Two leagues will get extra Champions League places next season (Getty)
Premier League clubs are at risk of missing out on an extra Champions League place this season after Manchester United and Newcastle United were dumped out of Europe.
Due to the expansion of the Champions League to a 36-team league format next season, two European leagues will be rewarded with extra places.
That means the team who finishes fifth in the Premier League this season could automatically qualify for the Champions League.
UEFA determine which two leagues will benefit from the additional places by its association coefficient rankings, which is based on the results of all European clubs in UEFA competitions.
In six of the last seven seasons, the Premier League would have gained an extra Champions League place due to their club’s performance in Europe.
However, with Manchester United and Newcastle finishing bottom of their Champions League groups and out of Europe altogether, ESPN’s coefficient calculations put England in third place behind Germany and Italy.
UEFA COEFFICIENT POINTS AFTER CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GROUP STAGE
1. Germany: 13.36
2. Italy: 13.14
3. England: 12.13
4. Spain: 12.06
5. France: 10.42
Germany still have six clubs – Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen and Freiburg and Eintracht Frankfurt – still playing in Europe.
Italy have all seven of their teams – Inter, Napoli, Lazio, AC Milan, Roma, Atalanta and Fiorentina – still in Europe.
UEFA’S COEFFICIENT CALCULATIONS
This season’s coefficient is calculated by adding up the points obtained by all its clubs in a given season in the Champions League (UCL), Europa League (UEL) and Europa Conference League (UECL) then dividing the total by the number of clubs from that association that took part in the three UEFA club competitions in question.
Points are awarded for:
2 – All wins from group stage (UCL, UEL, UECL)
1 – All wins in qualifying and play-off matches (UCL, UEL, UECL)
1 – All draws from group stage (UCL, UEL, UECL)
0.5 – All draws in qualifying and play-off matches (UCL, UEL, UECL)
4 – Group stage bonus participation (UCL, UEL)
4 – Round of 16 bonus participation (UCL)
4 – Group winners (UEL)
2 – Group runners-up (UEL)
2 – Group winners (UECL)
1 – Group runners-up (UECL)
1 – Each round clubs reach from the round of 16 (UCL, UEL, UECL)
After Manchester United and Newcastle were eliminated, England have Arsenal, Manchester City, Brighton, Liverpool, West Ham and Aston Villa still involved.
Spain have seen Sevilla and Osasuna eliminated entirely but Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad are all through to the Champions League knockout phase. Real Betis and Villarreal are the other two Spanish sides left in Europe.
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