• Should Napoli beat Dortmund on Tuesday, the Italians will progress along with Arsenal, as long as the Gunners don't lose to Marseille.
•A draw would also see Napoli qualify for the last 16, and Arsenal would go through as well with a win over Marseille.
•If Dortmund beat Napoli, the battle for the two last 16 berths will definitely go to the final matchday - even if Arsenal overcome Marseille to move three points clear of both at the top of group because they have an inferior head-to-head record against Dortmund.
• Indeed, Dortmund seeing off Napoli
would mean that all three teams could
finish on 12 points, if Jurgen Klopp's men then get the better of Marseille, and Napoli defeat Arsenal on matchday six.
•In the event of a three-way tie,
qualification would come down to points and goal difference accumulated from the six direct clashes between the three sides.
•Despite losing 1-0 at home to Arsenal, Dortmund have the edge on the Gunners by virtue of their 2-1 win at the Emirates. However, Arsenal are effectively 2-0 up on Napoli ahead of their trip to the San Paolo, but the Partenopei have a 2-1 advantage
over Dortmund ahead of Tuesday's meeting at Signal Iduna Park.
•Assuming that Arsenal and Dortmund both win their respective games against Marseille, Napoli run the most risk of being eliminated via any potential three way head-to-head. Should BVB beat Napoli 1-0 on Tuesday, the Italians would have to beat Arsenal by three goals to qualify in their place. If BVB beat Napoli by two unanswered goals, the Azzurri would need a four-goal win versus the Londonders. And so on.
•Should, working from the premise of
Marseille losing both games, Dortmund beat Napoli 1-0 and the Italians defeat Arsenal 2-0 - all three sides would finish. level on points and a head-to-head goal difference of 4-4. In this scenario, Napoli would be eliminated having scored no away
goals to Dortmund's three and Arsenal's one.
•But this would change should Napoli lose by a single goal, whilst scoring in Dortmund, in which case a two-goal victory over Arsenal would be enough to take them through. Arsene Wenger's men would be
eliminated with a two-goal defeat, unless they scored two goals or more of their own in the process, in which case they would qualify at Dortmund's expense. A three
goal defeat or more would mean an instant exit for The Gunners regardless of the scoreline.
Still confused? Well, everything will become a whole lot clearer this week - or even more complicated.
Courtesy of #goal.com