Champions League Dark Horse Power Ranking: Roma, Betis, Fenerbahce…

The Champions League is back and, as always, we’ll be on the edge of our seats as it all unfolds.

Can anyone stop back-to-back winners PSG from making it three in a row? Might Arsenal be able to go one better than last season? And who will be this season’s dark horses?

We love an underdog story and there are a fair few teams who could catch us by surprise this season.

Here are 10 in with a chance of having a decent run in the Champions League this season, beyond the usual favourites.

It’s been a mixed start to the season for Stuttgart, who got thrashed by Bayern Munich but then thrashed FC Koln themselves.

You can probably expect goals one way or another in their games, then. That’s often been the case under the management of Sebastian Hoeness, who’s been linked with Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United in the past.

But just as they’ve managed to retain Hoeness’ services, Stuttgart have kept hold of some coveted players this summer. Angelo Stiller has stuck around, as has Jamie Leweling.

Stuttgart were eliminated in the league phase last time they were in the Champions League, in 2024-25. The last time they reached the knockouts was back in 2009-10.

If Hoeness and his talented cohort are really worth their salt, they should be looking to improve on that this time around.

With all due respect to your LASKs, your Sabahs and your Vikings, of all the Champions League debutants this season, it’s Como who you feel have the best chance of causing a few upsets.

Backed by enormous wealth – which they’ve invested wisely – and with Cesc Fabregas flexing his tactical muscles as their head coach, Como have taken Serie A by storm since their promotion in 2024.

Nowadays, they are well and truly mixing it with the big boys in Italy, finishing a point above AC Milan and two above Juventus last season to clinch fourth place.

Don’t be fooled by the fact you’ve never seen them as a club at this level. In fact, the majority of their players have graced a Champions League stage before, even if they might not have got very far.

Nico Paz is the gem of their team, but keep an eye out for Martin Baturina, who’s less well-known but arguably just as big a talent.

They have swelled their squad with new faces like Moise Kean, Yan Couto, Trevoh Chalobah and Robert Sanchez this summer.

If the Champions League winners are to come from France, it will almost certainly be PSG again.

Lille aren’t at that level. But don’t overlook them as a team that could have a run in the competition.

They’ve had an unbeaten start in Ligue 1, even drawing with PSG in the process. And, being brutally honest, the only sides of a similar stature they have to face in the league phase are Arsenal and Bayern Munich.

Davide Ancelotti has taken charge of Lille this season, and he’ll be hoping Champions League know-how runs in the family, given his father’s success at this level over the years.

Lille have lost Matias Fernandez-Pardo to Newcastle this summer, which is a blow. But they still have firepower up front with the veteran Olivier Giroud leading the line in all three of their league games so far.

Never mind if you can do it on a cold, rainy night in Stoke; can you do it in the Arctic Circle?

That’s a question several clubs have had to wrestle with in recent years. Manchester City, Inter Milan, Roma, Lazio, Porto and Sporting CP are all among the teams to have lost on their travels to Bodo, even if some eventually made it through on aggregate.

After a run to the Europa League semi-finals two seasons ago, Kjetil Knutsen’s side made it to the Champions League round of 16 last season, knocking Inter out along the way.

Knutsen has been in charge of Bodo/Glimt since 2018 and has worked wonders up there, winning their first four Norwegian league titles.

Bodo/Glimt are not an unknown entity anymore because of his work and it shouldn’t shock anyone if they cause an upset or two whenever they’re playing in Europe.

It’ll be a tall order for them to make it out of the league phase again, but rule them out at your peril.

Had this Fenerbahce squad been assembled 10 years ago, we might not have been talking about them as dark horses, but potential candidates to go all the way.

Ederson, Nathan Ake, N’Golo Kante and Marco Asensio all have Champions League winner’s medals in their cabinets, after all.

The caveat is that all of them are in their thirties now and past their primes. Still, they should have enough know-how to win games at this level.

They will be relying on the likes of Mason Greenwood and Nene Dorgeles to provide some pace in their attack, in support of Romelu Lukaku. In theory, there are goals in this team.

Believe it or not, this is their first time beyond the qualifying rounds of the Champions League since 2008. That seems unusual for a club of their size, so they will be hoping to do more than just make up the numbers.

They’ve had a mixed start in the Turkish Super Lig, though, so will need to gel soon.

RB Leipzig reached the Champions League semi-finals in 2020, although the quarter-final being one-legged may have helped.

Still, it’s the furthest they’ve ever got in the competition, which they missed entirely last season.

