A simulation from Opta, reported by Gazzetta dello Sport, highlights that 16 points in the league phase will be enough to qualify for the Champions League Round of 16, while nine should grant a spot in the knockout phase playoff.
The Champions League Round 3 kicks off today with three Serie A clubs involved: Milan meet Club Brugge at San Siro, Juventus host Stuttgart at the Allianz Stadium and Bologna visit Aston Villa looking for their first win in the competition this season.
Simulation predicts how many points needed for Champions League Round of 16
The Champions League’s new format makes it hard to predict how many points will be needed to qualify for the second phase, but a simulation from Opta suggests that 16 points should be enough to finish in the top eight and advance to the Round of 16.
Teams finishing from 9th to 24th will qualify for the knockout phase playoff, and the Opta supercomputer has predicted that nine points will give access to this phase.
The Opta study was based on over 50,000 simulations, and in 98% of cases, 16 points were enough to finish in the top eight.
This means that clubs can theoretically qualify for the Round of 16 with five wins and one draw or four victories and four draws.
- Read more – Champions League standings after Matchday 2