UEFA Champions League Knockout Phase Playoffs: Schedule, Live Stream, How to Watch UCL on Paramount+

The UEFA Champions League’s decisive phase begins this week as 16 teams battle for the eight remaining round-of-16 berths in the new-look knockout phase playoffs. Headlining the first-leg fixtures are Real Madrid and reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain, each eager to move past league-phase stumbles and reassert their continental pedigree.

Real Madrid enter the playoffs smarting from a stunning 4-2 defeat to Benfica on Matchday 8, a result that cost them an automatic top-eight finish. Under recently installed coach Álvaro Arbeloa, the Spanish giants still find themselves tagged as tie favorites, primarily because Kylian Mbappé has found another gear—his 39 goals in all competitions this season make him Europe’s most consistent scorer. Madrid’s cause was further buoyed at the weekend by the return of Trent Alexander-Arnold, who made his first start since December in Saturday’s 4-1 defeat of Real Sociedad. The right-back’s creativity and distribution offer Arbeloa a timely tactical valve, even if the squad’s broader injury issues remain unresolved.

Paris Saint-Germain, meanwhile, travel to familiar foes Monaco as they look to defend the trophy they captured last May. Four wins from eight league-phase outings showcased flashes of last season’s brilliance, yet defeats to Bayern Munich and Sporting Lisbon, plus draws against Athletic Club and Newcastle United, revealed vulnerabilities. Still, Luis Enrique’s star-studded roster remains the bookmakers’ choice to progress.

Inter, previous UCL winners, must also navigate the playoffs, while former finalists Atlético Madrid and Borussia Dortmund lie in wait for the league phase’s top eight, a group that includes Arsenal and Bayern. First-time knockout participants Qarabag and Bodo/Glimt headline the underdog narrative: the Azerbaijani champions host Newcastle United in Baku after a 2,500-mile trek for the English side, and the Norwegian upstarts welcome Inter to the Arctic, hoping their earlier group-stage heroics—a 3-1 defeat of Manchester City for Glimt, a 2-2 draw with Chelsea for Qarabag—portend another surprise.

Juventus’ path runs through Istanbul, where Weston McKennie’s career-best campaign (seven goals, four assists in all competitions) has transformed the U.S. international from utility man to attacking focal point under Luciano Spalletti. A tie against goal-shy Galatasaray offers the Bianconeri a realistic route to their deepest Champions League run in four years.

Every match is available live on Paramount+, with select games and studio programming on CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports Golazo Network. Tuesday’s coverage kicks off on Golazo with Juventus-Galatasaray, continues on CBS Sports Network with Dortmund-Atalanta, and concludes with whip-around Golazo Show coverage of the late slate. Post-match reaction arrives via UEFA Champions League Today, followed by fresh editions of The Champions Club and Scoreline.

The quest for European supremacy resumes this week; by the time the second legs wrap, only eight clubs will remain in pursuit of the trophy.