Champions League 2024-25: Real Madrid's potential opponents in their charge to final

Los Blancos finished 11th in the competition’s league phase.

With two victories at the beginning of 2025, Real Madrid improved on their inconsistent 2024–2025 UEFA Champions League season’s start.

With 36 clubs placed in an expanded league table, the competition’s new league-phase format has left the reigning champions to struggle.

Prior to crucial January wins against RB Salzburg and Stade Brest, Carlo Ancelotti’s club were in danger of a surprise first-phase exit after three wins from their first six games.

Despite their late comeback, Real Madrid will now compete for a position in the knockout stages (Round of 16) of the Champions League via the playoffs.

Which team can Real Madrid play in the Champions League Round of 16 playoffs?

As clubs from 9th to 24th place advance for the playoffs, only the top eight clubs automatically advance to the Round of 16. Real Madrid came in at number eleven in the UCL league standing.

Since the teams ranked ninth through sixteenth are seeded for the playoff draw and are scheduled for their second leg match at home, Los Blancos do have an edge.

Clubs who are paired next to them in the draw, (Real Madrid who are 11th and Bayern Munich who are 12th) are paired against the teams in 21st (Celtic) and 22nd (Manchester City).

This means the Los Blancos could face either Celtic or Man City in the competition’s playoffs.

Which team Real Madrid can face in the last 16 and beyond?

Teams can more clearly plan out who they will be facing because the draw is predetermined from the Round of 16 onward all the way to the final.

City rivals Atletico Madrid and German side Bayer Leverkusen are Real Madrid’s probable Round of 16 opponents prior to the draw.

Feyenoord, Arsenal, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus, and PSV Eindhoven are the six possible teams that could advance to the quarterfinals.

Real Madrid may face any of the 12 teams on the “other side” of the draw in the semifinals and finals, including PSG, Barcelona, and Premier League leaders Liverpool.

Additionally, a matchup with AS Monaco, Brest, Benfica, Sporting CP, Atalanta, Lille, Borussia Dortmund, and Aston Villa could occur.

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