In the old format of the Champions League the group stage would be done going into the new, but this season we go into 2025 with 2 matchdays remaining.
Monaco vs Aston Villa
It will be a fixture between 2 sides of similar stature, but sides who have 11 places between them on the table with Aston Villa in 5th position and AS Monaco sitting in 16th position, but Unai Emery’s side will hardly have a walk in the park in this game despite a superb campaign.
Monaco are playing at home and they will be looking to make use of home ground advantage. A huge part of their success will depend on how they deal with the attacking potency of Aston Villa with the likes of Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran leading the line, Thilo Kehrer and his defence will need to be sharp and at their best for Monaco to keep them at bay.
Atletico Madrid vs Bayer Leverkusen
A battle between 2 sides who currently both occupy 2nd position in their respective leagues, so both Atletico Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen are having decent seasons even though Leverkusen are in a slightly better position in the continental competition.
Atletico still come with a bit more pedigree in Europe having had deep runs in the competition during recent years. The intrigue of this fixture is the contrasting philosophies that will try and outdo each, Diego Simeone’s defensively stout, high discipline style vs Xabi Alonso’s flamboyance and attacking flair. Florian Wirtz despite his youth is an important player for Leverkusen, Julian Alvarez will also be looking to banging in the goals for Atletico.
RB Leipzig vs Sporting CP
This is an interesting fixture in the sense that RB Leipzig have nothing left to fight for, but they could play in preventing a side – Sporting CP – that has been brilliant thus far including an impressive win over Man City.
Ruben Amorim has left Sporting, but they continue to set the pace in Portugal and maintain a good record in Europe, for Leipzig they to salvage a bit of pride after 6 losses on the trot. Will Orban as the senior defensive starlet for Leipzig will have his hand full trying to keep out arguably the form striker in Europe in Viktor Gyökeres in what will be a duel of note.
Bologna vs Dortmund
Another side out of contention for the playoffs will take on a Dortmund side that is on a new leaf at the moment after some struggles under Nuri Sahin. Italians up and comers Bologna are an interesting challenge for the German giants in a fixture that could upset the apple cart.
They are still in contention for a top 4 finish in Italy where they sit in 7th and despite their struggles in Europe they are still a tough proposition for any side. Dortmund are comfortable in 9th on the Champions League table, but they won’t want to be complacent against Bologna. Serhou Guirassy will be the danger man for Dortmund while Santiango Castro could burst into life for Bologna.
PSG vs Manchester City
Perhaps this one can be called the game of the 2 teams that have underwhelmed with high expectations on their shoulders. Man City and PSG are separated by 3 places, but both of them sit outside the top 20 when historically their pedigree demands that they be top 10 teams.
Man City for the most part seem to be past the worst of their slump and PSG are taking a different approach to success with heavy investment in structures as opposed to playing personnel. Either way this should be a good battle between 2 sides with tons of quality in their ranks. Expect Phil Foden to have a big impact on proceedings while Vitinha will marshal proceedings for PSG