UEFA have confirmed the new seeding regulations for the Europa League knockout rounds that will impact Aston Villa
The Europa League trophy
The Europa League trophy(Image: UEFA via Getty Images)
Aston Villa have been handed a big incentive to finish in the top two of the Europa League league phase next season.
UEFA has now introduced controversial new rules that will significantly alter the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League dynamics moving forward.
The governing body has confirmed updated seeding regulations for the knockout stages and has now shifted to a merit-based system unlike last season when home advantage for second legs was decided randomly.
When Liverpool topped the Champions League league phase last term, it appeared that finishing first offered little real advantage.
According to ESPN, the new rules ensure that the teams finishing first through fourth in the league phase will have home advantage in the second leg of both the round of 16 and the quarter-finals, as long as they remain in the competition.
If eliminated, their second-leg home advantage passes to the team that knocks them out.
For the semi-finals, only the top two teams are guaranteed to play the second leg at home - again, provided they advance.
Last season, Villa hosted the second leg of their round of 16 and quarter-final ties against Club Brugge due to their league phase position, before being drawn against Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals.
However, this new system introduces clear inequities. For instance, teams finishing third and fourth are now locked out of the chance to host a semi-final second leg. Meanwhile, clubs placing fifth and sixth gain a round of 16 advantage but must play away in both the quarter-final and semi-final second legs.
In total, only teams finishing 1st, 2nd, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 23rd, and 24th can potentially host a semi-final second leg - based purely on how the knockout draw is structured.
Ultimately, there is now a stronger incentive to finish in the top two, but for those who don’t, the benefit of a high league-phase finish becomes far less predictable when it comes to knockout-stage advantages.
Villa will likely be a pot one team for the upcoming Europa League draw on Friday, August 29.