Real Madrid are 11th in the Champions League, having won 3-0 away to Brest and have moved up several places in the table. However, as they did not finish in the top eight, they will have to play the round of 32, an extra round. Behind Carlo Ancelotti's team in 12th place are Bayern Munich, who beat Slovan Bratislava 3-1. They therefore go into the draw together and their opponents will be Manchester City (21st) or Celtic (22nd).

The draw will take place this Friday, January 31, from 12 noon. If they face Manchester City, it would be the fourth time in five years that chance has brought Pep Guardiola's men together with the Merengues. The only season that breaks the streak is 2020/2021. They have shared passage to the next round, on two occasions each team. However, on the other occasion that they have faced each other in a knockout round, in the 2015/2016 season, the winner was Real Madrid. In addition, they have faced each other in the 2012/2013 group stage, with one victory for the Madrid players and one draw.

Regarding the other possible rival, Celtic, the team from the Spanish capital has faced the Scottish team on two occasions, both played over two legs. The first was in the quarter-finals of the 1979/1980 campaign, in which 'Los Blancos' gave them a 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabéu that helped them come back from 2-0 in Glasgow. The second meeting was in the group stage of 2022. They faced each other in the first and last matchdays, with Real Madrid thrashings in both (0-3 and 5-1).