This week, the Champions League offers a respite for others suffering through difficult seasons.

With a fourth straight win in their respective groups, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, and Real Madrid will all advance to the Champions League round of 16

With a fourth straight win in their groups, Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid can all advance to the Champions League round of 16. They face opponents they beat on the road three weeks ago at home.

The situation is different for their domestic rivals Manchester United, Union Berlin, and Sevilla.

Newcastle's Bruno and Willock racially abused after Arsenal game on social media

As the defending European and English champion coasted to a 3-0 win at Old Trafford last weekend, the divide between Manchester City and United was evident. Despite losing five home games this season, United managed to eke out a 1-0 win against Copenhagen, which it plays in Denmark on Wednesday.

On Saturday, Bayern humiliated Borussia Dortmund 4-0 in its stadium thanks to Harry Kane's third hat-trick in the Champions League.

On Wednesday, Union Berlin plays Napoli in the Champions League, where it is on a 12-match losing streak since September 3.

Jude Bellingham scored twice in a 2-1 victory over Barcelona last weekend and has already scored in each of Madrid's Champions League games this season.

Currently in the bottom half of the league and winless in the Champions League, Sevilla faces Arsenal, which is unbeaten at home this season.

On Tuesday, Man City will host Young Boys, and on Wednesday, Bayern will host Galatasaray, and Madrid will play Braga.

The Spanish champion will also advance with another win Tuesday when it meets Shakhtar Donetsk to make it four of the eight group leaders with nine points.

This season, Barcelona will be the second Champions League club to visit Shakhtar's adopted home city of Hamburg. Royal Antwerp will be the next.

STREAKS OF LOSS

Advancing to the next round of the Champions League is rare for teams that lose their first three group games.

Currently pointless teams Benfica, Royal Antwerp, and Union Berlin can take inspiration from the two teams that achieved this.

Even though Atalanta had the worst start to its debut season, and only drew its fourth game, it went on to reach the quarterfinals and was just minutes away from eliminating Paris Saint-Germain.

In 2002-03, Newcastle also advanced from the first group stage after starting the season with three losses.

0-for-3 clubs Antwerp, Benfica, and Union all have away games this week. Antwerp is at Porto on Tuesday, Benfica is at Real Sociedad on Wednesday, and Union is at Napoli on Thursday.

IN MILAN MIXED

It is possible for one Milanese team to qualify for the round of 16 this week, while another may be pushed to the brink of elimination.

Serie A leader Inter Milan, beaten finalist last season, can book its spot by beating Salzburg on Wednesday.

In May, seven-time champion AC Milan lost to Inter in the semifinals.

Three weeks after losing 3-0 to Paris Saint-Germain, Milan is last in Group F with no goals and no wins.

In a tough group where Borussia Dortmund hosts Newcastle on Tuesday, the Rossoneri can take heart from only four points separating first and last.

On his return to San Siro, Milan fans are likely to give Gianluigi Donnarumma a hostile reception. He left Milan as a free agent without receiving a transfer fee in 2021.

During Italy's Euro 2024 qualifying match against Ukraine in September, Donnarumma was booed by sections of the Milan crowd.