The draw for the Champions League’s round of 16 was held on February 21, 2025. In this 1xBet Ireland review, we will discuss the prospects of the best squads in the most prestigious European club tournament.
Champions League 2024/25: new format
In 2024, the Champions League format changed radically. The group stage was replaced by the league phase, where 36 teams played according to the Swiss model. Each participant had 8 matches with opponents of different levels at this stage. As a result, the 8 best clubs (Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter, Atletico, Bayer, Lille, and Aston Villa) automatically advanced to the round of 16. The squads that took place from 9th to 24th competed in the playoffs for the right to join the top eight.
Several sensational events occurred during the Champions League’s February phase. Not only did the Italian trio (Juventus, Milan, Atalanta) leave the tournament, but Manchester City, which was considered one of the main favourites before the start of the season, also failed to advance.
Champions League 2024/25: draw results
The round of 16 participants were divided into 2 groups: seeded and unseeded. The first included the above-mentioned Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter, Atletico, Bayer, Lille, and Aston Villa. The second featured the winners of the play-off stage: Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Feyenoord, Borussia Dortmund, Club Brugge, PSV, Bayern, and Benfica. It is also worth mentioning that 1xBet is a proud sponsor of FC Barcelona and PSG, reinforcing its commitment to football at the highest level.
The draw resulted in 8 interesting pairs:
- PSV v Arsenal
- Real Madrid v Atletico
- Paris Saint-Germain v Liverpool
- Club Brugge v Aston Villa
- Bayern v Bayer
- Feyenoord v Inter
- Benfica v Barcelona
- Borussia Dortmund v Lille.
The current Champions League’s round of 16 will feature three big matches: the Madrid derby, the clash of the current and potential Bundesliga champions, and the struggle between the Ligue 1 and the Premier League leaders. In addition, either Club Brugge, which ranks second in the not-so-strong Belgian league, or Aston Villa, which is in the middle of the tournament standings in England, are guaranteed to play in the quarterfinals.
The first games in the round of 16 will be held on March 4-5, and we will see the return matches a week later – on March 11 and 12.
Champions League 2024/25: who will qualify from the round of 16
Shortly after the draw, the odds for teams to qualify for the quarterfinals appeared in the 1xBet football section, with Bayern, Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, Aston Villa, Inter, Liverpool, Arsenal, and Real Madrid considered the favourites in their pairs. However, the clients of the bookmaker 1xBet Ireland should be wary of the experts’ assessments in at least two pairs:
- Bayern has not beaten Bayer in their last 6 head-to-head matches
- Atletico has not lost to Real in regular time in their previous 8 head-to-head clashes.
Champions League 2024/25: 1xBet review of the long-term bets
Before the playoffs, the top three favourites for the 2024/25 Champions League were Liverpool, with 4.95 odds, followed by Barcelona and Arsenal. After the draw, the situation a bit changed:
- Real – 4.5.
- Barcelona – 5.55.
- Liverpool – 6.5.
- Arsenal – 6.55.
Real Madrid, the current trophy holder, is the favourite for this year’s edition. Barça is still second, and fourth-placed Arsenal is just 0.05 behind Liverpool, which has dropped to third.
It should be noted that of all the favourites, Liverpool got the strongest opponent in the round of 16 – French Paris Saint-Germain. At first glance, the Premier League leader should not have any particular problems, but now there is a slight decline in the team’s play. Due to the large number of matches, the players do not have time to recover. As a result, the club loses points with lower-level squads – just recall the recent draws with Aston Villa and Everton, as well as the sensational defeat in the FA Cup from Plymouth – at that time the worst team in the Championship. Meanwhile, PSG performs great and literally sweeps away opponents on its way to another Ligue 1 title.
Jason Redmond
From Gorey, Jason is the owner of Wexford Weekly. He is also a post-primary English and History teacher.
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