UEFA Champions League Matchday 8 – YOU DECIDE: Will Man City crash out? Play-offs for Real Madrid? Perfect Liverpool?
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Published 28/01/2025 at 16:44 GMT
The 2024/25 UEFA Champions League heads into the final matchday of its league phase with the fates of many sides still undecided. Manchester City could be staring at a shock early exit, while Real Madrid will be hoping to avoid the play-offs. Meanwhile, there's an England-Scotland showdown as Aston Villa host Celtic and Liverpool look to extend their perfect record in the competition.
Hargreaves: Man City are in a tough spot but will find a way to make CL play-off
Video credit: TNT Sports
It all comes down to this.
The new UEFA Champions League format has brought a new level of unpredictability, entertainment and surprise results, teeing up a thrilling final day of league phase action.
Of the 36 teams who began in the group, 27 will still have something to play for on matchday eight, with more potential big shocks on the cards.
With that in mind, before you settle down to take in the action from all 18 matches - with every kick exclusively live on TNT Sports and discovery+ on Wednesday - we are asking what you think as far as the biggest final day stories are concerned.
Cast your votes below!
Will Man City make the play-offs?
Back in August, you’d have been hard-pressed to find anyone not predicting that Pep Guardiola’s four-in-a row Premier League winners would be among the front-runners to win the Champions League this season.
Things started brightly for the 2023 winners, too. A draw with Inter Milan was followed by 4-0 and 5-0 wins against Slovan Bratislava and Sparta Prague respectively, putting them in prime position for a top-eight finish.
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But things turned sour for Guardiola’s side on multiple fronts, and a run of just one win in 13 across all competitions included a 4-1 setback against Sporting CP, a 3-3 draw against Feyenoord – having led 3-0, no less – and a 2-0 loss at Juventus.
Facing Paris Saint-Germain in a must-win clash last time out, City conspired to throw away a 2-0 lead to lose 4-2 - leaving their chances of even making the play-offs in peril.
Sitting two points outside the top 24, they now must beat Club Brugge at Etihad Stadium to advance.
With their erratic form, as well as the in-form Belgians’ own desire to seal a play-off spot, the outcome is by no means a given.
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Highlights: Man City on UCL brink after astonishing PSG comeback
Video credit: TNT Sports
Is it top eight or play-offs for Real Madrid?
It’s almost not the Champions League without Real Madrid, but the holders and 15-time winners haven’t had it all their own way either with this new format.
Kicking off with a 3-1 win over Stuttgart, the champions were then stunned in Lille, suffering a 1-0 loss.
Victory over Borussia Dortmund steadied the ship again but defeats to AC Milan and Liverpool had fans thinking the unthinkable.
Wins over Atalanta and Red Bull Salzburg have guaranteed a play-off place, but Carlo Ancelloti and co. will want to avoid the extra games by beating surprise package Brest and sneak into the top eight - but they need other results to go their way too.
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Highlights: Mbappe and Vinicius Junior strike as Real Madrid seal vital three points
Video credit: TNT Sports
Can Villa get back into the top eight?
Another fabled ‘Battle of Britain’ is on the cards as Aston Villa take on Celtic.
Unai Emery led Villa to the promised land of Champions League football for the first time since the early 1980s in historic fashion - and set out to make clear that they aren’t in the competition simply to make up the numbers.
A comfortable 3-0 opening day victory over Young Boys was followed up with an incredible 1-0 home win over six-time winners Bayern Munich, before Villa soared to the top of the table after beating Bologna 2-0, making it three wins from three without conceding a goal.
However, a defeat to Brugge and a controversial 0-0 draw with Juventus brought them back down to earth.
A thrilling 3-2 win over RB Leipzig set them back on track before a 1-0 loss to Monaco left them outside the top eight ahead of the Celtic showdown, where victory could catapult them back into those coveted spots.
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Ross Barkley of Aston Villa celebrates scoring his team's third goal during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD6 match between RB Leipzig and Aston Villa FC at Leipzig Stadium on December 10, 2024 in Leipzig, Germany. (Photo by Aston Villa/G
Image credit: Getty Images
...or will Celtic steal a march on English rivals?
However, the Scottish giants also have an ambition of a top-eight finish after a remarkable campaign of their own.
Brendan Rodgers’ side started with a bang, hammering Slovan Bratislava 5-1, but were then hit with a dose of reality when they were smashed 7-1 by Borussia Dortmund.
A hard-fought 0-0 draw at Atalanta was followed by an impressive 3-1 win over Leipzig.
Draws against Club Brugge and Dinamo Zagreb meant that victory over Young Boys was enough to secure a play-off spot.
But The Bhoys have loftier aims, and know that victory at Villa Park would actually give them a slim chance of booking their place in the last 16 by way of a top-eight finish.
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Highlights: Stunning Celtic display downs Leipzig on memorable night at Parkhead
Video credit: TNT Sports
Will Liverpool finish perfect?
Things are far less stressful at Anfield.
Arne Slot’s rampant Reds have so far made light work of the competition and positioned themselves as clear favourites to lift the trophy in Munich in May.
Kicking off their campaign with a 3-1 win over Milan at San Siro, wins over Bologna and Leipzig followed ahead of a potentially tough match against Leverkusen, former hero Xabi Alonso, and all the narrative and emotion surrounding this reunion.
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Unflustered, Liverpool comfortably won 4-0 before a 2-0 win over their regular Champions League nemesis Real Madrid.
Victories over Girona and Lille made it seven from seven and heading into the final match, only Barcelona can overtake them at the top of the standings.
Liverpool will keep Barca at bay and finish the league phase perfect should ex-Feyenoord boss Slot get one over former rivals PSV Eindhoven.
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Mohamed Salah of Liverpool celebrates after scoring his team's first goal during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD7 match between Liverpool FC and LOSC Lille at Anfield on January 21, 2025 in Liverpool, England.
Image credit: Getty Images
How far can Brest go?
The biggest surprise in the competition so far has been the performance of Ligue 1 side Brest, who host Real Madrid already assured of a play-off spot.
The French side briefly even found themselves topping the table after two matches following a triumph over Sturm Graz and a 4-0 thumping of Salzburg.
An impressive draw with Leverkusen was followed by a 2-1 win away to Sparta Prague, meaning a first defeat, against Barcelona no less, wasn’t as damaging as it could have been.
Victory over PSV came next and despite defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk, Brest welcome Real Madrid knowing a win could even mean a top-eight finish – something even their most passionate supporters wouldn’t have envisioned back at the start of the tournament.
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Highlights: Brest go top with big win in Salzburg
Video credit: TNT Sports
How to watch Matchday 8 in the UEFA Champions League
All 18 matches will be available to watch live on TNT Sports and discovery+ on Wednesday, January 29.
TNT Sports will bring you extensive coverage from all the important matches and you can see all the goals as they fly in, with all 18 matches played concurrently on a bumper night of fixtures.
TNT Sports is available across all major TV platforms, offering a line-up of up to four TV channels (TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports 2, TNT Sports 3, TNT Sports 4), and up to six digital or red-button channels (TNT Sports 5 to 10), and TNT Sports Ultimate plus TNT Sports Box Office HD.
The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination.
You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media. To find out where your local establishments showing TNT Sports are, use our Pub Finder Tool.
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