Champions League power rankings: Top contenders to lift the trophy
FC Yahoo ranks the title contenders of the UEFA Champions League going into the start of group play. Of the 32 teams, here are the top 16.
[Champions League: Scores and Schedule | Group Standings | Teams]
16. Zenit St. Petersburg
UEFA Stat: Zenit has reached the Champions League group stages for five consecutive seasons.
With the season only weeks old, Zenit manager Andre Villas-Boas picked an odd time to announce that he will not be back next season. The announcement and uncertainty at the club should further complicate a tough group that features French side Lyon and Spanish side Valencia. With Gent rounding out the group of four, any of those sides appear capable of advancing, but Brazilian Hulk seems to be in strong enough form to knick a couple results and send the Russians into the final 16.
15. Galatasaray
UEFA Stat: Galatasaray is in its fourth successive group stage appearance and 14th overal.
Turkey’s most famous club has been down in the dumps lately. Galatasaray is winless in its last eight European matches and finished bottom of its group a season ago. However, the experience and quality in the squad should persevere and help the Turks edge out Benfica and FC Astana this season. If nothing else, Galatasaray has one of the most intimidating home grounds in all of Europe, and earning a few home results would go a long way toward getting into the knockout rounds.
14. Valencia
UEFA Stat: Valencia is one of five Spanish sides in the Champions League group stages, which is a record.
After two seasons out of the Champions League, Valencia returns and looks to be in a prime position to advance to the knockout round. Lyon, Zenit St. Petersburg and Gent offer the Spaniards a relatively easy road to the round of 16, which is how far Valencia advanced last time it was in the competition.
13. VFL Wolfsburg
UEFA Stat: Wolfsburg features in only its second-ever Champions League group stage.
Selling Kevin De Bruyne to Manchester City late in the summer transfer window effectively ended Wolfsburg’s Bundesliga title challenge against Bayern Munich. Wolfsburg, however, is not simply a one-man show. Though De Bruyne’s departure pushes the Bundesliga runner-up further behind German giant Bayern Munich and also Borussia Dortmund domestically, this is still the second best German side in the Champions League. As such, Wolfsburg should still be good enough to advance out of the group stage and into the knockout rounds.
12. Manchester United
UEFA Stat: Manchester United missed out on the Champions League a season ago, which is the only time the 2008 European champion has failed to qualify in the past decade.
Manchester United has started the season strong and looks to be a title challenger in England. After five rounds, United has 10 points, and two new attacking options in Memphis Depay and Anthony Martial make the Red Devils an intriguing team to follow. In Europe, however, United’s fresh faces likely need time to mature and gain experience. Even with Wayne Rooney leading the side, United still needs to grow up rather quickly in order to jump back into the conversation of the best teams on the continent.
11. FC Porto
UEFA Stat: FC Porto is in its 20th Champions League campaign.
Porto is a perennial competitor in the Champions League and generally considered the top side in Portugal. Despite selling club captain and top striker Jackson Martinez over the summer, Porto continues to top the Portuguese league as summer shifts to fall. It may not be the handicappers’ pick to win the Champions League, but Porto’s consistency in the competition bodes well for its chances to advance past the group stage.
10. AS Roma
UEFA Stat: Francesco Totti’s next goal will be his 300th goal across all competitions for the capital club.
Roma has the unfortunate standing of landing in a group with Barcelona, so fighting for second place becomes the realistic goal for the Italians. Bayer Leverkusen and BATE Borisov stand in the way, and that does not present a clear path to the round of 16. The additions of Edin Dzeko and Mohamed Salah highlight the team’s intentions, though. Manager Rudi Garcia has a squad several experts have picked to finish ahead of Juventus in Serie A this season, and that quality should also translate to Europe and push the Romans past the group stage.
9. Arsenal
UEFA Stat: Arsenal has reached the group stage 18 straight seasons, but the Gunners have been knocked out in the round of 16 four seasons in a row.
Arsenal will likely feel the wrath of Bayern Munich in the group stage, but Arsene Wenger has a habit of making it to the knockout rounds. He may not advance farther than that, yet he does do well to keep his team alive until February and March. Arsenal projects to compete on all fronts, but the lack of depth up front will likely leave Arsenal short of putting forth a true Premier League challenge or threatening in Europe. Of course, Wenger could spend in January to rectify this, but then, pigs could also fly in 2016.
8. Juventus
UEFA Stat: Juventus is unbeaten in its last four Champions League away games.
After chasing the treble and falling just short against Barcelona in the 2015 Champions League final, Juventus separated with Arturo Vidal, Andrea Pirlo and Carlos Tevez. Though Juve held onto Paul Pogba and bought talented young replacements, the loss of those three key players cannot be overstated. This is not the same Juventus that won the Scudetto a season ago, nor is it the same Juventus that graced the Champions League final. Making it out of the group stage will not come easy, and the Italian league appears to be a true competition for the first time in several years.
7. Manchester City
UEFA Stat: Man City has qualified for the Champions League group stage for five straight seasons and advanced to the knockout rounds two years in a row.
