Rating Champions League area: PSG, Barcelona or Liverpool?

Welcome to Yr 4 of the Champions League rankings, the place I … rank all of the groups within the Champions League.

This 12 months is notable for one particular purpose: Manchester Metropolis should not No. 1. In truth, they are not even near being No. 1. Metropolis have been the favorites to win the European Cup in six of the previous seven seasons, they usually had been second favorites the one time they weren’t No. 1.

With out Metropolis main the best way, it is far more open on the high than it has been in a very long time. 5 golf equipment could make affordable instances that they need to be the favorites to win all of it — after which there are additionally a bunch of others that would win all of it, too.

– Ogden: UCL storylines to look at this season
– O’Hanlon: Worst 2025 summer time transfers, from Cunha to Isak
– UCL draw response: Should-see video games, best/hardest paths

So, who’s No. 1 in our rankings? Who’s No. 36? And the place does everybody land in between? Let’s get to the listing.

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36. Kairat Almaty

The easternmost workforce to ever play within the Champions League bought right here with shootout victories in qualifying towards Celtic and Slovan Bratislava. Per Transfermarkt, all the squad maintains a switch worth of about €12.53 million. That is roughly the identical as the typical participant on Benfica, who in response to the betting odds, have a couple of 1-in-200 probability of successful this match.

35. FK Qarabag

Primarily based on tough estimates, I am fairly positive Qarabag can be favored to beat Kairat by round a full aim on a impartial area. That is roughly the identical hole as between, say, Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.

34. Pafos

Bear in mind Mislav Orsic? Solely a choose few of you’ll, however he got here on within the knockouts towards Spain at Euro 2020, scored and assisted on a aim, and despatched the sport to further time. He had a hat trick as Dinamo Zagreb eradicated Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham from the 2021 Europa League, and he scored the winner in Zagreb’s Champions League victory towards Chelsea in 2022 in what ended up being Thomas Tuchel’s final recreation answerable for the English membership. Orsic scored the successful aim within the third-place match on the 2022 World Cup, with Southampton signing him a month later for €5.75 million.

Anyway, he is 32 and performs for Pafos now.

33. Slavia Prague

Jindrich Trpisovsky has been teaching Slavia Prague since 2017. That looks like ceaselessly within the present high-stakes, low-patience managerial setting — and it provides me a chance to say that Man Roux managed Auxerre from 1964 to 2000. Sure, you learn that proper.

32. Bodø/Glimt

Enjoying their matches close to the Arctic Circle, Bodo absolutely can have an outsize home-field benefit. Enjoying at house will primarily be equal to including Lionel Messi to the workforce. Or will the Bodo impact add as much as, say, Messi and Dwight McNeil? Messi and Cody Gakpo? Messi and Bukayo Saka?

31. F.C. København

Over the previous 22 seasons, Copenhagen have received the Danish league 13 occasions, they usually’ve by no means completed decrease than third. Over that stretch, their main scorer has scored 20-plus objectives simply twice. Final season, they received the league, and their main scorers had been Mohamed Elyounoussi and Jordan Larsson — with eight objectives apiece.

30. Olympiacos

They may have had a enjoyable, kind of old-school creator-scorer pairing with Mehdi Taremi on mortgage from Inter Milan and Rémy Cabella on mortgage from Lille. Sadly, and surprisingly, Cabella did not make the Champions League squad listing.

29. Membership Brugge

The Belgians have one of many youngest groups within the match, they usually made it to the spherical of 16 final season, however they misplaced three gamers to €20 million or extra switch charges over the summer time — holding midfielder Ardon Jashari to AC Milan, fullback Maxim De Cuyper to Brighton, winger Chemsdine Talbi to Sunderland — they usually’ve merely been fairly good as a substitute of dominant to start out the home season. It appears to be like like a little bit of a rebuilding 12 months in Brugge.

