston Villa joining them successful the apical eight.

This season's contention has been much hard for Manchester City, who find themselves at superior hazard of missing out connected the knockout signifier entirely. Villa volition footwear things disconnected with a travel to Monaco connected Tuesday evening.

And by the clip the 8pm kick-offs travel to an extremity connected Wednesday, we could person our archetypal qualifiers for the Last 16. Here, Mirror Football looks astatine the biggest talking points heading into this week's games.

Liverpool's historical achievement

Arne Slot's broadside request conscionable a gully against Lille to corroborate their spot successful the Last 16. They would go the archetypal broadside to bash truthful successful the Champions League's caller era, with a triumph apt to spot them assertion apical spot.

They are the lone squad whose destiny lies successful their ain hands successful the penultimate matchday. The Reds person won each six of their games successful this year's competition, though Tuesday's crippled could beryllium a hard test.

Lille are besides successful the automatic qualification places, having won 4 of their six games. Their lone nonaccomplishment came connected Matchday 1, with the French broadside having beaten some Real Madrid and Atletico since then.

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Man City's six-pointer

While Liverpool are connected the verge of qualifying for the knockout stages, Manchester City are battling to prevention their aboriginal successful the competition. Pep Guardiola's men are conscionable 1 constituent supra the elimination places.

The nine who could regenerate them successful the play-off places are PSG, who question to the Etihad Stadium connected Wednesday. It is simply a six-pointer for some sides, with a triumph for PSG, perchance seeing City driblet into the elimination zone, depending connected different results.

City person won conscionable 2 of their six games successful their European run truthful far. But they person past connected their side, having mislaid conscionable 1 of their 7 games against Les Parisiens successful UEFA competition.

More questions for PSG

A decision to City would beryllium a catastrophe for PSG, who person already fallen to 3 Champions League defeats this season. The nine person agelong stated that winning the contention is their main target, but a decision connected Wednesday would enactment them connected the verge of being knocked retired earlier the knockout stages begin. They person reached the last conscionable erstwhile successful the past 13 years, though were semi-finalists past season.

The French giants travel into the crippled having splashed retired £59million to motion Khvicha Kvaratskhelia from Napoli, with different nonaccomplishment perchance piling the unit connected manager Luis Enrique.

Klopp's revenge mission

This volition beryllium the archetypal circular of Champions League games since Jurgen Klopp started enactment with Red Bull. And 1 of the clubs helium present oversees could assistance him to assertion revenge implicit a Real Madrid broadside which were his kryptonite astatine Liverpool.

The German failed to bushed the La Liga giants successful immoderate of his six games against them arsenic Reds boss, falling to 5 defeats. His caller occupation arsenic Red Bull's planetary caput of soccer, with Salzburg 1 of the teams nether his charge.

They question to the Bernabeu connected Wednesday nighttime with the accidental to earnestly dent Madrid's chances of progression. Los Blancos are 20th successful the array and a decision to Salzburg would extremity their hopes of automatic qualification to the Last 16.

Arsenal effort to bounce back

It has been a hard 2 weeks for Arsenal, who person fallen to 3 defeats successful 4 games successful that spell. Their Carabao Cup hopes are connected beingness support, they were dumped retired of the FA Cup and the gully with Aston Villa has earnestly dented their rubric challenge.

One spot wherever things are going close though is the Champions League, with Mikel Arteta's broadside sitting 3rd successful the table. Wednesday's clash against Dinamo Zagreb presents a premier accidental for the Gunners to bounce backmost from their disappointing gully with Villa.

Zagreb are 24th successful the table, the last play-off qualification place, having won conscionable 2 games truthful far. This appears to beryllium the cleanable crippled for Arteta to get his side's play backmost connected track.

Villa deed their target

It has been a near-dream instrumentality to the apical level of European contention for Aston Villa. They person won 4 games, losing conscionable once, to beryllium 5th successful the table, with a immense accidental of claiming automatic qualification to the Last 16.

Unai Emery's men question to Monaco connected Tuesday night, with a triumph apt each but confirming their spot successful that knockout phase. That would fulfill the people laid retired by skipper John McGinn pursuing the triumph implicit RB Leipzig past clip out.

He said: "It's exciting. We're taking each crippled arsenic it comes, but if we get into the apical eight, that's brilliant. That's the people now."

Gyokeres' message

Viktor Gyokeres has emerged arsenic 1 of the apical strikers successful Europe and could good cement his spot successful the minds of Europe's starring clubs this week. The Swedish prima has already netted 5 goals successful Sporting Lisbon's six games truthful far.

The Portuguese broadside question to winless Leipzig connected Wednesday, with the German broadside having conceded 13 goals successful their six games. They person already been eliminated from this year's contention and person small to play for.

That presents Gyokeres with a premier accidental to boost his scoring record. Sporting are presently mid-table and inactive person enactment to bash to marque definite of their spot successful the knockout stages.

Brest adjacent successful connected miracle

Brest person been 1 of the stories of the Champions League this season. Four wins successful six games person enactment the French broadside successful seventh spot and they are each but assured of a spot successful the knockout stages.

It is simply a singular accomplishment for Eric Roy's side, who are ninth successful Ligue 1 arsenic it stands. If they bushed Shakhtar Donetsk this week, it would beryllium the archetypal clip they person qualified for knockout shot successful European competition.

It would look to surely beryllium doable, with their Ukrainian opponents connected the verge of elimination. Shakhtar person won conscionable erstwhile successful the Champions League this season, with Brest the favourites to implicit a miracle.

Celtic look to extremity drought

It has been 12 agelong years since Celtic reached the knockout stages of the Champions League. But that drought could beryllium ended connected Wednesday nighttime erstwhile the Hoops big Young Boys astatine Celtic Park.

The Swiss broadside are stone bottommost of the table, having mislaid each six games, scoring conscionable 3 times and conceding 22 goals successful the process. Brendan Rodgers broadside person a aureate accidental to each but unafraid thewirplace successful astatine slightest the play-off round.

A triumph would instrumentality them to 12 points, which would apt nonstop them into the knockout stages. Young Boys person thing to play for, having already been eliminated from this year's competition.

Play-off representation becomes clear

The play-off representation should go overmuch clearer by the extremity of Wednesday's games. As it stands, each squad down to Bologna successful 33rd spot person a accidental of astatine slightest reaching the play-off stage.

Anything little than a triumph this week for the Italians, on with Salzburg, Red Star Belgrade, Girona and Sturm Graz, volition extremity their chances of reaching the knockouts. Sparta Prague and Donetsk some request to astatine slightest gully to support their hopes alive.

All of those teams are successful last-chance saloon territory, with PSG and Stuttgart some besides astatine superior hazard of missing retired connected the knockout stages. They play each different successful the last gameweek successful what is already shaping up to beryllium a important clash.

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