This year's knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League begins with a unique and exciting playoff round.

For teams such as Real Madrid and Manchester City, it's a precarious position to be in. Not only do you have to play a tough opponent over two legs, but you'll also have to play extra games in order to advance.

Our B/R Football writing staff of Leo Collis and Nick Akerman took stock of all eight matchups and provided their predictions for the round.

Disagree with their takes? Submit yours now in the comments section of the B/R app!

Brest vs. Paris Saint-Germain

An all-French affair will see Paris Saint-Germain taking on Brest, a clash between the teams that finished 15th and 18th in the League Phase, respectively.

Helpfully, we already have an idea of how this matchup could shake out based on their encounters in Ligue 1 this season.

Brest will host PSG in the first leg as they begin their bid for an unexpected place in the round of 16. The last time the Les Pirates welcomed Les Parisiens in league action, they succumbed to a 5-2 defeat.

In the fixture in the French capital back in September, it was a similar story, although a 3-1 defeat for Brest looked a little bit better on paper.

In 42 meetings since 1979, PSG have 26 wins, while Brest has managed a paltry four. In 2025, Les Parisens are top of the league, while Les Pirates are 22 points back in eighth.

Meanwhile, PSG's Ousmane Dembélé is on a sensational run of form, scoring 11 in his last six league games and four in his last two European appearances.

They say anything can happen in cup competitions, and the Brest faithful will no doubt make the home clash a raucous occasion, but this one seems pretty cut and dry.

Prediction: PSG will head to the round of 16 after victories in both legs.

-Leo Collis

Sporting vs. Borussia Dortmund

Sporting's season can be cut into two distinct moments.

There's the Ruben Amorim bit, where beating Manchester City had them on top of the world, and there's the bit that has happened after he left for Manchester United. The Portuguese side scraped into the playoff phase and now face opponents that have largely used the Champions League as a welcome outlet away from a difficult Bundesliga season.

Dortmund are 11th in Germany but finished just one point away from automatic qualification in the Champions League table and will feel slightly frustrated to be in this position. Both teams have put up inconsistent form in Europe and are going through transitional phases, meaning victory would be an important next step.

There's no doubt who the match winners are on each side. Viktor Gyökeres is the deadliest striker in Europe right now and must add to his ridiculous haul–28 and counting across the Portuguese League and UCL–if Sporting are going to put up a fight. Dortmund have a pivotal weapon of their own in the shape of Serhou Guirassy, whose nine goals puts him alongside Robert Lewandowski as the competition's top scorer this season.

Niko Kovač is less than a couple of weeks into the Dortmund job and will be eager to instantly make his mark. BVB are the better side, even if an Amorim-led Sporting looked like they could do real damage in this competition. I think this will be quite comfortable for the Germans when it's all said and done.

Prediction: Dortmund advance.

-Nick Akerman

Juventus vs. PSV Eindhoven

Juventus have lost only four games all season across all competitions, making them a formidable foe for PSV Eindhoven.

PSV did finish well above the Old Lady in the League Phase, but appearances can be deceiving. That gap from 14th to 20th was by a matter of two points, with the Eredivisie side managing to pick up just one more victory than their upcoming Italian opponents.

Of the Dutch side's two losses in the opening stage, one result sticks out: a 3-1 defeat to Juventus on Matchday 1.

Granted, that was at the Allianz Stadium, and September feels like a lifetime ago, but it certainly feels significant.

PSV's victories came over Girona, Shakhtar Donetsk, Crvena zvezda, and a second-string Liverpool side. None of those teams, aside from table-toppers Liverpool, made it to the knockout playoffs.

Juventus, meanwhile, got a 2-0 home victory over Manchester City among their eight League Phase fixtures. The Citizens are far below their formidable best, but it's still a notable win that PSV can't really match.

The addition of Randal Kolo Muani has also given the Old Lady a new dimension, with the 26-year-old grabbing five goals in just three appearances after making a loan switch from PSG. This gives the Italian side the edge in what will still be a competitive matchup.

Prediction: It'll be close, and PSV might earn a draw at home, but Juventus will remain in the competition.

-Leo Collis

Manchester City vs. Real Madrid

This is an extremely difficult tie to call because both teams have varied in quality so dramatically throughout the season. However, one piece of logic usually stands taller than the rest: don't bet against Real Madrid in the Champions League.

Los Blancos are the competition's kings. An 11th-placed finish in the league table doesn't change the notion that they are incredibly tough to beat across two legs. If this was the Man City of the last few years you'd probably pick them, but Pep Guardiola's side continue to struggle in ways we just haven't seen from his teams over the years.

The huge gap between City's midfield and defence should play into Madrid's hands. We've seen countless teams punish the English champions by operating at speed and moving the ball quickly after winning it back. Madrid have arguably the world's best in transition, with Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappé able to break forwards in a flash.

