Nine teams and only six spots: It's all or nothing for these clubs in the Champions League

Champions League's League Phase ends next week, on Wednesday, January 29. From the 36 teams, only two know for sure that they will pass directly to the round of 16: Liverpool and FC Barcelona (21 and 18 points).

Nine teams are also confirmed to be eliminated, no matter what happens next week, teams with 5 points or less: Bologna, Crvena Zvezda, Girona, Leipzig, Salzburg, Slovan Bratislava, Sparta Praha, Sturm Graz, and Young Boys.

There are also 16 teams with possibilities to qualify either for the round of 16 or the knockout play-offs: those with between 12-16 points, which are between 3rd team Arsenal (16 points) and 18th team Celtic (12 points).

It's a list that includes teams like Inter Milan, AC Milan, Atleti, Atalanta, Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Real Madrid. Teams will try to win to maximise their chances of taking one of the six spots still vacant between 3-8, and to try to finish 16th or above so that they can play the second leg of the playoff at home, and have a (theoretically) more favourable pairing.

Hanging from a thread: nine teams competing for six spots

Out of the 36 teams, 27 already know for sure if they will or will not survive in the competition for at least two more games. However, there are still nine teams that are dangling from a thread: teams between 19 and 27, between 11 or 7 points, that still don't know if next Wednesday will be their final day in the Champions League this season.

19. PSV Eindhoven: 11 points
20. Club Brugge: 11 points
21. Benfica: 10 points
22. Paris Saint-Germain: 10 points
23. Sporting Lisbon: 10 points
24. Stuttgart: 10 points
----Elimination----
25. Manchester City: 8 points
26. Dinamo Zagreb: 8 points
27. Shakhtar Donetsk: 7 points

Six spots still available to secure a place in the next phase, but nine candidates. It's a battle royale for those, including two that seem out of place: PSG and Manchester City. PSG won a crucial match yesterday over City, but Guardiola's fate is still in his players' hands.

All nine of those teams are forced to win. But some play among themselves, meaning some particular matches are going to be fierce...

Games to watch for on Wednesday, January 29:

• Juventus vs. Benfica


• Manchester Cty vs. Club Brugge


• Dinamo Zagreb vs. AC Milan


• PSV Eindhoven vs. Liverpool


• Stuttgart vs. Paris Saint-Germain


• Sporting Lisbon vs. Bologna


• Borussia Dortmund vs Shakhtar Donetsk