Newcastle United and Manchester United’s slim chance of securing a shock Champions League qualification place ended this week.
Man United and Newcastle sit sixth and seventh in the Premier League, respectively six and seven points behind Tottenham Hotspur in fifth and 13 and 14 points behind Aston Villa in fourth. With four games remaining, neither side can mathematically finish in the top four.
Newcastle’s recent 4-0 win over Spurs and the tricky end to the season for Ange Postecoglou’s side renewed hope of a surprise top-five finish which may have been enough to secure a Champions League spot this season - but not any more.
For the first time, an extra Champions League place for the top two ranked leagues for the season according to UEFA’s coefficient will be granted based on league position. This is due to a new Swiss-league format introduced by UEFA which will see four more teams enter the competition, which includes one extra place for the top two performing leagues.
This would mean fifth place in the Premier League would have qualified for the Champions League providing it was in the top two coefficient rankings for the season. But after Borussia Dortmund’s Champions League semi-final first-leg win over Paris Saint-Germain, Germany have confirmed the extra spot alongside Italy for next season.
Villa are the only English side still in Europe at the semi-final stage as they prepare to face Olympiacos in the Europa Conference League. Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and West Ham United all exited their competitions at the quarter-final stage while Brighton & Hove Albion reached the Europa League last-16.
Both Newcastle and Man United finished bottom of their Champions League groups. Before this season, England had finished in the top two coefficient rankings in six out of the last seven campaigns.
England have a coefficient score of 17.375 which could still increase depending on Villa’s performance in the Conference League. But it will not catch Germany or Italy who have scores of 18.357 and 19.428 respectively.
The lack of an extra Champions League spot for England would mean only seven teams in Europe next season. Had an extra place been granted, the European places could have dropped as low as eighth in the Premier League.
But instead, seventh place isn’t technically a European qualification place just yet as it is dependent on the outcome of the FA Cup final as well as Manchester United’s end to the season.
Liverpool’s Carabao Cup win means sixth place is currently the Europa Conference League qualification spot. However, that will drop to seventh should the FA Cup winners have already qualified for Europe.
The winners of the FA Cup are granted a Europa League place. Manchester City are already guaranteed European football for next season based on league position so an FA Cup win for them would see the Europa League place passed down to sixth and seventh will be Conference League.
The same goes if fellow finalists Manchester United in the top six. But if The Red Devils were to win the FA Cup and finish seventh then sixth place would get Conference League and they would get Europa League qualification.
If they win the cup and finish outside of the top seven then sixth will get Conference League and seventh won’t qualify for European competition.
Both Newcastle and Man United have four games remaining and face each other in the penultimate match of the campaign at Old Trafford on May 15 (8pm kick-off).
1. Manchester City - 28.000
Champions League holders Manchester City had the highest coefficient score of any side in Europe this season before they were knocked out by Real Madrid. Their 28.000 score is still one of the highest, but Madrid have now surpassed that number having progressed to the semi-final.
2. Arsenal - 22.000
Arsenal have a score of 22.000. 13 for winning their Champions League group with four wins and a draw, five for progressing to the last-16 where they earned a further two points for beating Porto in the second leg and progressing on penalties. They earned a point for competing in the quarter-final against Bayern Munich with a first-leg draw awarding them another point before losing the second leg.
3. Liverpool - 20.000
Liverpool have picked up 20.000 coefficient points. The Reds earned 12 points from finishing top of their group with four wins and two losses. A total of five points for winning home and away against Sparta Prague in the last-16 of the competition and a further point for playing the quarter-final against Atalanta, where they were beaten 3-0 but won the second leg, earning another two points despite exiting the competition.
4. Aston Villa - 19.000+
Despite competing in the Europa Conference League, Aston Villa have managed to accumulate 19.000 coefficient points. Villa picked up two points for winning their play-off match against Aberdeen before picking up a further 11 points for advancing as group winners with four wins an a draw. A win and a draw against Ajax in the last-16 followed by a first leg win over Lille in the quarter-final takes Villa up to 18 points. Despite losing the second leg, Villa progressed on penalties, earning another point for reaching the semi-final.