The Champions League is back

It's the start of the knockout stage, with the headline match being the meeting between European football's aristocrat -- the 13-time winners Real Madrid -- and an upstart in Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), which is looking to be continental champion for the first time.

A look at that match and the three other first-leg games in the last 16 this week:

TODAY

Paris Saint-Germain vs Real Madrid

Paris Saint-Germain's dream of winning a first Champions League title faces a potentially rude awakening against 13-time champions Real Madrid.

PSG have struggled all season against teams that play quickly on the counterattack and Madrid are arguably the best around at swift transition play. However, those attacks rely heavily on star forward Karim Benzema's movement, touch and awareness. He is in the Madrid squad but doubtful to play as he works his way back from a hamstring injury that has kept him out since last month. Madrid have not reached the final since completing a straight hat-trick of European Cups in 2018. Now Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti travels to face the side he once coached with only one win in four matches in all competitions.

Without Benzema it will be more difficult, and a back-up option is resorting to perennially out-of-favour Gareth Bale. Once the world's most expensive player, the forward only made his first appearance since August when starting in the 0-0 draw at Villarreal last Saturday. But PSG are probably even more reliant on Kylian Mbappe than Madrid are on Benzema, and Mbappe's injury-time winner last Friday against Rennes glossed over another laborious performance. Even without Benzema, Madrid have the edge in midfield with Luka Modric and Casemiro.

Sporting vs Manchester City

A welcome draw -- on paper, at least -- and a fully fit and in-form squad, Manchester City are in great shape at the start of the knockout stage as the English club goes in search of that elusive Champions League title. City's only loss in all competitions since October 30 -- a run of 20 games -- was 2-1 at Leipzig in the final match in the Champions League group stage, which meant little since Pep Guardiola's team was already assured of advancing.

Indeed, more significant than the loss was the red card shown to Kyle Walker that will deprive Guardiola of his first-choice right back for both legs against Sporting and the first leg of the quarterfinals should City progress. Joao Cancelo, rested like Kevin De Bruyne and Aymeric Laporte in the Premier League at the weekend, will fill in at right back with Oleksandr Zinchenko set to cover on the left.

City, the beaten finalists last season, are heavy favourites against Portuguese opponents who are making only their second appearance in the knockout stage, and first since 2008-09. On that occasion, Sporting were humiliated 12-1 on aggregate by Bayern Munich. Sporting were in the competition's group stage this season for the first time since 2017-18 and finished ahead of Borussia Dortmund to advance. The Portuguese champions relinquished a two-goal lead in a heated 2-2 draw at domestic league leaders Porto last Friday, staying six points off the top.