ARSENAL are among the favourites to advance straight to the last 16 of the Champions League.

The Gunners are fifth in the League Phase table with eight points separating them from high flying Liverpool, but Mikel Arteta’s men have a game in hand.

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The North Londoners have two more games to go in the revamped first round consisting of 36 teams.

Mikel Arteta‘s men face Dinamo Zagreb tonight at the Emirates and then visit Girona on January 29.

Arsenal have amassed 13 points from six matches of which they won four and lost only once.

Just one more win from the final two games could send the Premier League giants straight into the Round of 16.

The teams who finish in the top eight spots automatically qualify for the Last 16.

And those who find themselves between ninth and 24th place will face off in the play-offs to determine the other eight teams that make it to the next round.

Arsenal are currently five points ahead of Dinamo, who are 25th in the Champions League table.

Opta found that in 99 per cent of their simulations, teams who collected 10 points made it into the play-off round, which means Arteta and co might already be guaranteed at least a spot in those.

Even nine points proved to be enough in 69 per cent of the simulations, which were run 50,000 times.

But Arsenal will want direct qualification for the Last 16.

16 points proved to be enough in 98 per cent of the available scenarios.

And 15 points were sufficient for eighth place in 73 per cent of the simulations.

On the other hand, 14 points were enough in just 28 per cent of the supercomputer’s simulations.

That means 15 points could be the magic number for Arsenal to avoid two crunch clashes amid their gruelling bid for a first Premier League title since 2004.

That would mean one win from their final two games will likely be enough.

IF Manchester City are to progress through to the Champions League knockout stages tonight, they will have to do it without their three new recruits.

The Eithad club welcomed Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis and Omar Marmoush for big money in the last week.

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Man City require a win if they are to progress to the playoff round for the last 16[/caption]

Marmoush had a massive impact on City in their 3-1 win against Chelsea and while Khusanov was at fault for the goal, he grew into the game.

However, the trio of £123million signings won’t be able to have any impact on the European stage despite being fit to feature.

Why can’t Man City’s new signings play in the Champions League?

According to Uefa rules, squads must be submitted before the League Phase begins and cannot be added to until the knockout stages.

City are allowed to add up to three new players into their Uefa squad if they progress into the knockout rounds, but it remains complicated.

The club must balance the homegrown quota – a minimum of eight “locally trained” players on their squad list with four from the club’s own youth system – with any new additions.

Will they be able to play if City qualify?

Uefa reminded clubs that its regulations, outlined in Article 32.02, allow additional registrations (beyond three) in specific scenarios for leagues that start and finish within the same calendar year:

• Four registrations: If more than five players from List A are no longer registered with their national federation as part of the club after the group stage, the team can add one additional player, increasing the total to four new eligible players.
• Five registrations: If more than seven players from List A are no longer part of the club under the same conditions, two additional players can be registered, raising the total to five.

Furthermore, Article 32.04 specifies that any or all players registered under these rules may have played for another team during the qualifying rounds, playoffs, or group stage of the Champions League, Europa League, or Conference League. 

As it stands, City have exceed the limit with five locally trained players leaving just seven of the eight homegrown slots usable.

The stipulations may restrict how many January arrivals City could register with potentially leaving one or more out.

A MAP has laid bare the UK’s poverty crisis with half of kids living below the breadline in the hardest-hit areas.

The findings, compiled by the Sun based on data released by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, shows 14.4million people – or 22% – are living in poverty.

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Damning findings by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has revealed that over 14 million people are living rough in the UK[/caption]

The average poverty rates in England (22%), Wales (21%) and Scotland (21%) converged at around the same level, while
poverty rates were much lower in Northern Ireland at 17%.

Meanwhile, the data shows that child poverty rates in Scotland (24%) are considerably lower than those in England (30%) and Wales (29%).

In Northern Ireland, the rate is a lower but nonetheless alarming 23%.

By 2029, it is estimated that almost one in three children in England will be below the breadline.

“We can’t expect children to be ready for school or able to learn if they’re going without the basics”, fumed JRF chief executive Paul Kissack.

“Growing up in poverty can also lead to poor health, increasing pressure on the NHS.

“Child poverty will only be driven down through focused, deliberate and determined policy action.

“Even very strong economic growth won’t automatically change the picture.”  

“Policy action must start with the system designed to help people meet their costs of living – social security.

“At the moment that system is not only failing to do its job but, worse, actively pushing some people into deeper poverty, through cruel limits and caps.”

The fresh findings ranked the West Midlands first for its poverty levels across the board at 27%.

Nipping at its heels is the North West (25%).

London follows closely behind at 24%, while Yorkshire and the Humber slumped at fourth with 23%.

With the exception of the Big Smoke, around three in 10 of working adults are unemployed in those areas.

Lower down, one in five Brits in the East, South East and South West of England are out of work.

“Currently, our social security system doesn’t reflect the cost of life’s essentials as well as the reality that some families have higher costs or need to make one income stretch further, including larger families and lone parent families,” the JRF said.

“These families are disproportionately impacted by specific welfare policies such as the two-child limit and cap on benefits.”

The shocking findings have attracted sharp criticism from politicians.

“From their refusal to scrap the two child benefit cap and their heartless decision to cut the Winter Fuel Payments, this government has done next to nothing to tackle the growing poverty pandemic in this county,” Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said.

“Ministers need to reverse these policies or we will continue to see these intolerable situations.

“It’s heartbreaking that so many people are still struggling to afford the very basics – with the numbers only growing.

“And it’s unacceptable that in 2025, families have to worry how they’ll keep a roof over their children’s heads, and some pensioners have to choose between heating and eating. 

“This deep poverty is a scar on the nation made by the Conservative Party but the Labour government has so far just sat on its hands.” 

Фото: ТГ-канал Mash Адресатом виявився командувач 150-ї мотострілецької дивізії РФ Вінок виявили родичі генерал-майора. На місце приїхали поліція та вибухотехніки. Вибухівки не знайшли. Українська служба безпеки нібито організувала доставку жалобного вінка генерал-майору Віталію Терьохіну, використавши для цього двох московських кур’єрів. Про це повідомляє ТГ-канал Mash. Зазначається, що представники українських спецслужб начебто розмістили оголошення про нескладну […]

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Влітку у багатьох городників і не лише в них настає “кабачковий достаток”, тому рецепти цікавих страв із цього овочу стають все популярніші. Відмінним варіантом правильної “утилізації” даного продукту є курячі гомілки в кабачковій підливці, які виходять надзвичайно соковитими та смачними, а готуються дуже просто. Складові: курячі гомілки – 700 г; кабачки – 800 г; цибуля […]

  Білл Гейтс згадав своє розлучення з колишньою дружиною Меліндою, називаючи це рішення «помилкою, про яку найбільше шкодує». 69-річний мільярдер розмірковував про наслідки розірвання 27-річного шлюбу в інтерв’ю The Sunday Times. Коли Гейтса запитали, чи є розлучення його єдиною «невдачею» у житті на цей момент, він відповів, що розставання з Меліндою має «стояти нагорі списку». […]

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