Footy Power Rankings: Can anyone topple Manchester City?

Taking into consideration domestic and continental results, along with underlying stats, we'll try to figure out which clubs are among Europe's elite.

1. Manchester City (1st in Premier League)

Previous rank: 1st

Leicester City's direct football and speedy tandem of Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez used to be troublesome for Manchester City, but Pep Guardiola's side eased to a 2-0 victory in the East Midlands on Saturday. It was yet another match which showed how quickly City can attack from the back and, as is usually the case, Kevin De Bruyne's vision was exceptional. However, there could be a tough assignment in the coming weeks; John Stones, who has shown immeasurable improvement this season, limped out of the Leicester match, meaning the oft-injured Vincent Kompany or oft-calamitous Eliaquim Mangala should receive more minutes.

2. Paris Saint-Germain (1st in Ligue 1)

Previous rank: 2nd

Claudio Ranieri has carefully constructed a resolute defence at Nantes and presided over just one defeat in the club's last 10 matches - until it was time for Edinson Cavani and his teammates to take hosting duties. A 4-1 victory began Saturday's slate of Ligue 1 fixtures, although three of Paris Saint-Germain's goals were slightly fortuitous. Unai Emery will have to prepare his defence for a sterner test next weekend when it travels to Monaco.

3. Barcelona (1st in La Liga)

Previous rank: 4th

Although Barcelona isn't La Liga's best at getting shots on target, Ernesto Valverde's side often tends to bulge the net when it does arrow accurately. The Blaugrana has been marrying this ruthlessness with stout defending, and thus have been quietly formidable. Samuel Umtiti is looking settled at the Camp Nou, but it's perhaps improvements in the midfield's defensive input that have made the difference. Marc-Andre ter Stegen's saves from shots outside the area per 90 minutes have dropped from 1.6 to one this season, while Sergio Busquets is nipping in with more interceptions than he was at this time last season. Talisman Lionel Messi also deserves a nod of approval - the Argentinian's had a hand in 45 percent of Barcelona's goals.

4. Bayern Munich (1st in Bundesliga)

Previous rank: 3rd

Negotiations to bring Sandro Wagner back to Bayern Munich are underway, but as long as Robert Lewandowski's banging in the goals, he will be a fairly redundant piece in Jupp Heynckes' squad. The Pole has scored 14 of his team's 30 league goals. A player who continues to improve is 22-year-old right-back Joshua Kimmich, who's scored three goals and laid on six assists in 16 Bundesliga and Champions League appearances, and midfielder Arturo Vidal is finding his best form since Heynckes returned in October to replace Carlo Ancelotti.

5. Valencia (2nd in La Liga)

Previous rank: 8th

In Marcelino Garcia Toral, Valencia seems to have finally settled on a manager who can last years - rather than months like many of his predecessors - and who can return the club to its rightful place among Europe's elite. The east-coast outfit rode its luck in Sunday's 2-0 victory at Espanyol - Simone Zaza and Goncalo Guedes were surprisingly left on the bench - but second-half goals from Geoffrey Kondogbia and Santi Mina allowed Valencia to set a new club record of eight consecutive La Liga victories. Barcelona journeys to the Mestalla next weekend.

6. Napoli (1st in Serie A)

Previous rank: 6th

Napoli's surprise 0-0 draw at Chievo Verona before the international break was remedied by a Campanian afternoon spent peppering shots at the AC Milan mesh. Maurizio Sarri's men could only muster a 2-1 win on Saturday - Gianluigi Donnarumma put in a fine goalkeeping display - but it was another outing that showed Napoli's insatiable appetite for attacking. Lorenzo Insigne was fresh after playing around 15 minutes of Italy's shameful two-legged affair with Sweden, fashioning four shots, three key passes, and three dribbles against the underachieving Rossoneri.

7. Inter (2nd in Serie A)

Previous rank: 11th

Milan's assault in the summer transfer window was an attempt to gain supremacy not only in the city, but in Italian football. But it's instead Inter - with smart recruits such as Milan Skriniar and Matias Vecino - that is Napoli's strongest challenger for the Scudetto. The aforementioned pair didn't need to be at their best in Sunday's visit from Atalanta, as captain Mauro Icardi woke up from a first-half slumber to net twice in the second stanza. The 24-year-old has 13 strikes in 13 Serie A matches in 2017-18, and is undoubtedly one of the best strikers on the planet.

