There will be at least five Premier League teams in the Champions League next season after Arsenal beat Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday.
As part of the new format for Europe’s elite club competition, the two nations which perform best across the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League are handed European Performance Spots (EPS) by UEFA.
This means that those countries receive an extra place in the Champions League, as demonstrated last year when Newcastle came fifth in the Premier League but qualified for the competition.
The EPS spots are awarded through the performances of clubs from each league across competitions, with a total coefficient value divided by the number of teams competing.
The Premier League has led the way for much of the season given the strong performances of English sides on the continent, and Arsenal’s late win over Sporting in the first leg of their quarter-final tie on Tuesday secured the extra spot for the division.
Their coefficient average score is 25.013, well clear of Spain (20.281), Germany (19.714) and Portugal (18.900).
Arsenal, Tottenham, Man City, Chelsea and Liverpool all finished in the top eight in the Champions League League Phase – and Newcastle won their knockout round play-off tie to join the quintet in the last-16 stage – while Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest are in the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
Crystal Palace are also in the last eight of the Conference League.
For the EPS system each win is worth two coefficient points, while a draw counts as one across competitions.
There are also bonus points for progressing through the knockout rounds – 1.5 in the Champions League, 1 in the Europa League and 0.5 in the Conference League.
This follows bonus points that were awarded for finishing positions in various league phases, with the Champions League again having a stronger weighting.
Spain look likely to take the second spot ahead of Germany and Portugal, although the Bundesliga could make a challenge for that place given Bayern Munich beat Real Madrid 2-1 in the first leg of their quarter-final tie on Tuesday.
Freiburg also take on Celta Vigo in the Europa League and Mainz remain in the Conference League.
The Premier League and LaLiga also took the two additional places last season.
News of fifth place qualifying for Europe’s premier club competition will be welcomed by the likes of Liverpool, who currently occupy that spot, although Bournemouth in 13th are just seven points behind the Reds in what is sure to be a fascinating end to the season.
Meanwhile, the Premier League had six spots in the Champions League this season after Tottenham won the Europa League, and that could be the case again.
For that to happen, either Liverpool would need to win the competition and finish outside the top four, or Aston Villa or Nottingham Forest would need to win the Europa League and come below fourth in the Premier League.
If both Liverpool and Villa won European trophies and came fifth and sixth, that would put seventh place into the Champions League in an unprecedented result.
