Tottenham and Aston Villa to battle for Champions League spot after disaster for English clubs
The Premier League is almost certain to miss out on an extra Champions League place after Manchester City and Arsenal lost their quarter-finals on Wednesday night.
The English duo exited the competition to Real Madrid and Bayern Munich respectively in hugely damaging results to the country’s coefficient.
This season an extra place in next season’s Champions League will be awarded to the two countries with the highest coefficient.
Italy are well clear with Atalanta, AC Milan, Roma and Fiorentina all still in European competitions this season and, with Bayern and Borussia Dortmund both qualifying for the Champions League semi-finals, it means Germany has now taken a potentially decisive lead over England in the race for the other spot.
That would mean Aston Villa and Tottenham are now in a head-to-head race for the Premier League’s fourth and final spot in next season’s competition, rather than both being in with a chance of qualifying due to the extra place that could have been awarded to the English top flight.
Italy’s Serie A has 18.428 points, with Germany second on 17.642. The Premier League is well adrift on 16.875 points.
All European competitions are awarded the same points for wins, meaning performances in the Europa and Conference League are just as valuable as the Champions League.
Indeed, the race could be all but over on Thursday night, particularly if Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen, fresh off the back of winning the Bundesliga, hold on to the 2-0 advantage they hold over West Ham going into their Europa League quarter-final second leg.
Liverpool are also likely to exit that competition, having lost 3-0 at home to Atalanta, while Aston Villa take a 2-1 lead to Lille in the Europa Conference League.
The disappointing European showing for the English clubs puts more pressure on Villa and Tottenham as their battle hots up going into the final few games of the season.
Villa currently stand three points ahead of Tottenham, but have played a game more than Ange Postecoglou’s side. Villa also have a goal difference that is three better than Tottenham’s. Both sides still have to play title contenders Liverpool, with Tottenham also hosting Manchester City and Arsenal.
