UEFA Champions League expert predictions, picks for playoffs: Will PSG and Real Madrid be title contenders?

The road to Wembley begins anew on Tuesday as the UEFA Champions League’s knockout-phase playoffs open with eight first-leg ties, and two of Europe’s headline acts—Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain—step into the spotlight carrying very different burdens of proof.

Real Madrid’s campaign resumes where it last left off: against Benfica. The Spanish giants’ 4-2 loss in the league-phase finale cost them a top-eight seed, reduced them to ten men and even featured a goal from the Portuguese club’s goalkeeper. With Trent Alexander-Arnold now fit and Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior in rhythm, Carlo Ancelotti’s side view the two-legged rematch as an early-season correction rather than a mere formality.

Across the continent, reigning champions PSG open their title defense in an all-Ligue 1 affair with Monaco. Luis Enrique’s squad—winners of four of their last eight in all competitions—have slipped to second domestically and surrendered a top-eight UCL berth, intensifying scrutiny on the competition’s first-ever treble holders. Monaco, 21st in the final league-phase table, arrive as heavy underdogs yet with nothing to lose.

CBS Sports experts are unanimous on one point: PSG remain championship material.

“Sure, they may not be at their best at this exact moment, but the shine of their historic treble has not actually worn off,” staff writer Pardeep Cattry said. “The knockout-phase playoff tie against Monaco offers a great chance for them to reset.”

James Benge echoed the sentiment: “There is no reason to think that they don’t at least belong among the top three favorites to win the Champions League.”

Francesco Porzio went further, declaring the Parisians “finally back at their usual level,” while Chuck Booth warned the field: “If PSG are able to get through this round and get healthier as a squad, look out.”

The panel was less certain about Madrid’s prospects. While the talent is undeniable, the up-and-down nature of their season leaves the 15-time winners outside the unanimous contender tier—at least for now.

Elsewhere, the experts see upset potential. Juventus, improved under Luciano Spalletti yet defensively vulnerable, were tagged by multiple analysts as a candidate to fall to Galatasaray, whose strike pairing of Victor Osimhen and Mauro Icardi has combined for 30 goals across all competitions. Inter must travel to frozen Norway to meet Bodo/Glimt, the same side that recently stunned Manchester City, while Atalanta and Borussia Dortmund face off in a tie CBS Sports’ Chuck Booth labeled “one of the toughest matchups in the entire knockout phase.”

Club Brugge, disappointing in the league phase, still earned a date with an Atletico Madrid side reeling from a 3-0 loss to Rayo Vallecano. Qarabag, meanwhile, hope the 5,000-mile round trip to Baku and fixture congestion will catch up to a depleted Newcastle United.

Bracket positioning—and perhaps a trip to London—awaits the survivors. The CBS Sports Bracket Challenge is open until the Round of 16 draw, offering fans a chance to test their prognostication against the network’s studio team.

For now, the focus is on the playoffs, where PSG and Real Madrid aim to remind Europe why their names perennially sit atop every short list of contenders.