:focal(1250x404:1252x402)/origin-imgresizer.tntsports.io/2025/09/08/image-3a9ed023-eb58-4945-8215-82a8e0d9fd6c-85-2560-1440.png "Napoli, Galatasaray and… Spurs?! The UEFA Champions League dark horses - TNT Sports")
Published 15/09/2025 at 10:43 GMT+1
It is becoming harder and harder to break into the elite of the UEFA Champions League. Picking a team outside of that elite group to really go and win the whole tournament is next to impossible. But we can pick teams who will make a bit more noise than you expect and might cause an upset or two along the way. TNT Sports run you through some of the teams to watch this season.
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With the way modern football has been set up, it is currently an easy task to pick the top eight favourites to make it into the automatic qualification spots of the league phase of the UEFA Champions League.
You can take the four strongest Premier League teams of the time and the other four "superclubs" in Europe – Real Madrid, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich – and they will often be the top eight favourites for the tournament each year.
Only four times this century has a team outside that eight won the Champions League (albeit the two times Chelsea won, they did come out of nowhere). This season, we see those four continental clubs plus Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea as the bookmakers' top eight.
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So, realistically, we cannot say our dark horses are a list of teams who might actually win the Champions League. That is just not the way modern football has designed itself.
Instead, we like to think of this as a list of teams who might surprise. Maybe they make it into the top eight – or get seeded into the play-offs – and make a shock run deep in the knockouts.
Regardless, these are the teams that we think you should be keeping an eye on throughout the Champions League this season. Let’s get into it.
Napoli
Yes, we know in recent years Antonio Conte teams have tended to fall apart a little bit when they start having to balance European action with league football, but if any of the Italian’s teams can buck that trend, it is this Napoli iteration.
And yes, that is despite the injury suffered by Romelu Lukaku that is expected to rule him out of most of the league phase.
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Napoli added plenty of depth this summer to the team that won the Scudetto, giving Conte some different options and crucially, the squad some much-needed experience in the shape of Champions League-winner Kevin De Bruyne.
Much of what Napoli will be able to do this season will come down to what they Conte can extract from Lorenzo Lucca and Rasmus Hojlund in the absence of Lukaku.
They were both highly-promising young strikers whose trajectories have stalled somewhat due to various factors.
Conte has a track record of getting the best out of unloved strikers – Lukaku being the case in point – so can he repeat the trick with one of these two? Early returns are encouraging with Hojlund scoring against Fiorentina in his debut and generally looking sharp.
Galatasaray
Last year, Galatasaray won the Turkish Super Lig by 11 points and not only did they go out and re-sign Victor Osimhen when everyone thought it was impossible, but they also massively strengthened their back four and goalkeeper position.
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In addition, they added a sprinkling of top experience of Champions League winners, in Leroy Sane and Ilkay Gundogan.
Going to Istanbul remains one of the toughest assignments in football and with a team that is at long last worthy of their incredible fanbase, it feels as if Galatasaray are set to ruffle more than a few feathers this season in the Champions League.
Juventus
Are Juventus back? It might be too early to tell but the early signs this season are extremely encouraging.
They are one of just two Serie A teams with a 100% record (along with Napoli) after a thrilling 4-3 victory over Inter Milan on Saturday afternoon in the Derby d'Italia.
Juve might not have the best squad in Italy but what they do have is a budding superstar in Kenan Yildiz, a well-organised defensive structure, and a degree of unpredictability. That can give you some fun opportunities in European football.
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It feels like a long time since this team reached the final twice in two years, and the last time we saw them they were getting dumped out by PSV Eindhoven.
Have things changed? Juventus have been so disappointing for so many years that it is really hard to commit to anything just yet, but they have a relatively favourable draw and they theoretically have the pieces in place.
Tottenham Hotspur
There is every chance that Spurs end up making us look very silly - it would not be the first time - but despite the 1-0 loss at home to Bournemouth just before the international break, we cannot get the performance against PSG out of our heads.
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Spurs did some really fun stuff in the window and they have given Thomas Frank a lot of options - and, like Antonio Conte, he is a proven elevator of talent.
Everyone knows this squad was better than where they finished in the Premier League last season, and it is better now than it was a year ago, despite the loss of club icon Son Heung-min.
It is also worth pointing out that, as per our friends at Opta, Spurs have the fourth-lowest degree of difficulty for their fixtures in the Champions League this season.
This is obviously a difficult one to predict because we have only seen these teams for a handful of games. But it is still interesting to note, and it does seem undeniable that Spurs could have had harder fixtures in their draw.
Champions League schedule difficulty
Image credit: Opta
Villarreal
Speaking of teams with what seems like an easier draw, let’s talk about the Yellow Submarine, who sit just below Spurs in the aforementioned table.
Villarreal were quietly one of the best stories in Spain last season, bulldozing their way into the Champions League by scoring 71 goals.
To that attack they have added Georgia’s Georges Mikautadze to replace Thierno Barry whilst Alberto Moleiro comes in to fill the void left by Alex Baena’s move to Atletico Madrid.
Marcelinho’s high-intensity system is either going to cause chaos for opponents or for his team. They conceded 51 goals last season, while the rest of Spain’s Champions League entrants all conceded under 40.
But they have made moves in that department as well; Renato Veiga, Santiago Mourino and Rafa Marin have all come in to bolster the central defensive options.
Villarreal won’t be boring to watch – they are the highest scorers in La Liga this term, and sit fifth after four games – and they could do enough to make some noise.
FC Porto
We wrote about Porto and the summer they have had in more depth in our article on the European winners of the transfer market but here is the abbreviated version.
Porto had a disastrous season under new CEO Andre Villas-Boas (yes, him) and as a result he has spent aggressively to try and get the team back to where they need to be.
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It is early days but it seems to be working nicely. Porto are four from four in their start to the season, which included a 2-1 win away at last season’s champions, Sporting CP.
Keep an eye on 19-year-old Victor Froholdt, who arrived this summer from FC Copenhagen. He is one of the most exciting talents anywhere right now and it was a huge coup for Porto to be able to sign him.
He has three goal involvements to the start the season and is ready to announce himself on the biggest stage this season.
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