Soccer Power Rankings: Bold predictions for Europe’s top teams

On the first Tuesday of every month during the 2024-25 season, we’ll debate which clubs are among Europe’s elite in our Soccer Power Rankings. In our November edition, we’re making one bold prediction for the rest of the season for each team on the list.

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1. Barcelona 🇪🇸

Previous rank: 6 📈

Barcelona might be toiling in 10th place, but Hansi Flick’s well-rounded team is going to cement its place as Champions League favorites after winning the league phase of the tournament. After dominating Bayern Munich before a 4-0 thrashing of Real Madrid in El Clasico, there’s no reason why Barcelona can’t claim top spot in the revamped opening round of the Champions League. That belief is boosted by a run of games against manageable opponents – aside from Atalanta – over the remaining five matches. – Gordon Brunt

2. Liverpool 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Previous rank: 1 📉

Arne Slot has a more pragmatic approach than his predecessor, Jurgen Klopp – and he’s delivering. But this still feels like the end of an era, where the Dutchman is trying to find out which players he’ll be working with next season. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah, and Virgil van Dijk are all out of contract in June 2025, and their exits leave Slot and sporting director Richard Hughes with a nightmarish summer on Merseyside. – Daniel Rouse

3. Real Madrid 🇪🇸

Previous rank: 2 📉

The goals haven’t piled up for Kylian Mbappe like he would’ve expected after last summer’s blockbuster transfer to Real Madrid. Joining the Champions League holders was supposed to turn Real Madrid into an unbeatable powerhouse. But the wins and the goals haven’t materialized … yet. Eight goals in 14 games is admirable for most players, but Mbappe has set the bar so high that his output this season is a bit of a letdown. His lackluster first season in Spain will persist, with Mbappe’s frustrations leading to a career low in goals. – Brunt

4. Manchester City 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Previous rank: 4 ⚖️

Aymeric Laporte’s arrival in January 2018 marked the last time Manchester City struck an expensive midseason deal. A range of factors indicate City will make a huge splash in the transfer market in two months, including last summer’s low spend, Rodri’s long-term injury, the lack of backup for Erling Haaland, and the likes of Matheus Nunes and James McAtee making unconvincing cases for regular starts. Incoming sporting director Hugo Viana is already working behind the scenes. – Rouse

5. Bayern Munich 🇩🇪

Previous rank: 3 📉

Bayern Munich enjoyed a dominant start to the season that had some believing winning the Bundesliga and Champions League was possible. Vincent Kompany’s men were hammering inferior opponents early on. But when Bayern started to get tested, the German giants crumbled. While they’ll likely go on to win another Bundesliga title, they’ll only do so because they were afforded more time to focus on domestic duties after an early elimination from the Champions League in the round of 16. – Brunt

6. Paris Saint-Germain 🇫🇷

Previous rank: 7 📈

Predicting Paris Saint-Germain will limp out of the Champions League knockout rounds after some naivety or chaos isn’t bold. So let’s up the ante: PSG won’t emerge from the league phase. With four points from three matches, they’re three points adrift of the qualification spots and only have a one-point cushion in the playoff places. Their next opponents? Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich this month – and those two need results – before meetings with Red Bull Salzburg, Manchester City, and Stuttgart. – Rouse

7. Atalanta 🇮🇹

Previous rank: N/A 📈

If Atalanta taught us anything over the years, it’s to never discount Gian Piero Gasperini’s squad. They’ve consistently finished in the top 10 in Serie A since he took over in 2016. That success hasn’t resulted in silverware at home, but it’s opened the doors to Europe. After winning the club’s first continental trophy in the Europa League last season, Atalanta will have their sights on the ultimate prize: the Champions League. They won’t go all the way, but Atalanta are going to solidify their reputation as a European force with a run to the semifinals. – Brunt

8. Napoli 🇮🇹

Previous rank: 17 📈

A humbling defeat to Atalanta wasn’t an ideal way for Napoli to kick off a crucial juncture in their season. Antonio Conte’s side conceded more goals (three) to Atalanta than it did in the previous eight games combined. But the defeat wasn’t enough to knock Napoli off their perch atop the Serie A table. The defense will bounce back from Sunday’s lopsided loss and prove vital again in helping Napoli win another surprise Scudetto. Their failure to qualify for Europe last season will benefit a Napoli side that can focus solely on winning Serie A for the second time in three years. – Brunt

9. Arsenal 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Previous rank: 5 📉

Martin Odegaard’s long-awaited return from injury won’t be enough to save Arsenal’s season. After their promising title bid in 2023-24, a lack of discipline and underperforming players this term have contributed to Arsenal’s regression. Forget mounting a title bid, Mikel Arteta’s men won’t qualify for the Champions League next season at this rate. It’s early, so there’s still time to solidify a place in the top four, but the recent downward spiral suggests things are going to get worse before they get better. – Brunt

10. Fiorentina 🇮🇹

Previous rank: N/A 📈

Moise Kean seemed to commit career suicide when he joined Everton in 2019 after his scoring touch deserted him completely at Juventus. But he’s now found his groove, scoring five goals in 10 Serie A appearances to help Fiorentina rise to fourth place. He was Dusan Vlahovic’s backup last season but can outscore the Juve marksman in this campaign. – Rouse

