Eleven of the 24 places are still up for grabs across the eight UEFA Cup groups.
The top three teams from each group qualify for the knockout stages to be joined by the eight teams that finish third in their respective Champions League groups.
The 32-team draw will then be seeded thus: group winners will be drawn against teams finishing third in the UEFA Cup groups; teams finishing as group runners up will face one of the teams eliminated from the Champions League.
Going into the final round of matches to be played on 15 and 16 December the group qualification standings are as follows:
GROUP A
Two teams have now confirmed their place in the last 32 of the competition and the other three are still chasing the final remaining qualification spot.
Feyenoord beat Schalke 2-1 on Tuesday night to book their spot and, despite the defeat, the Germans also qualified courtesy of the seven points they picked up in their first three games.
Basel will definitely join these two in the knockout stages if they overcome Feyenoord on 16 December on the final matchday. If they do then the group order will be decided on goal difference with top spot either going to the Dutch or the Swiss team. Schalke are guaranteed only second or third spot in the group.
Should Basel draw then they would still qualify if the groups other game that night, Hearts against Ferencvaros, finishes all square.
However, it is still possible also for either the Scottish or Hungarian team to finish third.
Hearts need to obtain a better result than Basel on the night and, in the event of them drawing against Ferencvaros and Basel losing, the Scottish team would only progress if Feyenoord won by three or more goals.
The scenario for Ferencvaros is more straightforward. They must beat Hearts and hope that Basel lose. At the same time they must overcome the three-goal advantage the Swiss team currently have over them on goal difference.
GROUP B
The permutations in this group are still varied and complex. All five teams can still make it through to the last 32 going into the final two games.
Steaua Bucharest have completed their four matches and have qualified for the next phase. Their final position in the group will be determined by the two remaining games.
Athletico’s 1-0 win over the Romanians on Tuesday means they will definitely win the group if they beat Standard Liege in their final match.
However, despite currently leading the group it is still possible for the Spaniards to miss out on qualification altogether. Should they lose in Belgium then a winner of the Parma-Besiktas clash on the same night could edge them out.
Standard Liege must win to progress to the knockout rounds, as must Parma who will also need Liege to either draw or beat Bilbao sufficiently to overcome a goal difference currently in favour of the Spaniards.
Besiktas can still win the group but essentially know they will qualify by not losing and also achieving a better result than Liege.
GROUP C
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk have already qualified as either group winners or runners up.
Having completed their four games the Ukrainians can only be displaced at the top of the table by Real Zaragoza, who must beat Club Brugge in their final match to steal top spot.
A draw will be sufficient to guarantee the Spaniards safe passage to the next round in second or third spot.
Brugge must win to ensure their qualification although a draw against Real will also be good enough if Austria Vienna fail to beat Utrecht in the other match on 16 December.
Vienna’s destiny is in their own hands. They will progress to the last 32 with a win against the already-eliminated Utrecht. However, they will also qualify as long as they achieve a better result than Brugge who currently lead them on goals scored.
GROUP D
Newcastle have already qualified and will win the group as long as they avoid defeat at home to second-placed Sporting Lisbon on 16 December. However, a win for the Portuguese, who are already assured of qualification, will see them progress in top-spot and the English side through as runners up.
Third spot in the group will go to either Sochaux or Panionios. The French side must avoid defeat to edge out the Greeks, who in turn must win. Should Sochaux achieve a better result than Sporting then they will change places with the Portuguese team and qualify as runners up.
The French side could also mathematically qualify in first place but they would need to win by at least an eight goal margin and hope Newcastle lose!
Dinamo Tbilisi are already eliminated from the competition having lost all four of their games.
GROUP E
All three qualification spots have been decided in this group, just the order has to be decided.
Lazio and Egaleo’s 2-2 draw last night eliminated them both from the competition.
Middlesbrough lead Partizan Belgrade by a point and can win the group with a victory when the teams meet on 15 December. Partizan could take top spot with a win although if Villarreal, currently level with Partizan on five points, also beat Egaleo then it would come down to goal difference between the two – Partizan have a two-goal advantage over Villarreal.
If Villarreal fail to win then Middlesbrough will win the group with just a draw.
GROUP F
AZ Alkmaar’s 1-0 home victory over Rangers last night means they have qualified and need just a point to progress as group winners when they travel to Austria to take on Grazer AK in their final match.
Rangers require just a point at home to Auxerre to qualify but will want to win in order to try and retake top-spot should AZ slip-up.
Auxerre and Grazer, seem to be fighting it out for the third spot, although wins at Rangers and at home to AZ respectively on 15 December would mean they both qualify and Rangers miss out.
Failing that, Grazer need to achieve a better result than the French to progress to the last 32. Auxerre have a superior goal difference over the Austrians, which may prove decisive.
Amica Wronki are already eliminated having lost all four games and conceding 16 goals in the process – the worst record in the UEFA Cup to-date although Beveren may push them hard for wooden spoon.
GROUP G
Benfica have definitely qualified for the knockout stage having amassed nine points from their four games. However, they can still be pipped for first place in the group should Stuttgart overcome Dinamo Zagreb in matchday 5 of the competition.
Stuttgart know that a draw will guarantee their place in the last 32.
Dinamo and Heerenveen are both tied on four points and are realistically fighting it out for the final qualification spot.
The Dutch side dramatically pulled back two goals in the last seven minutes against the Croatians last night to salvage a point and therefore remain in the competition.
Heerenveen’s final match is at home against Beveren, by far the group’s worst team with no points and 14 goals conceded after three matches. With that in mind, Dinamo will know a win is realistically needed in Germany in order to qualify.
GROUP H
Sevilla’s last gasp 3-2 win over AEK Athens last night ensures they qualify for the last 32 and means the Greeks are eliminated with a game still to play.
A draw with Lille in the final game will see the Spaniards clinch the group.
Lille have also qualified for the next stage but will be keen to overcome Sevilla and go into the knockout stage as top seeds.
Alemania Aachen’s plight is simple: they must win in Greece. A draw would leave them in fourth spot on goal difference behind Zenit St. Petersburg, who have already completed their matches.
By Gary Edwards
