A supercomputer has forecasted how the Champions League table will look at the end of the current campaign.
The 2025/26 edition of Europe’s most prestigious competition is well underway, with this season’s Champions League serving as the second-ever league stage, replacing the more traditional group stage model in 2024.
As is always the case with the Champions League, a number of strong European sides will compete for the honour of achieving what many consider to be the greatest club achievement available. Paris Saint-Germain, under Luis Enrique’s supervision, will undoubtedly strive to maintain their title.
The current Champions League, which is still in its early stages, has the potential to produce some unexpected results as it progresses. Opta Analyst has asked their supercomputer how it believes the Champions League table will look after the league stage is completed.
Eliminated Teams: 36th to 25th
According to Opta’s Expected Points and Position data, a number of major clubs, including Ajax, are expected to exit the Champions League after the group stage, despite having continental pedigree thanks to four European Cup/Champions League triumphs. After two league games, only Kairat, in their first Champions League season, is expected to finish behind the Amsterdam side.
Moving up the ladder, Opta has identified Slavia Prague, Athletic Club, and PSV as teams who will lose out on promotion, with the latter two expected to at least reach the play-off stage, if not compete for it.
Copenhagen is next in the table, just one spot below Bodo/Glimt. The Norwegians are also competing in their debut Champions League season, but Opta believes the fairytale will end when the competition reaches its present stage.
Pafos of Cyprus is next in the table, one spot below Benfica, who, despite the return of Jose Mourinho as manager, are not expected to make the play-off round. Rounding out the bottom third of the rankings are Greek giants Olympiacos, Ligue 1 side Monaco, who salvaged a late equaliser against Manchester City in their second Champions League game, and Bayer Leverkusen, who won a domestic double in 2023/24.
Predicted Champions League Table—36th to 25th
Position
Team
Expected points
25th
Bayer Leverkusen
9.21
26th
Monaco
8.85
27th
Olympiacos
8.61
28th
Benfica
8.04
29th
Pafos
7.82
30th
Bodo/Glimt
7.24
31st
Copenhagen
6.99
32nd
PSV
6.86
33rd
Athletic Club
6.57
34th
Slavia Prague
6.29
35th
Ajax
5.90
36th
Kairat
3.11
Play-off Teams (24th to 9th)
Moving on to the teams who will qualify for the league’s play-off games, the next stage of the table, Opta predicts that Eintracht Frankfurt will finish just one place ahead of fellow Bundesliga side Leverkusen to secure the lowest berth for the following stage.
Opta also believes that Villarreal and Marseille, two well-known clubs from Spain and France, will do enough to qualify for the play-offs, as will Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise, which has had a tremendous rise in recent years.
Club Brugge, their Belgian counterparts, sit just ahead of USG, with Sporting Lisbon trailing in 19th place. Galatasaray, who defeated Liverpool 1-0, are also expected to advance to the play-off stage, with Azerbaijani side Qarabag, the first club from their country to advance past the Champions League qualifiers, set to take the highest-ranked unseeded spot.
Any team that finishes between 16th and ninth in the table qualifies for the play-offs as a seeded team, ensuring that the second leg is played at home. According to Opta, Turin juggernauts Juventus are forecast to finish 16th, with nearly a full point separating them from Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid, who Opta believes will finish one spot higher than Juve.
Atalanta ranks 14th. Though the Bergamo side, which won the 2024 Europa League, has established itself as a fixture in continental football, Gian Piero Gasperini is no longer in charge. Newcastle United is only ahead of them in 13th place, making their second Champions League appearance in three years.
The four positions below are all within a point of one another. The predicted points total of 12th-placed Napoli, which signed several players, including Kevin De Bruyne, over the summer, is 13.13, 0.12 behind Thomas Frank’s Tottenham Hotspur and 0.21 behind Borussia Dortmund.
In comparison, Dortmund and Chelsea have some breathing room, with Opta predicting that they will only miss out on automatic progression to the next round with a tally of 13.87. The Blues will undoubtedly hope that Enzo Maresca can guide them deep into their first Champions League campaign in a few seasons.
Predicted Champions League Table—36th to 25th
Position
Team
Expected points
9th
Chelsea
13.87
10th
Borussia Dortmund
13.34
11th
Tottenham Hotspur
13.25
12th
Napoli
13.13
13th
Newcastle United
12.93
14th
Atalanta
12.47
15th
Atlético Madrid
11.80
16th
Juventus
11.02
17th
Qarabag
11.01
18th
Galatasaray
10.76
19th
Sporting Lisbon
10.58
20th
Club Brugge
10.51
21st
Union St-Gilloise
10.30
22nd
Olympique Marseille
9.66
23rd
Villarreal
9.56
24th
Eintracht Frankfurt
9.45
Automatic Qualifiers: 8th to 1st
Barcelona is ranked eighth on Opta’s expected table, a position that would guarantee an automatic spot in the round of 16, and has looked like a revived team since ex-Bayern Munich manager Hansi Flick joined the club in 2024.
Inter Milan is ahead of the Catalan club in seventh place, having lost two Champions League finals in the previous three years and will undoubtedly seek to win the cup again. Liverpool, the incumbent Premier League champions, are expected to finish sixth after topping the league standings last season in the competition.
Manchester City are expected to finish fifth in the table, just behind Real Madrid, who are currently managed by former Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso. Moving into the top three, Bayern Munich, who have benefited tremendously from Harry Kane’s blazing start to the season, are expected to finish third.
Although they are defending their Champions League title, Paris Saint-Germain are expected to finish second, with Opta predicting Arsenal to lead the Champions League table by more than a point.
Predicted Champions League Table—36th to 25th
Position
Team
Expected points
1st
Arsenal
18.51
2nd
Paris Saint Germain
17.39
3rd
Bayern Munich
16.07
4th
Real Madrid
15.59
5th
Manchester City
15.57
6th
Liverpool
15.39
7th
Inter Milan
15.16
8th
Barcelona
15.07
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