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Ahead of the first round of Champions League group games we take a look at who is currently the best team in Europe.

Normally we take into account domestic and Champions League performances, plus the relative difficulty of each team's league, to find out who is the best team in Europe.

But with the Champions League group stage yet to start, this week's ladder of the continent's finest have been calculated purely on domestic performances.

And that means Chelsea, Juventus, Barcelona and Real Madrid still sit atop the pile with all four teams maintaining their unbeaten records in their respective championships over the weekend.

Manchester United's comeback victory over Tottenham is enough to send them into fifth, up two places from last week.

Liverpool's thrashing of Burnley hauls them into 17th place having spent last week out of the top 20 but it was not such a good week for Arsenal who slipped to defeat at Manchester City and dropped from 14th to 22nd.

Rangers' goalless draw at Motherwell sends them plummeting down the table while Italian duo Fiorentina and Internazionale both jump seven places to equal seventh.

A fine start to the season from Bordeaux sees them retain their place in the mix but fellow Ligue 1 side Lyon fell two positions to ninth, alongside climbers Porto.

Of the less-feted sides, Maccabi Haifa stay in 12th, and with a home game against struggling Bayern Munich on the horizon, they could well prove to be one of next week's biggest climbers.

And finally, take a good look at Debrecen and Unirea Urziceni while you can. Upcoming away games at Liverpool and Sevilla suggest they will not be hanging around in the top 20 for long.

Expect a more representative view once the Champions League group stage starts this week.

EUROPEAN POWER RANKINGS

1. (1) Chelsea - 15.00

1. (1) Juventus - 15.00

1. (1) Barcelona - 15.00

1. (1) Real Madrid - 15.00

5. (7) Manchester United - 12.00

6. (7) Bordeaux - 11.70

7. (14) Internazionale - 11.67

7. (14) Fiorentina - 11.67

9. (7) Lyon - 11.25

9. (12) Porto - 11.25

11. (11) Dynamo Kiev - 10.67

12. (12) Maccabi Haifa - 10.50

13. (5) Rangers - 10.00

14. (18) Marseille - 9.90

15. (17) Rubin - 9.86

16. (18) Debrecen - 9.60

17. (21) Liverpool - 9.00

17. (10) AZ Alkmaar - 9.00

19. (20) Unirea Urziceni - 8.67

20. (5) Olympiacos - 8.00

22. (14) Arsenal - 7.50)

HOW IT WORKS

This week, scores are based on points per game in domestic league games.

Domestic points per game are multiplied by the league coefficient - either 3.5, 4, 4.5 or 5 - with teams in stronger leagues getting more credit.

League coefficients:

5 - England, Italy, Spain

4.5 - Germany, France, Portugal, Netherlands, Russia

4 - Scotland, Belgium, Poland, Turkey, Ukraine, Greece, Hungary, Romania

3.5 - Cyprus, Switzerland, Israel

Champions League group stage victories will be counted as three points for a win. They are all multiplied by a coefficient of 5.

Example: Manchester United

Twelve points from five Premier League games = 2.40 points per game.

Multiplied by league coefficient of five - 2.40 x 5.00 = 12.00

No points from Champions League games yet = 0.00 points per game.

Multiplied by European coefficient of five - 0.00 x 5 = 0.00

Total score = 12.00 + 0.00 = 12.00

Follow every minute of every Champions League game with live text commentary on Tuesday and Wednesday from 19:45 UK time!

Eurosport