With three rounds to go in the first phase of the Champions League, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain are in real danger.
To achieve automatic qualification for the round of 16, teams must finish in the top eight.
Those ranked ninth through 24th will enter a round of two-legged play-offs in February, with the winners taking the remaining eight spots.
Teams finishing anywhere between 25th and 36th will be eliminated from this season's competition, without entry into the Europa League.
As it stands, four heavyweights of European football are in danger. Paris Saint-Germain faces complete elimination, with holders Real Madrid just above the drop zone in 24th place.
Manchester City is also having a hard time. Pep Guardiola's team is only seventeenth, far away from a coveted place in the top eight.
That includes 19th-placed Juventus, who will face City on Tuesday in what could be a decisive match in the race for qualification.
It seems increasingly likely that a big gun will fall.
Complete stages table of the Champions League competition
This week's crucial Champions League matches
Atalanta's journey arrives at the wrong time for Madrid
The holders of Europe's elite trophy have undoubtedly been the shock of the competition so far. Defeats to AC Milan, Lille and most recently Liverpool have made for miserable performances in the Champions League and a visit to the Gewiss Stadium to face Atalanta is likely to come at the wrong time.
Gian Piero Gasperini's side remain unbeaten with three league matches remaining, having narrowly defeated Young Boys, Stuttgart and Shakhtar Donetsk, while also appealing to Celtic and Arsenal.
However, Madrid can take confidence from the fact that they have already beaten their upcoming opponents this season, following their 2-0 victory in the UEFA Super Cup in August – a match in which Kylian Mbappe scored his first goal for Los Blancos.
More frustration on the way for Man City?
Two big names continue to struggle at the lower levels of the rankings: Man City and Juventus.
They are level on points – with Guardiola's City side only ahead due to their superior goal difference – heading into Tuesday's match, but more frustration could be on the cards for the 2022/23 champions here.
Man City ended the mess with a routine win against Nottingham Forest last week, but stumbled in their next outing against Crystal Palace, dropping a further two points after the 2-2 draw away from home.
Juventus are a rebuilding team under Thiago Motta, with several young and exciting players at their disposal, but have shown their resilience in the competition so far.
Goals were difficult to score but their defensive performances were stoic, with only Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa, Atalanta and Inter Milan conceding fewer than five.
An ominous statistic that will likely stick in the minds of City, who are in desperate need of a win for both their chances of qualification and their confidence.
A must-win game for PSG
Things have gone downhill for PSG since they started the European season with a 1-0 win against Girona, but they have endured one of the toughest schedules in the Champions League yet.
Losses against Arsenal, Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich followed, as did points drops against PSV, which have seen them slip to 25th place.
Therefore, the match against RB Salzburg, one of the few teams below them in 34th place, will now be a must-win match for the Ligue 1 champions.
The next thing after that? Fellow fighters Man City. The survival of last season's semi-finalists now depends on their next two performances.
When are the 2024/25 Champions League knockout stages?
When and where is the 2025 Champions League final?
The 2024/25 UEFA Champions League season will take place on May 31, 2025 in Munich at the Allianz Arena.
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