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Football London
Football London
Sport
Tashan Deniran-Alleyne

Liverpool, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund and the teams in danger of dropping into the Europa League

It's the final round of group stage fixtures in European competition this week.

Arsenal will look to join Manchester United and Celtic in the Europa League round of 32 by avoiding defeat against Standard Liege on Thursday evening.

Victory would also ensure the Gunners top Group F which could see them get a favourable tie in the knockout stages when the competition resumes in the new year.

Europa League group stage: Who are the British teams set to play?

The draw for the round of 32 is scheduled to take place on Monday, December 16 in Nyon and that's when teams who finished third in their respective Champions League groups drop down.

Following action in European club football's elite club competition across a fortnight ago, it's become clear as to which teams could stand in Arsenal's way of lifting the trophy come May.

The eight teams who won't be playing in the Europa League after Christmas are; Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City, Juventus, Barcelona and RB Leipzig.

Meanwhile, Lokomotiv Moscow, Genk, Slavia Prague and Lille have all been eliminated from European competition.

With that said, there's still plenty to play for on matchday six and it's likely that at least one European heavyweight will be in the Europa League in the new year.

This includes defending champions Liverpool who were held to a 1-1 draw against Napoli last time out and now must avoid defeat against Red Bull Salzburg or hope Napoli lose at home to Genk.

London rivals Chelsea - who thrashed Arsenal in the final last season - are also in danger of dropping down, but know that a win at home to Lille tonight will ensure they don't suffer that fate.

Atletico Madrid - winners in 2018 - just need to better Bayer Leverkusen's result on matchday six and they're at home to a Lokomotiv Moscow side with little to play for.

In total there are 20 teams in the Champions League who are at risk of dropping into the Europa League.

The 20 Champions League teams at risk:

Group A: Club Brugge or Galatasaray

Group B: Red Star Belgrade or Olympiacos

Group C: Shakhtar Donetsk, Dinamo Zagreb or Atalanta

Group D: Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen

Group E: Liverpool, Napoli or Red Bull Salzburg

Group F: Inter Milan or Borussia Dortmund

Group G: Zenit, Lyon or Benfica

Group H: Ajax, Valencia or Chelsea

The Gunners know first hand what it's like to face a team who has dropped down from the Champions League and will have to bare that in mind should they qualify for the round of 32 later this week.

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