The draw for the Champions League playoffs sees sides who finished between ninth and 24th go head-to-head, while they have also be given their positions in the bracket
Manchester City face a mouthwatering Champions League playoff tie against Real Madrid next month after being paired with them in the draw.
Pep Guardiola’s side will take on the Spanish giants over two legs on either February 11 or 12 and 18 or 19 after both finished outside of the top eight places in the revamped league phase.
Having been coupled with Celtic in the draw, City always knew they would be facing a tough task against either Real or Bayern Munich, with the Scottish champions being handed the meeting with the Germans.
Having finished in the top eight of the league phase, Premier League sides Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa have also each learned who the playoff opponents in their path will face as they look to take on the English trio in the last-16.
In Liverpool’s path Brest will play PSG and Monaco will take on Benfica, in Arsenal’s Feyenoord play AC Milan and PSV Eindhoven face Juventus, and in Aston Villa’s Club Brugge will play Atalanta and Sporting Lisbon will face Borussia Dortmund.
The full draw for the playoff round is: Club Brugge vs Atalanta, Sporting Lisbon vs Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City vs Real Madrid, Celtic vs Bayern Munich, Juventus vs PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord vs AC Milan, Brest vs PSG, Monaco vs Benfica.
Once those playoff round matches are concluded there will be a draw to determine who the two winners in each last eight team’s path will play in the last 16, with one of two opponents already mapped out.
Having won the first ever league phase with seven wins from their eight matches Liverpool are paired with second-placed Barcelona and cannot meet the Catalan giants until the final.
Arsenal, who finished third in the league phase, are paired with Inter Milan, while Aston Villa are paired with French side Lille after they finished eighth.
Manchester City were knocked out of the Champions League at the quarter-final stage on penalties by Real Madrid last season, but they did beat them 5-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals on the way to winning the trophy for the first time in 2023.
The February meetings will be the fourth time in the last five seasons that the pair have faced each other.
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Learn more
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle in an unbeatable new deal that saves £192 and includes 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
