Real Madrid against Manchester City in the Champions League is the accidental blockbuster of the new knockout playoffs round that starts Tuesday. The past two title winners surprisingly finished mid-table in the new 36-team standings format that ended in January.

Manchester City and Real Madrid meeting in the Champions League has become synonymous with the competition. While both always have ambitions of winning the entire thing, these two teams have already met 12 times in Champions League play with five of those meetings coming in the knockout stage.

The champions of England Manchester City will take on the kings of Europe in Real Madrid for the fourth consecutive season in the Champions League.