All of those possibilities can happen this season and now we have seen that Real Madrid will face Manchester City in the play-off round. Many people regret this meeting because it is considered too early for a big match like that to happen in the play-off round. But we all can't do anything because the draw says so. Also as you said, after they play in the play-off round, there are many possibilities for big matches to happen again in the round of 16 later. I mean a match like the meeting between Real Madrid and Manchester City could happen later.
It reminds me of the last Champions League playoffs, when City and Real also met quite early and there was also a lot of talk about how they met too early and that the winner of this pair would eventually become the champion. Obviously, it has always been very difficult to compete with Real, now little has changed, and although it seems that Real is not so strong now, they will always remain the favorites to win the Champions League.
Real Madrid remains a candidate for the trophy, so any team that will play against Real Madrid will certainly make the team not have a good chance of winning. Although indeed, I also recognize that Manchester City will also make their best efforts, but basically Manchester City is also still in a difficult situation at this time. But yes, if Manchester City really make good preparations for this play off round, then it is still possible for Manchester City to take revenge to get rid of Real Madrid. Because basically Real Madrid also still does not fully have a stable performance, so Real Madrid has a gap to be defeated, moreover there are two legs to be played.
Are we saying we should overlook the efforts Barcelona and Liverpool has done so far in the champions league and focus on Madrid and Manchester City. One thing I believe about competitive tournaments like this is that things can change and the usual syndrome becomes a thing of the past.
So far Liverpool has shown some level of strength both in their domestic league and in the champions league competition. Despite seeing the inconsistency in Madrid we still believe they are the best candidate for the trophy. I think after the playoffs we will know which team will qualify for the round of 16. Till Madrid qualify for the round of 16 they remain one of the least teams to win the trophy to me.