LIVERPOOL could be set for more Champions League heartbreak this season – even if they finish fourth.
It has been a torrid campaign for the red half of Merseyside on all fronts.
They were dumped out of the Champions League with a 6-2 aggregate defeat to Real Madrid last week.
Jurgen Klopp’s side are also out of the FA Cup, which they won last season, and failed to retain the League Cup.
And now they face a fight for a top four finish with their dismal season leaving them seven points behind fourth-placed Tottenham.
However, they do have two games in hand and will be battling all the way until the last whistle on the final day to get in the top four.
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But even if Liverpool finish fourth this season, they could yet be denied their spot in the Champions League.
And they will have Manchester United and Chelsea to blame.
Uefa rules allow for a maximum of five teams from the same nation to play in the Champions League.
Chelsea remain in the hunt for a third European crown.
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Meanwhile, United are hoping to go all the way in the Europa League.
Should Liverpool finish fourth, and both rivals finish outside the top four while winning their continental competitions, it would see them drop out of the Champions League and into the Europa League.
By triumphing in Europe, Man Utd and Chelsea would clinch the first two of five places straight away.
The Premier League’s top three would then take the remaining spots.
And despite finishing in the top four, the fourth-place side would be denied entry to the Champions League as they would become “team six”.
It means Klopp and his boys will be keeping their fingers crossed for Real Madrid to beat Chelsea, with United playing fellow Spaniards Sevilla.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
