With just one more set of group stage matches to go, many teams have mathematically qualified for the knockout stages, but few did it better than Barcelona. Although Valencia destroyed Bursaspor 6-1, Barcelona played their usual brand of spectacular football, and they crushed Panathinaikos 3-0.Right now the teams which have mathematically qualified for the knockout stages are:

Tottenham Hotspur, Inter Milan, Schalke 04, Manchester United, Valencia, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Real Madrid, and AC Milan.

Among the qualified teams you have some surprises, the newcomers Tottenham Hotspur fought well for their spot defeating the German side Werder Bremen 3-0 at home. Aaron Lennon was devastating on the right wing as he provided two assists with phenomenal runs. Eunice Kaboul netted the first with a great volley, Modric scored the second after Crouch headed it down into the Croatian’s path to control and volley, and then the big Englishman Crouch got a goal as well, tapping in from close range after Lennon had nutmegged a defender before passing it to him.

Inter Milan also qualified with their 1-0 win over Twente, and although the Italian side has been going through difficult times with a big injury list, Rafa Benitez’s side played excellently. Although the nerazzurri hit the woodwork a couple of times, the lone goal was scored by Cambiasso who reacted first to get on the end of a deflection off of Sneijder’s free kick. But Twente were dangerous as well, they clipped the crossbar late in the second half after a well worked chance, but the nerazzurri had already won. If you’re interested in a full breakdown of how Italian teams are doing in the Champions League, click here.

Manchester United also won, Sir Alex Ferguson’s team defeated Rangers 1-0 at Ibrox Stadium with a late penalty scored by Wayne Rooney. Rangers had played well throughout the match, and although the red devils had some good chances during the match, they never capitalized. But the win arrived with Wayne Rooney scoring the late penalty and celebrating with plenty of intensity.

What are your thoughts regarding the teams which have qualified? Make sure to share your thoughts regarding the Champions League matches below!

After strong showings in the first leg of the playoff round, both Lyon and Arsenal are in a comfortable position to enter the group stage. Lyon can claim a tenth consecutive group-stage appearance unless they completely fall apart. The French club overwhelmed RSC Anderlecht 5-1 last week, while a 2-0 deficit would appear insurmountable for Celtic FC as they travel to London to take on Arsenal.

Celtic have to overcome a Gunners side in top form if they are to progress – they must win away in Europe for only the second time in 24 matches. Celtic have fought back from a home defeat once already in this season’s qualifiers, beating Dinamo Moscow 2-0 in Moscow on goals from Scott McDonald and Georgios Samaras to make overturn a 1-0 first-leg loss in Glasgow. It was Celtic’s first away win in Europe in 23 matches. A win for Arsenal will mean a 12th successive appearance in the UEFA Champions League. On current form, I simply cannot see Arsenal losing 3-0 at home to Celtic

Despite their gutsy performance, Panathinaikos find themselves needing to make history on two fronts to book a place in the group stage of the Champions League. Beyond needing to win on Spanish soil for the first time in their history, they must also mount a first successful comeback from an opening home loss in Europe competition. On the five previous occasions Panathinaikos have entered a return fixture after a defeat in Athens, they have go on to lose the tie. Atletico are sitting in a good spot having scored 3 away goals in the opening leg with strikes from Maxi Rodríguez, Diego Forlán and Sergio Agüero.

I think there is simply too much stacked against the Greek side and that we’ll see Atletico celebrating a return to the group stage. Henk ten Cate, the Panathinaikos manager, admitted to uefa.com that he felt some of his players would be affected psychologically by the fires in Athens. The club doctors told the team to refrain from training because the smoke in the air could have been hazardous for the players. I certainly feel for the players and their families and I hope the wildfires are brought under control.

It’s not all doom and gloom for the losers in this playoff round as they will continue their European campaigns in the UEFA Europa League group stage.

Part of the changes to qualification this year sees the champions of smaller domestic leagues gaining the chance to reach the group stage of the Champions League.

In the Champions Path, the feature match-up should be between FC Zurich and FK Ventspils. Latvian titleholders Ventspils edged past last season’s group stage participant FC BATE Borisov on away goals despite losing 2-1 away in the second leg of their Third Qualifying Round tie. Ventspils have a balanced attack but their main goal threat is Andrejs Butriks, who had a trial with Blackpool in England during the January 2008 transfer window. Butriks has remained in Latvia and been a consistent threat.

