Champions League Power Rankings before MD1: Who’s No. 1?

The UEFA Champions League is back for another season and, fresh off the Aug. 27 draw, we have storylines and drama galore across the 36-team league phase.

A few big clubs — including Liverpool and Real Madrid — received gentle draws when it came to top-tier opponents from Pot 1, while the likes of Barcelona, Manchester United and Aston Villa might cringe at their fixture lists given a slew of difficult opponents. New Madrid boss Jose Mourinho has not one, but two reunions with clubs he has managed in the past, as his side must face Inter Milan and AS Roma between now and the end of January.

Every team will have one thing in common: the desire to finish in the top 24 and safely pass through to the knockout stages, where anything can happen.

In a new feature recurring at the start of every game week, ESPN will rank the top 10 teams in the tournament in terms of who our experts think are the strongest and most likely to win it all. Here are your Champions League Power Rankings before Matchday 1.

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But first, some brief methodology

As we have done with other competitions, we’re asking 19 of our reporters around the world to assess the UEFA Champions League from a contenders vs. pretenders perspective. Our panel were asked to assess the 36-team field in the league phase from No. 1 (meaning the trophy is theirs) to No. 10 (the cool outsider’s pick for a tournament shock), with their ballots compiled into the collective top-10 ranking below.

We will ask our reporters to vote before each matchday to get an updated sense of their confidence about those clubs expecting to win it all in Madrid on June 5.

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UCL Power Rankings before Matchday 1

1. PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN

Home opponents: Barcelona, AS Roma, Galatasaray, Slovan Bratislava
Away opponents: Man City, Aston Villa, Villarreal, Como

MD1: vs. Slovan Bratislava, Wednesday, 3 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. BST

The back-to-back defending champs were as unanimous as it gets in our inaugural vote, picking up nine of 19 first-place votes — only Arsenal, with five, came remotely close — and were never ranked below fourth across our panel of experts. That’s the definition of “team to beat” — and having a gentle Ligue 1 campaign should mean they are able to pour their whole selves into trying to be the first team since Real Madrid (2016-18) to win three straight European titles.

The summer transfer window didn’t quite go according to plan — top target Yan Diomande chose Real Madrid, and Bradley Barcola was moved on to Liverpool — but PSG did add quality depth in Ferran Torres (from Barcelona) and Lucas Digne (from Aston Villa) as well as young talent (Mika Godts and Maghnes Akliouche) that should excel in this format. Oh, and don’t forget that manager Luis Enrique still has two of the world’s best — Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and reigning Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé — who are keen to continue their all-world form.

While MD1 should yield a routine win, PSG are coming off a home defeat to Monaco this past weekend, and a pair of tougher tests await in MD2 (Man City away) and MD3 (Barcelona at home) that should give us a deeper sense of how well-equipped they are to defend their crown.

2. ARSENAL

Home opponents: Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Lille, Sabah FK
Away opponents: Bayern Munich, Real Betis, Napoli, Slavia Prague

MD1: at Napoli, Wednesday, 3 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. BST

Is this the Gunners’ year? Our voters certainly consider Mikel Arteta & Co. as their consensus No. 2 — though they did pick up five first-place votes — and it makes sense considering that they clinched the Premier League title last year for the first time in over 20 years, and spent the summer trying to beef up an already formidable squad.

Though some quality depth in Gabriel Martinelli (to Al Hilal), Gabriel Jesus (to Barcelona) and Leandro Trossard (to Besiktas) has moved out this offseason, the additions of defender Ezri Konsa (from Aston Villa), midfielder Bruno Guimarães (from Newcastle United) and winger Christos Tzolis (from Club Brugge) offer proven quality and the kind of “win-now” experience that Arteta has been coveting. After all, this is their time, so why not make the most of it?

A tricky schedule has curtailed some enthusiasm among our voters — Arsenal face arguably the toughest teams from the top pot as well as the best of Germany, Italy and France further down the ladder — as their Premier League campaign will be extremely unforgiving, but the Gunners’ defense and set-piece prowess should go a long way in Europe.

3. BAYERN MUNICH

Home opponents: Arsenal, Real Betis, Bodo/Glimt, Slavia Prague
Away opponents: Atlético Madrid, Man United, Lille, Viking FK

MD1: vs. Bodo/Glimt, Thursday, 3 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. BST

Like PSG, the Bavarians are expected to be a dominant force in Europe thanks to the relative ease of their domestic campaign, and it’s easy to see why. Led by future Ballon d’Or winner Michael Olise — ESPN’s Bill Connelly is calling it for 2027! — an array of attacking talent and a gentle schedule of league-phase opponents, Vincent Kompany & Co. have their destiny in their own hands.

