The 2025-26 Champions League season will be back in 2026 after six matchdays of the league phase took place from September to December 2025, but the top European leagues aren’t going on break in the meanwhile. Arsenal and Manchester City are ready to fight for another Premier League title while Bayern Munich are once again dominating the Bundesliga standings. Elsewhere, Real Madrid are struggling and there is increasing pressure on the position of the manager Xabi Alonso, while Hansi Flick’s Barcelona look strong. Let’s take a look our Power Rankings:
1. Arsenal (–)
It was a challenging weekend for the side coached by Mikel Arteta, as Arsenal won 2-1 thanks to two owngoals scored by Wolverhampton, with the winning one in the last minute of stoppage time. Arsenal remain top of the Premier League, holding a two-point lead over Manchester City, and after their 3–0 win against Club Brugge last week, they are the only team to have already secured a top-eight finish and a place in the Champions League knockout stages.
2. Bayern Munich (–)
If there is one team still chasing Arsenal, that’s Bayern Munich. The German giants won 3-1 against Sporting CP in the last Champions League’s matchday and are dominating the league. Also, they’ve got a new talent who is shining and showing to be among the best around the world: Lennart Karl, one to watch also for the upcoming 2026 World Cup.
3. Barcelona (–)
Barcelona drastically improved in the last month and are coming from a strong week with two wins against Eintracht Frankfurt and Osasuna on Saturday, consolidating their LaLiga advantage on Real Madrid. Hansi Flick is also welcoming some of his biggest stars back in the team after their injuries and this is only helping Barcelona to be considered as one of the best teams around Europe and a solid Champions League contender.
4. Manchester City (+1)
We all thought this wasn’t a great season for Manchester City after a difficult start. Well, we should have waited a bit more. Pep Guardiola’s team are only two points behind Arsenal in the league and well positioned to end up in the top eight of the Champions League standings. Erling Haaland scores in every single match, but that’s not news really.
5. PSG (-1)
The Champions League title holders look less solid than the past season when they dominated both in France and Europe, but at the end of the day despite some big injuries they are still there competing for a spot in the top eight and one point behind Lens in Ligue 1. The feeling is that their condition will only improve from now on and that they can become a factor in both competitions in the coming weeks.
6. Inter (–)
The Nerazzurri have been quite disappointing in their last two Champions League matches, losing to both Atletico Madrid and Liverpool after winning their opening four games in the league phase. This season, they have struggled against top opponents, and that is not an encouraging sign heading into the knockout stages, but they are now back at the top of the Serie A standings after the results of the past weekend.
7. Atletico Madrid (+1)
The Spanish giants are back on track. After losing two matches in a row against Barcelona and Athletic Club, the team coached by Diego Simeone won two matches in a row against PSV away and then at their home stadium against Valencia and are now close to the top four in LaLiga standings and then eyeing the top eight of the Champions League standings.
8. Chelsea (-1)
Enzo Maresca’s team has only won two of the last five Premier League matches and the Italian manager showed some frustration in the post match press conference of their game against Everton, hinting that there might be some disagreements with the owners. This is worth keeping in mind over the coming weeks, especially as the season is progressing strongly in both domestic and European competitions.
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9. Real Madrid (–)
What is going on at Real Madrid? Things look a bit better for Xabi Alonso after the Spanish giants won against Alaves over the weekend but it’s still a difficult moment for the Blancos and the coach, who is facing a big pressure after some disappointing results, including the 2-1 defeat against Manchester City.
10. Liverpool (+1)
Mo Salah left Liverpool and joined Egypt as the African team will be playing in AFCON later this month. This is going to be a key month for the future of the Liverpool star as he might leave in the January transfer window. On the other hand, the two wins against Inter away and then at Anfield against Brighton cleared the air around the position of Arne Slot, who can count on the trust of both the team and the fanbase again.
11. Atalanta (+7)
Atalanta are by far the team that improved the most recently as they look completely different since Raffaele Palladino replaced Ivan Tudor on the bench. The home win against Chelsea last week clearly showed that this team can compete with Europe’s elite, and Palladino could realistically guide them into the top eight of the league phase. In Serie A, Atalanta are improving and gradually returning to the level they belong to, even if they will likely need a bit more time to fully settle.
12. Newcastle (-2)
Things look completely different for Newcastle compared to the past season and the latest 1-0 defeat in the Derby against Sunderland showed that this is not a great season so far for them. They can still, and they should, make it into the next phase but they don’t look as strong as before.
