Man City Square's top 10 UEFA Champions League teams ranked: The favourites decided

The UEFA Champions League returned last week with a brand new league format to showcase. For Manchester City, matchday one saw them take on 2023 final opponents Inter Milan and the two sides ended the game with a 0-0 draw with one point each to add to the table.

Next week, we will be treated to more European fixtures and some stellar games to look forward to.

Since the new season has arrived and everyone has started to wonder if their team will be the ones to claim the desired trophy, let's take a look at our predictions here at Man City Square on the top 10 favourites to win.

Man City Square Champions League picks

10: Arsenal

Manchester City's biggest Premier League title opponents in the last few seasons, and it looks to be the same scenario this time around as well, especially after the 2-2 draw between them over the weekend.

The Gunners made it all the way to the quarter-finals last season, after defeating Porto during a penalty shootout. They fell short to Bayern Munich, who won the tie 3-2.

While Arsenal have improved majorly in the last few years and have certainly become one of the best teams in Europe, them once again falling short to a top-tier team, most possibly due to the lack of a number 9 and regular goalscorer which was evident against Atalanta, could be the outcome once again.

9: Paris Saint-Germain

A brand new PSG has been formed this season, with the likes of superstars such as Neymar and Kylian Mbappe no longer in the squad.

Last season, they reached the semi-final of the Champions League after an incredible 6-4 tie against Barcelona. But, they weren't able to surpass Dortmund to get into the final.

This time, they will be without topscorer Mbappe and will look to players such as Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola, Vitinha and Goncalo Ramos to lead them to awaited glory.

While many will see them at a disadvantage without Mbappe, there are elements that come as a positive from the matter, such as the team no longer only focused around big stars and names, and as we've worked out by now, PSG have always seemed to suffer in the champions league, due to the lack of teamwork and more attention on big individual names.

The start of the 24/25 season has seen a rather enthusiastic Rouge et Bleu, winning four out of five Ligue 1 matches and drawing one. As for the Champions League, their first game looked to end in a goalless draw despite many chances for the Paris club, but the 89th minute saw Nuno Mendes tuck away a match-winning goal to secure three points.

But will this new change be enough to win them their first-ever Champions League title? The likeability says they will not be doing it this season as there is still a long way to go for this new-look Paris Saint-Germain team.

8: Atletico Madrid

A club that always has the potential to go all the way, however, always ends up underachieving.

Atletico Madrid seem always to be involved in the latter stages of the competitions, but things never seem to work out in their favour.

The team showed a very positive fight on matchday one where they won 2-1 against Leipzig very late into the game. Maybe Diego Simone will finally achieve his goal of bringing a Champions League trophy to the red side of Madrid.

But, with other teams in a better and more convincing state, it doesn't look very probable that this season will be the time Atleti come out triumphant.

7: Leverkusen

Xabi Alonso's mindblowing, historical and magical team. It's hard to fully contemplate what Leverkusen achieved in the 23/24 season, from winning their first-ever Bundesliga title to becoming the club with the longest unbeaten streak in club football.

Leverkusen somehow always managed to make results end in their favour, even with a few minutes or seconds remaining on the clock. Xabi Alonso's squad won the hearts of football fans from everywhere, with many finding themselves rooting for them on various occasions to continue living the dream.

While they did win the Bundesliga and German Cup trophies, their unbeaten run came to an end in the Europa League final against Atalanta and an Ademola Lookman hattrick, which also made them lose out on the European silwere.

However, it's safe to say Leverkusen have outdone themselves and now, they participate in the Champions League. On matchday one, against Feyenoord, they smashed them 4-0, with goals coming from Grimaldo and a double breakout star Florian Wirtz, along with an own goal from the opposition.

However, we have seen a loss from the side to Leipzig 3-2 already this season and while that is only one game, maybe losses may come easier to the team this time around.

While Leverkusen have many big names ahead if they are to shock spectators and win the Champions League, we all know they have proven they cannot or should not be written off.

6: Barcelona

Barcelona have quite easily failed themselves the last few seasons, from not making it out of the group stage and going out early on various stages in the Europa League, to messing up a 4-2 lead against Paris Saint-Germain in the last season's quarter-finals. With the club's financial situation far from ideal, it's not a surprise the downfall they have suffered.

But, we have seen some glimmer of hope from the Catalan club, especially with Spain's Euro star Lamine Yamal showing his world-class potential which will be highly beneficial to this Barcelona squad, which already includes the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Pedri and newly signed Dani Olmo.

