Champions League 2024/25 predictions: Round of 16 first legs | OneFootball

It's been a Champions League campaign of novelty thus far, but the start of the knockout phase represents a return to familiarity.

The all-new league phase and play-off round had its plaudits and critics, although there was an overall sense of improvement from the stale four-team group stages despite the excess of games.

We've now arrived at the round of 16 and the proper starting point for the Champions League knockouts. Last month's draw mapped out every remaining team's route to Munich, and there are some belting ties to enjoy over the next couple of weeks.

Here's how 90min projects the first legs of the upcoming round of 16 ties to play out.

Tuesday 4 March

Arsenal take on PSV for the third season in a row / Dean Mouhtaropoulos/GettyImages

The round kicks off with a fixture we saw in the league phase, and Aston Villa are out for revenge when they visit Bruges. Club Brugge edged the previous duel 1-0 after Tyrone Mings was sent off for handling a goal kick, and the Belgian side have since embarked on a memorable continental campaign.

Nicky Hayen is proving himself to be quite the tactician as his Brugge side upset the odds in the play-offs by beating Europa League holders Atalanta in both legs.

Villa's defeat in Bruges was a rare downer amid a stellar Champions League campaign thus far, and they qualified automatically for the round of 16.

Lille had struggled to lose games during the first half of the season, but they've suffered a few defeats over the past month ahead of their tussle with Borussia Dortmund. The French side visit Signal Iduna Park on Tuesday night as they face a BVB outfit which is starting to settle under new manager Niko Kovac.

Arsenal barely broke a sweat during the second half of the league phase, but the last few weeks have been a slog for the Gunners in the absence of multiple attacking options. Nothing is coming easy for this team, and they'll have to toil against a PSV Eindhoven side that very rarely suffers at the Philips Stadion.

The standout tie on Tuesday arrives from the Spanish capital as Real Madrid host Atletico, which sees the hosts' superstar forwards duel a rough and rugged Diego Simeone-led outfit. The two clubs are facing off for the first time in the Champions League since 2017, having met in two finals previously.

The pair played out a 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu in La Liga last month.

Wednesday 4 March

Liverpool visit the Parc des Princes on Wednesday night / Molly Darlington/Copa/GettyImages

Feyenoord are heading back to San Siro after beating Milan in the play-offs, but they'll first welcome Inter to De Kuip in their round of 16 tie. The Dutch side have struggled domestically this term and are now being led by Robin van Persie following the dismissal of Brian Priske.

They were unfavoured against the Rossoneri and benefitted from Theo Hernandez's red card in the second leg, but De Kuip is far from a simple trip and Inter have manifested vulnerability in Serie A this term.

The second one-nation tie of the round sees Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen face Bayern Munich. Allianz Arena plays host to Wednesday's first leg where Bayern are aiming to secure their first win over a Xabi Alonso-led Leverkusen side in seven meetings.

Vincent Kompany's side scraped through their play-off with Celtic, but heritage and prestige matters during the latter stages of this competition.

Benfica and Barcelona played out one of the most thrilling Champions League matches of recent memory last month, and we're in for a treat if either of their upcoming duels are half as good as their league phase barnstormer. Barca ran out 5-4 victors in Lisbon and return to the Portuguese capital for the first leg of their last 16 tie.

The round of 16 draw doubtlessly didn't disappoint, with the one-nation affairs doubtlessly intriguing. However, the standout tie of the round sees a purring Paris Saint-Germain outfit face an imperious Liverpool team. The Premier League leaders topped the league phase table off the back of seven successive wins in the competition, while PSG initially stuttered in Luis Enrique's second year at the helm but haven't missed a beat in 2025.

They're scoring goals at a frightening rate and are blessed with some of France's most delightful attacking talent, but an inevitable Liverpool side will be their biggest test of the season by a comfortable margin.