UCL Power Rankingss: Man City join Arsenal, Bayern at top

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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, Juventus are getting back at the top of the Serie A standings while Real Madrid finally had a positive week after some struggles. Let's take a look our Power Rankings:

1. Arsenal (--)

Over the weekend Arsenal won 1-0 at Everton thanks to the goal scored by summer signing Viktor Gyokeres, but Manchester City are now putting more pressure on the team managed by Mikel Arteta, as the team coached by Pep Guardiola are only two points behind in the Premier League table. Their season so far has been super positive, as Arsenal have already secured a top-eight finish and a place in the Champions League knockout stages after winning the last European tie against Club Brugge.

2. Bayern Munich (--)

The German giants are dominating the Bundesliga title race, if there is one. In the league they have scored 55 goals in 15 games (yes, I checked it twice), they are still unbeaten and have a nine-point margin on Borussia Dortmund. Among the top players on the roster such as Luis Diaz and Harry Kane there is a new gem in the house -- teenager Lennart Karl, one to watch also for the upcoming 2026 World Cup.

3. Manchester City (+1)

Over the weekend Pep Guardiola's Manchester City won 3-0 against West Ham, showing once again they are now back on track after a challenging start to the season. They are now solid again and Erling Haaland is an unbelievable goal machine as he scored another brace on Saturday: it's now 25 goals in 23 matches with City this season. What can we say?

4. Barcelona (-1)

Another solid 2-0 win over the weekend away against Villarreal, one of the surprises of the season in Spain (but not in Europe). However, there is a feeling that despite the talent and the way they are playing right now, they are not quite at the level of the top competitors. Lamine Yamal is also yet to perform at his best and it looks like his lingering groin issue is affecting his performances this season.

5. PSG (--)

The Champions League title holders played in the French cup over the weekend as Ligue 1 was on hold, but there is the same feeling that has persisted the past weeks, namely that after a difficult start of the season also due to injuries, it seems that their condition will only improve from now on and that they can become a factor in both competitions as the season progresses.

6. Atletico Madrid (+1)

Another good week for Atletico and Diego Simeone. After losing two matches in a row against Barcelona and Athletic Club, the team coached by Diego Simeone won three matches in a row against PSV away and then at their home stadium against Valencia before winning 3-0 over the weekend at Girona, overcoming Villarreal in the standings nine points behind Barcelona, the LaLiga leaders.

7. Inter (-1)

The side coached by Cristian Chivu lost the Supercoppa Italiana semifinal against Bologna on penalties on Friday, showing again some inconsistency when it comes to facing a strong team, not an encouraging sign heading into the knockout stages of the Champions League, but they are back at the top of the Serie A standings and this is something positive to look at. They probably need to sign a new right winger in January as Denzel Dumfries will be out for at least three months after undergoing surgery on his ankle.

8. Chelsea (--)

Enzo Maresca's team drew 2-2 at Newcastle over the weekend but they are still in a good spot to at least fight until the end for a top four place in the Premier League standings. However, the position of the coach Enzo Maresca will probably make some noise again in the next weeks, as reports indicated he might be a candidate for the Manchester City job if Pep Guardiola will leave the club at the end of the season. Watch out for it.

9. Real Madrid (--)

A good week, finally. Three wins in a row between LaLiga and the Copa del Rey after the two defeats against Celta Vigo and Manchester City. Xabi Alonso can now breath more, but he still shouldn't be too comfortable as we all know how Real Madrid is. One day you're the best, the day after you get sacked, but at least now he's in a better spot compared to one week ago.

10. Atalanta (+1)

Atalanta are by far the team that has improved the most recently as they look completely different since Raffaele Palladino replaced Ivan Juric on the bench. In the league they are behind, but an away win against Genoa on Sunday put them back in the contention for the European spots. The home win against Chelsea in the last matchday of the Champions League clearly showed that this team can compete with Europe's elite, and Palladino could guide them into the top eight of the league phase.

11. Liverpool (-1)

Something similar to what happened at Real Madrid. Ten days ago it seemed everything was going down for both the team and the manager Arne Slot, especially so given the tension between the Dutch coach and Mo Salah. Since the away Champions League win at Inter, Liverpool won against Brighton and then over the weekend at Tottenham, showing they are now back on the right track and tied on points with Chelsea in the fourth place of the Premier League standings. Alexander Isak is now worrying the fans as he could miss a couple of months and potentially miss the World Cup playoffs with Sweden.

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12. Olympique Marseille (+1)

While the French Ligue 1 was on hold this weekend, 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. In the French league they are only five points behind Lens, and four behind PSG. Watch out for them.

