Manchester United are attempting to qualify for next season's Champions League
A general view of the Champions League trophy
The Premier League could gain an extra Champions League place(Image: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
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Manchester United are gearing up for a crucial game in their bid to qualify for the Champions League after their potential safety net took a hit in midweek. Michael Carrick’s side start the weekend third in the table ahead of their game against Aston Villa on Sunday but are just three points above sixth place.
The Premier League could receive a fifth Champions League spot through England’s performance in UEFA’s club coefficient rankings this season. The table is determined by how the clubs representing a nation perform in European competitions, with England having a total of nine teams across the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League.
England currently tops the rankings for the 2025/26 season with a coefficient of 22.847. There is a four-point gap to Spain (18.406) followed by Germany (18.142) and Italy (17.928).
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While still a sizeable lead, any sides, including United, relying on the Premier League gaining a fifth Champions League place saw their hopes take a hit due to disappointing results in Europe. Aston Villa were the only English outfit to win the first leg of their round of 16 tie, defeating Lille 1-0 in the Europa League.
Defeats for Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, combined with draws for Newcastle and Arsenal, mean all six Champions League teams could be eliminated next week.
Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest lost at home to FC Midtjylland in the Europa League and Crystal Palace were held to a draw by AEK Larnaca in the Europa Conference League.
UEFA awards two points for a win and one point for a draw but those sums are then divided by nine for English clubs, the number of representatives. Having the most teams competing has allowed England - and therefore the Premier League - to build up a sizeable lead over their European rivals.
Despite the recent setbacks, a remarkable turn of events would need to occur for England not to finish inside the top two in UEFA’s rankings. It would essentially require the five remaining German teams and six Spanish representatives to win almost all of their games across the three tournaments, with most English sides exiting in the current round or the quarter-finals.
Manchester United manager Michael Carrick
Michael Carrick will be aiming to lead Manchester United to a top four finish in the Premier League(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
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Approximately, another six to eight wins, if no other results go their way, should ensure that England gains a fifth Champions League place. If Premier League teams progress to the next round, they would earn automatic bonus points for the country’s coefficient. These stand at 1.5 in the Champions League, one in the Europa League and 0.5 for the Europa Conference League.
However, United boss Carrick will not want to rely on coefficients to secure his team’s place in Europe’s premier club competition. The upcoming game against Villa marks United’s return to action after suffering the first manager's first defeat last time out.
"It's been a good week," Carrick said. "The result was disappointing, the way the game ended it was obviously disappointing.
“I think we've kind of digested that and looked at it and learned from it and trained well. We've trained really well this week and itching to get going on Sunday now."