28. Union St.-Gilloise

They, too, misplaced a bunch of gamers (together with their high two forwards, Franjo Ivanovic and Mohamed Amoura, plus midfielder Noah Sadiki) to bigger groups over the summer time, when USG made three of their 5 greatest transfers ever. But when there’s anybody who is aware of lose a few stars and really make the workforce higher, it is the identical individuals who personal Brighton. Not like Brugge, this workforce has been totally dominant to this point this season.

27. Ajax Amsterdam

You would possibly see the identify “Ajax” right here and assume, “Oh, a enjoyable darkish horse!” Permit me to advise you to not try this. The Membership Elo scores are an opponent-, score-, and location-adjusted system that awards or docks a workforce factors after each match it performs primarily based on these components. Ajax’s Elo ranking is the fifth worst of any workforce within the match — above solely Kairat, Qarabag, Pafos and Bodo/Glimt.

26. PSV Eindhoven

I can not imagine I am saying this, however can they … exchange Luuk de Jong? PSV had been an Eredivisie superteam the previous two years with De Jong beginning up high. At age 35, he has continued his reverse-career development and now performs for FC Porto. They’re nonetheless high of the desk within the Eredivisie; they simply have not been almost as dominant as they have been in years previous.

26. Sporting CP

They cannot be pretty much as good with out aim scorer Viktor Gyökeres and supervisor Ruben Amorim for a full season … proper? Sporting have a ton of defensive expertise, so the query is will their new heart ahead, 27-year-old Luis Suárez, who was final seen enjoying for Almeria in Spain’s second division, have an identical late-career breakout to Gyökeres and all of the sudden be ok to play at a Champions League degree?

25. Benfica

On pure expertise, perhaps they need to be a little bit larger. Outdoors of Álvaro Carreras going to Actual Madrid and Ángel Di María going again to Argentina, they have not had as many main departures as they normally do every offseason. They had been each bit pretty much as good as Sporting final season after they made the spherical of 16 within the Champions League.

As with Sporting, the most important query is whether or not they’ll have the ability to rating sufficient objectives.

24. Marseille

They introduced in 15 new gamers this offseason to a workforce that completed second in Ligue 1. In some methods, that made sense. They drastically outperformed their underlying numbers, plus they now needed to cope with Champions League matches. However that is rather a lot of turnover, and the restricted proof we have now means that Roberto De Zerbi is a superb tactician and an terrible supervisor of human beings.

Total, it simply appears that there is a ton of draw back with this group.

22. Villarreal

It is a very stable workforce that does not have a ton of upside. In its 2-0 loss to Atlético Madrid over the weekend, Nicolas Pépé and Georges Mikautadze began up high. That is a enjoyable pairing — one post-hype Arsenal prospect, one Ligue 1 artistic darling — however they mixed for one shot between them.

21. AS Monaco

Folarin Balogun and Mika Biereth is a enjoyable striker pairing that I imagine will catch some opponents off guard as a result of so few groups on this competitors play that manner. There is a bunch of expertise elsewhere, too: winger Maghnes Akliouche, midfielder Lamine Camara and fullback Vanderson might be off to a lot greater golf equipment subsequent summer time.

It is stunning that none of them was off to a much bigger membership this summer time. Possibly a few guys will make the leap, and this group will mount a run to the spherical of 16 and even the quarters.

20. Galatasaray

Monaco and Galatasaray are the 2 groups I am most frightened I am underrating. Galatasaray have Victor Osimhen and Leroy Sané. These aren’t two over-the-hill stars like we have seen gathered in Istanbul beforehand — no, Osimhen is just 26 and Sane is 29. These are higher gamers than these on any workforce we have already talked about, or on any of the golf equipment we’re about to say.

19. Eintracht Frankfurt

It is a bummer that we by no means bought to see the Hugo Ekitike and Omar Marmoush model of this workforce give it a go within the Champions League. However, properly, the truth that this workforce had each of these gamers final season goes a great distance towards explaining why they’re within the competitors this season. Frankfurt created the second-most anticipated objectives of anybody within the Bundesliga final season, however had been center of the pack for anticipated objectives conceded.

