The tough challenge of Milan and the struggle between Real and Inter for leadership
The current season of the Champions League is notable for the fact that by the last round of the group stage, almost half of the teams that will play in the playoffs in the spring - 7 out of 16 - were determined, while ten clubs lost their chances of getting there.
Unfortunately, Zenit was among them.
But the Petersburgers guaranteed themselves participation in the 1/16 finals of the Europa League, having played in a draw with Malmö away.
However, the match against Chelsea in St. Petersburg will not be devoid of tournament motivation, since the Londoners share the first place with Juventus, having 12 points each.
Thanks to the crushing victory in London, the English team will have an advantage in case of equality of points.
Accordingly, it is enough for the current trophy holder to play in Russia no worse than the Turin players in Sweden.
But Real and Inter will determine the leader in Quartet D in the face-to-face confrontation in Madrid.
"Creamy" are ahead of the Milanese by two points, and a draw is enough for them.
For the guests, the very fact of reaching the playoffs was a huge achievement, because they had not made it to this stage since 2012.
At the same time, the black and blue finished first in the group, ahead of CSKA.
In other quartets, the situation is much more complicated.
This is especially true of G, where Lille, Salzburg, Sevilla and Wolfsburg are collected.
All of them can either get into the top two or complete their performance in European competitions.
The reigning champion of France tops the standings, who is one point ahead of the opponent from Austria, two points from Spain and three points from Germany.
However, he is just about to go to the Volkswagen Arena.
The alignment is quite possible in which "Lille", "Wolfsburg" and "Salzburg" will share the first or third lines.
In this case, according to the statistics of meetings with competitors in the LE, Josselin Gurvennek's wards will fly out, and the strongest team in Austria will break into the Champions League playoffs for the first time in their history.
An equally interesting situation has developed in Group B, where Porto, Milan and Atlético are competing for the 1/8 finals in a company with Liverpool.
The simplest task for the Portuguese team, which is one point ahead of the competition.
He needs to beat Madrid at home.
But the Rossoneri are required to prevail in the home confrontation with the Lersisides and it is advisable to count on a draw in a parallel meeting.
The fight for the last place in the playoffs of the main European Cup will also take place in quartets E and F. Of course, the fans will be watching with particular interest Barcelona, which risks not making it to the playoffs of the Champions League for the first time since the 2000/01 season.
Then there were two group stages, and the Catalans managed to complete the performance after the first.
To avoid a repetition of the failure, Xavi's charges need to beat Bayern on the road.
Otherwise, the blue garnet can get around Benfica, which will accept the unmotivated Dynamo Kiev.
The Lisbonians are inferior to a formidable opponent, but in case of equality they will bypass him thanks to a sensational defeat at home.
On the one hand, the Munich players are also devoid of tournament motivation.
On the other hand, Robert Lewandowski, who did not receive the Golden Ball, will try to extend the streak in the competition.
In the first five rounds, he has marked nine times and leads the scoring race with Ajax's Sebastien Aller.
And Atalanta and Villarreal will have a face-to-face meeting for the second place in Quartet F. The current UEL winner in Bergamo will be satisfied with a draw, since he is ahead of the opponent by a point.
Switzerland will also cheer for the Spanish team, because only its success will give Young Boys a chance to get into the European Spring in the event of an away victory over Manchester United, which will play their debut game under the leadership of Ralph Rangnick in the Champions League.
In England, fans have the right to expect goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, who, like Lewandowski, did not leave the field without the ball in the current tournament, although he scored only six times.
Finally, the correspondence battle for a place in the 1/16 finals of the LE will be led by Leipzig and Club Brugge.
The German team has an advantage over the rival in personal meetings, and therefore it is enough for it to play with Manchester City no worse than the Belgian champion - with PSG.
Lokomotiv's last opportunity and Lunev's debut at Bayer
Domestic football fans will follow the last round of the Europa League with no less interest, because the fate of Spartak will be determined on Thursday.
Two wins over Napoli, as well as a draw with Leicester, helped the red-whites approach the match in Warsaw with seven points in the asset.
They are one point behind their rival from England, are on a par with the Neapolitans and are one point ahead of Legia.
The situation in Group C was extremely confusing.
Muscovites, in order not to depend on opponents, need to take over themselves.
If so, they will finish in first place if the 2015/16 England Champion does not win in Italy.
