The Champions League's quarterfinals will take place after the end of the current international break
By Francesco Porzio Mar 23, 2026 at 5:05 pm ET • 3 min read 
CBS Sports design The road to the 2025-26 Champions League final, which will take place in Budapest on May 30, is now set, and the eight best European teams will be back after the international break for the first leg of the quarterfinals. Arsenal and Bayern Munich are considered the favorites to win the tournament, but other big teams such as Real Madrid and Barcelona are also in contention for the trophy. The 2024 and 2025 Champions League finalists, Borussia Dortmund and Inter, were both eliminated in the playoffs, while some other surprises shocked the world ahead of the crucial phase of the competition. Let's take a look at our weekly power rankings:
1. Bayern Munich (--)
The German giants are still the number one candidate to win the tournament. They have dominated the Round of 16 against Atalanta, winning 6-1 in the first leg in Italy before winning 4-1 in the second leg at the Allianz Arena. While some players like Michael Olise and Harry Kane are having a fantastic season, their main issue is that they will meet Real Madrid in the quarterfinals before potentially meeting either PSG or Liverpool in the semifinals, but they look extremely solid.
2. Arsenal (--)
Arsenal are also a strong candidate to win it all. The side coached by Mikel Arteta dominated the league phase and finished up as unbeaten before winning the round of 16 tie against Bayer Leverkusen. They will face Sporting CP in the quarterfinals, which is a quite favourable round, and then the winner of the quarterfinal between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona. Over the weekend they lost 2-0 in the EFL Cup final against Manchester City, marking a big setback for Arteta and his team as they failed to win the first trophy of the season, but they are still in a good spot ahead of the last weeks of action in the Premier League.
3. Barcelona (--)
The Blaugrana showed all their potential in the second leg of the round of 16 against Newcastle when they won 7-2 at the Spotify Camp Nou. The side coached by Hansi Flick are at the top of the LaLiga standings and will face their Spanish rivals Atletico Madrid in the quarterfinals of the European tournament, an exciting tie that will definitely be one of the most exciting to follow next month.
4. PSG (--)
They haven't had a dream season like last year, but they are now in good form after winning 8-2 on aggregate against Chelsea in the round of 16. We can expect a lot from them in the coming weeks now that they are leading the Ligue 1 standings and in the quarterfinals, when they will meet Liverpool and potentially one of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in the semifinals.
5. Real Madrid (--)
When it comes to Real Madrid, we need to consider them as a strong candidate to win the Champions League. Winning 5-1 on aggregate against Manchester City and Pep Guardiola showed it again. Both Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham are now back in the squad, and they can become a factor heading into the crucial part of the tournament, when they will meet Bayern Munich, who should be the favorites to win it all this season.
6. Atletico Madrid (+1)
Beating Tottenham may not carry the weight it once did, given the English club's struggles this season, but Diego Simeone's side has now completed their move in the top eight of the Champions League. Results like this, in Europe's premier competition, are exactly the kind of answers that speak for themselves, also considering the increasing questions regarding the future of the manager Diego Simeone.
7. Liverpool (+2)
They haven't been the best English side of the season, and they are not at the level of last season when they dominated the Premier League. Arne Slot's team will face PSG in the quarterfinals, which is not the easiest test they could have.
8. Sporting CP (+6)
They completed an incredible comeback against Bodo/Glimt, and they showed that they deserve to be in the top eight of the competition, but I don't see how they can eliminate Arsenal in the next round.
Teams eliminated
- Olympique Marseille
- Pafos
- Union SG
- PSV
- Athletic Club
- Napoli
- FC Copenaghen
- Ajax
- Eintracht Frankfurt
- Slavia Prague
- Villarreal
- Kairat
- Qarabag
- Olympiacos
- Benfica
- AS Monaco
- Club Brugge
- Juventus
- Borussia Dortmund
- Inter
- Manchester City
- Tottenham
- Atalanta
- Bayer Leverkusen
- Galatasaray
- Bodo/Glimt
- Newcastle
- Chelsea
