The 2025-26 edition of the Champions League will be back next week when the 16 teams involved in the playoffs will take the stage across Europe, defining the remaining eight spots left ahead of the knockout phase that will kick off in March next month. There are some big teams around Europe that are shining right now, such as Arsenal and Bayern Munich, while others will try to get involved in the race to win one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world of soccer. Let’s take a look at our weekly power rankings:
1. Arsenal (–)
Mikel Arteta’s side are arguably the best team in Europe this season, and they prove it week after week. After winning all eight matches in the league phase, the Gunners can now turn their attention to the Premier League and the EFL Cup. They currently sit six points clear at the top of the table and will face Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in next month’s EFL Cup final. It finally looks like this will be their season and they have to win at least one trophy.
2. Bayern Munich (–)
If there is one team that can challenge Arsenal and Arteta that’s Bayern Munich. Vincent Kompany’s men are leading the Bundesliga standings with a solid advantage on Borussia Dortmund and players such as Harry Kane and Luis Diaz are making the difference. The English striker has already scored 38 goals in 33 games so far, showing again to be one of the best strikers around the world. Winning the Champions League would be a big step for this team and the former Tottenham striker.
3. PSG (–)
They are finally back. We were expecting them to improve drastically in the second part of the season and this is what is happening. The French giants are at the top of the Ligue 1 standings and won 5-0 against Olympique Marseille over the weekend and they are gaining their best form after a challenging first part of the season. They are reaching their best form when it counts.
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4. Barcelona (–)
The Blaugrana continue to impress and are exactly where we expected them to be at this stage of the season. Barcelona lead the LaLiga standings, sit comfortably in the top eight of the Champions League, and have reached the Copa del Rey semifinals having already lifted the Spanish Super Cup. Much like PSG, they are peaking at precisely the moment when it matters most.
5. Inter (+1)
Watch out for them. The Nerazzurri are improving a lot under Cristian Chivu and have a solid advantage on AC Milan ahead of the last stint of the 2025-26 season. They will meet Juventus on Saturday at San Siro, a key game for them considering they have struggled so far against the big teams during the current campaign. This is the next step they need to make if they want to win either domestically or in Europe.
6. Manchester City (-1)
Pep Guardiola’s side no longer look as dominant as in previous seasons, largely due to their inconsistency. The Citizens have become far more unpredictable than in years past, and that is a key factor to consider as the season approaches its decisive months. They can win against any top team around Europe, but can also potentially lose and this is not a good sign if they want to win at least one trophy before knowing if Pep Guardiola will sit on their bench in the coming years.
7. Real Madrid (–)
They seem a much better and renovated team under Alvaro Arbeloa, but I’m still not fully convinced about what they can achieve in the last months of the season. They still seem a bit affected by the disappointing start under Xabi Alonso and some players need get back at the best of their form. At the same time, they continue to have the best version of Kylian Mbappe who has already scored 38 goals in 31 matches so far in all competitions. All turmoil aside, 23 in 22 LaLiga games and 13 in seven Champions League games are impressive numbers.
8. Chelsea (–)
Life is good under new coach Liam Rosenior who was able to turn things around pretty quickly at the club as Chelsea are now in fifth place in the Premier League standings only one point behind Manchester United. They can still hope to end up in the top spots of the league and potentially also win one trophy this season.
9. Atletico Madrid (+1)
There is too much confusion at the club this season to see them competing for the top spots of both LaLiga and Champions League. The feeling is that we’re reaching the end of the Diego Simeone era and too many players are leaving and arriving every six months. They’ve just signed Ademola Lookman from Atalanta this winter, a player with a great potential who can improve a lot under the Argentinian coach, as he immediately scored in his debut against Real Betis last week.
10. Liverpool (-1)
I don’t see them among the best teams in Europe this season. They are not as good as in the past season and this probably will make the difference when the knockouts will start next March despite ending up in third place behind Arsenal and Bayern Munich in the league phase. Their chaotic loss to Manchester City is just the latest in a long line of things that have gone wrong this season.
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11. Atalanta (–)
Since Raffaele Palladino took over the club things have drastically improved. Atalanta needed a change after a disappointing start under Ivan Juric who replaced Gian Piero Gasperini in the summer 2025. They narrowly missed out on a top-eight finish in the Champions League and they will now face a playoff tie against Borussia Dortmund.
12. Juventus (+1)
This is going to be a key week for Luciano Spalletti and Juventus as the Bianconeri will meet Inter on Saturday at San Siro. A key game for their run in the Serie A standings after drawing 2-2 against Lazio over the weekend. USMNT midfielder Weston McKennie is shining under the Italian manager as he has already scored seven goals in all competitions this season. A great impact for him ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
13. Newcastle (-1)
The playoffs against Qarabag will tell us more about their potential ahead of the knockouts, but they are where we could expect them to be at this point of the season. Actually, I was hoping to see them in a much better position in the Premier League standings as they are currently in 12th place. They’ve been somewhat unlucky on both sides of the ball domestically where they’ve scored less goals than expected goals might predicted and conceded significantly more.
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14. Borussia Dortmund (–)
Despite the six-point gap with Bayern Munich they are they only team that is at least trying to keep the pace of the German leaders, but this is probably not enough.
15. Sporting CP (–)
Monday’s match against Porto will tell us much more on their hopes to win the Portuguese title this season.
16. Tottenham (–)
There is not much to say about this team. They ended up in fourth place in the League phase standings but they are struggling a lot in the Premier League, same as in the past season when they also ended up by winning the Europa League in the final against Manchester United. With only seven Premier League wins in 25 games, it’s now time for them to think about the future of Thomas Frank.
17. Galatasaray (–)
I was definitely expecting more from this team that will now face Juventus in the playoffs. I see the Italians as favorites but the Turkish side has players to believe in.
18. Bayer Leverkusen (–)
They are in a good spot considering how they started this season with Erik ten Hag, who was sacked after two Bundesliga games. Next up: Olympiacos in the playoffs.
19. AS Monaco (–)
This is really not their best season and the feeling is that they are hoping to end it as soon as possible to start rebuilding with a new coach.
20. Benfica (–)
Jose Mourinho made it and Benfica are in the top 24 teams of the Champions League after that incredible win against Real Madrid in the last matchday. They will now meet Arbeloa’s team again and I think this time things will be much more complicated.
21. Qarabag (–)
The biggest surprise of the league phase as they made it to the playoffs. They were able to shock the world with some incredible results and they are the proof this new format is working well.
22. Club Brugge (–)
They won’t have much of a chance if they play like they did over the league phase, but the good news is that Atletico Madrid are not at the best of their form right now.
23. Olympiacos (–)
The Bayer Leverkusen playoffs are not a bad option for them, but at the same time they don’t jump into it as the favourites.
24. Bodo/Glimt (–)
If you’ve followed them over the past few years, it should come as little surprise to see them reach this stage. However, drawing Inter in the playoffs is probably the toughest opponent they could have faced.
Teams eliminated
- Olympique Marseille
- Pafos
- Union SG
- PSV
- Athletic Club
- Napoli
- FC Copenaghen
- Ajax
- Eintracht Frankfurt
- Slavia Prague
- Villarreal
- Kairat
