We've hit the midpoints of the Europa and Conference League league phases, and to celebrate, we're doing a detailed POWER RANKINGS of both competitions to determine where the fields stand.

In Europa, though we agree Benfica and Bournemouth are currently the cream of the crop, there is a lot of debate on what comes next. Both Milan and Juventus have put confusing contradictions on tape, while Sunderland and Palace sit rock bottom of the Premier League. Meanwhile, many of the teams who have impressed us thus far – Union Saint Gilloise, Ferencvaros, Olympiacos – come from non-top 5 leagues. How do we sort through all this in the rankings?

The Conference League's best three sides have remained intact all season, but we begin the section with a serious debate over Brighton vs Monaco for the top spot. Do we reward Monaco for their win over Freiburg andf perfect league phase start or Brighton for their overall excellence, defensive record, and sitting 2nd in England?

Beneath the top three, Trabzonspor and Ajax are on the rise after impressive runs of form, Atalanta, Getafe, and Midtjylland continue to slip, and chaos ensues in the bottom half. Plus, is Lugano for real? Or yet another piece of deceptive Swiss cheese?

Finally, we close with David's first half superlatives and try to get to the bottom of why David can't seem to count.

Cheers to Fabian Hürzeler!

Chapters:

00:00 – the start

02:29 – Europa League power rankings

38:44 – Conference League power rankings

01:11:37 – David's superlatives

On today's Across The Contient, we're talking about the coaching carousel bearing down on Europe.

The breaking news is Paulo Fonseca is ditching Lyon for Sporting after the Lisbon club let go of Rui Borges last week. Why did Fonseca see greener pastures in Portgual, does this tell us anything about the two leagues, and will he succeed in the green and white?

Then we talk about Crystal Palace letting go of Pierre Sage after a run of form that sees the club dead last in the Premier League. What's going wrong for Palace, did Sage deserve more time, and who's best suited to replace him?

Next, we offer up a few coaches we think should be moved on, including our favorite, Allegri at Napoli, and debate what direction the clubs should be taking instead.

We discuss some coaches we think deserve more support and backing and throw out some names of coaches we'd like to see come through Atalanta, Napoli, Leipzig, and Manchester United, before closing with Maxwell's subject of the week (Falkirk's 5-match winning steak in Scotland) and David's subject of the week (Udinese in crisis at the bottom of Serie A).

Cheers!

Chapters:

00:00 – the start

01:48 – Fonseca & Sporting

10:47 – Palace sack Sage

17:13 – coaches we're sacking

25:59 – coaches we're backing

30:48 – coach & club marriages we want to see

35:49 – Maxwell's subject | Falkirk's hot streak

38:09 – David's subject | Udinese in crisis

Another jammed-packed slate of Europa & Conference League action has come and gone, and we're breaking it all down for you.

In the Europa, Ferencvaros swatted aside Milan at the San Siro, while Palace and Sunderland also drop points. What's going on with these big-league sides, and are their campaigns salvageable?

We share some appreciative words for the remaining perfect squads, including table-topping Ferencvaros, plus the talented Benfica and Bournemouth squads. Then we play a game of contender/pretender. Does St Gilloise belong amonst the ranks of the tournament's best after an impressive win at Celta? And where does Besiktas stand after a loss in Glasgow?

We also discuss a few winners and losers, including a shockingly good start from Levski Sofia.

Then over in the Conference, we address Atalanta's poor form, Ajax turning around their season, Freiburg winning in Trabzon, and Imps winning another European match.

Cheers to Julio Velázquez!

Chapters:

00:00 – the start

02:40 – Europa League | results & top storylines

18:17 – Europa League | table takeaways

26:24 – Europa League | contenders & pretenders

31:08 – Europa League | winners & losers

38:42 – Conference League | results & top storylines

47:34 – Conference League | winners & losers, table takeaways

56:25 – Conference League | contenders & pretenders