2024-25 UEFA Champions League Knockouts: Real vs City and PSG vs Brest

The 2024-25 UEFA Champions League season has been welcomed with a changed format. The group stage has been replaced by a regular season. The number of teams has increased to 36, and all teams compete in a single tournament table. At the same time, an additional phase has been introduced – the knockout stage. The top eight teams automatically qualify for the round of 16, while the teams finishing in 25th to 36th place end their season in Europe, and the teams in 9th to 24th place will compete in the knockouts.

The best-performing team in the regular season was FC Liverpool, which won its first seven matches and only suffered one defeat after securing first place. FC Barcelona finished in second place with 19 points, the same number as London’s Arsenal and Milan’s Inter. The 2nd to 4th places were divided between these teams based on the best goal difference.

The first knockout matches will be played on February 11-12. The matchups were arranged according to the positions held in the regular season. Teams finishing from 9th to 16th place were ranked and drew their opponents by lot. Most matchups were arranged according to the positions in the tournament table. The entire UEFA Champions League knockout bracket is now clear, so it’s possible to see which opponents certain pair winners might face.

Without a doubt, the match between Manchester City and Real Madrid is the most intriguing. After the last regular round, it became clear that these teams would meet in the knockouts, where City seeks revenge for last year’s painful defeat in the quarterfinals, where Real's players celebrated victory after a series of penalties. There will certainly be no shortage of exciting matchups in the knockouts, and the encounter between the French teams Brest and PSG also deserves attention. It is precisely with these two matchups that we will get to know each other better.

Real Madrid vs Manchester City

The matchup between Real and City is undoubtedly the knockout pair that will create the most intrigue. While excitement is also expected in the Sporting CP vs Borussia and Juventus vs PSV duels, the Real vs City match is the most awaited. All UEFA Champions League knockout pairs can be found on CBet.lt. Looking ahead to the clash of the last two seasons’ UEFA Champions League winners, it should be noted that both teams enter the knockouts in less than optimal form.

First, let's look at what led to Manchester City’s disastrous streak, which began at the end of October. In the EFL Cup, they suffered a 1:2 defeat against London’s Tottenham, and although it seemed that this defeat was merely an exception to the rule, time showed that it was just the calm before the storm. Before the match against Tottenham, City had yet to experience a defeat in the 2024-25 season – with 10 wins and 3 draws. After losing to Tottenham, City won only once in twelve matches.

During the inexplicable slump for City, the Manchester club lost real chances of competing for the English Premier League title, as catching up to FC Liverpool seems like too daunting a task now. At the same time, they almost fell out of the UEFA Champions League – they managed to save themselves in the last matches against Club Brugge, but now they face Real Madrid in the knockouts.

Real Madrid can take comfort in having a slightly better situation, but it’s worth acknowledging that they were quite unlucky in their knockout opponent. In the La Liga championship, Real occupies first place, while in the UEFA Champions League regular season, they finished in 11th place, just one point away from the direct path to the quarterfinals. Still, everything ultimately worked out so that in the knockouts, they must compete against one of the tournament favorites.

The biggest problem for Real right now is injuries. It is likely that some of the injured players will rejoin the team before the match against City, but currently, they are unable to play: David Alaba, Daniel Carvajal, Eder Militao, Antonio Rudiger, Jude Bellingham, Eduardo Camavinga, and Kylian Mbappe. While there are healthy players in the attack, there seem to be significant difficulties in defense.

When assessing the overall picture of the teams, the most concern lies in City’s away performances. The last two matches were lost 2:4 against PSG and 1:5 against Arsenal. With such performances, responding matches in Madrid will be extremely difficult, even with a 1 – 2 goal advantage. Although it seemed that City had gotten out of the slump, the defeat to Arsenal brings no optimism. It seems likely that Real Madrid should continue their quest to defend the title.

Brest Stade Brestois 29 vs Paris Saint-Germain

This is the only UEFA Champions League knockout pair where two teams from the same country meet. It was close to having Juventus vs AC Milan and PSV vs Feyenoord, but the draw did not match these teams. Brest and PSG are well acquainted with each other, and the Paris club is considered a strong favorite in this pair.

Brest enters the knockouts in less than ideal form – they have managed only one victory in their last four UEFA Champions League appearances. Collecting 13 points and finishing in 18th place was only possible due to a relatively successful start to the season. The situation in France isn’t much better either – 28 points after 20 matches played and only 8th place. Meanwhile, PSG has 50 points and is 10 points ahead of their nearest competitor, Olympique.

During the winter transfer window, PSG signed rising football star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who they can now register for the knockout matches according to UEFA Champions League rules. This will undoubtedly further strengthen the team’s attack and provide more opportunities in pursuit of the league title.

On February 1, Brest hosted PSG at home in Ligue 1 matches, and PSG celebrated a convincing 5:2 victory. While such a rout may not be expected in the knockouts, the Paris players are significant favorites to advance to the next stage, where they would face FC Liverpool or FC Barcelona.