After a long and hectic league phase, 24 clubs make it through to the next rounds, with the top eight making it straight to the Round of 16, while 16 others battle it out in a Playoff Round to finalise the last eight entrants into the Round of 16.
Some of the European heavyweights like Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain had below par performances throughout the league phase and find themselves in the Playoff Round while European minnows like Celtic, Feyenoord and Club Brugge did exceedingly well to make it past the league phase.
In this article, we’ll be looking at the preview and prediction for all the playoff round fixtures ahead of the first leg on 11th February 2025.
Two French clubs with completely different emotions. Stade Brest, in their first Champions League campaign have progressed to the knockouts while Paris Saint-Germain, after a timid start to the campaign, won three on the bounce to finish 15th in the 36-team league format.
Both clubs have already played each other in Ligue 1 twice, with the Parisians coming on top on both occasions. PSG won the home tie 3-1 early into the season while the reverse fixture which was played quite recently, Luis Enrique’s men put in a great performance during the second half to come away 5-2 victors on the night. Looking at the current Playoff Round fixtures between the two clubs, PSG should have too much quality for their fellow French club and should easily breeze past Brest into the last 16.
Prediction: Brest 1-5 Paris Saint-Germain
Both clubs had a disappointing league phase and paid the ultimate price by drawing each other. While Madrid still comfortably made the playoffs, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City were just 45 minutes away from elimination before a solid second-half against Club Brugge helped them secure qualification.
While going up against Real Madrid has always been a daunting task for any opposition, Manchester City’s recent downfall suggests it’ll be a very difficult tie for the Cityzens. Real Madrid are known for their slow starts and ability to pick up pace as soon as the knockouts start. Moreover, looking at City’s recent loss to Arsenal in the Premier League, Madrid have all the tools to take advantage of City’s sluggishness.
Prediction: Manchester City 2-4 Real Madrid
Portuguese club Sporting CP have been far from their best especially in European football since Rúben Amorim left the club to join Manchester United as their head coach. Since Amorim’s departure, Sporting lost 5-1 to Arsenal, lost 2-1 against both Club Brugge and RB Leipzig and drew their final league phase fixture against Bologna 1-1 to narrowly scrape in on goal difference.
Borussia Dortmund, on the other hand, recently sacked head coach Nuri ?ahin following poor performances. Niko Kova? has been announced as the new head coach and the change in management should result in a few favourable outcomes early on as the opposition slowly catch up to their tactics. Thus, despite both of their struggles this season, Dortmund should comfortably come out of this tie and progress to the last 16.
Prediction: Sporting CP 1-3 Borussia Dortmund
Juventus have found it difficult to convert draws into wins. Despite their tight defensive structure under Thiago Motta, the Italian giants have found goals hard to come by. They are out of the Serie A title race largely due to their inability to win games, having drawn 13 out of their 23 league games. During the UCL League Phase, Juventus scored just nine goals in their eight matches and made it into the Playoff Round thanks to their defensive structure.
Dutch club PSV, for that matter, have played a free-flowing, attacking brand of football throughout the league phase. Their unlikely win against a heavily rotated Liverpool side meant they finished 14th in the table and found Juventus as their next hurdle in the Playoff stage. Besides, the two clubs have already faced each other in the league phase with Juventus winning the tie 3-1 at home. Although Juventus have since struggled for goals, however, their solid defense should be able to carry them through at least to the last 16.
Prediction: Juventus 2-1 PSV
Despite capitulating in the second half of the final League Phase fixture against Manchester City, the Belgian club narrowly escaped elimination by securing the final playoff spot on goal difference. They’ve shown promise this season with impressive wins against Aston Villa and Sporting CP at home, which eventually helped them secure qualification.
Atalanta, on the other hand, have been playing some exciting football throughout the season but have somewhat tailed off recently, resulting in them finishing in ninth place and slipping to third in the Serie A, seven points behind leaders Inter. Looking at this tie in isolation, Atalanta should have enough firepower to see off this Playoff tie without breaking much sweat.
Prediction: Club Brugge 1-4 Atalanta
Celtic are having a fantastic season. They are currently sitting 10 points clear at the top of the Scottish league and qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League for the first time since the 2012/13 season. An impressive 3-1 win against RB Leipzig at home and a 0-0 draw away from home against Atalanta were the highlights of their rather impressive league stage journey.
For all of their attacking prowess under Vincent Kompany, the Bavarian giants have a soft underbelly and a vulnerability in their defence. Despite their five wins in the League Phase, Bayern lost away ties against Feyenoord, Barcelona and Aston Villa, and in a rather humiliating fashion against the former two. That being said, the gulf in quality between the two sets of players is huge. And over two legs, Bayern Munich should comfortably win this tie.
Prediction: Celtic 1-4 Bayern Munich
Feyenoord have been rather unpredictable this season. They rallied back from a three-goal deficit against Manchester City to snatch a draw at the Etihad Stadium while they schooled Vincent Kompany’s Bayern Munich at their own backyard with a 3-0 thumping. However, they also started their campaign with 0-4 loss at home to Bayer Leverkusen and ended their league phase with a 6-1 loss to French club Lille.
After starting their campaign with back-to-back defeats against Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen, Paulo Fonseca’s AC Milan went on a five-game winning run before Dinamo Zagreb thwarted their automatic progression hopes with a shock 2-1 victory on the final day. Like their opponents, Milan, too, have been inconsistent throughout this season both in the domestic and European front, making this a very hard to predict fixture. Thus, given Milan’s European heritage, I’d give them a slight advantage.
Prediction: Feyenoord 3-4 AC Milan
One of the three Pot 4 teams to qualify into the knockout rounds, AS Monaco gave a good account of themselves with quality victories against the likes of Aston Villa and Barcelona. They finished the league phase with four wins and a draw, placed 17th on goal difference.
After starting their campaign with two wins in two, Bruno Lage’s SL Benfica could only manage four points in their next five games. As it turned out, they secured knockout qualification on the final day with a massive 2-0 away from home against Juventus. On paper, this should be a close match, however, Monaco have a knack of conceding self-inflicted goals this season, having already conceded ten so far. The French club’s defensive vulnerability gives Benfica the edge in this crucial Playoff Round fixture.
Prediction: AS Monaco 2-3 SL Benfica
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