13. Newcastle (-1)

After losing the Derby against Sunderland, Eddie Howe's side drew against Chelsea over the weekend. Despite the great impact of some new players like Nick Woltemade as he scored nine goals so far in all competitions, their season doesn't really excite us. They can still make it into the next phase of the Champions League but they don't look as strong as before.

14. Borussia Dortmund (+1)

A solid win over the weekend against Borussia Mönchengladbach put them in the second place of the Bundesliga standings but the latest home Champions League draw against Bodo/Glimt was a bit disappointing for the 2024 European finalists. 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.

15. Galatasaray (-1)

While they are leading the Turkish league with a three-point margin on Fenerbahce, 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 becoming a challenging outsider when a team will visit team in the playoffs in February in front of their home fans.

16. Juventus (+3)

An exciting 2-1 win over AS Roma on Saturday showed that Luciano Spalletti really found a way to have an impact on his team, with Lois Openda finally scoring a key goal this season. Things look much better compared to some weeks ago. Finally, it seems Juventus are getting back on track and that has a lot to do with the impact of the new coach who replaced Igor Tudor earlier this season.

17. Napoli (+3)

Napoli, fresh off their Supercoppa win, are also looking better, but only when they are not playing in Europe. Antonio Conte's team are only two points behind Inter, the Serie A leaders, but they are struggling when it comes to Champions League soccer. Injuries are definitely having an impact on the performances, but the Champions League defeat against Benfica could really cost them a lot as they are at risk to not end up in the top 24 and being eliminated in the league phase. Romelu Lukaku is now back in the squad and he can definitely help them to achieve at least the playoffs of the European tournament.

18. Bayer Leverkusen (--)

The latest away win at RB Leipzig over the weekend bumped them back into the top three of the Bundesliga standings, but the latest Champions League 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. At least they are back on track now.

19. Sporting CP (-1)

The Portuguese team are challenging Porto at the top of the domestic league and hoping to land in the playoffs of the Champions League. The next two games against PSG and Athletic Club will tell us more about their European expectations, after losing to Bayern Munich in the last Champions League match of 2025.

20. Tottenham (-4)

Thomas Frank's team has only won one of the last six matches and already lost seven games in 17 matches so far in the English Premier League. Their situation doesn't look great at all, and things are not only not improving, but also getting worse week after week.

21. PSV (--)

Fifteen wins in 17 matches in the Dutch league and are in the race to end up in the league phase's top 24 right now in the Champions League. Their only two wins in Europe this season came from a stunning 4-1 win at Liverpool away and a dominant 6-2 rout of Napoli at home. It's definitely a good season so far.

22. AS Monaco (--)

They are still in the race for a playoff spot in Europe but they are also struggling in the league with seven wins, two draws and seven defeats in the opening 16 matches of the season.

23. Benfica (+1)

Benfica look much better now under Jose Mourinho, who can really make it to qualify for the playoffs of the Champions League while they are also gaining some positions at the top of the Portuguese standings.

24. Club Brugge (-1)

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 then Arsenal in the last matchday last week. I don't think they can make it into the top 24 this season.

25. Copenaghen (--)

The 3-2 away win against Villarreal completely changed their look in the standings. I didn't think they could make it for the playoffs but now they have a chance.

26. Qarabag (--)

We overestimated them. Losing to Ajax at home is quiet surprising this season and after a strong start of the Champions League we were all expecting too much from them.

27. Eintracht Frankfurt (--)

They look ok in the league but have no chances to qualify for the playoffs in the league phase.

28. Union Saint-Gilloise (--)

They are at the top of the Pro League table with a three-point margin on Club Brugge, but the latest home defeat against Olympique Marseille in the Champions League wasn't what they needed to have some qualification hope.

29. Athletic Club (--)

Their performances in both LaLiga and Champions League are not what I was expecting from this team this season and if I'm not wrong I even put them as a surprise in our preview of the Champions League season. I was wrong.

30. Villarreal (--)

Despite the home defeat against Barcelona they are still the biggest surprise in LaLiga, sitting fourth behind Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, but a disaster in the Champions League where they have no real chances to qualify for the playoffs with zero wins in six matches.

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.

32. Slavia Prague (--)

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.

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 hope in Europe despite an exciting away draw in Germany against Borussia Dortmund. We all hoped they could do better this season in Europe.

35. Ajax (--)

There are some signs of improvement in both domestic and Europea leagues: Ajax are not in the last spot of our power rankings anymore thanks to their first win against Qarabag, while they won three of the last five matches in the Dutch league and are now sitting third.