While they did get off to a disappointing start on matchday one, suffering a 2-1 loss to Ligue 1 side Monaco, the league phase has a long way to go but there is no doubt that this Barcelona squad will need to start improving immensely if they want a real chance at finally cementing themselves as one of the best in Europe.

5: Liverpool

In somewhat ways like Barcelona, we haven't seen the best from Manchester City's once-upon-a-time title rivals Liverpool on the European stage in these last few seasons.

After winning the Champions League back in 2019, The Reds haven't been too prominent since. Despite making the 2022 final against Real Madrid, where they lost 1-0, previous and after campaigns have either seen them go out earlier than expected or even miss the competition altogether and only gain a Europa League place, this happened in 2024 and they went out to Atalanta in the quarter-finals losing 3-1.

But despite some underwhelming results, Liverpool's pedigree is clear, and so far this season, with new manager Arne Slot replacing former beloved boss Klopp, we have seen decent form from the club. They started off their European journey with a 3-1 win against AC Milan and have won four out of five games in the premier league.

Maybe Liverpool will return to their top quality this Champions League season.

4: Inter Milan

The Serie A club that have gotten back to their best in the last few seasons, winning two League titles, two Coppa Italia trophies and coming as Champions League runner's up in 2023.

Despite not being fully "best of the best", the Blue side of Milan have definitely majorly improved themselves, becoming a force to be reckoned with going into this year's competition. Especially as they started matchday one with a 0-0 draw with Man City.

The squad includes the likes of Lautaro Martinez, Marcus Thuram and Federico Dimarco among other influential names that have helped Inter get to where they are and will continue to aim to do so in attempts to make the Nerazzurri champions of Europe.

3: Bayern Munich

Vincent Kompany's Bayern Munich came to prove a point on matchday one as they defeated Dinamo Zagreb 9-0, with four goals from English International Harry Kane to help seal the deal. After having a rather disappointing season compared to their usual standards last time, losing the Bundesliga title, not reaching the German Cup final and falling short to Real Madrid 4-3 in the semi-finals was the sacking point for Thomas Tuchel, but now they seem to be showing very positive signs in their performances in both Europe and in the German league.

The Bavarian team still have many aspects that will require fine-tuning and considering the teams that they have taken on so far will be highly different compared to the ones they will need to encounter if they are to make it right to the end of the Champions League, but right now, they are showing themselves to be back on track to once again conquer Europe.

2: Manchester City

Now, our readers won't be too impressed with Manchester City being placed on second spot, but let's explain.

While Manchester City have the most potential and capability of winning any trophy ahead of them, especially the UEFA Champions League, we have seen the club sometimes under-perform and not be able to keep up with certain other heavyweights.

Last season, a dramatic 4-4 aggregate saw Man City lose to Real Madrid on penalties in the quarter-finals. While many wouldn't have been too disappointed, as City did achieve the historic treble in the former season, the Sky Blues failure to retain the FA Cup title against rivals Manchester United was a rather sour point.

But saying that, they did win their fourth premier league title in a row last season, which had never been done and now, they hope for a fifth in a row.

But, even this season we have seen City struggle against the bigger clubs, like Arsenal and Inter Milan as they were only able to claim one point from both fixtures.

However, with it being so early on in the new season, it's safe to say that Manchester City will only grow and improve as the matches go on, and we still believe that the Cityzens have a massive chance at winning their second Champions League honour.

1: Real Madrid

And first up is the Champions League main-considered club, Real Madrid. Last season, Real Madrid went on to win themselves another European title, despite being rather unconvincing the whole competition against multiple sides such as Man City and Leipzig, but in true Real Madrid fashion, they went on to defeat everyone in their path and won their favourite trophy.

Despite already having a glorious squad of players like Vinicius, Jude Bellingham, Rodrigo and Luka Modric, they have somehow added more star power with the arrival of Kylian Mbappe.

Concerns have been raised, highlighting the point that having huge names doesn't bring trophies and even the question being asked if having so many standout names like Mbappe and Bellingham will complicate how the squad dynamic works, so this situation could go in one of two ways; historically correct or historically incorrect.

But, so far, we have seen the Los Blancos shining in La Liga and even matchday one of the Champions League, where they won 3-1 against Stuttgart.

Even though there are many different possible scenarios, Real Madrid still make the top of the favourites list for the 24/25 Champions League.

Like always, we cannot wait to see how the new season of the UEFA Champions League unfolds and who goes on to add their name to the coveted trophy.