Tottenham Hotspur's hopes of returning to the UEFA Champions League for the 2024/25 season could be about to take a major hit as the race for the extra league spot continues.
Next season, the prestigious club competition will be revamped with four more teams taking part (36 in total) in a new format. Two of the four extra spots will be given to the leagues that have performed best across all three European competitions — Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League.
The reward of the extra spots will be decided by coefficient points, which can be awarded for wins and draws, effectively making it a competition between leagues.
This season, England started with eight teams in European football — four in the Champions League, three in the Europa League and one in the Europa Conference League. Now, that number is down to six after Manchester United and Newcastle bowed out at the group stages.
Having more teams doesn't necessarily boost a league's ranking as the points are based on averages. The new 'Swiss league' style of the Champions League will allow for an additional place for two countries whose clubs perform best across all competitions.
Unfortunately for Tottenham, Italy and Germany currently hold those positions after last week's Europa League and Europa Conference League play-off knockouts.
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There's still a large portion of this campaign to play out meaning the Premier League could still earn an extra spot via a fifth-place finish. According to Opta (via Sky Sports), the Premier League has a 82 per cent chance of claiming the bonus spot.
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