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Manchester City fans don't need normally need any extra reasons to cheer on Manchester United's opponents.

But in a fortnight, their immediate Champions League fate could depend on the Reds flopping at Wolfsburg.

And if Premier League rivals Chelsea also fail to beat Porto, City's fortunes would also look a lot less gloomy.

In fact, if Chelsea and United both fail to top their groups, the Blues' chances of drawing one of the three dreaded big guns – Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid would improve dramatically from three in five to three in seven.

That is down to the Uefa rules for the last 16, which dictate that clubs who finish runners-up in their group have to face group winners in the first knockout round, and that clubs from the same association cannot face each other.

Last night's defeat at Juventus means that, unless Sevilla can beat Juve in Spain on December 8, and the Blues see off Borussia Monchengladbach at home on the same night, Manuel Pellegrini's men will finish second in the group.

And with Barca, Bayern and Madrid already guaranteed top spot, City look to be heading for another deadly encounter in the last 16, after falling to Lionel Mssi and Co for the last two seasons.

But if Chelsea and United join them in the pot for second-placed teams, or even slide into the Europa League – stop laughing at the back – City's hopes of avoiding one of the competition favourites improve dramatically.

Chelsea need to beat Porto at Stamford Bridge to top their group, while the Reds have to pull off a win in Wolfsburg to finish top of their pile.

If both manage it, City can only face Barcelona, Bayern, Madrid, Zenit St Petersburg or the victor in the Benfica v Atletico Madrid crunch.

If both fail, Wolfsburg and Porto also get added to the mix, and the chances of pulling a big gun out of the bag reduce dramatically from 60 per cent to 43 per cent.