European football power rankings: What are the top 15 teams in Europe?

As the European football season heads towards its most important stretch, it's worth looking at the most impressive teams from across the continent. Let’s take a look at where everyone ranks!

This may seem high for a side in fifth place in their league, but given UEFA’s coefficient has the Premier League ranked at 100.8 points with the next best only at 86.6, it’s safe to say English football is very strong. Spurs aren’t consistently putting together great performances, but they can beat anyone on their day.

Opta currently rank Barcelona ninth in their Power Rankings, which are admittedly data-driven, but that seems many places too high for us. They remain a very good side, but for the moment they are not amongst the elite.

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Juve are ranked 15 by Football Database, which is right around where we have them. They have struggled for results in recent weeks, allowing Inter Milan to open a nine-point gap at the top of Serie A. There is still time for Juventus to turn things around, but they need to get back to winning ways soon.

This has not been a classic season for Dortmund as they sit fourth in the Bundesliga, but Football Database and Opta have them ranked 13th and 12th respectively. They should have enough to beat PSV Eindhoven in their Champions League round-of-16 second leg, and making a quarter-final is nothing to be sniffed at.

Girona’s push for a first La Liga title has faltered of late, with the side now six points behind Real Madrid. Still, their rise to the top of Spanish football has been remarkable, even with the support of the City Group behind them.

Benefica are just two points clear of Sporting CP at the top of the Portuguese table in what looks to be an epic battle. Opta’s ranking of 15 seems low considering how well they are doing in the Europa League. They are also a long way clear of Porto in the league, a side that could progress to the Champions League quarter-finals, showing the strength of Portuguese football currently.

Villa’s hold on a top-four place in the Premier League is still firm, despite a few recent slip-ups. They remain a free-scoring team loaded with talented attacking players. Unai Emery has done a remarkable job since taking over.

Gone are Neymar and Messi, but PSG remain amongst the best teams in Europe. A comfortable 2-0 win over Real Sociedad in the Champions League should see them make another deep run in that competition whilst another Ligue 1 title feels inevitable given their 11-point lead.

Munich are eight points back in the Bundesliga and 1-0 down after their first-leg matchup against Lazio in the Champions League. Despite Harry Kane scoring bundles of goals, Bayern could well go trophyless this season, so it’s no surprise to see Thomas Tuchel leaving at the end of the season.

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Leverkusen are cruising to a first Bundesliga title under the stewardship of the coveted Xabi Alonso. A favourable matchup in the Europa League round-of-16 against Qarabaq FK should see them reach the quarter-finals there as well. What a season for a team that finished sixth last year.

Arsenal have scored 25 goals in their six games in 2024, which is the most goals ever to start a calendar year, per BBC. Their domestic form is as good as anyone in Europe but they have some work to do to overturn a 1-0 deficit in their Champions League tie.

Liverpool sit atop the Premier League and recently won the English League Cup, so perhaps having them in fourth is a little low. At some point, their horrendous run of injuries must surely catch up to them, and their relatively easy Europa League group has given them a chance to rotate. It would still not be a surprise to see them win more silverware this season.

Inter’s Serie A statistics make for incredible reading: Played 25, won 21, 63 goals for, and just 12(!) against, per Opta. Last season’s Champions League winners are even better this year with Simone Inzaghi’s innovative tactics making them a nightmare to face.

With a six-point lead in La Liga and a lead against RB Leipzig in the Champions League, Real march on as an elite team in Europe. They seem to assembling an Avengers-level squad for next season too, so this could be as low as they rank for quite some time.

City, along with Arsenal and Liverpool, are battling it out for the Premier League title, but this is the period of the season that City thrive in. Suddenly becoming an unstoppable force, winning game after game after game, can anyone keep up with them through to May?

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