Six tickets remain on the Europa League shelf for entrance into the knockout round of 32. A look at the state of play
This week thirteen clubs are preparing to make their final efforts ahead of the last sprint in the group stage of the Europa League. After five matchdays, eighteen clubs have already guaranteed their places in the first knock-out phase of the competition, while a further seventeen have already lost hope of ever seeing it at all. The identities of the eight clubs joining the competition after a third-place finish in their Champions League groups are as yet unknown. In half of the Europa League groups the final standings have already been determined and the final round will be played for the form only. In the rest of the groups there is at least one qualifying spot still available, with the real drama playing out in group D where Russian outfit Rubin Kazan have already gone through but the other three group members will all go head-to-head for the second spot. Time to put things into perspective.
Group F
"Our" group, where Maccabi Tel Aviv hold a three-point advantage over Cypriot side APOEL Nicosia and require just one point, i.e. a home draw in Thursday's encounter with Bordeaux, to join Bundesliga group winners Eintracht Frankfurt in the next phase. Assuming Frankfurt beat APOEL, Maccabi could even lose to Bordeaux and still qualify, on condition the margin between the two results does not exceed four goals.
Group A
The Welsh Premier League club Swansea City are three points ahead of Russian side Kuban Krasnador and need just a point from their final group stage match to join Spanish giants Valencia in the next stage. Third placed Swiss side St. Gallan have already fallen by the wayside.
Group B
PSV Eindhoven will host FC Chornomorets Odesa with both clubs standing on seven points. Since the Dutch giants have already won in Ukraine, a draw will suffice them to progress. Croation club Dinamo Zagreb will host the Bulgarians Ludogorets Razgrad, who have already booked their place in the round of 32, in a match that will have no effect on the final group standings.
Group C
The Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg and Danish club Esbjerg have already guaranteed their places in the next phase at the expense of Israeli head coach Guy Luzon 's Belgian club Standard de Liège and Swedish side Elfsborg. Esjberg will have to beat Red Bull by two goals to knock the Austrians off the top of the group.
Group D
Russian outfit Rubin Kazan have already guaranteed themselves top spot in the group and will play away to second placed Belgian side Zulte Waregem in their last group stage match. Slovenians Maribor will host English Championship side Wigan Athletic and if there is a winner they will replace Waregem in second place if the Belgians lose to Rubin Kazan.
Group E
Italians Fiorentina and the Ukrainians Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk have already booked their places in the round of 32 at the expense of the Portuguese Paços de Ferreira and the Romanians Pandurii Targu Jiu. Dnipro will need to win in Italy by a score of at least 2-3 to win the group, otherwise the Italians will finish first.
Group G
The Ukrainians Dynamo Kyiv will host Austrians Rapid Wien with a one-point advantage over their opponents and a draw will suffice them to join Belgian side Genk in the next phase. The Swiss club Thun are already out of the running.
Group H
Bundesliga club Freiburg, level on points with Czech Republic side Slovan Liberec, will host group leader, Spanish giants Sevilla, who have already guaranteed themselves a spot in the round of 32. Slovan Liberec will play away to the Portuguese Estoril Praia, who are already relegated, where the Czechs will need to take more points than Freiburg in order to join the Spaniards in the knock-out phase.
Group I
French giants Lyon and Spanish outfit Real Betis have already booked their places in the next round at the expense of Portuguese side Vitoria and the Croatians Rijeka. Only a home win by Betis against Rijeka and an away loss by Lyon at Vitoria will see the Spaniards overtake their French counterparts at the top of the group.
Group J
Turkish side Trabzonspor and Italian stalwarts Lazio are already through to the last 32 at the expense of Cypriots Apollon Limassol and the Polish side Legia Warszawa. A home win by Lazio over Trabzonspor will see them through as group leaders.
Group K
Done and dusted. Premier League's Tottenham Hotspurs have won all their group stage matches and have already won the group. Russians Anji Makhachkala will finish second regardless of Thursday's results leaving Moldavians Sheriff Tiraspol and Norwegians Tromso to return their focus to league duties.
Group L
Greek outfit PAOK and Dutch club AZ Alkmaar are level on points and have both left northern namesakes Maccabi Haifa and Kazakhstani Shakhter Karagandy in the dust. On Thursday the two group leaders will clash in Greece, the winner topping the group. A draw of under two goals will favour the Greeks, while a balanced goalfest will send Alkmaar through as group winners.
