UEFA reveal 2 fifth-place teams currently set to qualify for next season's UCL

UEFA have confirmed Bologna and RB Leipzig are currently poised to claim the extra spots handed out to fifth-place finishers in next season's Champions League, with Premier League hopefuls missing out as things stand.

This season's edition of the tournament is the last to use the 32-team, eight-group format in the first stage before significant changes come into force next term. The next edition will use a Swiss-style format, with 36 teams entering and new rules being brought in.

The four extra spots will be split between four leagues, decided by what is known as the 'European Performance Slots'. Two of these will go to an extra team from the leagues with the best European coefficients in the current campaign, with one extra place going to the third-placed team from the league fifth in UEFA's 'access list' based on the last five years of competition,

With Italy and Germany currently one and two in the 2023-24 standings, Bologna and Leipzig are in pole position, while France would get a third guaranteed spot, with Nice set to benefit as things stand. The final extra spot will go to a league champion, with the 'champions path' of qualification now awarding five spots instead of four.

According to UEFA's standings, it's tight at the top when it comes to this season's coefficients. Each team gets a score comprised by dividing its total coefficient points obtained by the number of clubs in European competition.

While England have the highest total points, they have eight clubs in Europe rather than Italy and Germany's seven. This is thanks to West Ham United claiming the eighth spot by winning the Europa Conference League, with Spain - home to Europa League holders Sevilla - also boasting eight teams.

After the group stage, Italy's