It isn't quite official. But only a mathematical freak can now prevent Liverpool from making a swift return to the Champions League next season.
The draw at West Ham United on Saturday may have realistically ended hopes of sending off Jurgen Klopp as a Premier League winner for the second time but, coupled with Tottenham Hotspur's 3-2 loss at home to Arsenal the following day, it was sufficient to effectively secure a top-four slot for the Reds.
Fifth-placed Tottenham are 15 points behind Klopp's side with five games remaining, meaning Spurs would have to win all five games and Liverpool lose their remaining three while there is at least a 26-goal swing in goal difference in favour of the Londoners.
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That isn't going to happen. Liverpool under incoming manager Arne Slot, then, can look forward to a return to Europe's top table having been missing this term after last season's disappointing fifth-place finish. But the landscape is changing in the most dramatic revamp of the Champions League since its inception more than 30 years ago.
Gone is the group stage with UEFA having overhauled the entire first round. Instead of eight groups of four, there is now just one single league table including all the teams, the total of which has been bumped up from 32 to 36.
Clubs will play eight games - an increase on the current six - with four at home and four away, all of which will be against different opponents. At the end of the first round, the top eight teams in the table automatically qualify for the knockout stages with the next 16 facing a two-legged
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