Why Tottenham need Champions League help from West Ham United amid extra spot battle

Tottenham Hotspur's hopes of playing in the UEFA Champions League could receive a huge boost this evening following the second-leg of the Europa League last-16 ties. The Champions League will see an overhaul of the competition next season, with a 'Swiss model' league system being adopted with 36 teams.

Two of the four new spots will be awarded to the top two performing nations across all three UEFA competitions in the current campaign. It is possible that we could see as many as seven Premier League teams qualify for the Champions League after a loophole was opened up by Liverpool winning the Carabao Cup last month.

UEFA's coefficient rankings will determine which country receives the extra spot. Currently speaking, England stands third behind Italy and Germany, though there is plenty of opportunity for that to change.

Every win by a club is worth two points, and a draw provides one. Bonus points are then earned by progressing to various stages of the competitions. All points earned by clubs from each country are added up before being divided by the number of teams in Europe — eight for England.

Manchester City and Arsenal secured their place in the last eight of the Champions League in the last 10 days, but the progress of the English club's across the Europa League and Europa Conference League.

Liverpool already have one foot in the quarter-final after beating Sparta Prague 5-1 in the Czech Republic last week. Tottenham will have eyes on West Ham and Aston Villa tonight as they look to qualify for the next round.

The Premier League fixture quirk that could push Tottenham into the title race

Tottenham set to experience Champions League change as new format decided

The Hammers are currently 1-0 down in their tie with German