City's bad luck with Champions League group stage draws persist. Clearly the best side in England, the Citizens are paired up with Juventus, Sevilla and Borussia Monchengladbach. And while they should still finish top of the group, the tough midweek tests combined with the full English domestic schedule will test a stacked squad. The additions of De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling provide more quality with the likes of Sergio Aguero and David Silva regularly carving the opposition in the final third. Manchester City has the pieces to succeed in Europe, but this team has yet to fully turn up in the Champions League. Staying healthy could be the biggest obstacle for this rather expensive squad that has all the necessary parts.
6. Chelsea
UEFA Stat: Chelsea has only claimed four points after five Premier League games, which makes this season the Blues' worst start to a top-flight season in nearly 30 years (since 1986)
Chelsea is not the best team in England. In fact, finishing second or even third could be a challenge for the Blues this season. However, a relatively easy group provides Chelsea a straight path to the knockout rounds. If Jose Mourinho can cruise past the group stage and construct a defense by late February, no team will want to face Chelsea over two legs.
Add the fact that the first 11 is an experienced bunch with trophies and European experience, and Chelsea is still England’s best chance at winning the Champions League this season. Suddenly, Mourinho has a great deal to prove, and European success has to be the primary goal of a team that won the Premier League only a season ago.
5. Atletico Madrid
UEFA Stat: Atelti is in its third straight Champions League group stage but only the sixth group stage in its history.
Atletico Madrid is built to win La Liga with Barcelona handcuffed by the FIFA transfer ban. For this club, domestic success could be closely linked with European success, as manager Diego Simeone led Atleti to the Champions League final the last time Atletico Madrid won the Spanish league.
This season, the return of Felipe Luis from Chelsea and the addition of Jackson Martinez from FC Porto place Atletico Madrid in strong contention in Spain and in Europe. A tough loss to Barcelona at the Vicente Calderon struck a harsh blow to the La Liga hopes, but the season is still young. Atleti defends with the urgency and desperation required to muzzle the best attacks. No team fears Barcelona and Real Madrid less than Atletico Madrid.
4. Paris Saint-Germain
UEFA Stat: Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) has been knocked out in the quarterfinals in each of the past three seasons.
After doing the domestic quadruple, PSG added Angel Di Maria over the summer. The Argentine should immediately help the Parisians in their quest to achieve European glory, but the key to PSG’s advancement is deeper in the midfield. In particular, Frenchman Blaise Matuidi and Italian Marco Veratti continue to develop to world class levels. With the experience of Champions League winner Thiago Motta combining with the dynamic duo, no team in France can compete with PSG in the middle of the park. Unfortunately, PSG came up against Barcelona in the quarterfinals a season ago, and conceding five goals over two legs doomed the French super club. This team could be the greatest team ever assembled in the history of French football, but it has yet to prove its supremacy in Europe.
3. Real Madrid
UEFA Stat: After scoring five times in Real Madrid’s 6-0 win over Espanyol over the weekend, Cristiano Ronaldo is now Madrid’s all-time leading goal scorer with 230 La Liga goals; Ronaldo is currently tied with Lionel Messi for the all-time European Cup/Champions League lead with 77 goals.
Only one season removed from La Decima, Real Madrid still has the same horses capable of speeding by the competition. Even with PSG, Shakhtar Donetsk and Malmo providing tough tests in the group stage, Rafa Benitez should be able to overpower the opposition and finish top of the group. Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema highlight a quality squad that was built to compete in Europe. Also, this team has been scoring goals at an alarming rate. Real Madrid could end up being the highest scoring team in the competition if Benitez gets it right.
2. Bayern Munich
UEFA Stat: Bayern Munich has reached the Champions League semifinals four seasons in a row.
Bayern Munich has been the model of efficiency in the group stage of the Champions League and in the Bundesliga since Pep Guardiola arrived on the German scene. In all likelihood, the Bavarians will have a healthy lead in Germany by the time the knockout rounds of the Champions League kick off, so this club should have the ability to focus on Europe and rest domestically. Douglas Costa has been especially bright since arriving in Munich, and Guardiola poses the biggest threat to Barcelona's throne. Another semifinal meeting with Barcelona would be ideal because it would allow for 180 minutes of the top two teams in Europe, but a Bayern versus Barca European final would not be a bad consolation prize.
1. Barcelona
UEFA Stat: Barcelona scored in every away match in the 2014-15 Champions League,
Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar provide Barcelona with enough fire power to push them into the final 16. Until the defending champions feel the fire at their feet, they will remain as the team to beat in Europe. Also, an early season victory over Atletico Madrid is yet another impressive result for the team that did the treble a season ago.
Likely, the Catalans will cruise through the group stage per usual, and the squad will be bustling with quality reinforcements like Arda Turan by the time the knockout rounds get going. Barcelona possesses as good a chance at becoming the first team to win the Champions League in back-to-back seasons as any team in the past two decades.
Shahan Ahmed is a soccer columnist for Yahoo! Sports helping cover the global game. Follow Shahan on Twitter: @ShahanLA and @perfectpass
