The Champions League teams take 10 points in a difficult week for managers Amorim, Alonso and Ancelotti.

The first team in the Champions League will take 10 points this week and will likely secure qualification for the knockout stages as untested 36-team standings format reaches the midpoint.

Either Liverpool or Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen will take 10 points when they meet at Anfield on Tuesday, while Manchester City could also do so by beating Sporting Lisbon, still coached by Ruben Amorim. he goes to Manchester United a week later.

English teams hold three first places in the tableand recent European champions Manchester City and Liverpool are looking at surprise the leader of Aston Villa.

Villa, winners of the 1982 European Cup, claim their fourth straight win over Club Brugge on Wednesday.

Much further up the standings, the two teams with the most titles in the tournament’s 70-season history (both under Carlo Ancelotti) meet in Spain.

Record 15-time champions Real Madrid host seven-title Milan in Tuesday’s clash of the 12th- and 25th-placed teams after three of eight rounds.

The new format sends only the top eight teams directly to the round of 16 in January. Teams finishing 9th to 16th enter a play-off round in February against teams finishing 17th to 24th. The winners of these two-legged meetings advance to the round of 16 in March.

UEFA pre-season simulations suggested that just eight points from eight games would be enough to qualify for the playoffs.

However, the disappointing losses at this time for Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern showed how to defy predictions.

Unbalanced schedules

All 36 teams received a balanced field of opponents, selecting two teams from each of the four seeding pots based on results in UEFA competitions over the past five years.

However, the order of fixtures may be skewed and Leipzig are languishing on zero points after defeats to three high-flying opponents. Leipzig currently plays for Celtic, occupying third place in the rankings.

Sporting are also in Pot 3, giving Manchester City a third lower-ranked opponent in the first half of their programme.

Liverpool scored despite the pre-loaded list of matches. Leverkusen is his third high-profile opponent, with Real Madrid next at Anfield on November 27.

Atlético Madrid are 27th-placed and travel to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, but the three-time finalist faces one of the softest schedules ahead.

Sliding doors

Xabi Alonso could be in the home team’s dugout on Tuesday. Liverpool have offered their former star midfielder, a Champions League winner in the epic 2005 final, the chance to succeed Jurgen Klopp this season.

Alonso decided to stay at Leverkusen and lead the unbeaten Bundesliga champions into the Champions League. Liverpool have approached Arne Slot from Feyenoord which has a historically good start with Leader of the Premier League.

Ruben Amorim will take charge against Manchester City on Tuesday, just weeks after being tipped as the club’s next manager.

Pep Guardiola’s future plans unclear His contract expires next year and Manchester City have already announced that Amorim’s current head of the Sporting front office, Hugo Viana, will become their director of football next season.

Dominant English

We played 12, won 10, drew two, and never lost.

The four English teams had not conceded a goal since the third minute of the first round when AC Milan’s Christian Pulisic scored in Liverpool’s 3-1 win at the San Siro.

The English Premier League uses financial power to its advantage and this level of results will bring bonus fifth entry in next year’s competition.

Manchester City and Arsenal return to Europe after defeats at the weekend. Guardiola’s side are looking to avoid a rare third defeat in a row at the hands of Sporting’s in-form Victor Dieukeres. The Swedish striker spent five seasons on loan with lower-tier teams in Germany and England before joining Sporting last year.

Arsenal return to Italy to face Inter Milan after starting Draw 0:0 against Atalanta in neighboring Bergamo.

Amazing French

Few noticed that this was the result of a competition between four French teams. Monaco and Brest is invincible in fourth and fifth place respectively, Lille are in the top half of the table, with PSG trailing behind.

Brest will face one of their lowest-ranked opponents again when they take on Sparta Prague on Wednesday, followed by second-half games against Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Monaco have already beaten Barcelona and now travel to Bologna, who are among the four teams yet to score.

On Tuesday, Lille will host Juventus at the Pierre-Mauroy stadium, where Real Madrid beat Real Madrid 1-0 a month ago.

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AP football: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer