It was a Thursday (April 11) evening horror show for English clubs in Europe after Liverpool stumbled to a 3-0 defeat against Atalanta at home in the Europa League. On the other hand, West Ham United also dented their chances of Champions League qualification after they lost to Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg ties of Europe’s second-tier competition. The results now have huge bearings on the final outcome of how many teams will qualify for the Champions League from Europe as England now drop in the UEFA coefficient rankings. However, it is Aston Villa who will have suffered the most despite their 2-1 over Lille in the Europa Conference League.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Aston Villa’s aspirations of Champions League qualification dented
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Going into Thursday evening, England were second in the UEFA coefficient rankings, however, defeats for West Ham United and Liverpool meant that England dropped to third with Germany replacing them in second. So as things stand, England will have only four automatic Champions League spots to play with as Aston Villa sit fifth and will have to contend with a Europa League berth. Had England been fifth it would have meant both Villa and fourth placed Tottenham would have played in next season’s Champions League.
Currently, Italy’s AS Roma and Germany’s Borussia Dortmund are qualifying as fifth placed teams from their respective leagues. However, the job is far from done for the latter as Germany has only three teams in Europe while England still has five teams who can boost their chances for more spots in the Champions League qualification.
UEFA Coefficient Rankings
Italy: 18.714
Germany: 16.928
England: 16.875
Spain: 15.062
France: 14.750
Villa though can still dictate and secure a Champions League berth for next season. Considering they win the Europa Conference League coupled with other teams reaching at least the semifinal of their European competitions (Champions League, Europa League), it could see them reach the premier competition. While teams get an automatic Europa League berth on winning the Conference League, Villa’s prize could be even bigger considering their fate is still in their hands.
Can Villa still miss out on the Champions League?
In another scenario, Villa could miss out on the Champions League qualification if they win the Conference League and finish fifth in the Premier League. If West Ham United win the Europa League, it will be the Hammers who will replace the fifth placed team in the Premier League as only five teams can qualify from the same league. In this scenario, it will be the fifth placed team that will have to prophet its berth to West Ham.
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