Tottenham chances for UEFA qualification emerges

Tottenham’s hopes of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League took a huge hit over the weekend. After being on the receiving end of a 4-0 loss at Newcastle United, Aston Villa’s surprise 2-0 win over Arsenal saw Spurs drop to fifth.

Ange Postecoglou’s men do have a game in hand, at home against Manchester City, but it’s currently advantage to Villa heading into the final stretch. However, there remains an outside chance that Champions League football could still return to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Next season, the format of Europe’s prestigious competition changes with four extra places up for grabs. Two of those will be handed to countries with the highest UEFA coefficient ranking based on results from teams’ results in Europe this campaign.

Points are awarded for how far each club goes in a UEFA competition, with the average being sought for each country when the scores are divided by the number of the clubs taking part in the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League. England have five teams involved: Arsenal and Manchester City (Champions League quarter-finalists); Liverpool and West Ham (Europa League quarter-finalists); Aston Villa (Europa Conference League quarter-finalist).

Italy lead the way by some distance meaning England and Germany will contest for second spot. Whoever comes out on top will earn an extra spot in the Champions League for the 2024/25 season.

However, the first-leg of the quarter-finals have left the Premier League’s hopes of another spot in jeopardy. Arsenal and Manchester City both drew their quarter-final ties with Bayern Munich and Real Madrid respectively and must win in tonight’s second-leg to progress.

Villa took a huge step towards keeping their European dreams alive by defeating Lille 2-1 at Villa Park. However, West Ham and Liverpool both suffered defeats last week and look likely to exit the Europa League on Thursday.

Jurgen Klopp’s men lost 3-0 at home to Atalanta, further cementing Italy’s grip on top spot in the rankings, while West Ham fell to a 2-0 defeat to Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen.

Unfortunately for England, Germany’s hopes of securing an extra spot in the competition were boosted once again on Tuesday. Borussia Dortmund’s quarter-final win over Atletico Madrid added breathing room between Germany and England.

As pointed out by ESPN, Italy lead the coefficient table (18.428) and Germany (17.214) sit slightly above England (16.750) after Tuesday night’s action. There is plenty of time for things to turn around with all five of England’s active teams in action in the next 48 hours.

Leverkusen and Bayern could strengthen Germany’s grip. Should Arsenal be victorious at the Allianz Arena and City dump Madrid out for the second consecutive year, England’s hopes will be increased.