Liverpool and Arsenal's draw For the rest of the Champions League Knockouts, the Premier League seems to give an extra space in next year's competition.
With the European top club competition that will be expanded this season, extra qualifying places are offered. Three English clubs stay in the knockouts, with Aston Villa joining Liverpool and the Gunners.
The Reds are confronted with a difficult attraction against Paris Saint-Germain, while Arsenal will be confronted with PSV Eindhoven and Aston Villa will take on Club Brugge. The trio has all ended up on the same side of the trek.
That means that Liverpool could compete against Villa in the quarterfinals, and one of those two sides could encounter the gunners in the semi -final. If the three teams get the last eight, it would increase the co-efficient rank of England.
Regardless of the competition, every victory is worth two coefficient points, a draw gives you one point and you get nothing for a defeat. If a match goes to extra time, the score is used after 120 minutes. So there are no account of penalties if the game is drawn because they are used to determine the draw instead of the individual match.
England is currently leading the road with 106.6 points, with Italy second at 93.4 and Spain third at 89.1. An extra Champions League place is awarded to the top two countries in that ranking.
Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid have been contracted the last 16, with Bayern Munich opposite Bayer Leverkusen. That makes a serious blow to both Spain and the Hope of Germany to increase co-efficient rankings.
Germany is currently in fourth place, with Borussia Dortmund their final representative in the knockout phases. For Spain to catch up in England in the ranking, they would probably need one of their clubs to win the Champions League, and hope that English parties will not reach the last phases.
The points that are earned by clubs from the same domestic competition are added and shared by the number of clubs that the competition has in Europe – England and Spain have seven while Italy has eight. Manchester United and Tottenham have reached the last 16 of the Europa League, while Chelsea has achieved the same phase of the Conference League.
Bonus points are also available for clubs that play in the Champions League. England has an advantage with three more teams left, especially because Liverpool Villa could play in the quarterfinals to guarantee at least one English club in the semi -final.
If England gets an extra place, it would mean that five teams are eligible for the Champions League next season. That extra space would be handed over to the team that finished fifth in the Premier League – currently Bournemouth.
Last season it was the Bundesliga and Serie A that received the extra places, with Borussia Dortmund and Bologna the beneficiaries. If Italy gets an extra place again, Lazio would receive it if they are fifth in the Serie A.
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