Man City vs Club Brugge LIVE: Champions League latest team news and line-ups

Pep Guardiola has branded it a final, but not the sort to which he is accustomed. Not like in 2009 or 2011 or 2023, with the glory it brought. Or even 2021, when taking Manchester City to what was then uncharted territory for them still qualified as an achievement.

Now the finality would bring only failure. Some thought City’s Champions League campaign would end in Munich on 31 May, perhaps against Bayern or Barcelona, not in Manchester in January against Brugge. City haven’t gone out in a Champions League group stage since 2012-13, their final season under Roberto Mancini. Guardiola hasn’t since he was a Barcelona player in 2000-01, when they finished below Leeds United.

Pep Guardiola says that Man City being on the brink of an early Champions League exit is ‘not a problem, but a challenge’.

The City boss revealed: “The situation that we have, we have no chance but to win the game. If not, we will not continue in this competition.

“It’s not a problem, it’s an opportunity, a challenge and we will face it.”

Manchester City boss, Pep Guardiola said: “Listen, he has to play – unless he says to me that he promises he cannot play. And after that, Josko [Gvardiol] will be central defender and I will invent and think of who plays full back.

“John always had these kind of situations [minor injuries], except the year of the treble when he was incredibly reliable.

“Hopefully now this time he has recovered better. We gave him more time. 45 minutes against Tottenham, 45 minutes against Aston Villa and he is out.

“He played really good in this 40 minutes [against Chelsea] and has to make the effort for Wednesday, to give time for Ruben [Dias] and Nathan [Ake] to come back.”

Manchester City are the biggest club at risk of exiting the competition, with the 2023 winners sitting in 25th ahead of the final round of games.

They face Club Brugge, who are in 20th, three points above Pep Guardiola’s side.

Every side from 19th to 27th is at risk of being eliminated, including PSG – who beat City 4-2 last week – Benfica, Sporting and Stuttgart (who themselves face PSG in a potentially pivotal clash, with both sides on 10 points).

City have just eight points ahead of kick-off, but a win could take them as high as 19th and into the play-off spots.

A draw for the Cityzens would mean they were eliminated.

Dinamo Zagreb and Shakhtar Donetsk are the other two sides sitting out of the play-off places who could still earn a spot, though they face difficult final fixtures against AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund respectively.

Eight sides have already been eliminated from the competition: Bologna, Sparta Prague, Leipzig, Girona, Red Star Belgrade, Sturm Graz, Salzburg, Slovan Bratislava and BSC Young Boys.

England international Stones has not begun a game since December’s defeat to Aston Villa but Guardiola is relying on him to rescue City’s European campaign.

The teams who finish between ninth and 24th will go into a play-off round for a spot in the last 16.

The teams from ninth to 16th are seeded, and they face a team between 17th and 24th. The seeded teams have the advantage of playing the second leg at home – who they face is determined by a separate draw.

Ahead of the final round, Aston Villa are ninth, with Borussia Dortmund in 14th, Bayern Munich in 15th, Real Madrid in 16th and Celtic in 18th.

Every club from 9th to 18th is guaranteed at least a place in the play-off round as it stands, though all of them could also climb into the automatic qualification positions if results went their way.

Villa are only behind eighth-placed Leverkusen on goal difference, with 18th-placed Celtic just a point behind them, so it could be all to play for in terms of those final six automatic qualification spots.

open image in galleryReal Madrid are one of the sides between 9th and 18th, all of whom are guaranteed at least a place in the play-offs (Getty Images)

Arsenal sit in third in the league phase table and they are essentially guaranteed an automatic place in the last 16. They are only three points above the teams in ninth to 13th, but they have a superior goal difference of between seven and 11 goals on those sides.

The scenario is similar for Inter Milan, who have 16 points but less goal difference than Arsenal – they could be overtaken if they lose against Monaco and Villa were to beat Celtic 3-0, for example.

The teams in fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth could all fall into the play-off places, but none of them can fall out of the top 24.

Atletico Madrid and AC Milan sit on 15 points, with Atalanta on 14 and Bayer Leverkusen on 13.

Only two sides have guaranteed themselves a place in the last 16 of the competition.

League phase leaders Liverpool have won every match of their campaign so far, and they will finish top of the table if they avoid defeat to PSV.

Barcelona are the other side who have secured a place in the round of 16, with their dramatic 5-4 win over Benfica meaning they will likely finish second.

The first legs of the last-16 ties are due to be be played on 4 & 5 March.

By the time some of the Champions League squads got into their dressing rooms after the penultimate night of group-stage action, many players didn’t really want to look at the table. The majority just wanted to know what they need from the last game.

Many squads, like the most recent champions at 25th-placed Manchester City and 16th-placed Real Madrid, wouldn’t have expected to be anything close to the position they currently find themselves in. They could now be involved in nights that go down in European Cup history, if not for reasons they’d like.

They might make it a little too close to comfort for the home fans but City’s firepower should see them ease past Brugge for a straightforward win.

Three points is a must if City hope to make it into the play-off round of the Champions League’s new format.

Manchester City 3-1 Club Brugge.