11. Inter Milan 🇮🇹

Previous rank: 11 ⚖️

The Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram partnership is lethal enough to boost Inter Milan’s prospects of winning the Scudetto. The duo has scored 12 league goals combined to help put Inter Milan in contention to successfully defend their Serie A title. But scoring is only effective so long as opponents aren’t enjoying the same success on the other end of the pitch. Inter’s potent attack has masked defensive woes that will ultimately cost them a chance to return to the Champions League next season. – Brunt

12. Sporting CP 🇵🇹

Previous rank: 16 📈

In the Golden Shoe race, goals in Europe’s top five leagues are multiplied by two, while goals in leagues like Portugal’s Primeira Liga and Turkey’s Super Lig are multiplied by 1.5. That puts Sporting CP’s Viktor Gyokeres (third place with 24 points) at a considerable disadvantage in his battle with Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski (first place with 28 points). Nevertheless, Gyokeres will become the first player from outside the elite leagues to collect the award since Sporting’s Mario Jardel 22 years ago. – Rouse

13. RB Leipzig 🇩🇪

Previous rank: 19 📈

Klopp’s appointment as head of Red Bull’s soccer operations won’t make much difference at RB Leipzig. The Saxony outfit hopes he’ll help the team find ways to unpick low blocks and attract bigger signings. However, there’s no clear idea of what Klopp’s main responsibilities are while he splits his time between the Red Bull clubs. It could be little more than a roving consultancy role, and he won’t be able to give enough attention to Leipzig to make a real impact. – Rouse

14. Juventus 🇮🇹

Previous rank: 8 📉

Kenan Yildiz is already a game-changer for Juventus. At just 19, he thrived in the heated atmosphere of the Derby d’Italia to salvage a 4-4 draw with two goals off the bench against Inter on Oct. 27. He completed three take-ons and drew two fouls in Saturday’s 2-0 win at Udinese. Arda Guler was supposed to be the finest Turkish player of his generation, but Yildiz is in the process of pinching that title and never surrendering it. – Rouse

15. Eintracht Frankfurt 🇩🇪

Previous rank: N/A 📈

Dino Toppmoller will succeed Ruben Amorim as the hottest coaching prospect in Europe. As Julian Nagelsmann’s former assistant, the 43-year-old unsurprisingly favors high pressing and rapid counterattacks. But what’s most impressive about Toppmoller’s management is how free-scoring Omar Marmoush, PSG flop Hugo Ekitike, and other players whose careers were at risk of fading are now flourishing. Eintracht Frankfurt haven’t scored this many goals after nine Bundesliga matches since the Tony Yeboah and Jay-Jay Okocha days of the early 1990s. – Rouse

16. Chelsea 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Previous rank: 10 📉

Cole Palmer’s exploits in attack are nothing new. Anyone who watched Chelsea last year knows that he was a significant reason the underperforming Blues weren’t in a relegation battle. The English attacker has been just as impressive this season, but Chelsea aren’t going to win anything without contributions from Nicolas Jackson. He’s been the Premier League’s most-improved player, but he won’t stop there. Jackson looks primed to continue turning heads when he breaks into the Premier League Golden Boot conversation to help the Blues finish ahead of Arsenal. – Brunt

17. Atletico Madrid 🇪🇸

Previous rank: 9 📉

There isn’t a great deal that Diego Simeone can do about injuries, but it’ll be hard to find consistency while there are so many changes to his lineup. Just two Atletico Madrid players have started 10 or more La Liga matches this season – for comparison, Barcelona and Real Madrid are on five apiece – while the coach struggles to work out his best XI. Get it right, Simeone, or Atleti will finish outside the top four for the first time since 2012. – Rouse

18. Bayer Leverkusen 🇩🇪

Previous rank: 12 📉

It would make sense if the coach who delivered a first-ever top-flight trophy was given a longer leash if things didn’t go well the following season. But loyalty doesn’t last long in football – just ask Claudio Ranieri, the coach who was sacked the season following Leicester City’s miraculous Premier League triumph after a rough start. Xabi Alonso is going to follow in the Italian’s footsteps and be used as a scapegoat when European and domestic duties prove overwhelming, causing Bayer Leverkusen to fall out of contention. – Brunt

19. Nottingham Forest 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Previous rank: N/A 📈

Nottingham Forest sit third in the Premier League. It won’t last, but there are enough encouraging signs to suggest they can battle for Conference League qualification. That would mean a lot for the two-time European Cup winners, who haven’t appeared in a continental competition since 1996. However, the biggest obstacle to that goal would be volatile owner Evangelos Marinakis rather than the team’s quality. Expect some hasty and ultimately disruptive transfer business if Forest are still flying high in January. – Rouse

20. Lille 🇫🇷

Previous rank: N/A 📈

One thing Jonathan David needs to do to win the Ligue 1 scoring title is stay healthy. The Canadian striker is near the top of the scoring chart, trailing PSG’s Bradley Barcola by one with seven goals so far. David has all the tools to overtake his counterpart. However, the other important thing he has to do is stay with Lille. David’s chances of claiming the scoring title are going to be wiped out after Lille agree to sell the 24-year-old abroad in January. – Brunt

On the cusp: Borussia Dortmund, Galatasaray, PSV Eindhoven