Bayer Leverkusen vs Arsenal live updates: Champions League team news, predictions and more – The Athletic

One of the principles of the Champions League knockout rounds in the old format was that you couldn’t face a team that you had already played in the group stage.

That sometimes happened deeper into the tournament, but the draw was arranged so you didn’t get these repeats straight away. Now, though, repeated games seem to be a desired feature of the new structure.

Of the eight round-of-16 ties, three of them have already occurred in the league phase: Manchester City vs Real Madrid, Galatasaray vs Liverpool, and… Newcastle United vs Barcelona. And there might be more on the way.

And all of this is absolutely a product of the format. There have been as many repeat fixtures in a season and a half of the new format as there were in 32 before that.

Does it matter? Well, variety is part of the point of European football. Its appeal lies in seeing teams that don’t usually play each other play each other.

This, of course, was predictable. Indeed, it might even have been half the point, to increase the chances of the same, big, money-spinning fixtures happening again.

But these repeat fixtures are making for an unsatisfying tournament all around.