Round 8 of the UEFA Champions League's League Phase is set to take place on Wednesday, January 28th. With just four teams officially eliminated from the competition and two teams guaranteed to make the round of 16, 30 teams do not know what lies ahead for them in Europe's top club competition.
Among those two are Ajax and PSV, the only Dutch contestants this season. The two have played vastly different European campaigns, with Ajax waiting six rounds for their first win and PSV claiming massive wins over Napoli (6-2) and Liverpool (1-4).
Check out all of this week's UEFA Champions League fixtures
The two are still fighting for tickets to the UEFA Champions League knockout stages, but what exactly do they need to progress? Flashscore maps it out.
PSV have fate in their own hands
Between the two sides, PSV have the best chances of making it to the round of 16. The Eindhoven outfit, winners of the competition in 1988, are in 22nd place with 8 points and a goal difference of +1, leaving them two spots clear of the elimination zone.
Opta have calculated that PSV have a 55.4% chance of qualifying for the knock-out stages.
PSV host German giants Bayern Munich on matchday 8, and a win over Bayern automatically qualifies them for the knockout stages.
If PSV fail to beat Bayern, they're dependent on results elsewhere. With a draw in Eindhoven, Athletic Club (vs Sporting Portugal), Club Brugge (vs Olympique Marseille), FC Copenhagen (vs FC Barcelona), Olympiakos (vs Ajax) and Napoli (vs Chelsea) could all leapfrog PSV with a win. Only three teams need to do that in order to eliminate PSV.
With a loss to Bayern, Ajax (vs Olympiakos), Benfica (vs Real Madrid), Bodo/Glimt (vs Atletico Madrid), and Union Saint-Gilloise (vs Atalanta) could also leapfrog PSV.
Ajax need a miracle
Over in Amsterdam, Ajax do not have the luxury of having fate in their own hands. The four-time Europa Cup I/UEFA Champions League winners currently occupy the 32nd spot with just 6 points and a goal difference of -12.
Opta give Ajax a mere 8.4% chance of qualifying for the next round of the UEFA Champions League ahead of their home game against Olympiakos.
Ajax need to beat Olympiakos to even have a chance at making the next round.
If they beat Olympiakos, they'll leapfrog the Greek champions and need the following eight scenarios to all play out:
- Athletic Club lose to Sporting Portugal;
- FC Copenhagen lose to FC Barcelona;
- Napoli lose to Chelsea;
- Benfica fail to beat Real Madrid;
- Bodo/Glimt fail to beat Atletico Madrid;
- Club Brugge fail to beat Olympique Marseille;
- Pafos fail to beat Slavia Prague;
- Union Saint-Gilloise fail to beat Atalanta.
All UEFA Champions League games will kick off at 21.00 CET on Wednesday, January 28th.