The Champions League and Europa League reform drew criticism because it added to an already packed calendar, yet the European competitions’ league phase finale is set to be a memorable blockbuster tonight.

After seven rounds, only two teams – Liverpool and Barcelona – have secured direct access to the last 16 in the Champions League while Lazio are the only side having claimed their spot in the Europa League knockout phase.

In the Champions League, 25 of the 36 teams are still awaiting their fate, including powerhouses Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Manchester City, the latter being in the elimination zone ahead of Wednesday’s home game against Club Brugge.

Speaking at yesterday’s pre-match press conference City boss Pep Guardiola said he is aware of the financial implications of failing to reach the knockout stages as his side head into tonight’s final group game against Club Brugge needing a win to stay in the hunt.
City have reached the knockout stages every season since Guardiola took the helm in 2016, but they are in danger of missing out with the new format this year where they sit 25th in the standings – outside even the playoff spots.

The top eight teams qualify directly for the last 16 while the clubs that finish ninth to 24th contest the knockout phase playoffs to advance and Guardiola said City missing out could affect their business in the transfer market.

“In the last two or three transfer windows it’s always been positive. I’m not naive enough to not know how important it is financially for the club to go through in this competition,” Guardiola told reporters.
“It can affect the club but, of course we want to try to make it happen and go through first for sporting reasons.

“In the last five or six years, the net spend at this club has been amazing. The club said, ‘OK the situation is the situation. If we want to spend, we can spend. If not, we don’t spend.'”
City won the Champions League in 2023 and Guardiola did not want to discuss how embarrassing it would be if they did not qualify for the knockout stage.

“We have to win the game and if not then we won’t continue in the competition. We want to go through to have another chance to play another two games and qualify for the next stage,” he said.
“I appreciate your concern about not qualifying but I think we are going to do it… Ask me after the game (if it is embarrassing if City fail to qualify).”

The idea that the new format was giving an easy pass to the knockout phase to the big sides has been brushed aside with Juventus and Paris St Germain beyond the top 16.
The first eight teams qualify directly for the last 16 with the eight remaining spots being decided in playoffs to add some more drama.

“Too many games, too many games,” former France international and CBS pundit Thierry Henry said last September.
“What a beautiful format, it’s a real treat,” his Canal Plus counterpart and former Tottenham Hotspur great David Ginola said after PSG beat City 4-2 on Matchday 7, setting the stage for a nail-biting finish for both sides.

The draw, with teams also facing sides from their own pot, meant that some top clubs played each other as early as the initial phase, as Liverpool manager Arne Slot noted.

“If I look at Paris St Germain, every week I think they have the hardest team to face, so they are quite low on the table, which is not their quality, but they are low,” Slot said.
The previous format, with four teams in each group and the top two advancing into the knockout phase, was a quasi-guarantee for the privileged and featured numerous dead rubbers on the final day.

It will not be the case this year, with only Sturm Graz v RB Leipzig and Young Boys v Red Star Belgrade the only encounters with nothing at stake in the Champions League, just like in the Europa League, with Dynamo Kyiv v Rigas FS and Slavia Prague v Malmo the two dead rubbers on Thursday.