Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain encounter an unforeseen early elimination from the Champions League during a dramatic round of 18 matches.

Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain encounter an unforeseen early elimination from the Champions League during a dramatic round of 18 matches.GENEVA (AP) –

Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain are both confronted with the prospect of an unexpected early elimination from the Champions League, a situation that has not occurred for either club in over a decade.

This development will be determined during the final round of matches on Wednesday, which will establish the new standings for the 36-team tournament.At 9 p.m.

Central European Time (2000 GMT), when the 18 matches commence simultaneously to conclude the inaugural league-phase format, Manchester City finds itself outside the top 24 positions required for advancement to the knockout stage, while Paris Saint-Germain, currently in 22nd place, faces the possibility of elimination.

Manchester City must secure a victory against Club Brugge at home in order to ascend from their current position of 25th place. A draw for Paris Saint-Germain against Stuttgart, currently positioned 24th, should suffice for both teams, provided there is no extraordinary victory by Dinamo Zagreb over AC Milan that would affect the tiebreaker based on goal difference among teams concluding with 11 points.

This scenario is precisely what the Champions League organiser, UEFA, envisioned when it sanctioned the new format, following intense pressure from prestigious clubs that sought an increased number of lucrative matches against elite competitors.

These prominent clubs—most notably the exceptionally affluent, state-supported entities of Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain—could scarcely have anticipated their exclusion from the knockout stage, which is pivotal for global brand enhancement and yields tens of millions of euros in additional prize money from UEFA.

Last season, Real Madrid required only 13 matches to secure the Champions League title; however, they now confront the necessity of competing in 17 matches to defend their championship.

Madrid currently occupies the 16th position in the standings prior to their match against the lesser-known Brest, having suffered defeats in three of their seven games, including their most recent visit to France, where they faced Lille.

The esteemed 15-time European champion still has the potential to secure a top-eight finish, which would grant them direct entrance into the round of 16 in March, by defeating the 13th-place team, Brest.

However, this outcome is contingent upon favourable results in other matches. Teams that conclude their standings from ninth to twenty-fourth will participate in the draw on Friday for the two-leg knockout playoffs, which are scheduled to take place over consecutive midweeks in February.

This presents an unwelcome encumbrance within the already congested schedule for teams that are also pursuing domestic titles, rather than serving as supplementary matches intended to generate additional revenue.