The Premier League’s hopes of securing a fifth Champions League spot for next season received a blow on Wednesday night.
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.
For example, England has nine teams still in Europe and is in pole position to secure an extra spot again.
That may still be the case, but with Man City having been beaten 3-0 by Real Madrid, Chelsea losing 5-2 to PSG and Arsenal drawing 1-1 with Bayer Leverkusen, more jeopardy has been added.
The Premier League had a difficult night in Europe on Wednesday as Man City (pictured above Erling Haaland and Marc Guehi) and Chelsea lost, while Arsenal were held to a draw
It comes after Tottenham were beaten 5-2 by Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, Liverpool lost 1-0 to Galatasaray and Newcastle drew 1-1 at home to Barcelona.
England currently sit top of the coefficient table still with an average of 22.513, almost 4.5 points clear of Spain in second on 18.031 and further ahead of Germany in third on 18.000.
Across competitions, each win is worth two coefficient points, while a draw is worth one.
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.
But, with Tottenham, Chelsea and Man City all facing a strong chance of elimination after this week’s first legs – and Liverpool, Newcastle and Arsenal having plenty of work to do to progress – things have become more interesting.
That is added to by Bayern Munich being almost certain to progress after beating Atalanta 6-1, while Real and Atletico are in extremely strong positions in their ties too.
The bad week for English teams in Europe has subsequently added pressure to Thursday’s games.
In the last-16 of the Europa League, Aston Villa take on Lille and Nottingham Forest play Midtjylland, while Crystal Palace face AEK Larnaca in the Conference League.
Positive results in both legs and progression should ease any worries, but if things go wrong again, the picture could change dramatically.
The current UEFA coefficient table, with England out in front and ahead of Spain and Germany
After a strong League Phase showing where five of the six English teams in the Champions League finished in the top eight, and Villa came second in the Europa League, it seemed improbable that England would throw it away from the position.
It is still unlikely, but back in 2023-24, England appeared destined to get an EPS slot before Arsenal and Man City crashed out in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
That came after Man United and Newcastle finished bottom of their groups, while West Ham were also beaten by Bayer Leverkusen and Liverpool lost to Atalanta in the Europa League quarter-finals that year.
Those teams chasing a Champions League spot this season may now find themselves cheering on Villa, Forest and Palace on Thursday night.