Now with Martin Demichelis as their new head coach, their ambitions remain high. The return of Christopher Nkunku to an environment he previously thrived in is intriguing, even after his struggles to establish himself at Chelsea or AC Milan.

They will be hoping to see an upturn from Johan Bakayoko this season, while Marc Guiu is an interesting signing and keeping hold of Antonio Nusa was a statement of intent.

Leipzig failed to qualify from the league phase last time they were in the Champions League, but on paper there’s enough talent in their squad to stand a chance of reaching the knockouts this time, as long as they can balance out any damage done by tougher opponents like Real Madrid and Manchester City.

We had Galatasaray ninth in our dark horse ranking this time last year, lured in by their possession of one of the world’s best strikers, Victor Osimhen.

They ultimately made it to the round of 16, beating Liverpool in the first leg before falling to an aggregate defeat.

Not only have they retained Osimhen, but they can now boast the presence of Rafael Leao in their attack as well after signing him from AC Milan this summer.

That’s some serious star quality, with both players supposed to be in their prime at 27.

Furthermore, the experience of Ilkay Gundogan, a previous Champions League winner with Manchester City, gives them substance as well as style.

Porto have been absolutely flying in the Portuguese top flight this season, with five wins from five games and only one goal conceded along the way.

Francesco Farioli’s side are back in the Champions League after a two-season absence following their Primeira Liga title win last season.

Star striker Samu Aghehowa may still be injured, but they have brought in Santiago Gimenez as a new striker and still have talents like Gabri Veiga and Victor Froholdt in their midfield.

Diogo Costa is a goalkeeper who needs no introductions after all he’s done in a Portugal shirt over the years, as well.

Still only 37, Farioli is one of the most promising young coaches in Europe and a good Champions League run would further enhance his credentials.

Their toughest league phase fixtures are against Premier League opponents Manchester City and Liverpool, but they have some winnable ties too.

We’re not saying they’ll go all the way like they did under Jose Mourinho in 2004 – that was an exceptional case – but Porto are certainly ones to watch.

Considering they’ve had some form of European football on their schedule in each of the past five seasons, it’s remarkable how long it’s been since Real Betis were last in the Champions League.

You have to go all the way back to 2005 for their last game in the competition, a 1-0 loss to Anderlecht with a goal by a pre-Manchester City Vincent Kompany.

But Betis snuck back into UEFA’s premier competition by finishing fifth in La Liga last season – one of the two extra performance spots available, along with fifth place in the Premier League.

During their Thursday-night years, Betis have done fairly well. They reached the Conference League final in 2024, for example, only to lose to Chelsea.

Manuel Pellegrini is still in charge there, having held the reins since 2020. His pedigree should give them an extra helping hand.

Moreover, their draw doesn’t look too frightening. They’ll face Arsenal and Bayern Munich in the league phase, sure, but games against Lille, Porto, Feyenoord, Borussia Dortmund, Slovan Bratislava and Como are all ones where they should see themselves as equals at least.

They’ve just beaten Real Madrid in La Liga, too.

It may come as a surprise if you haven’t been following closely, but Roma haven’t been in the Champions League since the 2018-19 season.

They’ve won a Conference League and reached a Europa League final since, but there’s been a longing in the Eternal City for Champions League nights to return. The wait is finally over.

As for how they’ll get on after such a long absence from Europe’s top table, Roma can take some confidence from how they’ve started in Serie A.

Last season, they were still getting used to Gian Piero Gasperini’s tactics, which had earned him plenty of admirers at Atalanta and caused problems for bigger teams in the Champions League.

And the early evidence this season is that Roma are starting to grow into his all-action approach.

They blitzed Fiorentina and Lecce with back-to-back 4-0 wins before staging a dramatic comeback to beat Atalanta 2-1 at the weekend to retain top spot in the table.

Donyell Malen appears to have become prime R9, while Roma have the most underrated goalkeeper in Europe: Mile Svilar.

They might need some heroics from him, but trust us – and forget what he did for Benfica against Manchester United during his only previous Champions League campaign – he produces them most weeks.

Roma’s Champions League draw is fairly tough, with a trip to PSG included and a home tie against Real Madrid standing out as much for the return of Jose Mourinho to the Stadio Olimpico, where he is still largely revered for those aforementioned European runs, as any chance of them getting a result.

But who can forget Roma’s giant-killing exploits in 2017-18 when they stunned Barcelona to reach the semi-finals? We wonder if the script-writers have something similar up their sleeves this year.

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