With a different outcome of the confrontation in the capital of Poland, a variety of options are possible. Having parted with the hosts in the world, Rui Vitoria's charges risk falling to the third line and being relegated to the Conference League. At the same time, a similar outcome for Diego Armando Maradona (San Paolo) will leave them in second position and send them to the 1/16 finals of the LE. But the defeat will allow the Russian team to continue playing in European competition only in the event of Napoli's misfire.
Another Moscow team - Lokomotiv - lost their chances of reaching the LE playoffs after being defeated by Lazio.
However, the railroad workers still have the opportunity to take the third position in Quartet E. To do this, they need to take the upper hand over Marseille on the road.
Meanwhile, following the meeting in Rome, the leader may change at the last moment.
Galatasaray is ahead of the competitor by three points and has a home win with a minimum score in reserve.
Thus, the Italians need to achieve victory with a difference of at least two goals.
It is also worth paying attention to the match between Bayer and Ferencváros.
He does not carry any tournament component in himself, but Andrei Lunev should make his debut in the Leverkusen squad.
Head coach Gerardo Seoane has promised to keep the main goalkeeper Lukasz Hradecki in a non-decisive game and give his reservist a chance.
The final round will be full of much more intriguing confrontations.
For example, PSV and Real Sociedad in a face-to-face meeting will determine the holder of a ticket to the 1/16 finals.
The team from the Netherlands is ahead of the rival by two points, and therefore it will be enough for them not to concede on the road.
In Quartet F, Red Star (10 points), Braga (9) and Midtjuland (8) will fight.
The first two teams will play each other in Portugal and in case of a draw they risk letting the pursuer go ahead, who in Bulgaria will face off against the unmotivated Ludogorets.
Surprisingly, the representative of Denmark, who did not win a single victory in the first round, can go straight to the 1/8 finals.
The three teams continue to fight in Group H, but here Dynamo Zagreb needs a draw in the away game against West Ham to guarantee itself the second place.
Rapid needs an away victory over Genk.
It will allow the Austrians to get ahead of the competition and advance to the Conference League playoffs.
Roma's challenge and Flora's historic chance
The end of the group stage of the third-ranked European Cup promises to be no less interesting.
Many doubted the advisability of creating the tournament, but it has already presented a number of unexpected results.
For example, until now, one of his main favorites, London's Tottenham, has not guaranteed himself getting into the playoffs.
In the fifth round, the Londoners managed to concede on the road to Slovenian Mura, which had lost their chances to continue the fight in advance, and made their life extremely difficult. Now Antonio Conte's charges at home need to beat Rennes, who had booked first place, and hope for the unlikely misfire of Vitesse in the Netherlands. It is possible that additional indicators will have to be counted. According to the statistics of personal meetings, the opponents are equal (1: 0, 2: 3). So far, the Champions League finalist two years ago is the second only due to the better difference between goals scored and conceded.
After the draw ended, few doubted that Roma should not experience problems either.
However, the away team of Jose Mourinho was defeated by Bodø-Glimt with a humiliating score of 1: 6, and could not take revenge at home - 2: 2.
Now the Romans are one point behind the rival, whose colors are protected by the Russian Nikita Khaikin.
Accordingly, they need to play with CSKA Sofia better than the Norwegian champion Zarya.
If "Zorya" will not be able to break into the European spring under any circumstances, then "Garabagh" has guaranteed itself getting into the playoffs.
The question is whether Aghdam will finish first in Quartet H or second.
The answer will be given in the away confrontation with Basel, to which the competitors came up with almost identical indicators and a goalless draw in the first head-to-head match.
Flora can also please the fans. For the first time in history, a team from Estonia made it to the group stage of the European Cup, and now has the opportunity to advance to the playoffs. A sensational home victory over Partizan gave the Tallinn residents hope. Now they need another miracle - to defeat Ghent in Belgium. Also necessary is the defeat of the Belgrade people from "Anorthosis" in the home walls. So far, the Estonian team is ahead of the Cypriots in goal difference (- 2 against - 3).
It is also worth paying attention to Quartet E, where "Slavia" and "Union" in a head-to-head confrontation will determine the holder of a ticket to the 1/16 finals.
A draw is enough for the Prague team, but they have to defend the result in Berlin.
Another representative of the Czech Republic "Jablonec", which on the eve of the last round in the battle for the second line is one point behind "Randers", retains the chances for the continuation of the struggle.
True, his task in the sixth round is much easier - on the road to measure strength with CFR Cluj, which settled in last place.
"Randers" will have to go to the strong "AZ Alkmar", which secured the first place in advance.