I think it's fitting this morning to say well done Stoke. The first British team to qualify for this season's Europa League last 32. As plenty of Premier league sides will testify, they have made themselves tough to beat on this European adventure and have made the knock out round without losing a game and with a match to spare. Were they Arsenal we would be raving about that level of performance.
OK their league form hasn't been what we have come to expect from them but neither are they involved in a relegation dog fight. Captain Ryan Shawcross has had a spell on the sidelines which surely saw him miss the England squads to face Spain and Sweden recently.
Elsewhere Tottenham's European hopes now hang in the balance. They travel to Shamrock Rovers needing to win. Any other result will see them eliminated. Should Tottenham win, they are then relying on PAOK Salonika beating Rubin Kazan while Rubin Kazan just need to draw to qualify. Although Harry Redknapp may not mind going out of this competition if he intends to mount a serious challenge fo the league title, a trophy is still a tophy in my eyes.
Martin Jol has shown his European experience to take Fulham to the brink of qualification. The equation is simple for Fulham. Should they beat Odense at home then they will qualify. Any other result for Fulham leaves the door open for Wisla Krakow who host group winners FC Twente. Fulham will be without Andy Johnson for this match but should still have enough to reach the knock out phase.
Poor Birmingham. I mean that sincerely. For a Championship side they have acquitted themselves admirably in Europe this season, yet it seems they may finish agonisingly short. Assuming that they win their home tie against NK Maribor, that would give them a total of 10 points. With both the top teams currently already tied on 10 points, they face each other to decide the group and could play out a draw with Braga and Club Brugge qualifying. However should Braga win away at Club Brugge and Birmingham win then Birmingham's better head to head record against Club Brugge will see them qualify. All to play for for Chris Hughton's side.
Celtic's task in their final game is simple. They have to beat Udinese away in a winner will qualify match. A further sign of how low Scottish football has fallen?
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