ranking

Deportivo, Parma, Hamburg. Not just a football hipster’s holiday hit-list, but a sample of erstwhile headline acts who have returned to their respective top flights in recent years.

You can throw Leeds United, Nottingham Forest, Schalke and Malaga into the mix too.

But with such footballing royalty back in the big time, where can you find Europe’s current sleeping giants? Which one-mighty sides are still snoozing?

We first need to establish some criteria – history, heritage, fanbase, stadium. Clubs with huge potential who currently exist outside the top flight.

Calling a big city home helps, but it is not a deal-maker – sorry to fans of Bristol City and second-tier Russian outfit FC Ufa, where the local population tops one million.

Likewise, some clubs with good-sized stadiums have not made the cut. Bari, whose Stadio San Nicola is the third-largest in Italy and was built for Italia ’90, stands out, though some of their calcio colleagues outside Serie A also have grounds of more than 30,000 – Hellas Verona, Messina and Palermo among them.

There’s a plethora of ex-Premier League teams with top-flight worthy arenas and storied pasts, while Germany is stacked full of historic clubs with huge homes who arguably deserve a spot – Fortuna Dusseldorf, Wolfsburg, Hannover 96 – but we can’t include them all.

A sleeping giant must have experienced some element of former glory and Pro Vercelli are the obvious candidate there, winning seven Italian titles by 1922. But, despite being under new ownership, the third-tier side boast neither the ground nor local population to awaken that historic status any time soon.

The other nuance is, that success cannot have come too recently. West Ham, for example, won a European competition three years ago, Wolves are recent top-flight regulars; likewise Stade de Reims, twice European Cup runners-up, and eight-time French champions Nantes.

Leaving out Steaua Bucharest was another big call. European Cup winners 40 years ago and Romania’s most dominant club, they now play in Liga II. But, following a deeply divisive split, many of the traditional fanbase follow top-flight FCSB. So who really owns that legacy?

And there was a case for Boavista, title winners in 2001 but whose existence now hangs by a thread. Facing financial ruin, despite fans’ best efforts, they have been ejected from Portugal’s professional leagues.

Anyway, let’s get on with this. Piped through the matrix above, here are my top 10 European sleeping giants – you can have your say in the comments, too.

There is now a three-week international break with no Premier League games until 10 October.

We are five matches into the league season and there is a long way to go in the campaign, but which teams have impressed so far and who have disappointed?

You can have your say in the comments at the bottom of the page.

Arsenal: Solid start to their title defence until they were ripped apart by Brighton having survived a penalty scare at Sunderland. 7

Aston Villa: Signs they are beginning to move in the right direction after losing so many key players during the transfer window. 6

Bournemouth: If games lasted 80 minutes the Cherries would be near the top of the table. Need to cut out conceding so late. 6

Brentford: Demolished Spurs and Chelsea without fuss during a highly impressive unbeaten start. Can they keep it up and challenge for Europe? 8

Brighton: Kings of entertainment after hitting 16 goals in five top-flight games, including three against champions Arsenal. A joy to watch. 9

Chelsea: After a strong start under Xabi Alonso, the Blues have lost two of their past three – and were picked apart by Brentford. Are they really moving in the right direction? 6

Coventry City: You could hear the sighs of relief in the away end at Nottingham Forest on Saturday. Will Frank Lampard’s side kick on after that win? 6

Crystal Palace: Room for improvement after one win and three defeats. 5

Everton: Despite a transfer window to forget, David Moyes has made the Toffees hard to beat. 6

Fulham: Decent draws against Liverpool and Manchester United but need a win. Ipswich (away) followed by Hull (home), Coventry (away) and Crystal Palace (home) offer hope when they return from the international break. 5

Hull City: To have eight points from a tough opening five fixtures is an excellent return, including beating Manchester United and drawing with Aston Villa and Chelsea. 8

Ipswich Town: Defensively vulnerable but two late winners, against Sunderland and Crystal Palace, have earned them six points and shown their fighting spirit. 5

Leeds United: Fifth in the league, unbeaten and with the joint-best defensive record. They showed what they are capable of with a superb 4-1 win over Newcastle. 7

Liverpool: Unbeaten but have been far from their best. Three clean sheets in their past three games, but more is expected from Andoni Iraola’s side. 6

Manchester City: Five league games, five victories. Managed to win at Manchester United despite going down to 10 men midway through the first half. With Erling Haaland already top scorer, City fans will expect a real push to win the league. 9

Manchester United: Disappointing performances to lose at Hull and draw at a Fulham side who were bottom of the league. Their only win so far came against Ipswich and they were denied a victory at Everton by a late equaliser. 4

Newcastle United: A mixed bag under new manager Matthias Jaissle. They impressed in a draw against Liverpool, won comfortably at Tottenham, but were also terrible in a loss at Leeds, although they responded well to beat Hull. 6

Nottingham Forest: Their best results have come away, drawing at Liverpool and winning at Aston Villa. But their home form will be a huge worry – yet to score a goal and with only one point from three matches at the City Ground. 5

Sunderland: After coming seventh in 2025-26, Sunderland fans will have wanted a better start to this season. The Black Cats gave good accounts of themselves against Arsenal and Manchester City, but lost both matches. 5

Tottenham Hotspur: After spending more than £300m in the summer, Spurs have been poor, failing to score in their opening four league matches. Supporters will be demanding an instant improvement after the international break. 2