CL Knockout Play-off Preview
The new format of European football is still yet to convince everyone but the playoff rounds have certainly given us a number of interesting ties. In this new system, only the top eight are guaranteed progress to the next round with the following sixteen teams going into playoffs to gain the right to face off against those top eight.
A few of Europe’s top teams didn’t quite get to grips with this new format it seems, with giants such as PSG, Juventus, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Bayern Munch and AC Milan among the teams forced into this play-off round. The matches will be played in a home and away format with the first legs played on the 11th & 12th with the return legs on the 18th and 19th of February.
The most intriguing clash is the one between the two most recent winners of the tournament, with Real Madrid and Manchester City being drawn together unexpectedly at this stage. One of the previous two winners will therefore be eliminated long before they might have thought it possible. The first couple of rounds of the new format might not have grabbed the attention of many but the final two rounds certainly did as it became clear just how many teams were flirting with not making it through.
Some of the match-ups present a clear favourite to qualify, with the likes of PSG, Bayern Munich and AC Milan all comfortable winners on paper. Others such as Sporting vs Dortmund and Manchester City vs Real Madrid look to be far harder to predict.
The full draw is as follows:
Brest vs PSG
Juventus vs PSV
Manchester City vs Real Madrid
Sporting vs Dortmund
Club Brugge vs Atalanta
Monaco vs Benfica
Celtic vs Bayern Munich
Feyenoord vs AC Milan
Juventus vs PSV
Allianz Stadium, Tuesday 11th @ 21:00
These two have already met this campaign with the Dutch team making the journey to Turin on matchday one in September. It was a relatively straightforward 3-1 win for the home side that day but there is a lot more at stake this time around. Juventus ended their group stage campaign with a loss to Benfica, meaning they ended in 20th place whereas PSV managed to finish in 14th. Juventus struggled to find a cutting edge in many of their matches, something which has been symptomatic of their season overall. The Italian giants have struggled for form in recent weeks with only three wins in the last ten at the time of writing but, nevertheless, they will go into this match as favourites to qualify.
PSV will look back on their defeat at the hands of Juventus as one of their worst performances of the season, so manager Peter Bosz will certainly be hoping to avoid a repeat of that. Since then though, they have improved markedly and ended the group stage with a 3-2 win over Liverpool, albeit a weakened version of the English team. They have done well in recent weeks and are still in with a shout in the Dutch Cup as well as European competition, and their league form has seen them maintain their place at the top of the Eredivisie.
Manchester City vs Real Madrid
Etihad Stadium, Tuesday 11th @ 21:00
There is no doubt that both these two sides are cursing the fact that they didn’t perform better in the group stages of the competition. Neither will have wanted to come up against this opponent and both face a big task to get through to the next rounds. The fact that one of the previous two winners will be eliminated at this stage is a big shock and it is largely the English side who are to blame, as they are the ones who needed a win on the last day to make it through to this stage, albeit finishing down in 22nd place. They appear to be out of the title race in England so this is their last chance to end this season as a successful team.
Real Madrid lost their first three matches in the group stage but three wins after that meant they made it all the way up to eleventh. They will not fear facing an English team as they have knocked a team from England out thirteen times in the knockout stages and will be confident that they are coming into some form at the business end of the season. City will definitely need to win this first leg of the tie since it is at home.
Sporting vs Dortmund
Estadio Jose Alvalade, Tuesday 11th @ 21:00
Sporting scraped through, finishing in 23rd spot with eleven points after their form this season took a tumble following the departure of manager Ruben Amorim. They ended their group campaign with a 1-1 draw against Bologna, a much needed point that secured qualification. On their day they have proven that they can beat anyone and Dortmund will be viewed as a difficult but not impossible task. Sporting won the last tie between these two in November 2021 and they will certainly need to win the first leg, at home, to take something to Dortmund that they can try to protect.
Dortmund have had a poor season overall and have changed manager with Niko Kovac in charge now. This match will be only his second in the dugout and will hope that he can inspire his team to a result, or at least to avoid defeat. A few new players have been added to the ranks and, on their day, Dortmund have the attacking talent to unlock the best of teams. Their run to the final last year showed just what they are capable of if they get their act together. This tie is likely to be a battle between two in-form strikers in Gyökeres of Sporting and Dortmund’s Guirassy.
Feyenoord vs AC Milan
De Kuip, Wednesday 12th @ 21:00
Not many would have predicted that Feyenoord would have qualified to this stage of the competition. This is even more the case when looking at their recent league form, which sees them down in fifth place in the Dutch top division. That being said, they managed to beat Bayern and draw with Man City in the group stage of the CL, so they have proved that, on their day, they can compete with the best. The result on the final day of the group stage will certainly have been a concern though, they were on the end of a 6-1 thrashing dished out by Lille.
AC Milan will be somewhat disappointed to be in this position as they were in the top eight heading into the last gameday. However, defeat at the hands of GNK Dinamo saw them drop down to thirteenth and they must now take their chances in the knockout stage. Worryingly, AC Milan are winless in their last four matches against Dutch opposition but they will nevertheless go into this tie as firm favourites to qualify, especially if they manage to get something out of the first leg in Holland.
Last Updated: 07.02.2025
