Spoiler warning although if you really do want to avoid the results what on earth are you doing reading this thread.

Fulham won 1-0 and Roma won 2-1 in Group E.

The table is now:

Roma 10 points
Basel 9
Fulham 8
CSKA Sofia 1.

Roma are already through as Basel play Fulham and they both can't overtake Roma. Its really simple, Fulham need to win and they are through, draw or lose and they are out. Obviously the opposite applies for Basel so Matchday 6 is a winner takes all match, if you like a virtual last 64 game.

It is a shame Fulham gave away the injury time goal at home To Rome

If they had lasted a minute longer they would only need 1 point in Basel

So Five have chosen a Thursday 8.05pm kick off for MD6, even though it's a dead group, rather than Fulham whose future hangs in the balance.

They dont want to upset the Home and Away Fans !!!

To be fair they've moved Home and Away plenty of times in the past

Still the wrong decision to show Everton though IMO

I wonder if Five's pick is a message to UEFA to ensure all British games kick off at 8.05pm.

It appears that already all British home ties kick off at the later time but even Liverpool away at 6pm on a Thursday isn't going to be hugely attractive to any broadcaster.

It's not going to happen though. UEFA are clear that they don't want teams from the same country playing at the same time where it can be avoided.

With three English teams in the next round, obviously it can't be, but they will still ensure that over the two legs, there are three early and three late kick-offs.

Therefore Liverpool and Everton's away leg will definitely be at the unattractive time of 6pm, seeing they can't both be at home on the same night.

Congratulations to Fulham too, good win for them on Wednesday that.

lol

Ignoring the TV companies, the Fans in England will not accept a 6pm kick off.
You just cant get there easily from work.

In Europe it is 7 pm which is more acceptable.

If you look at the Group games ALL nine British home matches were at
2005 and all away at 1900 CET

So do ITV4 or ESPN have Fulham?

ESPN has Fulham.

Matchday Six

Wednesday 16th December:

FC Basel v Fulham ESPN 6pm
Sparta Prague v FC Copenhagen 8:05pm

Thursday 17th December :

Rapid Vienna v Celtic ITV4 6pm
Steaua Bucharest v FC Twente ITV4 8:05pm
Everton v Bate FIVE 8:05pm
Genoa v Valencia ESPN 6pm
Fenerbache v FC Sheriff ESPN 8:05pm

You would think for Five having 1st choice games, they seemed to not to take advantage for MD5 and likewise for MD6.

Before this Europa League, Five would have a couple of games shown live on the same day.

I can't see next week being a problem if they wanna keep Home and Away uniterupted. Just put it on 5.25-5.55pm as Neighbours is on a Christmas break next week.

I think the difference with this matchweek is that there is a full Premier league Fixture list with a game Live on Sky on the Weds night

ITV and 5 have gone for Thursday football instead

ITV took what was left once ITV and ESPN had picked.

CL Drop-Outs as it stands:

Atletico Madrid
Wolfsburg
Bayern Munich
Marseille
Liverpool (confirmed)

Tommorow will see Barcelona/Inter/Rubin Kazan/Dynamo Kiev, Unirea Urziceni or Stuttgart and Olympiakos/Liege/Alkmaar join them.

Bayern Munich have just scored: AIS Juventus are dropping into the EL after Christmas.

Confirmed CL drop-outs:

Juventus
Wolfsburg
Marseille
Atletico Madrid
Liverpool

There's actually a wee drugs scandal involving CSKA Moscow that is being investigated by FIFA as we speak. If CSKA were to be sentenced with explusion from European compeition, Wolfburg would be promoted back into the Champions League and Besiktas would be granted a place in the Europa League.

Can't help thinking that, once the English clubs (just the Merseyside ones if Fulham don't win in Switzerland) are out of the way, Juve's games will be the next priority for the broadcasters if only because they're a "name".

Five/ITV4/ESPN must be hoping for Rubin Kazan and/or Dynamo Kiev to win tomorrow ...

Atletico are probably a bigger draw than Juve now.

...And there is still Ajax, Valencia, Hamburg, Sporting and PSV.
Even Fenerbahce has some English interest.

Indeed. Some interesting teams around. I suppose Juve have the name *historically* but, as you say, that is not all in the present.

The current deal has showed us some worthwhile games we wouldn't have got to see before, though I suspect the broadcasters here would have preferred it had Aston Villa qualified.

Just out of interest, why? They've been crap this season. Is it that they were in Chelsea's group, the Torres factor or Kun Aguero or something.

Even though Juve are a shade of what they were, I'd say their name and history carries a lot more than a team who happen to play in the same city as Real Madrid.

I'm guessing because they have quite a few players who played in England (Forlan, Reyes etc) and better exposure of Spanish football in recent years than Serie A