With Olise at the No. 10 behind striker Harry Kane (64 goals last season) and winger Luis Díaz (26 goals/19 assists, all comps in 2025-26), the path is there for a first European title since 2019-20. Don’t read too much into their first scoreless Bundesliga game in over 18 months as they drew 0-0 with Schalke; if anything, that’ll make them come out stronger this week when they begin their European odyssey.

4. BARCELONA

Home opponents: Man City, Aston Villa, Feyenoord, Como
Away opponents: PSG, Sporting CP, Galatasaray, Sabah FK

MD1: vs. Feyenoord, Wednesday, 12:45 p.m. ET / 5:45 p.m. BST

The last of our true Tier 1 — teams our voters scored in the top four far above the field — is Barcelona, and it’s easy to see why. Hansi Flick’s side romped to a LaLiga title last season thanks to a high-octane attack led by Lamine Yamal, but several of his co-conspirators (Torres, Robert Lewandowski, on-loan Marcus Rashford) have since departed as Flick attempts to revamp and evolve in real time.

Making things easier is the summer arrival of Rodri, a Ballon d’Or winner who is simply peerless in that deeper No. 6 midfield role responsible for knitting defense with attack. His presence isn’t entirely without risk — can the 30-year-old’s fitness hold up in a high-octane pressing system like Flick’s? — but it does go a long way to freeing up Yamal & Co. to dominate further up field. The early season returns have been promising — four straight wins to open the season, scoring five goals in three of those victories and outscoring opponents 17-2 — as Raphinha (six goals in 2026-27) and new arrival Anthony Gordon (four assists in 244 minutes) create reliable chaos around goal.

The biggest question with Barça is always about their defense, which has been too naive to help them win in Europe. Young center back Pau Cubarsí is coming off a transcendent World Cup, but only full back João Cancelo came in this summer to bolster things at the back. Will it be enough?

5. REAL MADRID

Home opponents: Inter Milan, PSV Eindhoven, RB Leipzig, LASK
Away opponents: Arsenal, AS Roma, Shakhtar Donetsk, AEK Athens

MD1: vs. Inter Milan, Tuesday, 3 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. BST

Mourinho is back at Real Madrid to restore stability and luster to a proud, demanding club, having won the UEFA Champions League twice before — with FC Porto in 2003-04, a win that put him on the map, and Inter Milan in 2009-10. Our voters have Inter as the clear leader in our second tier of contenders, with only one first-place vote and one other ballot placing them higher than fourth.

A wobbly start to the season might be partially to blame for this perceived slight in the standings — after a 90th-minute winner to beat Espanyol in their season opener, Madrid thumped Real Sociedad and Malaga before losing at Real Betis — but also, voters aren’t confident Mourinho has the required maturity and temperament to keep his superstars motivated if results aren’t going their way. This team will go as far as Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior and Jude Bellingham can take them.

A decisive performance — and win — over Inter would go a long way to putting Madrid’s critics in their place.

6. MANCHESTER CITY

Home opponents: PSG, Sporting CP, Napoli, AEK Athens
Away opponents: Barcelona, FC Porto, RB Leipzig, Lens

MD1: at FC Porto, Tuesday, 3 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. BST

Our voters put City firmly in the middle of our contenders for the title given the scope and scale of turnover at the Etihad this summer, and it remains to be seen whether the replacements can live up to their predecessors up and down the squad. Can Enzo Maresca coach this crew to the level Pep Guardiola did for nearly a decade? Can Elliot Anderson (from Nottingham Forest), young Ayyoub Bouaddi (from Lille), and deadline day arrival Enzo Fernández (from Chelsea) fill the Rodri-shaped hole in midfield following the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner’s sudden move to Barcelona?

Our voters aren’t sure, and a schedule filled with threats at every turn — Napoli and RB Leipzig might be the toughest draw from Pot 3 — has also added some skepticism to their chances, but as long as Erling Haaland (41 goals, 10 assists last season in all competitions) and Rayan Cherki (17 assists last term) continue to make merry in the attacking third, they should be a tough opponent.

