CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PICTURE GETTING CLEARER
Qualification for the 2007/08 Champions League has become clearer over the weekend, leaving only a few issues to be settled.
In Spain, two of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Sevilla will go into the Group stage, and the third will have to start in the Third Qualifying Round along with Valencia who now cannot come in the top two.
In France, Toulouse pipped Lens for the third place and will go into the Third Qualifying Round.
In Holland, Ajax beat AZ Alkemaar 3-0 in a third-place play-off and go into the Third Qualifying Round.
Dynamo Kiev need one point from two games to win the Ukrainian League and take their place in the Third Qualifying Round. Only Shakhtar Donestsk can upset them, but they are also qualified for the competition and look set as runners-up to be in the Second Qualifying Round.
The Czech champions are almost certainly Sparta Prague. Confirmation would take them to the Third Qualifying Round. Favourites for runners-up are Slovan Liberec. The runners-up go into the Second Qualifying Round.
Sparta won the Czech FA Cup this weekend, coming from behind to beat Jablonec 2-1.
In Switzerland, FC Zurich are champions. In Poland, Zaglebie Lubin are champions. Both go into the Second Qualifying Round.
So now participation in the 2007/08 Champions League looks like this.
Teams to have qualified for the Group Stage so far
Milan
Inter Milan
Roma
Man Utd
Chelsea
Lyon
Marseille
Stuttgart
Schalke '04
Porto
Sporting Lisbon
PSV Eindhoven
Olympiacos
CSKA Moscow.
Teams to have qualified for the Third Qualifying Round so far
Valencia
Lazio
Liverpool
Arsenal
Toulouse
Werder Bremen
Benfica
Ajax
AEK Athens
Spartak Moscow
Dinamo Bucharest
Celtic
Anderlecht
Fenerbahçe.
Teams to have qualified for the Second Qualifying Round so far
Steaua Bucharest
Rangers
FC Zurich
Genk
Besiktas
Levski Sofia
Beitar Jerusalem
Rosenborg
Salzburg
Crvena Zvezda
Zaglibie Lubin.
The 2008 Uefa Champion Clubs' Cup Final will be held in Moscow at the 84,745 capacity stadium shared by Torpedo and Spartak.
Chelsea will be one of the top eight seeded teams for the first time.
The current Uefa Club Coefficient Rankings Top 32
1 Milan; 2 Barcelona; 3 Liverpool; 4 Inter Milan; 5 Arsenal; 6 Real Madrid; 7= Chelsea, Manchester United.
9 Valencia; 10 Lyon; 11 Newcastle; 12 Juventus; 13 Porto; 14 Seville; 15 PSV Eindhoven; 16 Roma.
17 Villareal; 18 Bayern Munich; 19 Benfica; 20 Ajax; 21 AZ Alkemaar; 22 Werder Bremen; 23 Espanyol; 24 Celtic.
25 Parma; 26 Auxerre; 27 Deportivo La Coruńa; 28 Schalke '04; 29 Monaco; 30 Stuttgart; 31 Middlesbrough; 32 Panathinaikos.
Holland has not been the only country requiring a play-off to decide Champions League qualification. San Marino, its champions qualifying for the first time to go into the First Qualifying Round, has also come down to a play-off.