The best teams across Europe's top five leagues are all set to clash in the 2025 Champions League round of 16.
The eight winners from the Champions League knockout phase playoffs punched their tickets to the next stage of Europe's biggest competition. Waiting to meet them in the round of 16 are the eight teams that already qualified through the league phase.
With the likes of Liverpool, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and more still in the competition, the knockout stage promises plenty of goals, stoppage time drama and maybe even a few upsets. After all, the best of the best are still competing in the Champions League, and only half the teams can advance to the quarterfinals.
Check out SI Soccer's power rankings of the top 10 teams left in the Champions League ahead of the round of 16.
2025 Champions League Round of 16 Power Rankings10. Aston Villa
Aston Villa were one of the surprises in the league phase. The Premier League side directly advanced to the round of 16 after securing a top eight finish. Aston Villa collected more points in the league phase than Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and more of Europe's top teams.
Despite their strong start, it is hard to imagine Aston Villa making a deep run in the competition without Jhon Durán. Sure, the club welcomed Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio in the January transfer window, but a team that just drew Ipswich Town is not a team that can compete with the giants left in the Champions League.
9. Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich were anything but impressive against Celtic. The German giants needed a stoppage time winner from Alphonso Davies in the second leg of their knockout phase playoff tie to advance to the round of 16. When Harry Kane is not finding the back of the net for Bayern Munich, the team looks lost in the final third.
Min-Jae Kim and Dayot Upamecano have also struggled against non-Bundesliga opponents. Bayern Munich conceded four goals to Barcelona and three to Feyenoord in the league phase. Compared to the other teams left in the round of 16, Bayern Munich is unconvincing both in attack and defense.
8. Arsenal
An injury crisis up top has Arsenal coming eighth in our power rankings. The Gunners are currently without Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus. Mikel Arteta has had to rely on Mikel Merino and 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri to score goals, and the makeshift attack is simply not enough to get Arsenal to the Champions League final.
The good news for the Gunners is Saka and Martinelli are not out for the season and could feature in the quarterfinals if Arsenal get past PSV or Feyenoord. The Gunners are a different team with Saka, and their quest for European glory gets a major boost once he is back.
7. Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer Leverkusen might be trailing Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga standings, but their performances in Europe this season have been far more impressive than their German rivals. Xabi Alonso's men finished sixth in the league phase standings and were the only team to score against (and defeat) Inter Milan.
Still, Bayer Leverkusen have yet to prove they can hang with the best of the best in Europe. They suffered defeats to Atlético Madrid and Liverpool, and rely too heavily on Florian Wirtz.
6. Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain lost Kylian Mbappé and somehow started scoring goals. In fact, they bagged 10 goals against Brest in the knockout phase playoffs alone. Ousmane Dembélé is currently playing the best soccer of his career and with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Bradley Barcola on either side of him, PSG have a deadly attack that no one wants to face.
PSG are also on a 19-game unbeaten run across all competitions. Still, the French giants have a history of crumbling in the Champions League and they are due to play either Liverpool or Barcelona in the round of 16.
5. Inter Milan
Inter Milan is the last Serie A side standing in the 2024–25 Champions League knockout stage, and for good reason. The Italian giants finished fifth in the league phase standings after winning six of their eight matches. Bayer Leverkusen handed Inter their lone defeat and also were the only team to find the back of the net against Simone Inzaghi's men.
Yes, you read that correctly. Inter conceded just goal in their eight league phase matches. They kept clean sheets against Arsenal, Manchester City, Monaco, Crvena Zvezda, Young Boys, RB Leipzig and Sparta Prague. Despite their elite defense, their attack is slightly one dimensional; as long as opposing teams lock down Lautaro Martínez, they will have a chance against Inter.
4. Atlético Madrid
Atlético Madrid are somehow flying under the radar in the Champions League. Diego Simeone's men might not have Barcelona's flashy attack or a superstar up top like Mbappé or Mohamed Salah, but they win games. Simple as that.
In fact, Atlético Madrid have scored 10 stoppage time goals in La Liga alone this season. No game is ever safe against Los Colchoneros thanks to their dominant counter attack. Not to mention that the Spanish club has a classic Simeone defense that is disciplined, stingy and a nightmare to play against.
3. Liverpool
Ranking Liverpool as the third best team left in the round of 16 might seem harsh considering the Reds topped the league phase and remain atop the Premier League table. Yet their recent form has raised some alarm bells. Arne Slot's men only have one victory in their last four matches against teams that pail in comparison to the top teams in the Champions League.
Still, Salah is putting together a Ballon d'Or-worthy campaign and is playing as well as any player in the world. The Egyptian superstar will need help from his supporting cast, though, if Liverpool want to lift the Champions League trophy at the end of the season.
2. Barcelona
Hansi Flick's young Barcelona side has a staggering amount of talent that will get them over the line against just about any opponent. The Catalans' front three of Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal will exploit even the most disciplined defenses.
After all, Barcelona do not stop scoring goals. Flick's men bagged 28 goals in the league phase alone, the most by any team. They also have already sent nine goals past Real Madrid in their two meetings this season. Many of Barcelona's starters lack experience in the Champions League, though, and the team's lack of depth could hurt their chances of going all the way.
1. Real Madrid
After Real Madrid dismantled Manchester City in the knockout phase playoffs, they are back to being the favorites to once again top Europe's biggest competition. Now that Mbappé has found his form, the defending European champions look as dangerous as ever.
There are still question marks surrounding their makeshift defense, but with David Alaba returning from injury and the emergence of Raúl Asencio, Carlo Ancelotti's squad is more than capable of lifting their record 16th Champions League title come May.
After all, who is going to bet against Real Madrid in the Champions League?
