HOW IT WORKS
This season we will use the Hypercube Infostrada Euro Club Index, which scientifically analyses hundreds of thousands of matches from the top divisions in all European nations as well as Europa League and Champions League games.
The Index takes into account all matches played over an eight-year period but with recent results carrying more weight than older ones. The most recent result has 20 times more impact than a result of three years ago.
The performance of a league's teams in the Champions League and Europa League reflects the rise or fall of the sporting level in that league. So, for example, if English teams perform well in Europe, all Premier League teams receive a small bonus in their ECI score. The ranking and its predictive power are thus made even more accurate.
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Bayern Munich host Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie at the Allianz Arena ranked two places below them in the Euro Club Index.
With the top eight remaining unchanged in our European club form guide, fourth-placed Bayern face off against a Real side who sit comfortably in second place.
In the other semi-final, sixth-placed Chelsea welcome top-ranked defending champions Barcelona to Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
Elsewhere in Spain, Valencia 4-0 humbling at Espanyol sees them drop two places to 11th, switching places with Borussia Dortmund following the Bundesliga champions' derby win at Schalke.
In Italy, Serie A leaders Juventus continue to move up the standings as their unbeaten run continues. They are now 16th, six places behind title rivals AC Milan.
Tottenham Hotspur's catastrophic 5-1 defeat to Chelsea in Sunday's FA Cup semi-final sees them slip down two spots to 18th, the only move among the four Premier League clubs in the top 20.
Lille move back into the top 20 courtesy of their handsome 4-1 home win over Ajaccio, nudging Dutch side PSV out in the process.
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Top 20
1 (1) Barcelona – 4490 points
2 (2) Real Madrid - 4331
3 (3) Manchester United - 3714
4 (4) Bayern Munich - 3431
5 (5) Manchester City – 3412
6 (6) Chelsea - 3372
7 (7) Porto – 3348
8 (8) Arsenal - 3256
9 (11) Borussia Dortmund - 3243
10 (10) AC Milan - 3212
11 (9) Valencia - 3211
12 (12) Benfica - 3132
13 (14) Zenit St Petersburg - 3106
14 (13) Shakhtar Donetsk - 3093
15 (15) Atletico Madrid – 3062
16 (17) Juventus – 3048
17 (19) Ajax – 3031
18 (16) Tottenham – 3027
19 (20) Lyon - 3002
20 (21) Lille - 2996
Other Spanish clubs in top 100
22 (22) Athletic Bilbao – 2986
26 (25) Sevilla – 2914
49 (52) Villarreal – 2664
50 (55) Getafe – 2664
52 (53) Osasuna – 2645
56 (50) Malaga – 2620
64 (68) Mallorca – 2562
66 (68) Espanyol – 2552
77 (73) Levante – 2460
85 (89) Real Betis - 2430
99 (100) Racing Zaragoza – 2339
