Tottenham’s fate in Group D of this season’s Champions League will go down to the wire when they travel to Marseille tonight.
Harry Kane saw a 95th-minute winner last week against Sporting CP controversially ruled out by VAR, denying them not just a place in the last-16 stage but also status as group winners with a match to spare.
Instead, with manager Antonio Conte banned from the touchline after a red card in the melee, all four teams in the group, also including Eintracht Frankfurt, are still in the running to qualify for the knockout stages and even top the group.
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Here are all the permutations for tonight’s game...
If Tottenham win
Victory would guarantee Tottenham’s progress as group winners and set up a round-of-16 tie against a runner-up from another group in February and March.
As it stands, that could mean a meeting with Antonio Conte’s former club Inter Milan, their city rivals AC Milan or Borussia Dortmund, while one of Paris Saint-Germain and a talented Benfica side will finish second in Group H.
If Tottenham draw
A point would give Spurs a place in the knockouts and they can still top the group with a draw, provided Sporting and Eintracht Frankfurt also share the spoils in Portugal.
But if there is a winner in Lisbon, Spurs would finish as runners-up and potentially face a power such as Bayern Munich, who have won their group thanks in part to the goals of former Liverpool forward Sadio Mane.
If Tottenham lose
A defeat would mean Spurs are eliminated from the Champions League and drop down into the Europa League via a third-place finish because Sporting have a better head-to-head record from their two meetings.
But they cannot finish bottom of Group D, even if they lose and Sporting and Frankfurt draw — which would leave all three clubs on eight points — because both they and Sporting would have a better head-to-head record than the German side.
