Four gameweeks in, the Champions League has not disappointed. Three teams have won all of their fixtures, and only Benfica and Ajax are without a point.
Halfway through the league stage, these are the eight teams looking most likely to go the distance.
8) Inter Milan
Joint top with Bayern Munich and Arsenal, Inter Milan have won all four of their Champions League fixtures this season.
Granted, Inter have had a favourable run of fixtures, with tougher challenges ahead compared to the first four games against Kairat, Union Saint-Gilloise, Slavia Prague and Ajax. A tough visit to Atlético Madrid awaits in the next gameweek.
7) Barcelona
The 3-3 draw against Club Brugge was one of the games of the tournament so far, but did little to convince anyone they could go all the way. The Catalans came from behind three times, which shows an impressive team-spirit but a vulnerable defence. An overly exposed backline cost Barcelona in last season’s competition and is likely to be their downfall again this year.
6) Liverpool
It has been a strange start to the season for Liverpool, but the 1-0 victory over Real Madrid shows you can never underestimate them – especially in Europe.
Slot’s men seemed to have turned a corner. The midfield three of Gravenberch, Mac Allister and Szoboszlai seems to have clicked, with the return of Robertson and Bradley at full-back offering more stability.
If Isak, Ekitike, Salah, Wirtz and Gakpo start firing, they’ll be back among the favourites.
5) Real Madrid
The defeat to Liverpool exposed how one-dimensional Real Madrid’s attack can be made to look. They will still overpower most teams, but without a conventional number nine they could struggle against certain defensive systems.
Courtois continues to bail Madrid out in tight games, and with Kylian Mbappé up front they’ll always be an attacking threat.
While most of the spine who dominated Europe has moved on, never bet against Real Madrid in the Champions League.
4) Manchester City
No defence in Europe would want to face Erling Haaland in the form he is currently in.
It is up to Phil Foden, Rayan Cherki and Jérémy Doku among others to start regularly contributing goals and assists – as they did against Dortmund – if City are to add another Champions League to their trophy cabinet.
3) PSG
Last season’s champions don’t look as dominant this time around; they struggled to break through the dogged defence of the ten-men of Bayern. The rampant 7-2 win over Bayer Leverkusen and earlier 2-1 victory over Barcelona shows they are rightfully still discussed among the favourites, although injuries to key players such as Achraf Hakimi could hurt their title defence.
2) Arsenal
The only team yet to concede four games in. Arsenal are impenetrable and mean defences often go far in knockout competitions.
Mikel Merino is more than adequately filling the void left by the injury to Viktor Gyökeres.
Arsenal have never won the Champions League but this season represents their best chance to date.
1) Bayern Munich
Bayern are the team to beat this season. Even with ten men for a whole half, they left Paris with all three points.
Bayern visit Arsenal in the next gameweek – a tantalising clash between two of the teams with a perfect start. It is a disservice to both teams to characterise the fixture as a clash between attack versus defence, but if one team can break through Arsenal’s stubborn defence it will be Bayern Munich. The suspension to Luis Díaz will be a major blow for that game, but won’t affect Bayern’s qualification through to the knockout stages.
