Champions League Playoff Round Predictions - 11/02/2024

Brest 0-3 PSG

Just ten days after their previous meeting in Ligue 1, Brest and PSG face off against each other, but this time with a lot more at stake, with a place in the Champions League Round of 16 on the line.

PSG, after a nervy time in the League Phase, have become one of the favourites for the competition, with Luis Enrique's side in scintillating form, having not lost since November, winning 12 and drawing 4, scoring 36 goals, including 8 in their last two Champions League games against Manchester City and Stuttgart.

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Brest have been the surprise package in the Champions League this season, and were close to qualifying straight to the Round of 16 with 4 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss in their first six games, but back-to-back losses after the Christmas break saw them tumble down the table.

Brest have been in decent league form as of late, winning 4 of their last 5 games, with their only loss coming at home to PSG, with the Parisians winning 5-2, which included an Ousmane Dembele hat-trick.

Juventus 3-1 PSV

Juventus have been one of the strangest teams in Europe this season, having not lost in the League until two weeks ago against Napoli, but currently sit 5th in the league and whilst they have shown some good signs this season, they fall into the category of the 'consistently inconsistent.'

PSV, after walking the Eredivisie last season, are finding things harder this season, dropping more points already this season than the whole of last campaign and their recent defensive issues will be a worry for Peter Bosz, as they've conceded 19 in their last 9 games in all competitions.

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These two teams met on Matchday 1 this season, and it was one of Juventus' better performances this season, winning 3-1 in a convincing manner at the Allianz Arena.

Juve's new striker Randal Kolo Muani has hit the ground running in Turin, scoring 5 goals in his first three games for the club, already becoming the clubs, second top goal-scorer in Serie A this season.

Sporting 2-2 Dortmund

Sporting, who had one of their best starts to the season under Ruben Amorim, both in the league and Champions League, are still trying to find their way under new management, having won just 5 games in 14 in all competitions since Amorim's departure, which has included 3 losses and a draw in 4 Champions League games.

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Dortmund, after reaching the Champions League Final last season, have been struggling all season, which has them currently sitting 11th in the Bundesliga and just 3 wins in their last 13 games, which has included 6 losses and not a single clean sheet.

Whilst both these teams struggle defensively, they have both still kept it afloat at the at the other end of the pitch, with Sporting blanking just twice this season, and Dortmund three times, whilst also being the second highest scorers in the League Phase with 22 goals.

Manchester City 2-4 Real Madrid

This fixture has been a staple of the Champions League in the past few seasons, with the teams facing each other for the fourth season in a row in the knockout stages.

Both these teams aren't what they have been for the past few seasons for multiple reasons, but for Madrid, there has been a lot of injury issues, especially in defence, with Carlo Ancelotti missing Lucas Vazquez, David Alaba, Antonio Rudiger, Eder Militao and Dani Carvajal for their trip to the Etihad.

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Despite these defensive problems, with the likelihood of midfielders playing the backline, Madrid have the attacking players, that are not only amongst the best in the world, but they have the skillsets that City have struggled against, with fast, tricky dribblers, in Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr, Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe, who have shown many times in the past, can expose City's defence.

City have the perfect striker in Erling Haaland to expose Madrid's lack of top-quality centre-backs, but they will need to shore up their defence if they are going to have a chance against Madrid, having conceded 14 goals in their last 5 Champions League games, and have been in a losing position in each of their last five games, having conceded first in four of them.