Paris Saint-Germain tops ESPN Champions League rankings before Matchday 3
Barcelona rises to second in ESPN’s assessment of the leading contenders, while Arsenal and Bayern Munich sit third and fourth ahead of their meeting in Munich.
Paris Saint-Germain remained first in ESPN’s UEFA Champions League power rankings published on October 19, 2026, ahead of Matchday 3. Barcelona climbed to second, while Arsenal and Bayern Munich ranked third and fourth before their scheduled meeting in Munich on Wednesday, October 21. The list reflects ESPN’s panel assessment of the leading title contenders.
PSG held the position it occupied in ESPN’s Matchday 1 ranking and received 16 first-place votes. ESPN says its writers, editors and other experts rank the teams they consider strongest and most likely to win the competition. Their order is an assessment of prospects, rather than the Champions League standings.
Why Barcelona rose to second
Barcelona moved up from fourth in ESPN’s earlier ranking and was the only club besides PSG to receive first-place votes. ESPN reported that Hansi Flick’s side had won six matches and scored 26 goals since its opening Champions League fixture, a 5-1 victory over Feyenoord. That run provides the clearest form-based context for Barcelona’s rise in the panel’s order.
The rankings came after another high-scoring Barcelona result: Playmakerstats reported that Real Betis had lost 5-2 to Barcelona in its previous La Liga match. Betis is scheduled to face Feyenoord on Wednesday, putting two of Barcelona’s recent opponents on the same Matchday 3 programme.
Arsenal and Bayern Munich meet on Wednesday
Arsenal slipped from second to third in ESPN’s ranking, and Bayern fell from third to fourth. Their meeting at Bayern’s Allianz Arena gives the two adjacent contenders an immediate test against each other. BBC Sport lists the fixture for Wednesday, October 21, with an 8 p.m. BST kick-off.
ESPN described a less settled start for Bayern than its voters might usually expect, including draws with Augsburg and Viking. Against Viking, Bayern recovered from two goals down and scored three times in 17 second-half minutes before conceding a late equaliser. That sequence helps explain why the panel placed Bayern among the leading teams while still questioning its early dominance.
The Arsenal match is part of a wider Champions League week for British clubs. BBC Sport’s competition guide lists Arsenal, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United as the five British participants in the 2026-27 tournament. ESPN also lists PSG against Barcelona on Tuesday, October 20, bringing its top two ranked sides together before the Arsenal-Bayern fixture.
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Sources and context
- Champions League Power Rankings before MD3: Who's No. 1?ESPN
- Champions League 2026-27: How to follow on BBC - including highlightsBBC Sport
- PREVIEW | Real Betis vs Feyenoord: team news, lineups, predictions (Champions League 21/10)Playmakerstats (republished by Yahoo)
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.