If they will maintain the prepare shifting with out Marmoush and Ekitike, Dino Toppmoller goes to make some huge cash to educate another person subsequent summer time.

18. Bayer Leverkusen

It has been just about the worst begin to the season possible for the post-Xabi Alonso period, however Leverkusen dominated Frankfurt final Friday regardless of enjoying a person down for a 3rd of the match. There’s nonetheless a ton of uncertainty right here given all the roster churn and the truth that they’re already on their second coach of the season, so it appears proper that they are ranked nearly immediately in the midst of the sector.

17. Atalanta

Roughly, I might say PSV right down to Atalanta is one giant tier of groups that might be disillusioned if they do not make it out of the league section, however whose progress past that’s largely depending on what sort of knockout spherical draw they get. Atalanta simply missed a bye final season by ending ninth within the league section, after which they had been upset by Membership Brugge within the knockout section playoffs.

Now they’re with out Gian Piero Gasperini on the sidelines, so I doubt they’re going to end as excessive once more this season, however they may make it a spherical additional and it would not be a shock.

16. Borussia Dortmund

If Serhou Guirassy stays top-of-the-line strikers on the planet, they’re going to be a tricky out. Nevertheless it continues to be surprising how low Dortmund’s ceiling is each season. They don’t have any actual potential super-prospects, only a bunch of respectable dudes of their mid-20s or later.

15. Tottenham Hotspur

There’s an opportunity Spurs should be in that earlier tier from PSV to Atalanta, as I am nonetheless probably not positive what to make of them. They performed Metropolis properly on the highway however then bought thrashed by Bournemouth at house. (It was solely 1-0, however they bought outshot 20-5.) That is sandwiched by two 3-0 wins towards two of the worst groups within the league (West Ham and Burnley), the place they scored almost double the mixed anticipated objectives they created.

Might Thomas Frank’s chaos-embracing strategy catch continental golf equipment off guard? Will Spurs battle to generate possibilities towards organized opponents? Each of these issues is likely to be true.

14. Athletic Membership

They’ve conceded simply two anticipated objectives whole throughout their first 4 matches, they usually have one of the best xG differential of anybody in LaLiga. We should not learn an excessive amount of right into a four-game stretch, however we additionally should not ignore it. Bilbao are going to be terrible to play towards at house, they’re one of many higher defensive sides on the planet, they usually’ve nonetheless bought the Williams brothers, Nico and Iñaki, enjoying up high. The upside may not be there, however their workforce makes extra sense than anybody behind them in these rankings.

13. Juventus

Juve’s 4-3 win over Inter this previous weekend was extra like a 1-1 during which each time somebody kicked a ball, it discovered the highest nook. However I liked the Loïs Openda signing; he might be an improve on the one-dimensional Dusan Vlahovic. Jonathan David is an efficient participant who provides you a little bit little bit of the whole lot, and Juve have a few younger, artistic contributors, Kenan Yildiz and Francisco Conceição, who may escape this season.

On the very least, they’re extra fascinating than they had been final season, when Thiago Motta appeared as if he’d instituted a teamwide rule the place they wanted to finish 500 passes earlier than trying a shot.

12. Newcastle United

I used to be tempted to place them even larger on this rating, however I did not as a result of I am not satisfied Eddie Howe nonetheless is aware of handle enjoying in two main competitions directly or that the bodily, let’s-make-this-a-track-meet manner they play is sustainable throughout a full season. On the similar time, what number of groups on the planet are doing this to Liverpool after they’re down a person for all the second half?

The Barcelona recreation at St. James’s Park this Thursday needs to be unbelievable. However their success in Europe will probably be decided by what they’re in a position to do after they go away from house.

11. Atlético Madrid

Had been I basing this simply on this season, they’d be considerably decrease. They’ve one win from 4 video games and a middling xG differential. I additionally assume the membership underestimated how essential Rodrigo De Paul was to the whole lot it did. Just about each passing transfer that ended up within the opposition penalty space concerned him making a key cross sooner or later within the possession.

