The new Champions League format is well received by football fans. From surprising defeats to dramatic comebacks, this year’s tournament continues to deliver exciting football. As the group stage begins to draw to a close, we are currently evaluating the best teams in the competition.

Barcelona

Hansi Flick’s Barça has been the talk of the football world this season for obvious reasons: this team is currently playing the best football in Europe.

The Catalans lost their Champions League opener against Monaco 2-1 after Eric Garcia was given his marching orders in the 10th minute, but the Spanish league leaders have recovered in style. A 5-0 home win over the Young Boys was followed by a 4-1 win against Bayern Munich on matchday three. Not to mention the 4-0 victory over rivals Real Madrid in the El Clasico just a few days later.

Barcelona has a young core of outstanding talent, including a number of La Masia graduates.

The five-time Champions League winners also have arguably the deadliest front three in all of Europe. Golden Boy winner Lamine Yamal has continued to impress this season, with goal contributions in three of four Champions League games so far, including Barcelona’s only goal against Monaco.

Veteran Robert Lewandowski has already scored six goals this tournament season, while Rafinha, who scored a brilliant hat-trick in the win over Bayern, is having the best season of his career with five goals and two assists. Then there are the likes of Pedri Gonzalez, Pablo Gavi, Marc Caseido, Fermin Lopez and Pau Cubarsi in the lineup, enough to put opposing teams in their place.

With Barcelona’s only difficult group stage game on paper being the trip to Dortmund on Matchday 5, they are poised to get through the group stage comfortably. The Blaugrana currently have one of the best chances of winning the competition this season and football fans can find out how to place their UCL bets via TrustnBet, a credible source for new and experienced sports bettors.

Liverpool

The appointment of Arne Slot as Liverpool manager in the summer was met with mixed reactions from fans and pundits, but the Dutch coach has so far proved the critics wrong. The Reds sit at the top of the Premier League table with 25 points and have also recorded three Champions League wins this season.

The six-time champions opened their season with a 3-1 win against AC Milan. After falling behind in the second minute at the San Siro, Ibrahim Konate equalized and Virgil Van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai ensured all three points were scored. Slot’s men took care of business at home against Bologna (2-0) and a Darwin Nunez goal in the 27th minute gave them a win against Leipzig on matchday three.

They faced a tough test at home against Bayer Leverkusen but managed to eke out a comfortable win despite not playing their best football in the first half. Luis Diaz opened the scoring with a great finish after receiving a brilliant through ball from Curtis Jackson in the 61st minute. Cody Gakpo extended the lead two minutes later with a powerful header and put the hosts in a comfortable position. Diaz added two more goals to his tally in the final minutes, scoring his first Champions League hat-trick.

As it stands, Liverpool appear to be on the right track, but they will need to be at their best as they face the challenges ahead against tough opponents like Real Madrid.

Manchester City

The Cityzens are not playing their best football at the moment, but are still one of the best teams in the competition. A season-ending injury to newly crowned Ballon d’Or winner Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne’s ongoing injury problems will obviously deal a major blow to their season ambitions. Still, this is a team coached by Pep Guardiola and capable of picking up wins when needed.

City battled Serie A champions Inter Milan in their opening group stage game and secured a point. They seemed to bounce back with two big wins. A 4-0 win against Slovan Bratislava, followed by a 5-0 result against Sparta Praha, but a shocking 4-1 defeat against Sporting on matchday four has left them in a difficult position with tough games still to come against Juventus and PSG are ahead of them. Manchester City have now lost three games in a row in all competitions for the first time since 2018. The defeat is also the worst since the 5-2 loss to Leicester City in 2020

Given the quality of Man City’s squad, oddsmakers expect them to win their next group stage games and qualify for the knockout stages. Furthermore, De Bruyne’s recent return to the squad after a seven-week break gives Guardiola’s side an added boost.