Champions League 2025-26 Power Rankings: Arsenal in pole position ahead of last-16 draw as PSG and Real Madrid stumble through play-offs - but Bodo/Glimt are the toast of Europe after stunning Inter

This season's Champions League has been a real rollercoaster ride for Bayer Leverkusen, who stunned Manchester City at the Etihad just over a month after being hammered 7-2 at home by Paris Saint-Germain.

It can, thus, be a little difficult to know what to expect from Kasper Hjulmand's side, who still have some quality players in their squad, such as Patrik Schick, Alex Grimaldo and Edmond Tapsoba, despite seeing several members of Xabi Alonso's double-winning team following the Spanish coach out the door last summer.

However, given the rather dour nature of their play-off win over Olympiacos, we don't give a very limited Leverkusen any chance of beating either Bayern Munich or Arsenal in the last 16.

There's no sugar-coating it: Galatasaray are very fortunate to be in the last 16. The Turkish champions won just three games in the league stage and took just one point from their final four fixtures. Thanks to the very forgiving nature of the new format, 10 points proved sufficient to set up a play-off clash with Juventus, whom Gala hammered 5-2 in Istanbul - thanks in no small part to the second-half dismissal of Juan Cabal.

However, Okan Buruk's side were absolutely dreadful in the return clash in Turin - even though the Bianconeri were once again reduced to 10 men - and ultimately needed extra-time to progress.

One can be sure, then, that both Spurs and Liverpool will be hoping to be paired with Gala in the last 16 - even if it would be a mistake to take anything for granted against a team that has Victor Osimhen up front and also beat the Reds back on matchday two.

It's all change at Tottenham since the end of the league phase, as securing a spot in the last 16 didn't save Thomas Frank from the sack, with the Dane dismissed after a run of eight Premier League games without a win. Spurs have rather surprisingly turned to Igor Tudor to help them stave off the threat of relegation, and the Croat's tenure didn't get off the most encouraging of starts, with his new team suffering a 4-1 loss to Arsenal in the north London derby.

Tottenham, then, are very much an unknown quantity. They boast a 100 percent record at home in this season's Champions League and would definitely fancy their chances of reaching the quarters were they to be drawn against Galatasaray rather than Atletico Madrid. However, their form is terrible and injury list lengthy, so we wouldn't be at all surprised to see Tudor prioritise Premier League safety over extending their European adventure.

We simply can't say enough nice things about the Champions League's giant-killers, Bodo/Glimt. Even before they stunned Manchester City on matchday seven, we were hailing the Norwegian minnows as one of the best teams to watch in the tournament, so we didn't even attempt to hide our joy after seeing them progress to the knockout stage by upsetting Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano in the final round of the league phase.

Even then, though, we didn't dare believe that they might actually reach the last 16, after being paired with Inter in the play-offs. However, Bodo pulled off their most remarkable feat to date by beating last season's runners-up in both legs to set up a meeting with either Sporting CP or City. At this point, then, we no longer know what to think - because if this truly wonderful team has taught us anything this season, it's that dreams can still come true in a modern game almost completely ruined by financial inequality.

After blowing a glorious chance to progress directly to the last 16 by picking up just one point from their final two games in the league phase, Atalanta looked set to bow out in the play-off round after a very lame 2-0 loss to Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park.

However, the Bergamaschi staged a brilliant comeback at the New Balance Arena, turning the tie on its head with three goals from Gianluca Scamacca, Davide Zappacosta and Mario Pasalic by the hour mark, and even though BVB drew level on aggregate through Karim Aeyemi, Raffaelle Palladino's men went through thanks to a last-gasp penalty from Lazar Samardzic.

So, while La Dea will obviously be up against it in the next round, whether they face Arsenal or Bayern Munich, Atalanta remain one of the game's great over-achievers and have already beaten Chelsea in this season's tournament.

At the midway point of the league phase, Newcastle were very well-placed to go straight through to the last 16. However, they only managed to win one of their final four fixtures and, thus, ended up in the play-offs, where they were very fortunate to be pitted against Qarabag, whom they thrashed 9-3 on aggregate.

