Courtois Confident Real Madrid Will Face Manchester City in the Round of 16

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Real Madrid goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, is confident that his team will face Manchester City in the round of 16 of the 2025/26 Champions League, even before the draw has begun.

“We all know that our opponent will be Manchester City in the draw on Friday. Everyone knows that,” Courtois said, as quoted by journalist Fabrizio Romano on Thursday.

Real Madrid secured their place in the round of 16 after defeating Benfica in the playoff round. Los Blancos advanced with an aggregate score of 3-1, resulting from a 1-0 victory in the first leg in Portugal and a 2-0 victory at home.

Real Madrid will officially find out their opponent in the round of 16 draw, which is scheduled to take place on Friday (27/2) local time.

According to the competition rules, Madrid could face two teams that finished in the top eight of the league phase, namely Sporting CP in seventh place or Manchester City in eighth place.

Courtois’ statement is not without reason. Since the 2021/22 season, Real Madrid and Manchester City have almost always been drawn against each other in the Champions League, whether in the group stage, league phase, or knockout stage.

During this period, the two European giants have faced each other nine times, with eight meetings taking place in the knockout stage.

The most recent meeting between the two was in the league phase this season, where Manchester City managed to defeat Real Madrid with a score of 2-1.

Out of the nine matches since 2021-2022, Madrid recorded four wins, two of which were achieved after extra time, while City recorded three wins and two other matches ended in a draw.

In addition to the potential duel between Real Madrid and Manchester City, the draw could also bring together Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona or Chelsea, as well as the possibility of a duel between two German clubs, Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen.