Man City Champions League permutations explained before Club Brugge and knockout rounds

Manchester City have one more chance to qualify for the next stage of the Champions League.

City go into their game having beaten Chelsea in the Premier League at the weekend. However, it was a different story in Europe just a few days earlier.

Pep Guardiola's star-studded side were beaten 4-2 by Paris Saint-Germain in their previous European fixture, which has increased the pressure on their final league phase fixture. City are in 25th spot in the current standings and will face Club Brugge at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night, in what is expected to be a season-defining match in the revamped competition.

In order to qualify for the next stage of the Champions League, City must finish in the top-24 places in the league phase standings. That will be enough to reach the play-off round, which takes place next month, but it's far from a guarantee for Guardiola and his players.

City are in 25th place as they sit three points behind Stuttgart, who are in 24th spot and currently occupy the final play-off position. The task for City against Brugge is simple; a win and they are through to the next stage. Anything other than that, though, and the 2023 Champions League winners will be eliminated.

Brugge themselves are on 11 points, three ahead of City, in 20th place. Crucially, though, the Belgian outfit have a minus-two goal difference compared to City's plus-two, meaning a win for Guardiola's team would automatically lift them above Brugge and into, at the very least, 24th place - regardless of how other results go.

Between Brugge and City, there are four more teams - Benfica, PSG, Sporting CP and Stuttgart. PSG and Stuttgart are scheduled to face each other, so the reality of guaranteed dropped points gives City a chance to move further up the standings, provided they beat Brugge.

This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more Sky Sports deal Sky Sports slashes price of Premier League package

Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle in an unbeatable new deal that saves £192 and includes 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.

£35

Sky Get the deal here