Early exits from European competitions by Manchester United and Newcastle United have resulted in the Premier League potentially losing an additional Champions League berth for the upcoming season.
Both United and Newcastle have stumbled into an unwanted record for Premier League clubs by finishing at the bottom of their respective groups, leading to their elimination from any European competition this season.
In the new format, the top two successful countries in Europe are set to secure an additional spot each for the following year’s competition.
At the end of the Champions League group phase, Germany’s Bundesliga and Italy’s Serie A are leading the table, followed by England with Spain in fourth.
The 2024-25 Champions League will have 36 teams, up from 32 in 2023-24.
How is the Champions League format changing?
Since 2003-2004, the group phase has seen eight groups, each containing four clubs, with a team playing the other three on a home and away basis, with the top two advancing into the knockout phase.
Next year, 36 clubs will compete in what is known as a ‘Swiss’ format, with everyone playing eight matches against eight different opponents, with four home games and four away.
The top eight clubs will progress straight into the last 16, with those from ninth to 24 meeting in two-legged play-offs with the winners advancing.
How are the extra places decided?
Two extra places will go to the best performing leagues in Europe this season. Realistically, the additional places will go to two nations out of Germany, Italy, Spain and England.
This means the team who finishes fifth in the Premier League this season could automatically qualify for the Champions League.
Uefa’s association coefficient rankings – based on the results of all European clubs in Uefa competitions – decide which two leagues will benefit from the additional places.
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Every win by a club from a nation is worth two points and a draw one.
Bonus points are then accrued by progressing through various stages of each competition, with it weighted in favour of teams performing well in the Champions League, then the Europa League and then the Europa Conference League.
All points earned by clubs from each country are added up before being divided by the number of teams from that nation in Europe – eight in the Premier League’s case.
One place will go to the third-placed team in the domestic league that is ranked fifth in the Uefa coefficient – currently the Czech Republic.
The last of the extra spots will go to the qualifying path for champions.
Four teams used to come through this route into the group phase, but from next season it will be five.
The place cannot go to a team from the top 10 leagues as their champions do not go through qualifying.
How the rankings stand at the moment?
In six of the past seven seasons, England would have qualified for that extra ‘most successful’ spot but this season’s group-stage exits of Newcastle and Manchester United leave them in third, behind Germany and Italy.
Italy saw all seven of their sides advance through the group stages, while Union Berlin were the only German team to not make it through.
Spain lost Sevilla from the Champions League but still have six remaining European hopes.
With Manchester United and Newcastle finishing bottom of their Champions League groups, defending champions Manchester City and Arsenal are the two English sides left in.
However, Brighton, Liverpool and West Ham are all in the last 16 of the Europa League, with Aston Villa at the same stage in the Conference League.
If those sides go on to lift a trophy, as the Hammers did last season by winning the Conference League, that could prove to be the difference.
