Real Madrid will learn their Champions League round-of-16 opponents on Monday at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon (11 a.m. GMT). Carlo Ancelotti’s side will be the top seeds after winning Group C, and their prospective opponents include Copenhagen, PSV, Inter, RB Leipzig, Porto, PSG, and Lazio.
Real Madrid won Group C with 18 points after scoring 16 goals and allowing just seven. They are the only side, along with Manchester City, to have completed the group stages undefeated.
The eight group winners and the eight runners-up will be divided into two pots in the draw. Teams cannot be drawn against another team from the same association or against a team they faced in the Group Stage.
Real Madrid will play the first leg away from home on the 13, 14, 20, or 21 of February, with the return game at the Santiago Bernabéu on the 5, 6, 12, or 13 of March.
Real Madrid will face some difficult problems as a result of the draw. In previous years, they have played some of Europe’s top clubs en route to extended Champions League campaigns, and this season, several good teams finished second in their respective groups.
PSG is one of the clubs. Though they are not as powerful as they have been in previous years, they can provide opportunities and be quite hazardous during the transition period. They also have Kylian Mbappé, one of the world’s most dynamic players.
Meanwhile, Inter is the least probable Champions League finalists this season, PSV are on a run, and Porto created difficulty for Barcelona in two group-stage games.
Real Madrid will be seeking to maintain their historic run in the Champions League by defeating these difficult opponents. They have the team and the potential to defeat anybody, but they will need to get crucial players like Eduardo Camavinga, Vinicius Jr, Dan Carvajal, and Aurelien Tchouameni back in time for the Champions League knockouts — and ideally, they would want to have their whole squad ready for the knockouts.