PREM clubs could field SEVEN teams in the Champions League next season.
But only if Manchester City or Aston Villa blow up in the Prem yet still claim the European crown – and Spurs or Manchester United end their seasons of toil with Uefa glory.
RexManchester City could qualify for the Champions League by winning the competition[/caption]
AFPNottingham Forest are a surprise package pushing for qualification to the UEL[/caption]
Bournemouth are also in with a shout of playing in Europe next seasonGetty
Manchester United could win the Europa League and hand England another European spotRex
Liverpool are already guaranteed to make the last eight of this season’s competition, with Arsenal and Villa able to join them with wins in their final league stage matches on Wednesday.
City will qualify for the intermediate knock-out stage if they beat Bruges at The Etihad, with Pep Guardiola’s side still having their fate in their own hands despite last week’s debacle in Paris.
And it is City’s unexpected failings, at home and overseas, that could help the Prem go seven-up in Europe’s biggest competition next term.
England is guaranteed four slots in the tournament by virtue of the nation sitting top of the five-year Uefa coefficient table.
But the likely qualification of all seven English sides across the three competitions for the knock-out phase, with potentially six going straight to the last 16, puts the Prem firmly on course to finish in the top two for this season – earning an additional slot in the Champions League.
England could be up to four full coefficient points – with wins, draws and qualification bonuses for each club divided by the number of teams entered at the start of the season – ahead of third-placed Spain at the end of the initial phase on Thursday, when Spurs and United seek to ensure top eight finishes in the Europa League.
If City or Villa were to lift the Champions League trophy in Munich on May 31 and finish OUTSIDE the Prem top five, they would be able to defend their crown without it impacting on the sides above them.
And if that all happened, in tandem with United or Spurs winning the Europa League, then England would have seven teams in the big one, plus two in the Europa League.
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Chelsea will qualify for the Europa League if they win the Conference League – they topped the six game table after winning all their league stage matches – although the Blues still harbour ambitions of making the top five and qualifying for the main competition.
The old system would only have allowed a maximum of five clubs from one association to feature in the Champions League.
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In the rare instance that an English club would win the Champions League and Europa League while finishing outside of the top four, then fourth place would be dropped into the Europa League.
In an extreme case, England could even have 11 teams in European competition.
It would see the normal seven spread across the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.
It would also see the extra UEL place and title holders of each European competition if they finished outside of a league qualifying spot.
New Champions League format is a snorefest
By Dan King
UEFA sold the idea of expanding the Champions League from 32 to 36 teams, with each playing eight games instead of six in the opening phase, as a way of creating more competitiveness and excitement.
The biggest clubs would have two matches against their peers, rather than having to wait until the knockout stage to meet.
The smaller clubs would meet teams of a similar level twice and have a chance of tasting victory that was so hard to achieve if you were the bottom seed in a group of four.
Ignoring for a moment the fact that the real motivation was the simple equation of more games = more money, the theory itself already looks flawed.
None of the matches between European giants has delivered a compelling contest yet.
And why would they? At the start of the long season with more matches in it, why would any team with ambitions to win things in the spring, go out all guns blazing in the autumn?
Especially when they know they have six games NOT against big sides to make sure they accrue enough points to qualify at least for the play-off round (and even more games).
There is even less jeopardy than before.
Read the full column on the Champions League format fail and why everyone – including YOU – needs a rethink.
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