Manchester City and Real Madrid, the most recent UEFA Champions League winners, are set to face off in the knockout playoffs following Friday’s draw announcement. The 2023 title holders, Manchester City, will host the opening leg on February 11, while the 2024 champions, Real Madrid, will play the return leg on February 18.
The winner of this two-leg clash will advance to the Round of 16, where they will compete against either Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen, both of whom are ranked in the top eight of the restructured 36-team league format.
This marks the fourth straight season in which Manchester City and Real Madrid have encountered each other in the Champions League knockout stage.
For context, the tournament format recently underwent changes. Teams finishing between 9th and 24th in the standings now enter a two-leg knockout playoff round. Real Madrid secured 11th place, while Manchester City narrowly qualified in 22nd. As a result, Pep Guardiola’s squad was aware they would be facing either Madrid or 12th-placed Bayern Munich.
Meanwhile, Bayern Munich is set to play against 21st-ranked Celtic in the playoffs.
UEFA Champions League Knockout Playoff Fixtures:
- Club Brugge vs Atalanta
- Sporting vs Borussia Dortmund
- Manchester City vs Real Madrid
- Celtic vs Bayern Munich
- Juventus vs PSV Eindhoven
- Feyenoord vs AC Milan
- Brest vs Paris Saint-Germain
- AS Monaco vs Benfica
Additionally, the UEFA Round of 16 draw is scheduled for February 21. The revised knockout structure permits teams from the same country to meet before the quarterfinals, a change from previous regulations. In this phase, Paris Saint-Germain will compete against Brest, and Monaco will face Benfica.
