The Premier League missed out on one of the extra Champions League spots last term but are currently looking good to ensure they get one for next season with Liverpool leading the way
The Champions League has handed out five spots to two countries - with the Premier League eyeing one of them
The Champions League has handed out five spots to two countries - with the Premier League eyeing one of them
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Last season England missed out in the race for five Champions League spots - but they are well and truly in the hunt 12 months on.
It was Germany and Italy who secured the extra place last year, which allowed the likes of Bologna to enjoy a rare campaign in Europe's elite competition. In the Bundesliga it was Borussia Dortmund who benefited from having the added place.
A host of Premier League sides will certainly be hoping a fifth place is afforded to England's top flight with several teams looking to land the riches on offer. Liverpool and Arsenal are clear as the top two, and expected to finish there, but below them the race is on.
The coefficient rankings and points system means its not a case of simply getting an extra spot for providing the winner of the Champions League. It is an overall gauge of how your league is performing in Europe - and currently that is good for England and the Premier League.
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Over the past decade, three different English sides have won the Champions League - Liverpool in 2018, Chelsea in 2021 and Manchester City in 2023. The Reds have also been losing finalists twice.
The Premier League's strength is underlined by how Aston Villa are doing in their first ever Champions League campaign. Unai Emery's side finished in the top eight and enjoyed a memorable win over Bayern Munich.
The coefficient scoring system
Ultimately the two leagues with the best average coefficient scores get an extra place for next season. They can be gained across the Champions League, the Europa League and the Europa Conference League. For instance, Italy benefited massively from having Atalanta win the Europa League last term whilst Fiorentina were finalists in the Europa Conference League.
Each win is worth two coefficient points, a draw gets you one point, and you get nothing for a defeat - that is across each of the three tournaments.
The points gained by all clubs are added together and that total score is divided by the number of clubs a country has in Europe in the season. That gives the coefficient average and also means countries like Portugal, who may only have three or four teams, can compete with England, who could have eight.
Liverpool topped the league phase
Liverpool topped the league phase ( Image: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
Every win and bonus point for someone like England and the Premier League is, when averaged, worth less than it is for the other leagues if you have more teams in Europe. And if a few teams struggle it cripples your chances come the end of the season.
So if a country has 60 coefficient points and seven teams in Europe, its score is 8.571 for the table - worked out as 60 divided by 7.
The new bonus points - favouring Champions League performance
A new bonus point system has been introduced and means that a club's performances in the Champions League much more valuable than the other two European competitions.
Under the old system, the maximum bonus points for a club in the Champions League was 12, and now it's gone up by six to 18. In the Europa League it's up from eight to 10 and in the Europa Conference League it has gone from four to six.
Every club that participates in the Champions League gets a minimum of six bonus points just for taking part in the league phase. In the Europa League you have to finish first to get six bonus points. Whilst in the Europa Conference League top spot only gets you four points.
There are then bonus points for reaching each of the knockout rounds, again weighted by competition. As well as those high bonus points in the UCL for position, the teams who finish in the top eight are guaranteed another 1.500 for reaching the round of 16.
Arsenal were among the top qualifiers behind Liverpool ( Image: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
So using Liverpool as a quick breakdown. They finished top in the Champions League league phase and earned earned 13.500 bonus points - 12.000 for first place, and another 1.500 for getting to the round of 16. Arsenal added 13.000 bonus points for finishing third. But Man City, who sneaked through after qualifying in 22nd, could only provide 6.750 bonus points.
A mark of how the Champions League is favoured though is seen in some of the other English totals.
Manchester United (6.500) and Tottenham Hotspur (6.250) picked up fewer bonus points in the Europa League even though they finished third and fourth respectively. Chelsea got only 4.500 bonus points even though they finished first in the Europa Conference League league phase.
How are England looking at present?
In short - pretty good.
Every team from the Premier League who qualified for Europe is still in the hunt. Liverpool are among the favourites to win Europe's top prize whilst Arsenal are likely to push for it hard given it may be their most realistic hope of landing a trophy.
Pep Guardiola's side face a tough task in overhauling Real Madrid next week, which could end their hopes before March.
Like Arsenal, the Red Devils and Tottenham may put a lot of their energy into winning in Europe. They've endured horrific Premier League seasons but victory in the Europa League would grant them a spot in the Champions League - which is all but beyond them domestically.
Coefficient Top 10
1. England, 20.892 - 7/7
2. Spain, 18.035 - 6/7
3. Italy, 17.687 - 7/8
4. Germany, 15.421 - 5/8
5. Portugal, 15.350 - 4/5
6. France, 14.214 - 5/7
7. Belgium, 13.550 - 5/5
8. Netherlands, 13.250 - 5/6
9. Greece, 11.062 - 3/4
10. Sweden, 10.125 - 1/4
*As of February 13
Chelsea meanwhile are huge favourites to win the Europa Conference League.
The Premier League hopes are also aided by some poor performers elsewhere. Germany only have five of their original eight teams still in Europe - Stuttgart and RB Leipzig among them. Spain and Italy have also lost one. France have lost two.
Which clubs are in the hunt for fifth spot?
If we are looking at a top five - rather than a top four - then Brighton down in 10th may feel as though they've got a realistic shot with 14 games of the season still to go. They are just seven points away from Man City in fifth as things stand.
Nottingham Forest sit third as they continue to be the season's surprise package. There would be some brilliant nostalgia about them in Europe following their triumphs with Brian Clough.
Chelsea are in fourth, albeit they've seen their results fall off in recent months. Man City and Guardiola will be desperate to save their campaign after spending £200million in January. There is an expectation that they will eventually hit top gear once again.
Newcastle, led by the goals of Alexander Isak, have spent a year out of the Champions League but have huge expectations. Villa want to continue their European adventure beyond this season whilst Fulham too continue to pick up results and are within touching distance.
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