The way in which they attacked final season was like a precision-passing offense within the NFL; it required excellent timing and understanding from a number of gamers. That is likely to be laborious to regain, however Diego Simeone nearly at all times has this workforce competing at a excessive degree on this competitors by late winter or early spring.

10. Internazionale

Whereas Atlético have at the least gotten youthful lately, Inter Milan proceed to be the oldest workforce within the Champions League, season after season. They misplaced supervisor Simone Inzaghi and the one constant contributor they added was Manuel Akanji, who’s 30 years outdated. In addition they have not been nice in Serie A to this point. However they did beat Bayern Munich and Barcelona final season, and though they bought embarrassed, they nonetheless did make the Champions League ultimate.

Slotting them in at 10 remains to be a major downgrade from the place they had been final season.

9. Napoli

This is able to be the final workforce that I’d be shocked to see win the Champions League. I believe Napoli, Juventus, Atléti and Newcastle all have a shot, however it might take some luck and a positive draw to succeed in the highest. Napoli had been good final season, however I am not shopping for Scott McTominay as an affect participant within the Champions League till I see it. Additionally not shopping for Rasmus Højlund as an affect participant within the Champions League. Plus, Romelu Lukaku is out till December. Additionally, they’re so outdated!

I do know Antonio Conte does not have an ideal observe file within the Champions League, however that is going to be essentially the most organized workforce within the competitors, and Napoli will do no matter it takes to get essentially the most out of no matter is left in Kevin De Bruyne’s legs.

8. Chelsea

I believe there is a clear high eight this season and a transparent high 5. Regardless of successful the Membership World Cup and attending to put on a patch that claims they’re one of the best workforce on the planet, we nonetheless must see them do it towards the precise finest groups on the planet. My considerations: The defensive expertise is not on the degree of any of the groups above them and it is nonetheless unclear if João Pedro and Estêvão are Champions League-winning-quality gamers proper now.

This week’s match towards Bayern Munich ought to inform us rather a lot.

7. Manchester Metropolis

You could not actually ask for a greater stress check of Metropolis’s issues with defending in transition than a house date with Conte’s Napoli on Matchday 1. The expertise on the membership, too, simply does not actually examine to the Metropolis sides who had been favored to win this competitors season after season. However at the same time as I can quibble in regards to the likes of Nico O’Reilly, Abdukodir Khusanov and Jérémy Doku, this workforce nonetheless has three guys who’ve received the Premier League Participant of the Yr award and one other who’s the reigning Ballon d’Or winner. Oh, they usually have one of the best coach of the twenty first century, too.

6. Bayern Munich

Beneath Vincent Kompany, Bayern have develop into the brand new PSG, the place I am nearly going to disregard their Bundesliga efficiency till they get matched up towards a number of the different finest groups on the planet. They are going to wreck the German league: We all know that. Kompany’s entire strategy is premised on having extra expertise than everybody else — and that is not a difficulty at house.

While you add within the long-term accidents to Alphonso Davies and Jamal Musiala, I do not assume this workforce is any higher than they had been final season. That mentioned, they nonetheless make use of loads of actually good soccer gamers. With a entrance three of Luis Díaz, Harry Kane and Michael Olise, they will beat anybody.

5. Actual Madrid

That is the place the tier of real title contenders begins. Would you be shocked if any of those groups had been the consensus finest workforce on the planet come the tip of the season?

Madrid are fifth right here as a result of they had been considerably worse than any of those different 4 groups final season, and we nonetheless simply don’t know how it should look towards more durable opposition than they’ve performed up to now. They’re controlling the ball and suffocating video games in a manner we have by no means actually seen from them earlier than; it has led to a bunch of matches the place their opponents do not create something and whereas Madrid additionally does not create a ton of nice possibilities, it has been sufficient for his or her world-class attackers to generate objectives.

