December 22, 2024
The next-to-last round of group games for both the Europa League and Europa Conference League competitions has been reached. As the competition returns from a lengthy break, teams like Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen are among those aiming to secure a spot in the UEFA Europa League 2023–24 knockout stages. On the other hand, if the teams won the group, they would advance directly to the round of 16, skipping one round.
In the Champions League, securing a home match for the second leg of the round of 16 is thought to be crucial. A team advances to the next round of games if they finish first. While the teams in second place only get a playoff match against the teams that drop into the Europa League as third-place finishers in Champions League groups, the eight group winners get a direct spot in the competition’s last 16.
Liverpool, who is now leading the competition, can top their group if they defeat LASK at home. Bayer Leverkusen and Atalanta, on the other hand, can guarantee first place in their respective groups if they defeat Hacken and Sporting, respectively. Maccabi Haifa (European League) and Maccabi Tel-Aviv (European Conference League) have only been allowed to participate in their European competitions since the Israeli league got suspended in early October because of the nation’s conflict with Hamas in Gaza.
For the first time since October 1, Maccabi Haifa played a home game on Saturday, defeating Hapoel Petah Tikva 2-1 in a game that was played behind closed doors due to security concerns. Over the weekend, the league will resume in its entirety. Since Israel is not permitted to host any UEFA-sanctioned matches, Maccabi Haifa, which is now ranked last in its group, will “host” Rennes at the Puskas Arena in Budapest on Thursday.
In their Europa Conference League group, Maccabi Tel-Aviv is ranked second and will play Breidablik in Iceland on Friday. This season, Belgian teams are surprisingly winning a lot of European competitions. After four rounds, three teams in the Europa Conference League are undefeated. Club Brugge and Gent lead their respective groups, while Genk trails Fiorentina by two points in third place. A longer-term group incentive is in sight.
Starting this week, Belgium and Turkey will receive additional entries into the 36-team Champions League that will be held next season. The nations whose teams accumulate the highest average number of UEFA ranking points this season will also receive two of the four additional entries from UEFA.
With every victory or draw this season, a Belgian club can increase the likelihood that a third team will advance through the qualification rounds and that the domestic league runner-up would automatically qualify for the next Champions League. On Thursday, Gent plays Zorya Luhansk, and Brugge travels to Besiktas.
In the third-tier Conference League, Viktoria Plzen is the only team that has secured first place in its group thus far. In addition to leading their respective groups, Club Brugge, PAOK, Fenerbahçe, Fiorentina, Gent, Legia Warsaw, and Lille have the opportunity to secure first place with one game remaining. Clubs that win first are guaranteed a place in the round of sixteen, while those that are second go into a Europa League playoff with third-place finishers.
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