Premier League receive five Champions League spots for second consecutive season
Fifth place finish will be enough for Premier League clubs to reach the Champions League
Dubai: The Premier League has earned an additional place in next season’s UEFA Champions League with a fifth sport granted to the English top-flight.
The top five clubs in the Premier League will now secure Champions League football next season following Arsenal’s 1-0 win in their first-leg quarter-final tie against Sporting.
Arsenal’s win saw the Premier League top the European Performance Standings, allowing the English league an additional spot in the UCL for the second consecutive win.
How does the European Performance Standings work?
Countries earn points based on how their clubs perform in the Champions League, Europa League, and Europa Conference League.
These points are then averaged by dividing the total by the number of clubs each country has in European competitions, creating a ranking table based on those averages.
Teams receive two points for a win, one for a draw, and none for a loss. On top of that, extra bonus points are given depending on where clubs finish in the league phase and how far they progress in the knockout rounds.
The bonus system is weighted more heavily in the Champions League than in the other tournaments. For example, Arsenal finishing top of the Champions League league phase earnt the Premier League 12 bonus points, compared to clubs who earnt six in the Europa League and four in the Conference League.
Which clubs look set to take advantage of an additional spot?
Based on current standings Liverpool would secure Champions League football next season with the side sat in fifth, as well as Aston Villa, Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal who make up the top four spaces.
However, the Reds sit just one point ahead of Chelsea in sixth, while only five points separate the teams from fifth to ninth and given the current form of both Liverpool and the Blues, the race for Champions League remains wide open.
Both Brentford an Everton are just two points adrift of fifth place with both sides on 46 points, the Bees have never played in Europe all together and Everton’s last time in the Champions League was over two decades ago in the 2005/06 season.
Clubs outside the traditional ‘big six’ may have a greater opportunity than ever to reach Europe this season, as there could be further representatives for England in next year's Champions League.
If Villa currently fourth, were to win the Europa League but finish outside the top four, England would have six representatives in the UEFA Champions League.
The same situation would apply to Liverpool if they were to win the Champions League themselves.
If one of them wins a European trophy and finishes fifth, then sixth place would also secure a Champions League spot. If both sides win a European trophy and end up in fifth and sixth, then seventh place would qualify for the Champions League.
