Champions League Power Rankings before MD3: Who's No. 1? - ESPN

The 2026-27 European club season is in full swing as we approach November, and despite a three-week international break putting teams on pause, we have a sufficient body of work to judge heading into Matchday 3 of the UEFA Champions League.

So far in Europe's top tournament, nine teams are a perfect 2-0-0 to open their campaign, though some of those teams — Stuttgart! Real Betis! — are flying higher than their league form should suggest. That said, there are several juggernauts crowded at the top end of the table and some true heavyweight clashes ahead this week, as Barcelona visit back-to-back champions Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday and Bayern Munich welcome Premier League champions Arsenal to the Allianz Arena on Wednesday.

What will it do to the standings?

Throughout the competition, we will be asking our writers, editors and other experts to rank the top 10 teams in the tournament in terms of who they think are the strongest and most likely to win it all. Here are your Champions League Power Rankings going into a fun week.

— Previous rank: 1
— Games since MD1: defeated Brest 1-0, defeated Marseille 2-1, defeated Le Mans 3-1, defeated Man City 4-2, defeated Strasbourg 3-1
— MD3 opponent: vs. Barcelona, Tuesday

Luis Enrique's side is a notorious slow starter domestically, by its own admission, but after two draws and a defeat to open the season, PSG well and truly seem back on track now. Since a 6-1 rout of Slovan Bratislava on UCL Matchday 1, they've won every game with a rotating cast of characters. Summer signing Ferran Torres from Barcelona has seven goals already, and 10 different players have found the net across the team's 11 games in all competitions.

Young arrivals Mika Godts and Maghnes Akliouche have