Manchester City's Champions League campaign will be going down to the wire as the Blues look to avoid a play-off again
Manchester City need to bounce back after a shock defeat to Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League(Image: Michael Regan - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)View Image
Manchester City's hopes of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockout stages rest almost entirely on results elsewhere after a damaging 3-1 defeat to Bodo/Glimt on Tuesday night. The trip to the Arctic Circle posed a banana skin for City considering the freezing conditions in the north of Norway.
The plastic pitch could only account partially for the poor result as City failed to bounce back from the derby day defeat at Old Trafford. Kasper Hogh's quickfire double put the Blues on the ropes and when Jens Petter Hauge made it three, the game was out of sight.
Rayan Cherki pulled a goal back on the hour mark but Rodri's dismissal shortly afterwards ensured any hopes of a comeback were thwarted. So, with City entering the final matchday outside of the top eight, MEN Sport has taken a look at what Pep Guardiola's side can do to qualify automatically for the knockouts.
If City lose
Should City lose to Galatasaray in their final matchday at the Etihad Stadium, the Blues will have to settle for a place in the play-offs again. The play-off will be played over two legs with the team finishing higher in the table playing the crucial second leg at home.
City saw the importance of the second leg home advantage last season, as they lost 3-1 at the Bernabeu and were knocked out 6-3 on aggregate by Real Madrid. There is no scenario where the Blues do not at least finish in the play-off spots.
If City draw
Should City draw against Galatasaray, it is not impossible for them to qualify for the knockouts automatically, but it would be highly unlikely. They would need Sporting to lose to Athletic Bilbao, Barcelona to lose to FC Copenhagen and Chelsea to lose to Napoli, at least.
They could also hope for a winner to come out of PSG and Newcastle so the Blues finished above the loser, along with Sporting, Barcelona and Chelsea dropping all three points. Should all this happen, they would also need to hope Atletico Madrid do not beat Bodo/Glimt, Atalanta do not win against Union Saint-Gilloise and Inter and Dortmund play out a draw.
So not impossible, but close enough.
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If City win
Should City beat Galatasaray, they will hope they do it by a good margin to avoid relying on other results. Barcelona and Sporting both have a one better goal difference, meanwhile Chelsea's is two better.
If Tottenham draw at Eintracht Frankfurt, City would move above Spurs, while defeats for Liverpool against Qarabag and Real Madrid at Benfica would also see the Blues leapfrog them. Three points against Galatasaray will more than likely be enough for City so it is still all to play for.