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This weekend’s top European matches (and SBI’s European Club Top 25)

Lionel Messi (Getty Images) 

The top two teams in Ligue 1 and the Portuguese First Division square off in two of the bigger matches of the weekend in Europe.

French champs Bordeaux take on surprising Monaco in a battle of table-toppers, while Benfica faces Braga.

Those are just two of the weekend's best clashes. Here is a rundown of the top matches in each of Europe's top leagues:

ENGLAND– (3) Arsenal vs. (4) Tottenham

ITALY– (5) AC Milan vs. (4) Parma

SPAIN– (2) Real Madrid vs. (8) Getafe

GERMANY– (1) Bayer Leverkusen vs. (4) Schalke 04

FRANCE– (1) Bordeaux vs. (2) Monaco

PORTUGAL– (2) Braga vs. (1) Benfica

NETHERLANDS– (4) Feyenoord vs. (3) Ajax Amsterdam

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As for the European Club Top 25, we will bring it back in full early next week, but we wanted to put it out heading into this weekend's action. Here is the newest SBI European Club Top 25:

SBI European Club Top 25

1. BARCELONA (7-0-1)

2. CHELSEA (8-2)

3. MANCHESTER UNITED (7-1-1)

4. INTER MILAN (8-1-1)

5. REAL MADRID (6-1-1)

6. BORDEAUX (7-2-1)

7. JUVENTUS (6-1-3)

8. SEVILLA (5-2-1)

9. ARSENAL (6-2-1)

10. HAMBURG (6-0-4)

11. FK Rubin Kazan (16-5-5)

12. Olympiakos (7-0-1)

13. Dinamo Kiev (10-0-1)

14. Werder Bremen (6-1-3)

15. Sampdoria (6-2-2)

16. Benfica (6-0-1)

17. Lyon (6-2-2)

18. Fiorentina (4-3-3)

19. Fenerbahce (8-1)

20. Bayer Leverkusen (6-0-4)

21. FC Porto (6-1-1)

22. Marseille (7-2-2)

23. Shakhtar Donetsk (7-0-4)

24. AC Milan (4-2-4)

25. Bayern Munich (5-2-3)

OTHERS RECEIVING CONSIDERATION: Manchester City (5-1-3), Ajax Amsterdam (7-1-2), Liverpool (6-4)Aston Villa (5-2-2), Tottenham (6-3-1), PSV Eindhoven (8-0-3), Valencia (4-1-3),Twente Enschede (9-0-2), Braga (7-0-1), Galatasaray (7-1-1), Panathanaikos (7-0-1), Schalke 04 (6-2-2)

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Which match are you most looking forward to this weekend? Which club do you think should have cracked the Top 25 that didn't? Any club on the list that you're surprised to see on there?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I’m not sure they belong in the top five until I look at who is ranked below them. I don’t see any teams listed 6-25 who I think are absolutely better than Real Madrid.

    You also have to take into account that the recent trouble has taken place in the absence of Ronaldo. He’s one of the top five players in the world; you can’t expect them to be the same team without him. For what it’s worth, they beat the Getafe Burger Kings pretty handily today, a man down at that. Loved to see El Tri captain Rafa Marquez with the OG to put Osasuna level at the end.

    Your use of the term “rubbish” suggests that you are an angry EPL fan, probably a bitter Man U supporter.

    Reply
  2. real madrid gets beat by a 3rd division team and they are in the top 5,absolutely moronic and blows all credibility of the rankings and why you even bother with printing your foolish rankings or that you are even qualified.i enjoy your blog but this is rubbish.

    (SBI-Listen genius, it was a one-off drubbing in a two-legged Cup series and while they shouldn’t have lost even with a C team, it’s not as if Real Madrid’s first-choice XI was beaten. I don’t think anybody would sensibly toss Real Madrid off a ranking list based on that one match. As for your choice words such as moronic, foolish, and rubbish, you probably could have made the same point without coming off like a jerk.)

    Reply
  3. Way to go Ives…Given my Benfica and the Portuguese League a little more credit…I’m sure in the following weeks Benfica will be a top 10 team when they defeat Braga, Everton, and Sporting…

    FORCA BENFICA

    Reply
  4. Lyon beats Liverpool @ Anfield and they’re still not in the top 15? An outrage I say! And still no love for any Belgian club? Anderlecht is on top of their Europa league group that includes Ajax.

    Reply
  5. Thanks Ives.

    I didn’t see Bayer Leverkusen vs. Schalke 04 or Bordeaux vs. Monaco listed on the TV schedule. Is either match on tape delay availability/schedule?

    Reply
  6. Sad to say, but I don’t think AC Milan deserves a spot in this Top 25. I do think a strong argument can be made for including Man City

    (SBI-Milan gets in after beating Real Madrid, but isn’t likely to stay in without an impressive showing this weekend. As for City, I rated City very highly in the initial ranking, but you can’t keep dropping points and stay in the rankings when you aren’t even playing in European competition. City’s obviously a loaded team, but it needs to beat good teams to earn respect.)

    Reply
  7. Three English teams in the top 25 is a bit off…

    (SBI-City and Tottenham are on the verge of being in (or in City’s case, just dropped out) and Villa is also in the mix, but Liverpool’s struggles are a big reason only three EPL teams are in the 25 this week.)

    Reply
  8. Rubin! Just to pre-empt the cries of “Hunh? They’re just a minnow that got one fluke win”, Rubin are defending Russian champs and currently sitting in first in Russia this year, with the season nearing its conclusion. And keep in mind the Russian League is (or at least was last time I checked) sixth in the (not always exact but hardly meaningless) UEFA rankings.

    So I think they’re sitting in a fair place here.

    Reply

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