Champions League power rankings as all 32 teams rated before big kick-off

We know what you're thinking. It doesn't seem like five minutes since Paris, but somehow we're off and running again.

The group stages of the Champions League begin once more on Tuesday night, when - on paper anyway - 32 teams go for glory in a bid to reach the Istanbul final on *checks notes* June 10.

Bit while we all know there are only really six sides who can reach that final, maybe eight or 10 at a push, just who are they?

Well, as is tradition, we're opening the tournament with our Mirror Football power rankings.

Make sure you read the terms and conditions before you get angry.

These power rankings aren't necessarily the order of the best teams, more their likelihood of winning the competition based on their form, summer additions, and most crucially group stage draw.

If you don't remember the groups, here they are:

Group A: Ajax, Liverpool, Napoli, Rangers

Group B: Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Club Brugge, Porto

Group C: Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Viktoria Plzen

Group D: Frankfurt, Marseille, Sporting Lisbon, Tottenham

Group E: Chelsea, Dinamo Zagreb, Salzburg, AC Milan

Group F: Celtic, RB Leipzig, Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk

Group G: Dortmund, Copenhagen, Manchester City, Sevilla

Group H: Benfica, Juventus, Maccabi Haifa, Paris Saint-Germain

Ready? Let's go.

32. Viktoria Plzen

Someone is destined to be the doormat every year, and unfortunately for the Czech champions this time they take the 'honours'.

After coming through three qualifying rounds Michal Bilek's side have made the group stages for the first time since the 2018-19 season, and although they possess plenty of exciting young local talent in their side, the fact that they're in Group C with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan means that is where the adventure will end.

31. Maccabi Haifa

A first group stage appearance since 2009-10 for the Israelis, who back then lost every game but only conceded eight goals along the way.

They'll probably ship more than that in a group with Benfica, Juventus and PSG, and going forward they'll be relying on the ageing limbs of ex-QPR midfielder Tjaronn Chery and former Chelsea wonderkid Ben Sahar.

30. FC Copenhagen

Copenhagen reached the last-16 of the Europa Conference League last season before being knocked out 8-4 on aggregate by PSV Eindhoven, and they're going to have to defend better than that when they face Manchester City this time around.

Dortmund and Sevilla also make up Group G, meaning that finishing anywhere but bottom is a huge ask.

29. Dinamo Zagreb

It is Chelsea first up for the Croatians, who are managed by former international boss Ante Cacic and who return to the group stages after two seasons away.

Back then they finished bottom and you'd surprised if this was a different story as they take on the free-flowing AC Milan and Salzburg.

28. Club Brugge

No strangers to this stage, the Belgians are back after a fourth domestic league title in five years.

Familiar faces include Simon Mignolet and Dedryck Boyata, while they've managed to hold on to exciting young Dutch winger Noa Lang.

Up against Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen and Porto though, third will surely be the best they could do.

27. Rangers

The feelgood factor from battling past PSV Eindhoven and making the group stages, so soon after last season's Europa League final heartbreak, was somewhat washed away at the weekend when Rangers were thrashed 4-0 in the Old Firm derby.

Perhaps a trip to Ajax on Wednesday is exactly what the fans need then, and they are likely to need to get something in a group that also contains Liverpool and Napoli.

26. Shakhtar Donetsk

With football having now returned in Ukraine, perennial champions Shakhtar are back and no doubt dreaming of emulating their best ever Champions League showing of a quarter-final spot in 2011.

That'll be tough, but the 'home' matches against Celtic and RB Leipzig in Warsaw could be quite something, even if group favourites Real Madrid will more than fancy their chances against them.

25. Salzburg

With Dinamo Zagreb in their group the Austrians will at least hope to ensure they have European football into the New Year, although overhauling Chelsea and AC Milan to finish in the top two will be tricky.

As ever, Salzburg possess an array of exciting young talents from all over the world, and you bet scouts will be watching them closely.

24. Sporting Lisbon

It has been an unusually below-par start to the season for the Portuguese giants, who have won just one of their five league matches and look a little light in midfield having lost Joao Palhinha to Fulham and Matheus Nunes to Wolves.

The bright lights of the Premier League will always be an issue for Sporting, and in a group with Tottenham, Marseille and Frankfurt they'll face a fight to avoid finishing bottom.

