English 
The race is over for the 5th Champions League place – check the result
From the 2024/25 Champions League season, there will be a drastic change in the way the competition is run, perhaps most importantly the field will expand from 32 to 36 teams, and the classic group stage will be replaced by a Swiss-style format.
What is the current result of the 5th Champions League place?
The top leagues have managed to negotiate that the two countries with the highest coefficient points from the previous (current) season can each field one additional club in the Champions League main draw. So the two top-finishing top leagues can expect to be in the top 5 from next season.
Many thought the only question was who would be the other side to challenge for the extra place, but the English side were left with only Aston Villa now in contention for the international stage.
| Ranking | Country | Coefficient average | Teams |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Italy | 19.428 | (3/7 teams) |
| 2. | Germany | 17.928 | (3/7 teams) |
| 3. | England | 17.375 | (1/8 team) |
| 4. | France | 16.083 | (2/6 teams) |
| 5. | Spain | 15.312 | (1/8 team) |
| 6. | Belgium | 14.200 | (1/5 team) |
| 7. | Czech Republic | 13.500 | (0/4 team) |
| 8. | Turkey | 12.000 | (0/4 team) |
| 9. | Portugal | 11.000 | (0/6 teams) |
| 10. | Netherlands | 10.000 | (0/5 teams) |
The scoring is relatively simple: the points earned by each club in a country are divided by the number of teams competing in the international competition. England and Spain were also at a disadvantage in this aspect, with eight teams, compared to the German-Italian pair, who only had seven.
This means that if Aston Villa would win the Conference League and all their remaining games, they would already be unable to catch the Germans, and it is guaranteed that the Germans will pick up more points, as Bayern Munich, Dortmund and Leverkusen are also in the running.
Fifth place for the Italians is also guaranteed as they are enjoying an outstanding season, who also have three teams still in contention.
Leipzig in good position
It is therefore a foregone conclusion that fifth place also means a CL start for the Italians and the Germans, which was also very good news for Leipzig. It was a tough battle between Dortmund and Leipzig for fourth place, but that means there is no real stakes left for the two teams in the Bundesliga, as they are 14 points ahead of sixth-placed Frankfurt.
In Italy, Roma and Bologna can be very happy, but the two teams cannot sit back yet, even though they are in a good position.
Atalanta could try to catch their two rivals, but Gasperini could also qualify from the EL, so it’s not out of the question that there could be six Italian teams in the Champions League main draw next year.
Tottenham in trouble
But Tottenham and Aston Villa could be in trouble, as only one of them will have a place in next year’s CL.
Only Villa take to the field at the weekend, hosting Bournemouth, where they are the clear favourites at bookmakers, but Emery’s side can’t expect an easy game after 120 minutes in the Conference League.
