Champions League: the current standings, situation and schedule for Inter | OneFootball

After more than a month's break, the Champions League is back: Inter are preparing to face Sparta Praha in the Czech capital on Wednesday 22 January at 21:00 CET on matchday 7 of the League Phase.

The Nerazzurri are returning to action in Europe's elite competition having suffered a late defeat in their last match away to Leverkusen, leaving them on 13 points after six matches. Now, the team's final two fixtures will decide their fate: after the trip to Prague, Inzaghi's men will face Monaco at home in their final match of the opening phase.

After the first nine fixtures of matchday 7, Liverpool sit top of the standings with 21 points, three more than Barcelona in second. Behind these two sides are Atletico Madrid, who beat Leverkusen and sit on 15 points, and Atalanta, who got the better of Sturm Graz and now have a 14-point tally. Then, from fifth to eleventh, there are seven teams on 13 points, including Inter. The objective is to finish in the top eight, which would secure an automatic spot in the round of 16 without having to progress through the knockout phase playoffs dedicated to the sides that finish between ninth and 24th.

In the league phase, in the case of equal number of points, the standings are determined on goal difference. Inter have scored seven and conceded one, meaning Inzaghi's men have a goal difference of +6. This puts the Nerazzurri in seventh position: Arsenal and Bayer Leverkusen respectively have goal differences of +9 and +6, but the German outfit have scored more goals than Inter. In the Champions League, Inter will take on Sparta Praha in Czechia on Wednesday 22 January at 21:00 CET before finishing their League Phase campaign with a 21:00 CET kick-off against Monaco on Wednesday 29 January at San Siro (tickets can be purchased here).

INTER'S FIXTURES

MATCHDAY 1 Manchester City 0-0 Inter

MATCHDAY 2 Inter 4-0 Crvena Zvezda

MATCHDAY 3 Young Boys 0-1 Inter

MATCHDAY 4 Inter 1-0 Arsenal

MATCHDAY 5 Inter 1-0 RB Leipzig

MATCHDAY 6 Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 Inter

MATCHDAY 7 Wednesday 22 January at 21:00 CET Sparta Praha vs. Inter

MATCHDAY 8 Wednesday 29 January at 21:00 CET Inter vs. AS Monaco Tickets here

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RULES

The top eight sides in the league will qualify automatically for the round of 16, while the teams finishing in 9th to 24th place will compete in a two-legged knockout phase play-off to secure their path to the last 16 of the competition. Teams that finish 25th or lower will be eliminated, with no access to the UEFA Europa League.

What happens if teams have the same number of points during the league phase?

If two or more teams are equal on points during the league phase, the following criteria are applied, in this order, to determine their rankings:

a. Superior goal difference in the league phase b. Higher number of goals scored in the league phase c. Higher number of away goals scored in the league phase d. Higher number of wins in the league phase e. Higher number of away wins in the league phase

If the teams are still tied after applying these criteria, they will be ranked equally in the table and be ordered alphabetically based on their abbreviated name.

How will teams be separated if they finish the league phase on the same number of points?

If two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the league phase matches, the following criteria are applied, in this order, to determine their rankings:

a. Superior goal difference in the league phase b. Higher number of goals scored in the league phase c. Higher number of away goals scored in the league phase d. Higher number of wins in the league phase e. Higher number of away wins in the league phase f. Higher number of points obtained collectively by league phase opponents g. Superior collective goal difference of league phase opponents h. Higher number of goals scored collectively by league phase opponents i. Lower disciplinary points total based only on yellow and red cards received by players and team officials in all league phase matches (red card = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point, expulsion for two yellow cards in one match = 3 points) j. Higher club coefficient