23. Bayer Leverkusen

Four defeats from their opening five Bundesliga games have set the alarm bells ringing at Leverkusen, where head coach Gerardo Seoane is in danger of losing the goodwill he picked up for last season's third place finish.

There are still some very good players in the squad, with Callum Hudson-Odoi recently added, but results such a 4-3 German Cup defeat to third tier side SV Elversberg and home league losses to Augsburg, Hoffenheim and Freiburg mean that Seoane might be lucky to make it to the end of the group stages.

Who will win the Champions League? Have your say in the comments section

22. Celtic

After wrestling back the Scottish title from Rangers, Ange Postecoglou's Celtic sit alongside them in the group stages this season, although the early indications are that they are a better side.

Last weekend's 4-0 Old Firm derby win showed that, and with exciting attacking talents including Kyogo Furuhashi, Liel Abada and the Portuguese talent Jota, they'll hope to outscore Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk in their group, after navigating a opening night clash with Real Madrid.

21. Sevilla

It has been an awful start to the La Liga season for Julen Lopetegui, who has seen his side lose three of their opening four games including a 3-0 home trouncing by Barcelona at the weekend.

Early signs are that the side are struggling to counter the losses of several of their more established stars from recent seasons, and after the Barcelona loss the last thing Lopetegui would have wanted was that favourite son of Catalonia, Pep Guardiola, and his Manchester City side arriving on Tuesday.

It could be a sticky start.

20. Leipzig

The 2020 semi-finalists are always going to lose players, as that is their model, but this time around they arrive in the competition looking a little weaker than the side which finished fourth in the Bundesliga last season.

Sure they have re-added the goals of the returning Timo Werner after his spell at Chelsea simply didn't work out, but it is in the constant churn at the back - where they lost Nordi Mukiele to PSG this summer, to go along with the recent departures of Ibrahima Konate and Dayot Upamecano - where they look to be struggling, as seen in last weekend's 4-0 defeat to Frankfurt.

19. Marseille

Okay they aren't quite the controversial European champions of 1993, but there's a confidence to Marseille following last season's second place finish in Ligue 1.

Argentinean Jorge Sampaoli walked away after that, but new boss Igor Tudor has started with five wins and a draw in the league, as a squad full of familiar Premier League faces seek to try and keep on the coattails of PSG for as long as possible.

A rejuvenated Alexis Sanchez has three goals for the season so far, as amazingly does Arsenal outcast Nuno Tavares from left-back.

It could be fun watching them play Tottenham.

18. Eintracht Frankfurt

The Europa League holders arrive into the competition off the back of hammering Leipzig 4-0 and probably feeling that they can cause some damage in the aforementioned group with Tottenham, Marseille and Sporting Lisbon.

World Cup winner Mario Gotze has arrived to sprinkle a bit of stardust, and adds to Oliver Glasner's league of nations who will be seeking to make their mark both for their current club and then potentially any future moves, with Filip Kostic having already jumped ship for Juventus.

17. Benfica

We usually see the Portuguese outfit in the last-16, but that possibility has been made more difficult by two factors this time around: the sale of last season's talisman Darwin Nunez to Liverpool and the presence of PSG and Juventus in their group.

Granted, having effectively knocked Barcelona out at the first hurdle last season, Benfica won't feel too scared of a Juve side that are not what they were, but the Portuguese champions will need the likes of exciting attacker David Neres - a strong course and distance runner in the Champions League with Ajax in the past - to step up.

16. Ajax

Speaking of Ajax, it has been all change in Amsterdam.

Erik ten Hag managed to take Lisandro Martinez and Antony with him when he left for Manchester in the summer, and replacement Alfred Schreuder also saw Ryan Gravenberch, Sebastien Haller, Nicolas Tagliafico and Perr Schuurs depart.

No matter. Impressive replacements have been brought in - including Steven Bergwijn from Tottenham who has seven goals in six games - and the process can begin again, although they are in a tough group with Liverpool, Napoli and Rangers.

15. Porto

You're thinking it, they're thinking it. Last-16.

That's what Porto usually do, and after a fairly quiet summer of transfer business that's what they'll be expecting to do again as they take their place in a group including Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen and Club Brugge.

Midfielders Fabio Vieira and Vitinha have been lost but most of the old faces are still around, including Pepe who'll be 40 in late February when those knockout stages take place.