Tottenham, Aston Villa and Man Utd Champions League hopes to be impacted by Europa League draw

Aston Villa took full advantage of no Premier League fixture for Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham side this weekend by increasing their lead in fourth place to five points. Benefitting one week ago from the Lilywhites losing 2-1 at home to Wolves at a time when they won by the same scoreline at Fulham, Unai Emery's side were victorious once again with a 4-2 triumph over Nottingham Forest.

Holding a five-point lead over Tottenham with 12 matches of the Premier League season to go, Spurs do have a game in hand over the Midlands club but there is still no date in the calendar for their postponed Chelsea fixture. One thing that did work in Tottenham's favour on Saturday was Manchester United missing the opportunity to move level on points with them after they fell to a last-minute defeat against Fulham at Old Trafford.

There will, as ever, be plenty more twists and turns in what remains of the season as Aston Villa, Tottenham and Manchester United eye up a Champions League berth by finishing fourth. There is of course the possibility that fifth could be enough to secure a place in Europe's premier competition for next season, however.

With the Champions League group stage expanding by four more teams from the 2024/25 season, there are four more places up for grabs. Two of the positions will be given to the leagues that have performed best across all three of UEFA's club competitions this season in the European Performance Spots.

As things stand, Italy and Germany are currently first and second in the 2023/24 standings, with England, France and Spain next in line. A lot could still change in the second half of the season, though, with Tottenham, Aston Villa and Manchester United really needing the Premier League teams still involved