Image source, Getty Images

Right then, I'm right out of footballers wearing Christmas jumpers and silly hats or eating Christmas dinner bread rolls, so time to bring Sportsday to a close but our Champions League coverage is just beginning.

Head to the football section of the BBC Sport website and pick the game you wish to follow. Will it be Manchester City's tricky tie at Roma as they try to progress to the knockout stage, or already qualified Chelsea's home game against Sporting. The choice is yours.

BBC Radio 5 live coverage will also get under way at 19:00 GMT with all the build up, before full match commentary on Roma v Man City at 19:45 GMT.

Marc Dunn:, external Of course its better for English football, if the Italians catch up in the coefficents we'd lose a place in the CL.

Adam Richards:, external Mixed feeling as an Arsenal fan. Glad we might get Basel over Bayern, but sad to see LFC out.

Lomwe Montana:, external Total United fan. Liverpool's exit left me smiling for years, if City get knocked out tonight would be the perfect Xmas gift

Is it better for English football to have Manchester City progress? Will you be cheering them on regardless of who you support? Let us know #bbcsportsday, external

Port Vale striker Tom Pope says he cannot afford to take a pay cut to stay with his boyhood club.

The 29-year-old Potteries-born forward, who has scored 66 goals in 177 appearances since initially joining Vale on loan in 2011, has been offered a new deal by the League One side.

"I want to stay until the end of my career," he tells BBC Radio Stoke.

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Premier League leaders Chelsea booked their place in the last 16 with a comfortable 5-0 win at German side Schalke in their penultimate group game.

That means third-placed Schalke must beat Maribor, and hope Sporting Lisbon lose at Chelsea, to progress. If Schalke win and Sporting draw, then the Portuguese side will qualify courtesy of their superior head-to-head record.

Maribor cannot finish in the top two, but would finish third and clinch a Europa League place by beating Schalke.

Davey Jay:, external As a United fan, I want City to win so Roma won't need Strootman for champions league. He'd make a nice January signing!

Mansoor Mahar:, external Chelsea fan here.. I support England; and clubs just use names of the countries but seldom represent. Hope City gets thrashed.

Dave:, external Getting fed up of people wanting English clubs to fail I would much rather see an English club progress whoever it is.

Is it better for English football to have Manchester City progress? Will you be cheering them on regardless of who you support? Let us know #bbcsportsday, external

Have you had your office Christmas party yet? Real Madrid have, supposedly a traditional Christmas meal too...

Image source, EPA

...all I am seeing is a lot of bread rolls, though...

Image source, EPA

...Gareth Bale, there, showing Luka Modric what this Madrid meal is missing. Maybe.

Image source, EPA

Dan Walker
BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

"I see BBC Sport are discussing best ever long-range goals. Simple. TONY YEBOAH v Wimbledon or Liverpool #Thronkers"

Craig Barlow:, external United fan here. I'm OK if City go through as still smiling ear to ear from Liverpool's exit yesterday!

Hanz Maulwurst:, external Never thought I would hear myself say this...but #GoCity

Lewis James Brown:, external As a Tottenham fan, I've learned the hard way that you should hope fellow English clubs fail in the champions league

Is it better for English football to have Manchester City progress? Will you be cheering them on regardless of who you support? Let us know #bbcsportsday, external

Image source, Getty Images

A tough task ahead for Manchester City tonight in Rome, but a score draw could be enough for them to reach the Champions League knockout stage. We'll have live text commentary from 18:30 GMT, with BBC Radio 5 live build up and commentary from 19:00 GMT.

Mic Medeska:, external Sorry Mr Ogden [see 16:41], no chance I'll be cheering on City as a Utd fan. Hope they get thrashed, and good riddance to Liverpool.

Cutting Mic, cutting

Somerset say wicketkeeper Craig Kieswetter is unlikely to be fit for the 2015 campaign because of the eye injury he sustained last season.

Kieswetter sustained the injury while batting against Northamptonshire last summer and has struggled to regain perfect vision.

"It is really disappointing but my eye is not 100% and this of course is critical in maintaining the levels of performance that I expect of myself," says Kieswetter. "I need to make every effort to resolve the matter and have the best specialist help in that regard."

Image source, Manchester United/Twitter

This morning we had Christmas-jumper wearing QPR players singing a bit of Slade, now we have Manchester United's Marcos Rojo and Ander Herrera getting into the spirit of things with some questionable Christmas hats...

London Irish hooker David Paice says the mood at the club is good, despite a run of six consecutive defeats.

The Exiles are second from bottom of the Premiership and face Cardiff Blues this weekend, needing victory to likely guarantee qualification in the European Rugby Challenge Cup.

When asked how morale was, Paice told BBC Radio Berkshire: "It's very good. We are confident in our ability and the way we play. We are on the up, we started the season strongly, we had a dip but are back on the way up."

Image source, Getty Images

"As champions of England, Manchester City deserve the backing of the nation when they face AS Roma in the Stadio Olimpico aiming to secure the result to take the club into the Champions League knock-out stages," writes Mark Ogden in the Daily Telegraph., external

"For one night only, City should be the country's team because losing two Premier League clubs from the Champions League in the space of 24 hours would suit nobody connected to English football.

"City following Liverpool out of the Champions League would simply be bad for business for the Premier League and a sign that English football is losing touch with La Liga and the Bundesliga when it comes to competing for the major European honours."

The Times sports reporter Rory Smith:, external Bizarre Pochettino press conference at the Ataturk. He's fine, but the brilliantly-bearded translator appears to have gone on strike.

Image source, Tottenham

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino knows it will not be easy for his side to secure the result they need at Besiktas on Thursday to qualify top of their Europa League group.

Pochettino's side have already qualified for the last 32, but know a draw in Istanbul will see them finish top of the group and be seeded.

"We expect a tough game," says Pochettino. "They're a good side. We want to finish top of the group. It is important to finish top. It's also a chance for players who haven't played in the last few games to show their quality."

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting is appointed head coach of Indian Premier League side Mumbai Indians.

The 39-year-old, who retired from international cricket in 2012, previously captained Mumbai in a short spell with the team in 2013 and takes over from John Wright ahead of the new season, which starts in April next year.

"We are delighted to have Ricky back with us and look forward to his contribution based on his experience and expertise," former India spin bowler Anil Kumble, who is part of the Mumbai Owners Group, says.

Image source, Getty Images

Barcelona and Paris St-Germain are already assured of their place in the knockout phase.

The pair meet at Barcelona's Nou Camp in their final match tonight to decide who will finish as group winners. A win or draw will see the French champions finish top, but a home win will see five-time European champions Barca overtake them.

Dutch champions Ajax know they will finish third with a win or draw against Apoel Nicosia at the Amsterdam Arena and qualify for the Europa League. But the Cypriot side will overtake them with a win.

A Peruvian footballer was struck by lightning during a cup semi-final, sustaining burns to his legs and causing the match to be abandoned.

Joao Contreras, 21, of Sport Aguila was hit during his side's Copa Peru tie against Union Fuerza Minera. A linesman was also struck at the same time and both are now recovering in hospital.

Image source, Lukas Podolski/Instagram

Arsenal striker Lukas Podolski on Instagram:, external Great performance from the whole team yesterday! No rest & focus on premier league now!