13. Olympique Marseille (–)
The side coached by Roberto De Zerbi is doing great this season and the last two Champions League wins put them in a strong place ahead of the next phase. Watch out for them, they are not only exciting to watch but also a team that can put others in trouble in Europe. In the French league they are only five points behind Lens, and four behind PSG.
14. Galatasaray (-2)
The last two defeats in the Champions League against Union SG and AS Monaco showed that they are not living their best moment, but with so much talent I can still see them to be a challenging outsider when a team will visit team in the playoffs in February in front of their home fans.
15. Borussia Dortmund (–)
The home draw against Bodo/Glimt was a bit disappointing for the 2024 Champions League finalists, but at the same time they are where we could expect them to be: middle of the table with high chances to end up in the top 16.
16. Tottenham (-1)
They look better in Europe than in the Premier League where Thomas Frank’s team has only won one of the last five matches and already lost six games in 16 matches so far. It seems that what happened last season wasn’t a coincidence and it will take more time to see if Frank will be the coach able to turn things around.
17. Sporting CP (–)
The Portuguese team are challenging Porto at the top of the domestic league and hoping to land in the playoffs of the Champions League. We could expect them to lose at Bayern Munich and the next two games against PSG and Athletic Club will tell us more about their European expectations.
18. Bayer Leverkusen (+1)
The home draw against Newcastle slowed down their chances to end up in the top 16, which would mean playing at home in the second leg of the Champions League playoffs, but it’s not over yet.
19. Juventus (+1)
Looks like Luciano Spalletti found a way to improve his team. They are still struggling despite the positive results against Pafos in Europe and then an away win against Bologna over the weekend, but things look much better compared to some weeks ago. Finally, it seems Juventus are getting back on track
20. Napoli (-4)
Antonio Conte is in trouble, once again. Injuries are definitely having an impact on the performances, but the Champions League defeat against Benfica could really cost them a lot. They are at risk to not end up in the top 24 and being eliminated in the league phase. Not good.
21. PSV (+1)
The Dutch side are dominating the league with 14 wins in 16 matches and are in the race to end up in the league phase’s top 24 right now. Their only two wins in Europe this season? A stunning 4-1 win at Liverpool away and a dominant 6-2 rout of Napoli at home. They perform best when facing the big teams
22. AS Monaco (-1)
They are struggling this season in both European and domestic leagues, but with their only one defeat in the Champions League they are still in the race for a playoff spot.
23. Club Brugge (–)
They have the talent needed, but it doesn’t seem to be enough for this season. After winning their first home game of the league phase, they lost twice, drew 3-3 against Barcelona, then lost 3-0 to both Sporting CP and Arsenal in the last matchday last week.
24. Benfica (+5)
Can Jose Mourinho make it? I didn’t think so before their exciting 2-0 win against Napoli. They are doing much better right now and they still have a chance. I believe in the Special One!
25. Copenaghen (–)
I didn’t think they had a chance to qualify for the next round but the 3-2 away win against Villarreal completely changed their look in the standings.
26. Qarabag (-1)
A strong start for them, we all hoped they could be a great story, but maybe we overestimated them. Losing to Ajax at home is quiet surprising this season.
27. Eintracht Frankfurt (-1)
Last week I wrote that the Barcelona away match was their last chance for the playoffs and they lost. This is probably the end of their dreams but it’s over when is over.
28. Union Saint-Gilloise (+1)
The latest home defeat against Olympique Marseille wasn’t what they needed to have some qualification hope.
29. Athletic Club (-2)
I have to be honest. I was expecting a lot from this team this season in the Champions League and if I’m not wrong I even put them as a surprise in our preview of the tournament. I’m afraid I was wrong!
30. Villarreal (-1)
They are probably the biggest surprise in LaLiga, sitting third behind Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, but a disaster in the Champions League. I can’t find an explanation: Can someone help me?
31. Pafos (–)
The team from Cyprus are doing more than we could expect and they are in 26th place after their first historic Champions League win against Villarreal, but then lost to Juventus in the last matchday of 2025.
32. Slavia Prague (–)
Sadly, they don’t seem to be at the level of the other teams in the tournament but we could see that coming. This is not a surprise to be honest.
33. Olympiacos (–)
They finally won their first Champions League match of the season away against Kairat. Too late and not enough.
34. Bodo/Glimt (–)
One point behind from the leaders in the Norwegian league standings but basically no hopes in Europe despite an exciting away draw in Germany against Borussia Dortmund. One to remember.
35. Ajax (+1)
Big news: Ajax are not in the last spot of our power rankings anymore thanks to their first win against Qarabag. How exciting!
36. Kairat (-1)
Just competing in the Champions League is already a historic achievement for the club. We still love them.
