The defending Champions League winner Real Madrid will take on Premier League winner Manchester City in the knockout playoff rounds as the draw was announced on Friday, January 31.
Manchester City set to face Real Madrid in Champions League 2024-25
The 2023 champions, Manchester City will host the first leg of the match at the Etihad on either February 11 or 12 and the return leg will be played at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on February 18 or 19. Real Madrid is the only team to have won the iconic trophy more than 10 times and last year they defeated Borussia Dortmund to lift their 15 European titles.
The winner over the two legs will then advance further to the round of 16, where they will either face Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen, who currently are in the top eight of the new 36-team league standings that ended Wednesday, January 29.
The teams who finished from No. 9 to 34 automatically fall into the two-leg knockout playoffs. Real Madrid finished at the eleventh spot and a win on the last matchday ensured City finish at 22nd position.
By taking the 22nd spot in the table, City knew that they would either face Bayern Munich or Real Madrid in the playoffs. Meanwhile, Munich will take on the Celtics. The draw for the round of 16 will be made on February 21 by the UEFA.
The new tennis-style knockout bracket was started from this season itself as it allows teams from the same country to face each other before the quarterfinals which was not possible with the last model that stayed for more than two decades.
Paris Saint Germain will face league rivals Brest as they play against them on Saturday, February 01 in the Ligue 1. Monaco will face Benfica.
The national derby games could have been a possibility between the Italian and Dutch sides, but it was avoided. Now, AC Milan will take on Feyenoord and Juventus will face PSV Eindhoven. Club Brugge will play Atalanta as Sporting Lisbon take on Borussia Dortmund.
Teams waiting for them in the round of 16 are Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Atletico, Leverkusen, Lille and Aston Villa.