West Ham United's win over Freiburg significantly boosted the Premier League's chances of extra qualification spots
(Image credit: Getty Images)
The Premier League could have a record six places in next season’s Champions League – after West Ham United’s thrashing of Freiburg on Thursday night.
No country has ever had more than five teams in the Champions League during a single campaign, but a format change for next season has made it possible, with UEFA removing a limit on clubs per national association.
The Premier League is currently guaranteed four places for 2024-25, as has been the case for several years, but the new expanded 36-team group stage format offers an extra place to the two countries who fare best in Europe this season.
That’s worked out based on the average performance of all of that country’s teams across the three continental competitions this term – the Champions League, the Europa League and the Europa Conference League – meaning that the results of Liverpool, West Ham and Aston Villa are just as significant as those of Manchester City and Arsenal.
Usual European powerhouses Spain have lagged behind in the rankings this season ever since Osasuna went out of the Conference League in August, with Italy and Germany leading the way for the majority of the campaign.
England fell behind when Manchester United and Newcastle United both went out in the Champions League group stage, but have now significantly closed the gap on Germany – helped by West Ham eliminating Freiburg in the Europa League.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Germany now have only three clubs left in Europe this season, after Eintracht Frankfurt also went out in the last 32 of the Conference League, and RB Leipzig were beaten by Real Madrid in the Champions League last 16.
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England, in contrast, still have five teams involved and look highly likely to overtake Germany in the rankings before the end of the campaign – meaning that the Premier League and Serie A would each have five Champions League places next term.
That would currently be fantastic news for Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur, who are vying for fourth place in the Premier League, and could potentially both qualify.
In Italy, the extra place would currently benefit Roma, who are fifth in Serie A behind Inter, Milan, Juventus and surprise package Bologna. If Germany are overtaken, the team to lose out would currently be RB Leipzig, who are fifth in the Bundesliga behind Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, Stuttgart and Borussia Dortmund.
The Premier League could even get a sixth place, with a Champions League spot also on offer to the winners of the Europa League, if that club hasn't already qualified for the continent's main club competition.
That scenario would be possible if West Ham won the Europa League – the Hammers are currently sat seventh in the Premier League, 10 points behind fifth spot. It's all on David Moyes' men, then, if England are to secure a record six places next term.
Chris joined FourFourTwo in 2015 and has reported from more than 20 countries, in places as varied as Ivory Coast and the Arctic Circle. He's interviewed Pele, Zlatan and Santa Claus (it's a long story), as well as covering the World Cup, AFCON and the Clasico. He previously spent 10 years as a newspaper journalist, and completed the 92 in 2017.
