ESPN Panel Releases Champions League Power Rankings Ahead of Matchday 1

ESPN has published its first Champions League Power Rankings of the season, ranking the top 10 teams in the competition ahead of Matchday 1, according to the outlet.

The rankings, compiled by a panel of experts and voters, are intended to give fans a sense of which clubs are considered contenders and which are seen as pretenders early in the tournament, ESPN said.

Among the clubs featured in the report are Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, according to the source excerpt from ESPN's article.

ESPN said the rankings will be updated before each matchday throughout the competition, allowing for shifts in team standing as results come in.

The publisher did not provide further details on the specific order of the rankings or the criteria used by the panel beyond describing it as a ranking of the top 10 teams in the Champions League field.