Even the things City usually do well without thinking, such as keeping possession and building pressure through recycling the ball, just hasn't happened as much as it usually does. Pep needs to come up with a way of getting Erling Haaland into games more as his influence has dropped off massively in terms of bringing his teammates into play.

This one is there for the taking, but City's season keeps getting worse and it would be an odd time to suggest Madrid will allow them a reprieve.

Prediction: Madrid to advance.

-Nick Akerman

Club Brugge vs. Atalanta

Club Brugge scraped into the knockout playoffs by the skin of their teeth, grabbing the 24th and final knockout spot despite a 3-1 defeat to Manchester City on the dramatic final day of the League Phase.

Victories over Sturm Graz, Aston Villa and Sporting CP helped seal that path to progression, while points against Celtic and Juventus turned out to be extremely valuable.

But up next is an Atalanta side that narrowly missed qualifying for the round of 16 automatically. The Serie A entertainers drew 2-2 with Barcelona on the final League Phase matchday after coming back from 2-0 down. One goal was all that stopped them from grabbing sixth place and putting their feet up in midweek.

The one mark against La Dea is that their four League Phase victories came against teams that didn't even make the knockout playoffs. But their only loss came against Real Madrid, and they held Arsenal and the Blaugrana to a point apiece.

In the end, this one doesn't need overthinking.

Prediction: Atalanta will score a bag full on their way to the last 16.

-Leo Collis

Celtic vs. Bayern Munich

Two teams that rarely taste defeat domestically, yet feel pretty unmatched.

Celtic have put together a decent set of Champions League results by their standards and only suffered two defeats en route to finishing 21st. One has to ask, though, how being so tough to beat only yielded 12 points in eight games.

Brendan Rodgers' side dominated plenty of games but were only able to secure wins against a handful of the competition's poorest sides. They were also destroyed 7-1 in Dortmund and conceded four away to Aston Villa, teams that Bayern would expect to beat across two legs. As harsh as it sounds, the guts and glory approach can only serve Celtic well up until a point. That point is now.

Bayern's ridiculous array of talent should have fun, particularly in the second leg away from a booming Celtic Park. The sheer pace and skill of Jamal Musiala, Michael Olise and Leroy Sané would trouble any side in the world, and that's before you consider Harry Kane's presence. Even though the prolific English striker often provides the finishing touch, it's his link-up play and progressive passing that often gets Bayern going.

I fully expect Celtic to bring the energy and have the directness to cause the Germans some issues. Ultimately, there's just too much of a gap in squad depth and killer instinct to pick them to advance.

Prediction: Bayern to reach the next round.

-Nick Akerman

Monaco vs. Benfica

This is perhaps the toughest matchup to call in the knockout playoff.

Monaco and Benfica finished 17th and 16th in the League Phase, respectfully, with an identical record of four wins, one draw and three defeats. Benfica's superior goal difference was what enabled them to finish higher and have a second-leg home game.

The Eagles got headline-making wins against Atletico Madrid and Juventus in the opening stage. But, as well as toppling Crvena zvezda on Matchday 1, they also earned a 3-2 win over Monaco.

Les Rouges et Blanc secured an impressive victory against Barcelona to kick off the League Phase and got a notable victory over Aston Villa. They also beat Crvena zvezda and Bologna.

Both have toppled giants and both performed admirably in the League Phase. Even the meeting between them in that stage of the competition was separated by a fine margin. Seriously, this thing is on a knife-edge.

Prediction: A home win for each, and extra time to settle it. Benfica will narrowly edge progression thanks to the Estádio da Luz cauldron.

-Leo Collis

Feyenoord vs. Milan

Oh, this one is set up for drama.

Santi Gimenez has only just moved from Feyenoord to Milan and has received the rare opportunity of immediately sticking it to his former employers. Both teams are well off the pace domestically and prone to conceding plenty of goals, so this has lowkey potential to be the most entertaining tie of the round.

Gimenez was Feyenoord's top scorer before his January switch. He netted his first Milan goal off the bench in last weekend's win over Empoli and, alongside fellow newcomer Joao Felix, brings considerable firepower to a team that has lacked a prolific scorer this season (despite the best efforts of Christian Pulisic). He's exactly the type of player who would have caused Milan issues, capable of popping up out of nowhere, so his presence in red and black does impact this one.

Feyenoord are at their best when their midfielders play with freedom. We've seen the likes of Quenten Timber control matches, and Antoni Milambo skip around the pitch neatly adding attacking threat to the balance. The battle against Tijjani Reijnders and Youssouf Fofana will go a long way to defining which team makes it through. In a battle of small margins, I would always opt for the side with Gimenez, a striker whose quality just needs a moment to shine through.

Prediction: Milan to progress…just.

-Nick Akerman