8. Manchester United (2nd in Premier League)

Previous rank: 13th

Manchester United scored four goals in a Premier League match for the fifth time this season when it put Newcastle United to the sword at Old Trafford, but it's the fine lines Jose Mourinho toes in big-six battles that may see a league pursuit fall short. But will he go for the jugular now that the huge names have returned? Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba, and Marcos Rojo were all in Saturday's matchday squad, giving their boss a wealth of options going into the congested festive calendar.

9. Roma (4th in Serie A)

Previous rank: 12th

Many predicted a downturn in Roma's fortunes after Luciano Spalletti was tempted to Europe's fashion capital, but Eusebio Di Francesco has inherited a well-organised squad with Radja Nainggolan - a goalscorer in Saturday's 2-1 defeat of city rival Lazio - in its engine room. We are also yet to see summer arrival Patrik Schick truly unleashed for the Giallorossi, and he brings a unique and alternative skillset to what's currently exhibited by Edin Dzeko and Stephan El Shaarawy in attack.

10. Chelsea (3rd in Premier League)

Previous rank: 14th

Granted, it was only West Bromwich Albion, but the partnership of Eden Hazard and Alvaro Morata was promising in the West Midlands. The former scored two and Morata chipped in with a goal and assist, helping the Blues to a 4-0 victory on Saturday. Things have seemed tempestuous between Antonio Conte and the club's board for large chunks of this campaign, but with a fully fit squad and Hazard clicking with Morata, Chelsea can surge up the standings.

11. Tottenham Hotspur (4th in Premier League)

Previous rank: 7th

An unconvincing 1-0 home defeat of bottom-placed Crystal Palace was followed, two weeks later, by a trip to archrival Arsenal on Saturday. Mauricio Pochettino got it wrong, and Tottenham lost 2-0. With the intelligent Harry Winks and counter-attacking menace Heung-Min Son demoted to the bench, the bulked-up midfield was fallible positionally. Spurs' continued struggles away to big-six sides - one win, six draws, and 10 losses under Pochettino - trigger a slump in the rankings.

12. Real Madrid (3rd in La Liga)

Previous rank: 10th

Cristiano Ronaldo didn't exactly fly out of the traps last season, but the winner of the Best FIFA Men's Player of the Year award in October is having the worst start to a domestic campaign since he joined Real Madrid. It's not just the Portuguese superstar who's toothless for Los Blancos though - both he and Karim Benzema have one league goal each, and Gareth Bale has two. Isco and Marco Asensio are covering some of the slack, but Zinedine Zidane may rue sanctioning the summer sales of Morata, James Rodriguez, and even Mariano Diaz, who's scored nine Ligue 1 goals for Lyon.

13. Lazio (5th in Serie A)

Previous rank: 5th

Simone Inzaghi has gone some way to establishing himself as one of the best young managers in Europe this season, but was denied victory in Saturday's Derby della Capitale due to two errors from Bastos. It was a deserved three points for Roma, which was the Stadio Olimpico's home side on the day, but Lazio concerned its great rival with a fusillade of late efforts on Alisson's goal. Inzaghi's side hosts Vitesse in the Europa League on Thursday, and currently has a perfect record - four wins in four matches - in Group K.

14. FC Porto (1st in Primeira Liga)

Previous rank: N/R

FC Porto is capitalising on Benfica's strains since the departures of Ederson Moraes and Victor Lindelof, sweeping aside opposition in the Primeira Liga and recording impressive victories over RB Leipzig and Monaco in the Champions League. Dribbling ace Yacine Brahimi continues to turn heads, but Porto's success is built on the devastating finishing of Vincent Aboubakar and Moussa Marega. It's a shame the World Cup will be without the African artillerymen.

15. Juventus (3rd in Serie A)

Previous rank: 9th

Juventus appears to be ushering in a new generation at the club, fronted by Paulo Dybala and Federico Bernardeschi. But for now, Sami Khedira and Stephan Lichtsteiner will frustrate fans with their ambling mediocrity. There are other players in the swansong of their careers with the Old Lady and, judging from recent evidence, they lack the legs to claw back table-topping Napoli.

On the cusp: Schalke, Sampdoria, Liverpool, Arsenal

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)