Potential Fiery Clashes in the Champions League Round of 16 Playoff


The group stage of the UEFA Champions League concluded with 18 matches played simultaneously on Wednesday evening. The final round saw the direct qualification of Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Atlético Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Lille, and Aston Villa to the Round of 16.  



Meanwhile, teams ranked from ninth to sixteenth will play a playoff match—determined by a draw—against teams ranked seventeenth to twenty-fourth to complete the Round of 16, which follows a knockout format.  


The playoff matches will be played on a home-and-away basis, following the traditional UEFA Champions League format, leading up to the final match.  


The draw for the Round of 16 playoff is scheduled to take place next Friday.  


The potential matchups for the playoff round are as follows:  


- Monaco or Brest vs. Paris Saint-Germain or Benfica  

- Sporting Lisbon or Club Brugge vs. Atalanta or Dortmund  

- Celtic or Manchester City vs. Real Madrid or Bayern Munich  

- Feyenoord or Juventus vs. AC Milan or PSV Eindhoven  


It is worth noting that the second-leg matches of the playoffs will be held at the stadium of the higher-ranked team from the first round. Additionally, teams from the same country or those that have already faced each other in this season’s competition may also be drawn against each other.  


The first-leg matches are scheduled to take place on February 11 and 12, while the return legs will be played on February 18 and 19.