Premier League on track for fifth Champions League slot next season as best performing leagues in Europe revealed

PREM clubs are well on track for an extra Champions League slot next season.

Manchester City’s upset at Juventus represented England’s only defeat in seven games this week, with Liverpool, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Manchester United all winning and Spurs squeaking a draw at Rangers.

That puts England on an average of 12.571 coefficient points, more than a full point ahead of Italy – who secured a fifth Champions League slot alongside Germany last term.

And with extra bonus points due at the end of the league phase next month, after Uefa recalculated the system, the Prem sides are on course to stretch their advantage even further.

Liverpool are one of just two teams in Europe guaranteed a slot in the top eight of the new Champions League table after winning all six of their games to date.

Barcelona, with 15 points are also through but Arsenal are third in the table and Aston Villa fifth, both needing a single point to be 100 per cent sure of making the knock-out stage and with great chances of being seeding directly to the last 16.

And while Manchester City’s horror run of two defeats and a draw in their last three matches means they are in a lowly 22nd and in serious danger of missing out on the knockout phase, the performances of the other three teams is set to cancel out any consequences.

Chelsea need just a point from next week’s home game with Shamrock Rovers to be certain of four extra bonus points for topping the Conference League.

And despite three Europa League games without a win, Spurs are just outside the top eight – with matches against Swedes Elfsborg and Hoffenheim of Germany to come – while United are two places above them.

The top two nations over the entire season will earn an extra slot in the Champions League for next term with England in pole position and set to pull even further clear.

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If every team finished in exactly the same position – which is unlikely to happen – it would net the English teams an extra 4.350 points, taking their total to 16.821 points before extra bonuses for reaching the last 16.

Italy would go up from their second placed tally of 11.500 to 14.750, while Spain, currently fourth behind Portugal, would leapfrog their neighbours into third spot on 13.625 points.

Since the start of the new league phase in September, the seven Prem sides have won 27 matches – more than any other country – and lost just five.

Italian sides have won 25 with 11 defeats, Spanish teams have won 23 and lost 15, the eight Bundesliga outfits have 22 wins and 19 defeats between them while France’s representatives have 17 wins and 12 defeats.

All teams earn two points for every win and one for a draw but their club and national tally is also boosted by bonus points accrued through the three competitions.

Each of the 36 clubs in the Champions League starts with six bonus points, with the possibility of earning up to six more if they finish top of the eight-game table, although there are no pre-competition bonuses for either the Europa or Conference Leagues.

The top eight sides in all three competitions at the end of the first stage – the Conference League, with just six matches, ends before Christmas but there are two match rounds in each of the others in January – automatically make the last 16 knockout stage.

Teams ranked ninth to 24th are then drawn in a knock-out round to join them.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk