It is the battle between three countries to see who gets the two places that are up for grabs for a coveted fifth Champions League spot next season.
Teams get coefficient points for winning games and reaching different stages of the competitions. A match win in any of the three European competitions at any stage after qualifying is worth two points and a draw is worth one point.
Germany and Italy are currently in the driving seats, with the Germans holding a narrow advantage compared to their English counterparts.
Italy have seen their three remaining Champions League sides, Inter Milan, Lazio and Napoli, exit the competition in the last two weeks after defeats to Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona respectively.
However, their Europa League contingents AC Milan and AS Roma both progressed after big wins against Slavia Prague and Brighton. Atalanta overcame Sporting Lisbon, whilst Fiorentina continued their Conference League journey after a narrow victory to Maccabi Haifa.
Germany remained with two teams still in Europe’s premier club competition, with Munich and Dortmund progressing into the final eight. RB Leipzig’s European journey ended at the hands of Real Madrid, whilst Freiburg were eliminated in the Europa League after West Ham overturned a one goal deficit to progress. Bayer Leverkusen continued their unbeaten season after defeating Azerbaijani side Qarabag.
Despite losing Manchester United and Newcastle United in the Champions League, England now appear to be in the driving seat for one of the top two spots. Manchester City eased their way past FC Copenhagen 6-2 on aggregate whilst Arsenal successfully overturned a 1-0 first leg deficit to defeat Porto 4-2 on penalties to enter the first eight for the first time in 14 years.
Brighton waved goodbye to their first ever European campaign after falling to overcome a heavy 4-0 first leg defeat to Roma, but David Moyes’ West Ham managed to turnover Freiburg to make a third successive European quarter-final.
Liverpool cruised into the Europa League final eight after making light work of Sparta Prague, whilst Aston Villa defeated Ajax to make the Conference League last eight.
England now have five sides remaining in Europe, compared to four from Italy and Germany’s three.
Here are the current rankings & their Coefficient points average:
- Italy (Serie A) – 17.7
- Germany (Bundesliga) – 16.35
- England (Premier League) – 16.25
- France (Ligue 1) – 14.7
- Spain (La Liga) – 14.4