Put one other manner, they’re excellent in LaLiga, Alonso nonetheless hasn’t discovered use Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jude Bellingham nonetheless hasn’t performed a single minute.

4. Arsenal

The Gunners’ depth is ridiculous at this level. They go two deep (at the least) at each place on the sector, and early season accidents to Bukayo Saka and Martin Ødegaard have not thrown the fan base into an existential disaster like they might’ve final season. That is one of the best defensive workforce on the planet, and that provides them a better ground than some other workforce. If the set items are clicking, they will generate possibilities just like the three groups forward of them — and set piece objectives depend the identical as open play ones.

This workforce may simply win the Champions League, they usually may simply win the Premier League. There’s barely something separating the highest 4 groups on this listing. The one purpose I’ve Arsenal fourth: Their attackers aren’t pretty much as good as those on the three groups ranked above them on this listing.

3. Liverpool

The beginning of the season has — by some means — gone each as poorly as anybody may’ve anticipated and in addition to anybody may’ve hoped.

We’ll begin with the unhealthy: Florian Wirtz has zero objectives and assists. Mohamed Salah has tried 4 non-penalty photographs — whole. They wanted objectives within the 83rd minute or later to win all 4 of their Premier League matches up to now. And regardless of assembling arguably extra attacking expertise than any workforce on the planet, they’ve generated simply the eighth-most non-penalty anticipated objectives in their very own league.

Now for the nice: Alexander Isak nonetheless hasn’t performed a single minute. The protection has nonetheless been fairly good regardless of a way more imbalanced personnel distribution than final season. They’ve already received two of their hardest fixtures of the season: house towards Arsenal and away at Newcastle. Regardless of probably not enjoying properly at any level this season, they’re greater favorites to win the league than they had been a month in the past.

In fact, these are Champions League rankings, however in case you assume Liverpool will proceed to play this poorly, then there’s loads of cash to be received by betting on that taking place. Nevertheless, given how good this workforce was final season and all of the upheaval and tragedy on the membership this previous summer time, we must always anticipate them to start out rolling sooner or later.

In the event that they combine Isak, Wirtz begins contributing and Salah begins averaging greater than a shot per recreation — all issues that appear fairly prone to occur — then this workforce goes to be scary.

2. Barcelona

This workforce was superior final season, and their finest participant (Lamine Yamal) is eighteen years outdated. Maybe there’s some regression within the playing cards for 37-year-old Robert Lewandowski and for Raphinha after a profession 12 months, however that might be offset by the equally probably outcomes of Pedri, Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsí and Alejandro Balde all getting higher.

Additionally, I simply assume it is a good factor that Barcelona are succeeding. Not as a result of the game is best when Barcelona are good or no matter nonsense Joan Laporta would possibly let you know, however moderately: Hansi Flick’s workforce embraces most threat and it is far more enjoyable to look at than the conservative, managed strategy that has taken excessive of the Premier League.

One early warning signal, although: Lamine Yamal is taking some actually unhealthy photographs. As I wrote about final season, Yamal wasn’t going to develop into the precise finest participant on the planet till he discovered a option to take a better quantity of high-quality photographs. He has actually upped the amount, however, uh…

That is 19 photographs in three video games for 0.82 xG. The Europe-wide common on a given shot is about 0.12 xG; Yamal is down at … 0.04.

1. Paris Saint-Germain

The betting markets have PSG bunched up with the earlier 4 groups by way of title odds, however they need to be the stand-alone favourite. They had been one of the best workforce on the planet by the tip of final season, they usually had been the fifth-youngest workforce within the competitors. Most of their finest gamers are solely going to get higher.

They’re an elite attacking workforce. They’re an elite defensive workforce. And so they’re an elite urgent workforce. “Can Ousmane Dembélé keep wholesome once more?” is their main query mark, however the surrounding expertise is so good that they may simply fade a Dembele damage so long as he is again by the knockout spherical.

Till it is confirmed in any other case, that is one of the best — and most balanced — workforce on the planet.