, Feb. 16 -- Now the jeopardy really kicks in for the Champions League with a title chase, pride and hard cash on the line.

At least four former European champions will be among eight teams eliminated when the new knockout playoff round ends this week.

Real Madrid or Manchester City, Bayern Munich or Celtic, AC Milan or Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven or Juventus.

Their European seasons will be over in February before even reaching the round of 16 that teams like Madrid and Man City, who meet in their second-leg game Wednesday, have come to expect.

Indeed, City coach Pep Guardiola has never failed in 16 seasons of coaching - four at Barcelona, three at Bayern and nine in Manchester - to take his team to the round of 16 in the Champions Le...