Wednesday, January 29th - Champions League
The big themes in the Champions League on Wednesday will be which teams will make the top eight - and thus qualify for the last 16 directly - which teams will make the top-24 cut-off - and thus make the playoffs - and which teams will exit the tournament entirely. From the 18 simultaneous matches, we've picked out four that you should keep an eye on.
Manchester City vs Club Brugge - 21:00 CET
It's hard to go past Manchester City's clash with Club Brugge from the slew of matches on Wednesday evening and that is for one big juicy reason: City have to win to stay in the competition! Currently, outside the top 24 with just eight points, City must win to have any hope of advancing.
Club Brugge aren't that far ahead of Pep Guardiola's side, they lie in 20th position on 11 points. A win would seal their spot in the next phase, possibly even a top-eight finish but only at a stretch, and even a draw or loss could see them survive. Simply put, all eyes will be on City and whether they can handle the pressure.
The side that beat City last week, Paris Saint-Germain, are also nowhere near safe in the competition yet. They are on 10 points in 22nd place and will be desperate to win on Wednesday as well to make sure of advancing. The only problem is, they will face a very good Stuttgart side that are on the same points, down in 24th spot.
These two could not be much closer in the standings - Benfica and Sporting are also both on 10 points for the record. A draw could be enough for them to both progress but they'll be wanting wins. What's more, the loser could very likely fall out of the top 24. In short, this feels like a winner-takes-all clash!
Juventus vs Benfica - 21:00 CET
As mentioned, Benfica are also stuck on 10 points in that chunk of teams at the bottom bit of the top 24. Not far above them lie Serie A giants Juventus on 12 points and the two sides will meet in Turin. If Juventus are the bore-draw kings of Europe, Benfica are rather entertainers.
Four or more goals have been scored in Benfica's previous four outings across competitions. And who could forget their famous 5-4 loss to Barcelona last time out? Strap in, this match has 'low-key thriller' written all over it.
Barcelona vs Atalanta - 21:00 CET
Speaking of Barcelona, they have sealed their spot in the top eight along with Liverpool, the only other side assured of skipping the playoff phase. Atalanta, meanwhile, are also in the top eight although right on the cusp of falling into the playoff places if they don't get a result in Catalonia on Wednesday.
The other matches we picked out revolve around survival in the completion but this one is more about two quality sides looking to firm up a good seeding. There's a lot more riding on this for Gian Piero Gasperini's side but Hansi Flick's troops will want to lock down as high a seeding as possible too. In a phrase: expect quality.
Full Champions League standings
Thursday, January 30th - Europa League
The Europa League's final league-phase round on Thursday is very similar to the Champions League's the day before with 18 simultaneous matches being held and the same number of sides set to make the round of 16 and the preceding playoffs. We've picked out two stand-out fixtures from the bunch.
Twente vs Besiktas - 21:00 CET
Turkish club Besiktas, 24th in the Europa League standings (nine points), take on Dutch club Twente, 26th in the standings (seven points), on Thursday knowing that the winner of the match will very likely progress to the playoffs and the loser will almost certainly exit the competition.
In the case of Twente, they must win this match whereas Ole Gunnar Solksjaer's Black Eagles could get away with a draw, a loss would leave them needing the sides above them on level points (AS Roma, Fenerbahce and Ferencvaros) to suffer heavy losses, something they won't be counting on.
Midtjylland vs Fenerbahce - 21:00 CET
Of those sides above Besiktas but also on nine points, their Istanbul rivals Fenerbahce are also in a precarious position ahead of Thursday. What's more, their final match of the phase sees them away to Midtjylland in Denmark with the Danes just one point ahead in 19th place.
Jose Mourinho knows a thing or two about winning cup competitions (even this particular one) but his side will have their work cut out for them knowing that Thomas Thomasberg's Midtjylland are no pushovers. With a whopping 12 sides sitting in the range of seven-10 points, this is another of those matches where neither side will want to rely on a draw being enough even if it may turn out to be in the end.