7. INTER MILAN

Home opponents: Liverpool, Club Brugge, Shakhtar Donetsk, VfB Stuttgart
Away opponents: Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Feyenoord, Slovan Bratislava

MD1: at Real Madrid, Tuesday, 3 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. BST

Serie A‘s defending champions have continued their superb form early in 2026-27, pulling off three straight wins to open the campaign, including an absurd 3-2 home win over Napoli in which they trailed 2-1 at home with eight minutes remaining before Lautaro Martínez and Marcus Thuram completed an impressive comeback. This team just don’t know when to quit; but will that carry over to European competition?

After a modest summer in which Denzel Dumfries (to Real Madrid) was really the only major loss, Christian Chivu’s side are settled, experienced and know how to work together. Adding John Stones (from Man City) and Curtis Jones (from Liverpool) gives them valuable experience that should make a difference, but much will depend on Thuram and Martinez — 40 goals between them last season — to keep opponents under pressure.

8. LIVERPOOL

Home opponents: Atlético Madrid, FC Porto, Villarreal, Lens
Away opponents: Inter Milan, Club Brugge, Fenerbahce, LASK

MD1: vs. Atletico Madrid, Wednesday, 3 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. BST

Nobody would deny that new manager Andoni Iraola is trying to make sense of a complete rebuild at Anfield since taking over from Arne Slot this summer, but Liverpool remain a team with more than enough talent to make a deep run in a short-form tournament like the Champions League. While they work things out in defense and midfield for the long slog of a domestic season, a star-studded first-team and gentler draw than their peers — only their Pot 1 opponents, Atlético and Inter, will truly trouble — should empower them to be a genuine threat in this competition.

New signing Barcola will slot into an attacking quartet with fellow summer arrival Víctor Muñoz and a pair of brilliant players (Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz) coming off difficult first seasons at Anfield. If they’re on the same wavelength, and the likes of Dominik Szoboszlai and Virgil van Dijk continue to lead by example, the club have a chance. That said, we could easily be here in a couple of matchdays lamenting their form and wobbly defending, and that disconnect is informed by their lower ranking heading into the opening game.

9. ATLÉTICO MADRID

Home opponents: Bayern Munich, Man United, Fenerbahce, Viking FK
Away opponents: Liverpool, PSV Eindhoven, Bodo/Glimt, VfB Stuttgart

MD1: at Liverpool, Wednesday, 3 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. BST

It has been more than a decade since manager Diego Simeone had Atleti in the Champions League final, and our voters aren’t bullish on them repeating that this season until we see their new-look squad take to the field in midweek. After the teary goodbye to Antoine Griezmann and a summer of fending off overtures from Barcelona and Arsenal to sign star striker Julián Álvarez, it’s over to Simeone for his usual bag of motivational tricks and techniques if the third-best team in Spain are to do any better in Europe.

A slew of summer arrivals with big league backgrounds — defender Cristian Romero (from Tottenham), playmaker Lee Kang-In (from PSG), wing back Alejandro Grimaldo (from Bayer Leverkusen) all joined on permanent deals, with Juventus forward Jonathan David making a deadline day loan move — should be additive in nature even if it takes them a while to assimilate into Simeone’s uncompromising style. That said, their draw is far from gentle and a fast start will be paramount if they are to rank in the top 10 next time around.

10. MANCHESTER UNITED

Home opponents: Bayern Munich, AS Roma, RB Leipzig, Sabah FK
Away opponents: Atlético Madrid, Sporting CP, Villarreal, Como

MD1: vs. Sabah FK, Thursday, 3 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. BST

Sneaking in at the bottom of our ranking is Man United, who haven’t really convinced domestically yet this season (bar a 5-2 win over newly promoted Ipswich Town) despite boasting Bruno Fernandes (22 assists last season) and a trio of new midfielders — Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos, Carlos Baleba — acquired during the summer. New permanent boss Michael Carrick has his work cut out to mold a consistently competitive team, especially with a schedule that will stretch a thin squad to its limits.

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ALSO RECEIVING VOTES

Borussia Dortmund, Napoli, Galatasaray, AS Roma, Como, Chelsea, Aston Villa, RB Leipzig.

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VOTERS

Our global panel includes writers and editors around FC and our global soccer desks: Tom Hamilton, Mark Ogden, Jon Molyneux-Carter, Austin Lindberg, Tony Mabert, James Olley, Bill Connelly, Mariano Mancuso (ESPN Argentina), Eduardo Sanchez (ESPN Deportes), Ryan O’Hanlon, Rob Dawson, Sam Marsden, James Tyler, Beth Lindop, Gab Marcotti, Alex Kirkland, Roberto Rojas, Riley Millette and Connor O’Halloran.