The Champions League, the most infamous club tournament on earth, has delivered two official matchdays from its group stage schedule thus far. Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham, and Chelsea are the English clubs representing the Premier League, but how have they fared to date?
Join us as we break down the power rankings for English clubs in the Champions League before matchday 3 commences on October 4.
#1 Manchester City
Group G: Borussia Dortmund, Copenhagen, and Sevilla.
Can anybody stop Erling Haaland and Pep Guardiola’s carefully crafted Manchester City squad? If the first two UEFA Champions League matchdays are anything to go by, it will be a difficult task for any team to accomplish.
The Citizens dismantled Sevilla in their UCL opener, as their star man Haaland collected a brace in Spain as the defending Premier League champions returned to Manchester celebrating a 4-0 success.
Of all the English squads in the UCL competition, City is the only team to have won its first two games. In addition, they’ve achieved these wins convincingly. Borussia Dortmund was undoubtedly the biggest threat to Guardiola’s men, but Haaland struck his old team emphatically with an 83′ minute winner.
Manchester City is, without question, the most consistent team stemming from the English borders. Betting sites are conscious of Guardiola’s presence, placing Man City as the most favourable team to lift the UCL trophy this year.
PSG is the second betting favourite to win the Champions League, but their price is almost doubled in value compared to the Citizens. For a good reason, Manchester City are significant betting favourites, and Haaland is making the oddsmakers’ decision-making much simpler.
#2 Liverpool
Group G: Napoli, Ajax, and Rangers.
Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool have been on a slippery slope in their Premier League outings this season. Still, they’ve been positioned in one of the most challenging UCL group stages compared to their English counterparts. They overcame Dutch champions Ajax on Matchday 2 to secure a second-place positioning.
That said, overall form is a worry for the Merseyside club, who aren’t looking as prolific as they did last term. Liverpool was devastated in last year’s UCL final when Spanish giants Real Madrid prevented the Reds from lifting the trophy; reaching the final in consecutive seasons would be a remarkable yet challenging feat.
It’s still early days, and Liverpool does have a collection of players returning from injury, but a 4-1 loss to Napoli on Matchday 1 is a concern. Losing isn’t the problem, but hopefully, allowing the Serie A club to score four goals isn’t a sign of things to come.
#3 Tottenham
Group D: Sporting, Eintracht Frankfurt, and Marseille.
Tottenham is living up to their domestic expectations and has joined Manchester City as one of the only two undefeated teams through eight EPL matchdays. Unfortunately, Spurs suffered their lone defeat of the 2022/23 season when faced with Sporting CP during the UCL Matchday 2.
Opening their Champions League campaign with a 2-0 success over Marseille was a positive start, but Antonio Conte couldn’t keep his squad in check when traveling to Portugal. As Karim Benzema proved for Real Madrid last term, prolific goal scorers are a must in UCL competitions. This leaves a target on Tottenham’s Harry Kane, who must step up to the plate should Spurs stand a chance of reaching the latter stages of this tournament.
#4 Chelsea
Group E: AC Milan, Dinamo Zagreb, and RB Salzburg.
Chelsea won the Champions League two years ago, but without Romelu Lukaku and manager Thomas Tuchel, London’s most accomplished squad is paling compared to the 2020/21 outfit.
Chelsea has drawn one and lost one through two UCL matchdays, but more worryingly, they’ve scored just one goal and are rock bottom of Group E. As of now, winning the champions league is an afterthought; finding a way to qualify from the group stage is something they may not achieve.
It would require an exceptional run for Chelsea to win the Champions League this term. But with a domestic run showing inconsistency, it could be too much to ask from the newly appointed manager Brendan Rodgers.
