This article is part of our Power Rankings series.
The UEFA Champions League is down to the final eight teams: one from France, two from Germany, two from England and three from Spain. Here's a look where each team stands heading into those matches which begin early April.
1. Manchester City
Starting with the reigning European champions and the best team in the world, it's hard to have anyone other than Manchester City in the top spot. The Citizens are fighting at the top of the Premier League and when fit, Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland are the best one-two combo in Europe. Still, injury concerns with Ederson and some surprisingly streaky form have City looking vulnerable, especially with a clash against Real Madrid in the quarter-final.
2. Real Madrid
Real Madrid are clear at the top of La Liga and will be able to rest anyone they'd like to prepare for Champions League the rest of the way. The issue for Los Blancos is that they take on Manchester City in the quarter-final, a true clash of titans and two managers who are plenty familiar with each other. With Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior, there's no way to look past Real Madrid, as they have the true knockout power few teams can compete with.
3. Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich are going to lose the Bundesliga for the first time in a decade. If Thomas Tuchel wants to salvage his job, which may already be too far gone, a Champions League win might be the only thing that can do so. This team still has an outrageous amount of talent. Harry Kane is smashing Bundesliga records, Jamal Musiala is one of the most exciting young players in the world and yet they've been inconsistent, and at times, downright bad. In Europe, this team has the talent to end a tie in 15 minutes even against a team as good as their quarter-final opponent, Arsenal.
4. Arsenal
Arsenal are right back near the top of the Premier League and defensively one of the best in Europe. The only reason they slide down to fourth in these rankings is their lackluster Champions League form, requiring penalties to sneak by Porto. Arsenal are also in the tough spot of fighting a war on all fronts, as they can't risk resting players in the Premier League and fatigue has shown to be an issue in the squad. The best example of that was their precipitous drop in form in late December, resulting in back-to-back league losses to West Ham and Fulham. Getting a result in Bavaria will be crucial for Arsenal to progress to the semi-final.
5. Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain have the talent to be the top option on this list, and in fact, for pure skill they might be the top team. Still, with Kylian Mbappe seemingly on the outs from the club and the replacements for Neymar and Lionel Messi failing to hit the ground running, there's been some concern with PSG. No team in this tournament is bad, but this isn't one of the PSG super teams of season's past. This is the PSG team that has drawn three of their last five in Ligue 1 despite Mbappe being on 24 goals and five assists in league play this season.
6. Barcelona
Robert Lewandowski is slowly getting back to his best, but even at his absolute best, this Barcelona side lacks the firepower of those above them in Champions League. That's not to say they can't prove troublesome for PSG or any of the other teams here, but this isn't a Barcelona team that inspires fear and recent injuries to numerous regulars doesn't help. Defense has been a particularly notable issue for the Blaugrana, who have conceded 34 goals in La Liga, which despite being a decent number is middle of the table. There's plenty of youthful eagerness, but this is a team that should be more of a consistent threat in the coming seasons, not right now.
7. Borussia Dortmund
Dortmund are at risk of failing to qualify for the Champions League in 2024/25, though that's largely due to some questionable form in the first half of the season. In recent weeks, Dortmund have been one of the most in-form teams in the Bundesliga and even when they were struggling domestically, they topped Group F in the Champions League, which featured PSG, AC Milan and Newcastle. Dortmund are certainly one of the underdogs among the remaining teams and they can't be overlooked, especially if Karim Adeyemi and Jadon Sancho find form.
8. Atletico Madrid
Atletico Madrid, like Dortmund, sit outside the European places in their domestic league, and like Barcelona, they have conceded 34 goals. A Diego Simeone team that has defensive issues is a Diego Simeone team that isn't functioning correctly. Their comeback Round-of-16 win over Inter on penalties was impressive, but that doesn't hide their recent form which includes a 4-0 drubbing by Athletic Club in Copa del Rey and taking one combined point from recent trips to Cadiz and Almeria. Antoine Griezmann and company arguably got the easiest draw of the quarter-final against Dortmund and even then it would take something impressive for Atleti to make the semi-final. Still, if any manager can build a Champions League run off sheer force of will, it's Simeone.