Anthony Gordon's form in the Champions League is unquestionably a cause for optimism, while Newcastle always make for a very tough team to beat at St. James' Park, so they definitely have it in them to upset either Chelsea or Barcelona in front of their own fans (even if the Blaugrana have already won on Tyneside this season!).

However, Newcastle are in the bottom half of the Premier League for three key reasons: they're as unreliable in attack as they are at the back; the midfield is lost without injured captain Bruno Guimaraes; and they're usually awful away from home. So, the Magpies face an uphill task in qualifying for the quarter-finals.

Whatever chance Sporting CP had of qualifying directly for the last 16 appeared to be over after a 3-1 loss at Bayern Munich on matchday six, as the Lisbon outfit's final two games were at home to PSG and away to Athletic Club. However, Luis Suarez's 90th-minute goal earned Sporting a shock 2-1 win over the defending champions, while Alisson Santos scored an even later winner at San Mames to secure seventh spot in the league phase standings.

"This is the image of this team," coach Rui Borges said in relation to his players' penchant for late drama. "It clearly shows their desire to win. They don’t care about the time; they want to play, they want to fight for the game, and they want to be the best."

Now, we don't necessarily believe that Sporting rank among the top eight teams in Europe but, based on everything we've seen so far, they've at least got a shot at reaching the quarter-finals, even if they draw Real Madrid instead of Bodo/Glimt.

Atletico Madrid are one of the most unpredictable teams left in the tournament. Diego Simeone's side are no longer as solid as they once were, as underlined by their 4-0 drubbing by Arsenal in the league phase, while they also conceded four times across the two legs of their play-off clash with Club Brugge. However, the January signing of Ademola Lookman from Atalanta has added even more firepower to an attack that ran riot in a recent Copa del Rey rout of Barcelona.

Friday's last-16 draw will obviously have a big impact on Atleti's hopes of winning a first European Cup, as Liverpool are obviously a much stronger team than Tottenham, but no matter what happens, much will likely depend on the form of star striker Julian Alvarez, who appears to have been affected by the speculation surrounding his future. 

The more things change at Chelsea, the more they stay the same. Liam Rosenior made a promising start to his reign at Stamford Bridge by leading the Blues into the last 16 of the Champions League with an impressive come-from-behind win over Napoli at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

However, the vast majority of Chelsea's very young and inexperienced players remain as inconsistent and ill-disciplined as they were under the coach's predecessor, Enzo Maresca - as illustrated by the fact that they had another player sent off (Wesley Fofana) in last weekend's 1-1 draw with Premier League strugglers Burnley.

As a result, we're not remotely convinced they'll get by either PSG or Newcastle in the last 16, though having the second leg at home should help their cause.

Real Madrid's tie with Benfica was obviously completely overshadowed by Gianluca Prestianni's alleged racial abuse of Vinicius Jr - and Jose Mourinho's shameful attempts to blame the Brazilian for inciting the shocking scenes at the Estadio da Luz.

There's no keeping Vinicius down, though, and after scoring the only goal of the game in Lisbon, the winger also scored the winner in the return fixture at the Bernabeu, as Los Blancos laboured to a 2-1 victory that saw them progress 3-1 on aggregate.

However, while Vinicius has found some fine form in recent weeks, Madrid continue to flatter to deceive under rookie coach Alvaro Arbeloa, so it's hard to shake the suspicion that Real really need to be paired with Sporting CP in the last 16 as opposed to Manchester City if they're to make the quarters.

In the end, Barcelona did well to finish fifth in the league phase, as direct qualification for the last 16 did not look on the cards after they were hammered 3-0 by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. The Blaugrana, thus, deserve credit for reeling off three victories in a row to avoid the ignominy and inconvenience of the play-off round. However, we remain unconvinced by their ability to go all the way this season, especially as that run of wins came against teams that finished outside the top 24: Eintracht Frankfurt, Slavia Prague and Copenhagen.

Hansi Flick's high line also remains a real cause for concern, because it wasn't just exploited by PSG during their win in Catalunya on matchday two, but also by Club Brugge, who tore it to shreds during a 3-3 draw in Belgium. So, while Barca's wonderful array of attacking talent, including Raphinha and Lamine Yamal, mark them out as a team to be feared, there's nothing scary about a defence that conceded 14 goals in just eight Champions League games - and also got brutally exposed in a recent 4-0 Copa del Rey loss to Atletico Madrid.

