It turns out the main consequence of the winter World Cup in Qatar this year is a raft of top fixtures coming in a short space of time. Ahead of a rammed October calendar came a very busy September schedule crammed in before the recent international break. In the space of two weeks we saw Bayern Munich slump to to fifth, Napoli surge to the top of the Serie A table and Arsenal continue their bright start despite suffering a first defeat.
Based on achievements over the past five seasons, with a sliding scale rewarding more recent successes most heavily, we’ve come up with an algorithm which identifies the very best teams across domestic leagues and European competition. Here are the top 40 teams in the rankings including all results up to and including September 29:
37. Royal Antwerp (previously 33rd), PSV (33rd), Panathinaikos (33rd), Lorient (64th), Udinese (75th), Kolos Kovalivka (-) - 15.000
36. Lyon (27th) - 15.742
35. Lille (41st) - 16.313
34. Lens (24th) - 16.500
33. RB Leipzig (28th) - 16.594
32. Eintracht Frankfurt (53rd) - 16.859
31. Benfica (30th) - 17.813
30. Juventus (15th) - 19.563
29. Freiburg (26th) - 19.750
28. Lazio (31st) - 21.219
27. Villarreal (23rd) - 21.250
26. Roma (5th) - 21.305
25. Monaco (51st) - 21.500
24. Young Boys (25th) - 21.563
23. Real Betis (21st) - 22.063
22. Manchester United (40th) - 24.391
21. Celtic (20th) - 25.313
20. Tottenham Hotspur (19th) - 25.422
19. Atletico Madrid (14th) - 25.680
18. Inter (6th) - 26.125
17. Atalanta (32nd) - 27.500
16. AC Milan (13th) - 28.625
14. Red Star Belgrade (11th), Zenit (11th) - 29.063
13. Chelsea (18th) - 29.484
12. Red Bull Salzburg (33rd) - 30.000
11. Union Berlin (22nd) - 31.500
10. Liverpool (7th) - 31.547
Jurgen Klopp's side continued their poor start to the campaign with a 0-0 draw in the Merseyside derby and then a 4-1 thumping at Napoli. Besides their late win over Ajax in their second Champions League fixture they have been left kicking their heels since then and will be hoping their nine-game October is a more positive affair.
9. Marseille (10th) - 32.375
Two defeats in two to begin their Champions League challenge has stunted Marseille's progress, but they picked up seven points from a possible nine in Ligue 1 in September thanks in part to the impact of Alexis Sanchez, and now sit within two points of league leaders Paris Saint-Germaim.
8. Arsenal (8th) - 33.531
They might have sacrificed their 100 per cent record in their 3-1 defeat to Manchester United but Mikel Arteta's men remain top of the Premier League thanks to their 3-0 bounceback win at Brentford. A busy October, starting with a North London Derby, will tell us much about the Gunners' prospects for the remainder of the campaign.
7. Borussia Dortmund (16th) - 35.414
Dortmund have climbed the rankings thanks to two narrow home wins over Schalke and Hoffenheim in September. Their loss to RB Leipzig robbed them of a spot above Union Berlin at the top of the Bundesliga, while they were within an Erling Haaland goal of a decent four-point return from their opening two Champions League games.
6. Barcelona (9th) - 35.969
Accountants might have a low opinion of Barcelona right now, but they're riding pretty high on the field. Five straight wins have helped to lift them three spots in the Power Rankings and to second in La Liga. Their 2-0 loss at Bayern Munich means they're going to be scrapping it out with Inter for qualification from their UCL group.
5. Napoli (17th) - 37.109
Serie A leaders, conquerors of both Liverpool and Rangers in Europe, Napoli are a team to watch on the continent right now. Having seen off champions Milan in September, crucial fixtures with the likes of Ajax (twice), Roma and Rangers again in October will hold few fears for Luciano Spalletti and his freewheeling side.
4. Bayern Munich (2nd) - 40.117
Bayern steamroll every single opponent in Germany, right? Wrong. Well, wrong so far. Their belting start ground to a halt in September, with three league fixtures bearing zero wins. The small mercy is that they beat both Inter and Barcelona in Europe and look a stick-on for the knockout stage already.
3. Manchester City (4th) - 48.766
City scored just the 10 goals in September, with three wins and a draw on the back of five Erling Haaland goals including a late winner against Borussia Dortmund. Now behind only Arsenal in the Premier League, their 23 goals in seven games so far say much about their continued prominence in the English game.
2. Paris Saint-Germain (3rd) - 51.492
Poor Paris Saint-Germain. They're finding it hard to get the best out of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe all at the same time, their wallet's too small for their fifties, and their diamond shoes are too tight. They won five games out of five in domestic and European football in September, with all three of their star front men netting away to Maccabi Haifa. Don't you feel sorry for them?
1. Real Madrid (1st) - 63.289
La Liga champions, European champions, European Super Cup holders, Spanish league leaders and Group F table-toppers in the Champions League in 2022-23. Is there any wonder Real Madrid are currently untouchable at the top of the Power Rankings? Last season was a lot to live up to but they've started in the right fashion.
*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject to Change
