England's fifth Champions League spot in doubt by Newcastle and Man Utd woe
The Premier League's hopes of landing a fifth Champions League spot is in doubt after Manchester United and Newcastle were both knocked out of Europe.
Erik ten Hag's side lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich on Tuesday, while Newcastle suffered a 2-1 defeat to AC Milan a day later. Both teams finished bottom of their respective group.
The pair's poor performance in Europe has ramifications for the Premier League. That's because the Champions League is being expanded from 32 to 36 teams next season, with two leagues receiving an additional spot. The other spots are reserved for the two best teams in UEFA's coefficient rankings who failed to qualify via the conventional route.
UEFA will award a spot to the two leagues whose clubs collectively perform the best in Europe this season across the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League. Two coefficient points are awarded for a win and one is award for a draw.
There are also bonus points available based on how far a team goes in each competition. At the end of the season, those points will be added together and divided by the number of clubs each country has in Europe - giving UEFA their answer.
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As it stands, the Bundesliga (13.36 average) and Serie A (13.14) are the two leagues that will receive an extra Champions League spot. The Premier League is third on that list (12.13) and will need their clubs to perform well after Christmas to jump into the top two.
Newcastle were knocked out of Europe on Wednesday (Getty Images)Are you disappointed with how English teams have performed in Europe this season? Let us know in the comments below!
All 16 clubs participating in the knockout stages of the Champions League have now been confirmed. Bayern, Copenhagen, PSV, Real Madrid, Napoli, Real Sociedad, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Lazio, Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, RB Leipzig, Barcelona and Porto have all progressed. Arsenal and Manchester City will represent England.
In the Europa League, Liverpool are guaranteed top spot and a place in the last 16. West Ham will join them if they avoid defeat to Freiburg at the London Stadium on Thursday. Brighton will also progress to that stage if they beat Marseille at the Amex on the same day. If West Ham or Brighton fail in either of those objectives, they will finish second in their respective group and face a play-off against a third-placed Champions League team.
The eight clubs who have dropped into the Europa League are Galatasaray, Lens, Braga, Benfica, Feyenoord, Milan, Young Boys and Shakhtar Donetsk. Aston Villa are the Premier League's only participant in the Europa Conference League and have already booked their spot in the knockout stages.
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