REVEALED: How Man United and Newcastle’s group stage exits could cost the Premier League a Champions League place next season… and why Brighton, Aston Villa and West Ham NEED to top their groups
- Arsenal and Manchester City qualified top of their Champions League groups
- West Ham, Brighton and Aston Villa can still secure top spot on Thursday
- Will Marcus Rashford EVER be the real deal? Listen to It’s All Kicking Off
The Premier League’s hopes of securing an extra place in the Champions League next season took a huge hit on Wednesday after Newcastle followed Manchester United in being dumped out of the competition’s group stage.
The European competition format is changing to a Swiss League system from next season, as we say goodbye to the tradition group stage that we have grown accustomed to over the years.
Instead of eight pools of four teams playing each other twice, 36 clubs – four extra teams – side drawn against eight teams, playing four home and four away.
Of those four new teams, two will be allotted to the league’s that finish highest in the coefficient tables, which are based on the performance of teams in European competitions.
England are currently third in that table, with Newcastle’s exit and United’s struggles having a knock-on effect on the rest of the league.
Newcastle were dumped out of the Champions League on Wednesday after finishing bottom of their group
Newcastle and Manchester United’s early exits from the Champions League could have an impact on the coefficient table
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Currently, Germany lead the race with 13.36 points, followed by Italy (13.14), England (12.13) and Spain (12.06), with these four leagues the most likely contenders given they have the most teams in Europe to begin with.
COEFFICIENT TABLE
1. Germany – 13.36
2. Italy – 13.14
3. England – 12.13
4. Spain – 12.06
5. France – 10.42
6. Belgium – 10.20
7. Czechia – 9.25
8. Turkey – 9.00
9. Denmark – 8.50
10. Netherlands – 8.20
This coefficient is a numerical value attributed to a division with the intention of quantifying its strength on the continent, determined by competition results.
Two points are given to a team for every win in a continental competition, a draw one and none of course for a defeat.
Bonus points are handed out for reaching certain stages; four for playing in the group stages, five for the last-16 and one each for the quarters, semis and final in the Champions League.
For the Europa League it is four for winning the group, two for finishing second and one for reaching the knockouts, and in the Conference League it is two for topping the group, one for finishing second, and one for reaching the semis and final.
Each team’s totals are added up and an average is taken at the end of the competition, hence why the leagues with the most teams have the best chance of snatching another spot.
Manchester City and Arsenal have already ensured their progression in top spot, while United and Newcastle are out of the competition, leaving English clubs with a mountain to climb to secure that extra space.
Meanwhile, Liverpool, West Ham and Brighton have all qualified from the Europa League, and Aston Villa are into the hat for the next round of the Conference League, meaning a number of English sides have a chance of going deep.
Bayern Munich qualified top of their Champions League group which earns the Bundesliga extra bonus points
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Spain and Germany have four teams into the last-16 across all competitions, and another two out the groups but not necessarily confirmed as first or second place, and could therefore still face a play-off round.
Italy, currently in second place, have three through to the last-16 while AC Milan have dropped into the Europa League at the expense of Newcastle, which could play a huge part in where the extra spot goes for next season.
For the Premier League, this means the English clubs still vying for top spots in their Europa League and Conference League groups remains vital if they have any hope of securing an extra place in UEFA’s elite club competition.
Lazio, Inter Milan and Napoli all booked their spots in the Champions League last-16
As it stands, Brighton and West Ham can still secure the bonus points for winning their groups in the Europa League this week, which would prove to be another crucial clash for coefficient points.
Aston Villa are through in the Conference League but must avoid defeat away to Zrinjski Mostar to cement their status as group winners.
At the time of writing, the exits of Newcastle and United from the Champions League makes it really hard for the Premier League to make the top two now.
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