Chelsea moved into the highest 4 because the race for European soccer continued on Sunday.
The Blues edged to a over struggling Leicester after Nottingham Forest, Brighton and Aston Villa all boosted their hopes on a dramatic Saturday.
Forest tightened their grip on third place with a hard-fought in opposition to fellow Champions League hopefuls Manchester Metropolis.
on the Amex Stadium, dealing a blow to the Cottagers’ personal European goals.
In the meantime, Aston Villa have thrown their hat again within the ring with a at Brentford.
These three wins have additional shuffled the chasing pack because the competitors for a spot in one of many three European competitions on supply continues to warmth up.
BBC Sport appears at who stands the place within the race to safe Champions League soccer – and why England might have a fifth spot to fill subsequent season.
How does the Premier League desk stand?
Forest had been the large winners on Saturday as they try to return to Europe’s high desk for the primary time since 1980-81.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s aspect scored by means of Callum Hudson-Odoi within the 83rd minute to tug 4 factors away from Manchester Metropolis.
On Sunday, Chelsea despatched Metropolis right down to fifth spot because of Marc Cucurella’s second-half effort, whereas Arsenal – a distant second to league leaders Liverpool – wanted Declan Rice
Sixth-placed Brighton are drawing ever nearer to the highest 4 after making it 4 wins on the bounce within the league, with Joao Pedro’s stoppage-time penalty delivering all three factors.
The Seagulls transfer as much as sixth and are solely some extent behind Manchester Metropolis, with the 2 golf equipment set to fulfill within the league on 15 March.
Aston Villa’s return to successful methods at Brentford, courtesy of a strike from Ollie Watkins, noticed them transfer above Fulham, Bournemouth and Newcastle to climb from tenth to seventh.
Unai Emery’s males are solely some extent behind Brighton as they search for a 3rd successive marketing campaign in Europe.
Bournemouth and Newcastle are eighth and ninth respectively, with the Magpies having not less than one recreation in hand on the entire groups above them.
Which positions assure a European spot?
The usual positions that earn European locations within the Premier League are:
Champions League: High 4
Europa League: Fifth
A second Europa League spot is awarded to the FA Cup winners, and the Carabao Cup winners earn a Europa Convention League play-off spot.
If the FA Cup winners safe European qualification by different means, then the sixth-placed workforce within the Premier League takes that spot.
Equally, if the EFL Cup winners earn a European place by one other route, then England’s Convention League place passes on to the sixth-placed workforce.
And if each home cup winners achieve European spots by different means, then the Europa League place goes to the workforce in sixth, and the Convention League spot to the aspect in seventh.
How do nations earn an additional Champions League spot?
Every nation’s league earns a coefficient rating primarily based on how their groups carry out in Uefa’s three males’s membership competitions: the Champions League, Europa League and Convention League.
Coefficient factors are earned by means of match outcomes – two for a win and one for a draw.
The factors earned by golf equipment from the identical home league are added up and divided by the variety of golf equipment the league has in Europe.
For instance, if the Premier League had 100 factors, that will be break up by the variety of groups taking part in in Europe (seven), giving England a coefficient of 14.28.
This season, bonus factors can be found to golf equipment taking part in within the Champions League, which is advantageous to leagues with extra golf equipment competing in it, corresponding to Germany and Italy.
Nations that end within the coefficient desk’s high two earn an extra Champions League spot for the next season.
These spots are awarded to the groups who end within the first place beneath the usual Champions League allocation in these leagues.
Within the Premier League, the highest 4 golf equipment mechanically qualify for the Champions League through league place, so any extra place would go to the workforce in fifth.
Further spots for the 2024-25 Champions League got to Bologna and Borussia Dortmund, who completed fifth in Serie A and the Bundesliga respectively.
Who’s main the coefficient desk? Might England get a fifth Champions League spot?
At current, the Premier League is within the driving seat, with six of its seven groups reaching the final 16 throughout all three Uefa competitions.
is the one blot on the panorama for England, with Spain in third place for now.
Nonetheless, Italy, who’re second, endured a dismal time in February with AC Milan, Atalanta and Juventus all shedding within the Champions League knockout play-off spherical – limiting Serie A’s alternative to collect extra factors.
Germany’s prospects seem tough with Bayern Munich and Dortmund in the identical half of the Champions League draw.
Likewise France. Paris St-Germain and Lille are the representatives remaining within the Champions League, with Monaco and Brest exiting on the play-off stage. Lyon, within the Europa League, are the one different French aspect left in European competitors.
Portugal has two of its 5 groups remaining however misplaced Sporting and Porto within the Champions League and Europa League play-offs.
What concerning the Europa League winners?
England may find yourself with six Champions League groups subsequent season.
The winners of the Europa League are additionally granted a Champions League slot.
Underneath earlier guidelines, any single league may solely have a most of 5 golf equipment within the Champions League. Nonetheless, that rule has been scrapped.
This season, any workforce who win the Europa League however don’t qualify for the Champions League through their home league place will go into the Champions League.
This raises the opportunity of Manchester United or Tottenham, each by means of to the knockout stage of the Europa League however languishing within the backside half of the Premier League, qualifying for the Champions League alongside the highest 4 or 5.
‘Premier League cannot take something with no consideration’ – evaluation
By the point Uefa’s three membership competitions reached their quarter-final part final season, the Premier League was effectively positioned to say one of many two coveted European efficiency slots.
However the elimination of Arsenal, Manchester Metropolis, Liverpool and West Ham shredded these hopes, with Aston Villa’s exit within the semi-finals of the Convention League confirming the failure as Italy and Germany benefited.
The speedy collapse of these hopes means no-one will take something with no consideration this time round.
Nonetheless, England is in an excellent stronger place this season. It could now take an entire capitulation for the Premier League’s fifth-placed workforce to not qualify for subsequent season’s event.