Top 10 Team Power Rankings (Week 9/2/18)

Another big slip by perennial top performers Manchester City has seen them drop to their seasonal lowest in this weeks instalment of the Top 10 Power Rankings, while other big name clubs continued their dominance in league and cup performances.

So, here is the Top 10:

1. FC Barcelona (no change) - The Catalonia outfit continues to impress, heading into another round of Champions league fixtures. A 1-1 draw in the league against cross-town rivals Espanyol and a hard fought 2-0 away victory at the Mestalla over this seasons surprise package Valencia in the Copa Del Rey, to secure advancement to the Final 3-0 on aggregate over the past week. 

2. Bayern Munich (+1) - Two victories and no goals conceded is always a good way for a football club to be over the course of a weeks round of matches. Bayern beat both Mainz and Paderborn away from home with convincing scorelines - 2-0 and 6-0 respectively. With the Bundesliga wrapped up (18 points clear of second) everything now points to the Champions league.

3. PSG (+1) - Another relatively simple week in french football for PSG. A 3-0 league win over Lille away from home and then another breezy cup victory at Sochaux, 4-1, where Angel Di Maria grabbed a hat-trick and Dani Alves stepped into goalkeeper after Kevin Trapp was sent off.

4. Juventus (+1) - The Old Lady blew away their opponents in the past week, where only one fixture was played. Juventus trounced Sassuolo 7-0, with Gonzalo Higuain recording a late hat-trick and Sami Khedira chipping in 2 goals and an assist. Juventus had incredible scoring prowess, having only had 10 shots on target for the entirety of the game.

5. Manchester City (-3) - Having looked back on track, City again stumbled, by blowing a 1-0 lead late on in a Premier league fixture to hand Burnley a 1-1 draw. The game was summed up with Raheem Sterling putting a tap-in shot wide, when nothing else but scoring seemed the result. Even after having 71% possession and 20 shots, City couldn't put the game away.

6. Napoli (no change) - One fixture was played for Napoli in the past week, an away Serie A game to Benevento. A convincing 2-0 win keeps Napoli stable in the Top 10 rankings along with 1st place in the Serie A. A Dries Mertens and Marek Hamsik goal either side of halftime made for simple sailing the rest of the fixture. Some of the play down either flank for Napoli has been second to none this season and was again evident in the past fixture.

7. FC Porto (no change) - Two games and two victories for the Portuguese outfit. With an up and down schedule recently, with matches postponed and rescheduled, FC Porto has been resolute in their form. A 3-1 win over Braga in the league and a 1-0 win over fellow big name rivals and title competitors Sporting CP in the Taca de Portugal makes FC Porto a team to be feared in Europe.

8. Atletico Madrid (new) - The Madrid based side get in the Top 10 this week on the back of a big league win over fellow top 4 competitors, Valencia. The 1-0 win gives Atletico additional breathing room in the race for second place in La Liga. Atletico, having only lost one league fixture all season, now sit on 49 points, 9 clear of Valencia in third spot. 

9. Manchester United (new) - The red half of Manchester bounces back into the Top 10, after an impressive victory during the week, albeit over weaker opposition, 2-0 against Huddersfield. Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez grabbed the goals as United dominated possession of the ball and were effective at creating chances. Newcomer, Sanchez had a remarkable game individually, scoring a goal, registering 6 shots, completing 10 successful take-ons and working hard defensively, making 5 tackles.

10. Bayer Leverkusen (-2) - Not the best week for Leverkusen, but a reasonably steady one. Having got through the week playing two fixtures and not losing. A poor 0-0 draw with Frieburg in the league did enough to keep Leverkusen in second place in the Bundesliga on goal difference, ahead of RB Leipzig, but the side appear's to be on the downturn. However, the side was boosted by a 4-2 Cup victory over Werder Bremen, but didn't appear nearly as dominant, giving Bremen a 2-0 lead after 8 minutes, before clawing back and eventually winning the game in extra-time.

OUTS - Tottenham, Real Madrid

By Luke Scali - Twitter WFC_LS_Potzi