CL Knockout Phase Preview
After a dramatic final day of the League Phase this Wednesday, the draw has been made and the fixtures for the CL knockout phase playoffs are ready! There’s an all-French H2H between Monaco and PSG to look forward to, while Benfica and CL experts Real Madrid clash in one of the other match-ups. Let’s take a look at the upcoming CL action!
The Match-ups
While the top 8 of the League Phase are qualified for the Round of 16 automatically, the teams in 9-24 will have to play a two-legged knockout phase playoff. In this round, the two teams in 9th and 10th were drawn against the two teams in 23rd and 24th, the 11th and 12th against the 21st and 22nd and so on. There were no restrictions regarding countries in this draw, and neither were there any rules against teams having already met each other in the tournament drawing each other again.
We ended up having one fixture between teams from the same country, namely Monaco – PSG, with the Parisians away in the first leg. Below, you can see all the match-ups, with the first match listed below and the favourites in the first matches marked in bold:
Monaco – PSG
Club Brugge – Atlético Madrid
Benfica – Real Madrid
Olimpiacos – Bayer Leverkusen
Galatasaray – Juventus
Bodo – Inter
Qarabag – Newcastle
Borussia Dortmund – Atalanta
We’ll take a closer look at the odds on a few of these match-up in this article, starting with the aforementioned all-French showdown between Monaco and PSG:
Monaco – PSG
Defending champions PSG are clear favourites at 1.55 in the 1st leg of the knockout phase playoff away at Monaco, unsurprisingly considering how much the latter having struggled in the French league this season. Monaco are currently 10th in the league and have worryingly only won 5 of their 10 league matches at home. Monaco actually beat PSG in this fixture in the league in November, despite getting a red card towards the end, with Minamino scoring the winner.
At 5.60 to win at home, the hosts aren’t expected to grab another win here against their league and CL rivals, but there might be a good bet here on the goal markets, considering their goal difference in their 10 home matches so far this season is at 18-18.
Both teams to score here is at 1.62, with over 3.5 goals at 2.45.
To qualify:
The winner of this match-up will face Barcelona or Chelsea in the Round of 16.
Benfica – Real Madrid
Real Madrid have the perfect opportunity to exact revenge on the team that forced them into the knockout phase playoffs by beating them in the final match of the League Phase. Benfica’s 4-2 win included one of the most memorable moments of the tournament this season, as their Ukrainian goalkeeper scored with a header from a free-kick deep into stoppage time to secure them 24th spot, leapfrogging Marseille on goal difference, forcing the French team out of the tournament.
Mourinho’s side are hoping to repeat the feat in this two-legged fixture, and they’ll play host to the Spaniards in the 1st leg on the 17th of February. The visitors are early favourites at 1.90, with a win for the home side at 3.70.
Both teams to score here is at 1.52, with over 3.5 goals at 2.42.
To qualify:
Benfica: 4.80
Real Madrid: 1.18
The winner of this match-up will face Sporting or Man City in the Round of 16.
Borussia Dortmund – Atalanta
The Italians are underdogs in the opening leg at 3.35, but favourites to squeeze through to the Round of 16 after the return leg. The 2023/24 champions have lost Gasperini to Roma since they won the big final against Bayer Leverkusen, and it will be Raffaele Palladino’s task to start a new European adventure for them this season. Having arrived in November (after Ivan Juric only having lasted a few months), he’ll have to balance the task of keeping up with the top teams in Italy (they are currently 7th) and progressing in Europe.
Borussia Dortmund are 2nd in the league in Germany, 8 points behind league leader Bayern Munich, and with an odds of 80.00 to win the CL this season, it’s hard to see them progressing very far in the tournament here, especially considering Arsenal or Bayern Munich are waiting for them if they should win.
Both teams to score here is at 1.60, with over 3.5 goals at 2.85.
To qualify:
Borussia Dortmund: 2.35
Atalanta: 1.60
The winner of this match-up will face Arsenal or Bayern Munich in the Round of 16.
Tournament Predictions
Ahead of the knockout phase playoff matches, here are the tournament favourites:
Arsenal – 4.50
Bayern Munich – 5.60
Barcelona – 8.00
Man City – 8.00
PSG – 9.00
Liverpool – 11.00
Real Madrid – 13.00
Are you predicting any big upsets in the upcoming fixtures?
Please note that the odds might have changed since the writing and/or publication of this article.
Last updated: 30.01.26