Swiss champions FC Zurich have a couple of players to keep an eye on. Johan Vonlanthen, despite being only 23, has already gained extensive experience in his career in stints with PSV Eindhoven, Brescia and Red Bull Salzburg. Up front, the pair of Swiss youngster Almen Abdi and French import Eric Hassli combined for 36 goals in 36 Swiss league games.

The glamour matchup in the Non-Champions Path sees Arsenal take on Celtic but the game that may produce a shock result is the Panathinaikos – Atlético Madrid tie. Panathinaikos scored a massive 3-0 win to overcome a 3-1 deficit in the second leg of their Third Qualifying Round tie with AC Sparta Praha. With experienced players like Gilberto and Giorgos Karagounis complemented by the pace and skill of Sebastián Leto and Djibril Cissé, Atletico could have a tough scrap on their hands.

The full playoff round match-ups (games to be played on August 18 and 26) are as follows:

Non-champions Path
Arsenal FC (England) v Celtic FC (Scotland)
Olympique Lyonnais (France) v RSC Anderlecht (Belgium)
Sporting Clube de Portugal (Portugal) v ACF Fiorentina (Italy)
Panathinaikos FC (Greece) v Club Atlético de Madrid (Spain)
VfB Stuttgart (Germany) v FC Timisoara (Romania)

Champions Path
Olympiacos CFP (Greece) v FC Sheriff (Moldova)
FC København (Denmark) v APOEL FC (Cyprus)
PFC Levski Sofia (Bulgaria) v Debreceni VSC (Hungary)
Maccabi Haifa FC (Israel) v FC Salzburg (Austria)
FC Zürich (Switzerland) v FK Ventspils (Latvia)

The draw for the first two qualifying rounds of the Champions League was held on July 1st. One of last season’s quarter-finalists, Turkish side Fenerbahce, will begin this season’s campaign in the second qualifying round against Hungarian champions MTK Budapest. Last season’s UEFA Cup runners-up Glasgow Rangers (The club’s correct name is Rangers FC but they are sometimes referred to as Glasgow Rangers for European matches to avoid confusion with other clubs) will face the winners of the tie between Andorran champions Santa Coloma and Lithuania’s Kaunas.

Here is the complete draw for the first two rounds of qualifying.

First qualifying round draw
First leg: July 15/16
Second leg: July 22/23

1. Linfield FC (Northern Ireland) v NK Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)
2. Valetta FC (Malta) v FC Artmedia Petrzalka (Slovakia)
3. FC Dinamo Tbilisi (Georgia) v NSÍ Runavík (Faroe Islands)
4. FC Santa Coloma (Andorra) v FBK Kaunus (Lithuania)
5. S.S. Murata (San Marino) v IFK Göteborg (Sweden)
6. Llanelli AFC (Wales) v FK Ventspils (Latvia)
7. Anorthosis Famugusta (Cyprus) v FC Pyunik (Armenia)
8. FK Inter Baki (Azerbijan) v FK Rabotnicki (Macedonia)
9. Tampere United (Finland) v FK Buducnost Podgorica (Montenegro)
10. F91 Dudelange (Luxembourg) v NK Domzale (Slovenia)
11. KS Dinamo Tirana (Albania) v FK Modrica (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
12. FK Aktobe (Kazakhstan) v FC Sheriff (Moldova)
13. Drogheda United FC (Ireland) v FC Levadia Tallinn (Estonia)
14. FC BATE Borisov (Belarus) v Valur Reykjavík (Isreal)

Second qualifying round draw
First leg: July 29/30
Second leg: August 5/6

• Rangers FC (Scotland) v Winners Match 4
• SK Brann (Norway) v Winners Match 6
• Winners Match 8 v FK Partizan (Serbia)
• Winners Match 9 v Winners Match 2
• Winners Match 7 v SK Rapid Wien (Austria)
• Winners Match 10 v Winners Match 1
• Panathinaikos FC (Greece) v Winners Match 3
• Winners Match 5 v FC Basel 1893 (Switzerland)
• Winners Match 12 v AC Sparta Praha (Czech Republic)
• Winners Match 13 v FC Dinamo Kyiv (Ukraine)
• RSC Anderlecht (Belgium) v Winners Match 14
• Beitar Jerusalem FC (Israel) v Wisla Kraków (Poland)
• Fenerbahçe SK (Turkey) v MTK Budapest (Hungary)
• Aalborg BK (Denmark) v Winners Match 11