The UEFA Champions League is three games into the new League Phase and Aston Villa are the surprise leaders along with Liverpool with three wins from three with 100% points totals of nine. With 10 points estimated to be enough to absolutely secure a Top 24 berth and thus a UCL knockout spot, Unai Emery and Arne Slot's could be just a single point away despite having five games left to play before the standings are locked in. At the other end of the enlarged table, the fourth round of games could be huge for the likes of RB Leipzig, Atletico Madrid and Milan who are currently occupying elimination places as we edge closer to the halfway mark of this new-look edition. Bayern Munchen and Paris Saint-Germain are not much safer given that they are within the top 24 by a single point -- or goal difference in the German giants' case. Considering that PSG and Atleti meet at Parc des Princes this midweek and Milan face Real Madrid, one or two big names could be about to be in serious trouble depending on how things play out in the French and Spanish capitals.
We take a closer look.
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Surprise performers
Villa are certainly the pick of the clubs that you would not necessarily have put money on leading the pack after three rounds of games. However, the Birmingham-based Premier League side are enjoying a fast start to their continental adventure which has already included a famous win over Bayern Munchen at Villa Park. Slightly behind Villa in terms of sides faring surprisingly are unbeaten French pair Stade Brestois 29 and AS Monaco with both on seven points from a possible nine which is huge for Ligue 1 given Paris Saint-Germain's unexpectedly sluggish start. German champions Bayer Leverkusen have also made an unbeaten start along with Sporting CP while Manchester City and Arsenal are less surprising despite the Gunners dropping two points against Atalanta BC on the opening day and the Citizens being held by Inter.
Surprise strugglers
As mentioned, PSG's loss to Arsenal and home draw with PSV Eindhoven has put them in a tricky situation with the French champions drifting within the Top 24 but below expectations of being closer to the top eight after two of their three opening games which also included debutants Girona FC. More surprising, perhaps, is that both Red Bull sides -- Leizpig and Salzburg -- currently occupy elimination berths while Bayern, Atletico and Milan are all fairly low down compared with their pre-League Phase expectations. Villa and Monaco got the better of the German juggernaut and Barcelona respectively as part of the early evidence that UEFA's format shakeup is actually making things interesting. This needs to be a wake up call for the Bavarians and the Italians, in particular, with both facing tricky midweek assignments.
Coefficient storylines so far
A fascinating subplot in these early rounds of Champions League games has been the impact of the league phase on the coefficient battle. English sides are faring well in top spot which holds one of two extra UCL places for next season but the country keeping pace so far is Portugal with Sporting and Benfica boasting four combined wins already for just the two clubs despite a home loss to Feyenoord for the latter last time out. A even bigger surprise has been Czechia's rise to fifth in those rankings with Sparta Praha still in the Top 24 after the first few rounds of games despite a thrashing from City. Just ahead of Czechia is Germany in fourth with France dropping to seventh despite Monaco, Lille and Brest currently outperforming PSG in this edition. Spain is rising slowly up to seventh but is still off the pace thanks to Real, Barca and Atletico all suffering unexpected losses while last year's strong performers Italy are a bit off their previous pace but still up in third.
Key 4th round games
All 3 p.m. ET
- Tuesday 5 November: Liverpool vs. Bayer Leverkusen, Real Madrid vs. Milan and Sporting CP vs. City
- Wednesday 6 November: Bayern vs. Benfica, Inter vs. Arsenal and PSG vs. Atletico Madrid
Looking ahead to the next round of UCL games and there are some big ones lined up with Xabi Alonso's Liverpool reunion at Anfield and the evergreen classic that is Real Madrid vs. Milan on the Tuesday. That said, Ruben Amorim could give Manchester United fans a sneak preview against City of what to expect when he leaves Sporting CP for Old Trafford during the November international break. Wednesday has a tasty Inter vs. Arsenal as well as PSG vs. Atletico Madrid combo on tap with Bayern vs. Benfica an added bonus given early results. Real vs. Milan and PSG vs. Atleti are particularly important given those teams' results so far which have not all been as expected.
Standings
Key: Positions 1-8 qualify for Round of 16 while positions 9-24 qualify for Knockout Phase Play-Offs and positions 25-36 are eliminated.
| PosPosition | Team | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aston Villa | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | +6 | 9 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 9 |
| 3 | Manchester City | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | +9 | 7 |
| 4 | Monaco | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 7 |
| 5 | Brest | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 7 |
| 6 | Bayer Leverkusen | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 7 |
| 7 | Inter | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 7 |
| 8 | Sporting CP | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 7 |
| 9 | Arsenal | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 7 |
| 10 | Barcelona | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 3 | +7 | 6 |
| 11 | Borussia Dortmund | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 6 | +6 | 6 |
| 12 | Real Madrid | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 6 |
| 13 | Benfica | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 6 |
| 14 | Juventus | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 6 |
| 15 | Lille | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 6 |
| 16 | Feyenoord | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 7 | -1 | 6 |
| 17 | Atalanta | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 5 |
| 18 | Stuttgart | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 4 |
| 19 | PSG | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 4 |
| 20 | Celtic | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 8 | -2 | 4 |
| 21 | Sparta Praha | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | -2 | 4 |
| 22 | Dinamo Zagreb | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 11 | -5 | 4 |
| 23 | Bayern Munich | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 7 | +3 | 3 |
| 24 | Girona | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| 25 | AC Milan | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 3 |
| 26 | Club Brugge | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | -4 | 3 |
| 27 | Atletico Madrid | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 8 | -5 | 3 |
| 28 | PSV | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 2 |
| 29 | Bologna | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | -4 | 1 |
| 30 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | -4 | 1 |
| 31 | RB Leipzig | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 0 |
| 32 | SK Sturm Graz | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | -4 | 0 |
| 33 | Red Star Belgrade | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 11 | -9 | 0 |
| 34 | Young Boys | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | -9 | 0 |
| 35 | RB Salzburg | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | -9 | 0 |
| 36 | Slovan Bratislava | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 11 | -10 | 0 |
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