Vitinha said Paris Saint-Germain had no problem going through the play-offs to get to the last 16 - and one can certainly understand why. The extra games certainly didn't do Luis Enrique's men any harm last season.

However, PSG don't quite look like the same side that went through one Premier League team after another on their way to winning their first European Cup with a stunning demolition of Inter in Munich - and we think that's down to fatigue after a hectic 2025. They certainly weren't anywhere near their brilliant best in squeezing past Monaco 5-4 on aggregate to set up a mouth-watering tie with either Chelsea or Barcelona.

Still, PSG have already beaten the Blaugrana in the Champions League this season and showed in their recent Le Classique rout of Marseille that they remain an unstoppable force when every single player is on it. 

Europe has been Arne Slot's saving grace this season. Liverpool's Premier League title defence is already over, and they face a real fight to finish in the top five, but they've emerged as dark horses to win the Champions League after finishing third in the league phase.

There is still an awful lot wrong with Slot's side, which struggles to break down teams that sit deep and employs long balls to get around their press. However, not a lot of opponents have played that way against them in Europe and Liverpool have flourished as a result, beating Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and Inter on their direct passage to the last 16.

The Reds' shocking lack of cover in defence will probably catch up with them eventually, but they actually look a decent bet to reach the semi-finals, given they've looked a lot better at both ends of the pitch in recent weeks, while Anfield always seem to bring the best out of the Merseysiders.

We thought that Manchester City were back to something approaching their best when they beat Real Madrid at the Bernabeu midway through a 10-game winning streak in all competitions - only for Pep Guardiola's side to experience a sudden and shocking slump in form after the turn of the year, which included a shock loss to Bodo/Glimt. 

However, they still managed to sneak into the top eight in the Champions League by taking advantage of some surprise results elsewhere while securing a 2-0 win over Galatasaray. It was that kind of straightforward victory that Guardiola really needed to see from his side, who have looked very vulnerable defensively this season.

City will also approach their last-16 rematch with either Madrid or Bodo brimming with belief after a good run of domestic results that owes much to them splashing yet more cash to bring in two proven Premier League performers in Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi during the January transfer window. Even more significantly, Erling Haaland is looking very lively again after a dry spell in front of goal, so while this is by no means a vintage Guardiola side, it will still take some stopping in the knockout stage.

Bayern Munich had a relatively rough patch in the Bundesliga at the tail end of January (they picked up just one point from two games!), but they're still going to run away with the title, which should give them a big advantage over so many of their European rivals as they'll have the opportunity to rest key players in between knockout ties while other Champions League contenders are scrapping for points domestically.

Of course, the Bavarians, who beat PSG in Paris during the league phase, also have a fantastic group of players. Harry Kane is arguably the most complete centre-forward in world football, Michael Olise is an outstanding attacking talent, Lennart Karl looks like a star-in-the-making, while Luis Diaz has been even better than anyone could have expected after arriving from Liverpool last summer. 

However, the importance of Jamal Musiala's return to action cannot be overstated. The No.10 opened the scoring in Bayern's final league-phase fixture, against PSV, with his first goal of the season, and although he's still working his way back to full fitness, he could make Vincent Kompany's forward line utterly unstoppable in the knockout stage.

Arsenal are by no means the most attractive or entertaining team in the game today. A lot of their goals come from set-pieces and there's a cynicism about manager Mikel Arteta and some of his key players that jars with a lot of people. The thing is, though, we can't see a stronger side in England or Europe right now - which is why the Premier League leaders topped the Champions League league phase with a flawless record despite having to play Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich and Inter along the way.

Obviously, a lot can change during the business end of the season. Injuries, for example, can derail any campaign, but Arsenal's squad is ridiculously well-equipped to deal with any potential setbacks. Given the Gunners will have home advantage in the second leg of all of their prospective knockout ties, the really couldn't be better placed to finally win a European Cup, even if there will be doubts over their mental strength until they actually manage to win a major trophy.