What
Moving up the table, Opta have positioned Slavia Prague, Athletic Club and PSV as teams that will miss out on progressing, with the latter of those two sides being ones that many would expect to at least reach the play-off stage, or be competing for it.
Copenhagen are next in the table, just one place below Bodo/Glimt. The Norwegian side are another team playing in what is their first-ever Champions League campaign, though Opta feel that the fairytale will not continue beyond the competition’s current stage.
Cypriot side Pafos are next in the table, one place below Benfica who, despite the return of Jose Mourinho as manager, are not predicted to reach even the play-off round. Rounding out the bottom third of the table are Greek giants Olympiacos, Ligue 1 side Monaco, who snatched a late equaliser against Manchester City in their second game of the Champions League and Bayer Leverkusen, winners of a domestic double in the 2023/24 season.
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 into teams that will qualify for the play-off games that follow the league, the next stage of the table, Opta have predicted that Eintracht Frankfurt will finish just one place ahead of fellow Bundesliga side Leverkusen to clinch the lowest berth for the following stage.
Opta also believe that Villarreal and Marseille, recognisable clubs from Spain and France respectively, will do enough to get into the play-offs, as will Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise, who have enjoyed a remarkable upturn in recent years.
Just ahead of USG are their Belgian compatriots Club Brugge, who themselves are directly behind Sporting Lisbon in 19th. Galatasaray, who recorded a sensational 1-0 win over Liverpool, are also predicted to do enough to reach at least the play-off stage, with Azerbaijani side Qarabag, the first club from their country to advance beyond the Champions League qualifiers, slated to take up the highest-ranked unseeded spot.
Any side that finish between 16th and ninth in the table qualify for the play-offs as a seeded team, which ensures that they will play the second leg at home. Turin juggernauts Juventus are, according to Opta, projected to finish 16th, with almost a whole point of difference predicted between them and Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid, who Opta think will place one spot higher than Juve.
In 14th are Atalanta. Though the Bergamo side, who won the 2024 Europa League, have become a constant in continental football, they are without the management of Gian Piero Gasperini. Just ahead of them, in 13th, are Newcastle United, who are making their second Champions League appearance within three years.
The following four positions are all within a point of each other. The expected points total of 12th-placed Napoli, who recruited a number of players, including Kevin De Bruyne, across the summer, is 13.13, 0.12 behind Thomas Frank’s Tottenham Hotspur and 0.21 behind Borussia Dortmund.
Comparatively, there is some breathing room between Dortmund and Chelsea, who Opta feel will just miss out on automatically progressing to the next round with a tally of 13.87. The Blues, no doubt, will hope that Enzo Maresca can lead them deep into their first Champions League campaign for 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
Atletico 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 Saint-Gilloise
10.30
22nd
Olympique Marseille
9.66
23rd
Villarreal
9.56
24th
Eintracht Frankfurt
9.45
Automatic Qualifiers – 8th to 1st

In eighth place on Opta’s predicted table, a position that would ensure an automatic pass to the round of 16, is Barcelona, who have looked like a team reborn since ex-Bayern Munich manager Hansi Flick arrived at the club in 2024.
Ahead of the Catalan club in seventh are Inter Milan, who have been on the losing end of two Champions League finals in the past three years and will no doubt push to finally lift the trophy once again. Liverpool, who are the defending Premier League champions, have been slated to finish sixth, the Reds having topped the league table last season in the competition.
Manchester City are projected to place fifth in the table, narrowly behind Real Madrid, who are now under the management of former Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso. Moving into the top three, Bayern Munich, who are benefitting greatly from a lightning start to the season by Harry Kane, are touted to place third.
Although they are defending the honour of winning the Champions League, Paris Saint-Germain have been predicted to finish second, with Opta believing that Arsenal will top the Champions League table with over a point between themselves and PSG.
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
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