There is still a lot to play for as the UEFA Europa League group stage reaches matchday six on Thursday evening.
West Ham United will be among 32 teams in action, with eight set to finish top and head directly into the round of 16 in March, eight more runners-up to face UEFA Champions League drop-downs in the knockout play-off round in February, and the eight third-place finishers to drop into the UEFA Europa Conference League knockout play-off round.
So, with 16 games to be played before all of those things are decided, let us look at how things stand in the eight Europa League groups after five rounds of action...
Group A
West Ham United and SC Freiburg have clinched their place in the knockout stages, and the pair will go head-to-head for top spot and direct qualification for the round of 16.
The English and German sides have each won four and lost one, with the Hammers holding the edge over the Breisgau Brazilians courtesy of their 2-1 win at the Mooswaldstadion on matchday two, meaning a draw will be enough for David Moyes’ side to win the group.
FK TSC of Serbia will finish above Olympiacos of Greece and secure a place in the UEFA Europa Conference League play-off round if they can win in Piraeus, with the two having drawn 2-2 in Bačka Topola in October.
Group B
Brighton & Hove Albion and Olympique Marseille will square off for top spot in Group B on matchday six, with the Seagulls needing a win at Falmer Stadium to leapfrog their French opponents, who themselves need a draw to finish first.
Roberto De Zerbi’s side won 2-0 at Ajax and 1-0 at AEK Athens to keep pace with Marseille, who scored a 2-0 win in Athens and a last-gasp 4-3 home victory over Ajax.
Ajax welcome AEK to Athens needing to score their first win to jump into third place and progress to the Conference League play-off round, otherwise the Greeks will go through.
Group C
All four clubs also have something to play for going into matchday six in Group C.
Real Betis’ defeat at Sparta Prague on matchday five means Manuel Pellegrini’s side lead the standings with nine points ahead of their home game with Rangers, who have seven points.
Sparta have eight as they head to Cyprus to face Aris Limassol, who themselves need to win and hope Rangers lose at Betis to grab third place.
Group D
The top two in Group D have secured their places in the knockout stages, with Atalanta of Italy and Sporting Lisbon of Portugal collecting eleven and eight points respectively, albeit top spot it not yet confirmed.
Sturm Graz of Austria and Raków Częstochowa of Poland both have four points, with both hoping to secure the Europa League play-off round place.
Sporting host Sturm Graz and Raków Częstochowa welcome Gianluca Scamacca and his Atalanta teammates on matchday six.
Group E
Liverpool were pre-tournament favourites and they have lived up to that tag so far, winning four out of five ties, scoring 16 goals and securing top spot with a matchweek to spare.
Our Carabao Cup quarter-final opponents bounced back from a 3-2 defeat by Toulouse in France by thumping LASK of Austria 4-0 at home on matchday five.
Toulouse’s goalless home draw with Union Saint-Gilloise of Belgium last time out means the former need a point to secure second place, but a win for the Belgians would see them jump into second and remain in the Europa League.
Group F
Rennes of France and Villarreal of Spain are both through to the UEFA Europa League knockout stages, but which of the two make the round of 16 will be confirmed at Roazhon Park on matchday six.
Rennes’ wins at home to Panathinaikos of Greece (3-1) and away at Maccabi Haifa of Israel (3-0 in Budapest, Hungary) put them onto 12 points, the same tally as Villarreal, who defeated the same opponents before overcoming Maccabi Haifa in a rearranged matchday three tie on 6 December.
Panathinaikos need a draw at home to Maccabi Haifa to qualify for the Conference League after the pair drew in Haifa in early October.
Group G
Roma of Italy reached the final last season and became the first team to assure themselves of a place in the post-Christmas knockout rounds.
However, José Mourinho’s side lost 2-0 at Slavia Prague and drew 1-1 at Servette of Switzerland to cede top spot to the Czechs, who defeated Sheriff Tiraspol 3-2 in Moldova to go to 12 points, two ahead of the Italians.
Roma can still finish top, but need to overcome Sheriff in Rome and hope Slavia fail to defeat Servette, who are guaranteed a place in the Conference League and have little to play for, in Prague.
Group H
Bayer Leverkusen of Germany, whose striker Victor Boniface is pictured above, are the only remaining team with a 100 per cent record going into matchday six.
Xabi Alonso’s side have scored 14 goals in their five victories, the most recent two of which saw Leverkusen win 1-0 at Qarabağ in Azerbaijan and 2-0 at BK Häcken in Sweden.
Behind them, Qarabağ’s added-time equaliser at Molde has given them the edge over the Norwegians, who now need to better the Azerbaijanis result at home to Häcken when they travel to Leverkusen.
