Home of football statistics and historyEngland’s quartet of representatives in the 2024/25 Champions League have all progressed to the knockout stage of the competition.
Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa secured an automatic berth in the last-16, while Manchester City must navigate a knockout round play-off to join them.
Online bookmakers believe English clubs will be hard to beat this season, with Liverpool, Arsenal and Man City featuring among the top six teams in the outright betting.
Given the manner of their performances during the league phase, plenty of punters will use the 1XBET free credit promotion to back Liverpool to lift the prestigious trophy.
However, the draw for the last-16 could have a major impact on their chances of emerging victorious at the Allianz Arena in Munich on May 31.
Read on as we look at the draw for the knockout round play-off and last-16, before assessing whether the Premier League teams will make further progress.
Champions League 2024/25 – Knockout round-play-off draw
- Brest vs Paris Saint-Germain
- Manchester City vs Real Madrid
- Monaco vs Benfica
- Celtic vs Bayern Munich
- Club Brugge vs Atalanta
- Juventus vs PSV Eindhoven
- Sporting CP vs Borussia Dortmund
- Feyenoord vs AC Milan
The ties are scheduled for February 11/12 & 18/19.
Champions League 2024/25 – Last-16 draw
- Brest or Paris Saint-Germain vs Liverpool or Barcelona
- Monaco or Benfica vs Liverpool or Barcelona
- Club Brugge or Atalanta vs Lille or Aston Villa
- Sporting CP or Borussia Dortmund vs Lille or Aston Villa
- Celtic or Bayern Munich vs Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen
- Manchester City or Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen
- Juventus or PSV Eindhoven vs Arsenal or Inter Milan
- Feyenoord or AC Milan vs Arsenal or Inter Milan
The ties are scheduled for March 4/5 & 11/12.
Big guns lie in wait for Premier League quartet
The revamped format for the Champions League undoubtedly cracked up the jeopardy levels during the opening phase, ensuring most teams still had something to play for in the final match.
It also produced several surprises, most notably with ante-post favourites Man City only just sneaking into the knockout round play-off after beating Club Brugge.
Their reward for their underwhelming performances is a blockbuster tie against Real Madrid, who also threw in some dodgy results in the opening phase.
With the winners of the tie facing either Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen in the last-16, their potential route to the quarter-finals is fraught with danger.
Liverpool will fancy their chances of making further progress after landing in what looks to be a fairly favourable section of draw.
Monaco, Benfica or Brest are possible last-16 opponents and they would be overwhelming favourites to breeze past them without too much trouble.
However, they could also be paired with Paris Saint-Germain in the last-16. They showcased their credentials with a stunning comeback against Man City on Matchday 7.
Arsenal’s possible last-16 opponents are teams who boast plenty of European pedigree, but who would be underdogs if they are paired with the English side.
Juventus, PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord and AC Milan all have the ability to cause problems, but the Gunners will expect to progress to the quarter-finals.
Villa’s reward for finishing in the top eight of the league phase is a last-16 tie against Club Brugge, Atalanta, Sporting CP or Borussia Dortmund.
Serie A side Atalanta would likely be the most troublesome opponents given the form they showed during the opening stage of the competition.
Villa will not fear anyone having also produced several impressive results and they could be a good bet to make it through to the quarter-finals.
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