The 8 strongest Champions League teams for the 2025-2026 season have been identified, including PSG, Arsenal, Sporting, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Liverpool. Among these, Sporting is the only representative outside the top 5 national championships in Europe.
The Premier League is a big disappointment when up to 4/6 representatives stopped from the round of 16, of which most suffered heavy defeats. Chelsea lost to PSG with a total score of 2-8, Tottenham was eliminated by Atletico Madrid with a total score of 5-7, Man City was defeated 1-5 by Real Madrid, and Newcastle also succumbed 3-8 by Barcelona. Hopes of English football at this time are focused on Arsenal and Liverpool.
In the quarter-finals, Arsenal is considered to have a more relaxed bracket when they only have to face Sporting. The Portuguese representative once caused a big surprise when winning 5-0 in the second leg to eliminate Bodo/Glimt. However, in the most recent confrontation, Arsenal crushed Sporting 5-1 right on the away field in the Champions League group stage in November 2024.
The winning team in this match will face Barcelona or Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals. Barcelona has experienced opposite results when facing Atletico this season. They once won 4-1 in La Liga, but lost 0-4 in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals and could not reverse the situation even though they won 3-0 in the second leg.
In the remaining bracket, Liverpool will face PSG in a rematch full of fate. Last season, the French representative eliminated Liverpool right at Anfield after a penalty shootout on the journey to the championship. This reunion is not only about competing for a ticket to the semi-finals but also an opportunity for Arne Slot's team to reclaim their old debt.
The remaining quarter-final pair is the confrontation between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich - two of the most traditional forces in Europe. Real Madrid holds the record of 15 championships, while Bayern has 6 titles.
Although they have never met in the final, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are the most frequent matches in Champions League history with 28 encounters. In which, Real won 13 matches, Bayern won 11 and the two teams drew 4 times.
According to the schedule, the first leg of the quarter-finals will take place on April 7th and 8th, with PSG, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Sporting playing at home. The second legs take place a week later.
