Italy and Germany lead England - race for fifth Champions League place heating up
The race for the two extra Champions League places based on European performance this season has become clearer after the culmination of the group stages. As it stands, Germany and Italy are leading the race but England and Spain are in strong contention ahead of the knockout stages in 2024.
The Champions League is undergoing major reconstruction ahead of next season’s competition with the group stages replaced by a 36-team league - with four additional places. Two of those slots will be handed to clubs with the highest UEFA coefficient, who miss out on qualification and the other two will be awarded to the best performing leagues in this season’s European competitions - Champions League, Europa League and Conference League. Those leagues will be decided by the average coefficient points; calculated by accumulating the total coefficient points collected per nation then divided by the number of competing clubs. Coefficient points are awarded based on results - two for a win, one for a draw and zero for a defeat - and they remain the same across all three competitions. Bonus points, however, are also assigned based on progression to each stage and that’s ranked by competition.
State of play in race for extra Champions League places
Given the nature of the coefficient system, it’s incredibly likely that the two extra places based on UEFA performance will be secured by two of the top five European leagues. Across the last five seasons, only the Netherlands would’ve picked up one of the extra places after their clubs performed well in 2021-22. While historically major leagues dominate, French clubs haven’t excelled in Europe this season and they currently sit in seventh place behind Czech Republic and Belgium in the coefficient table. The Czech Republic currently sits fourth but realistically it will be between four leagues for the extra two places and we’ve examined the race.
Italy and Germany lead the race with England trailing
All seven Serie A clubs have qualified for the knockout stages and they lead the race with 14 coefficient points. It’s been a remarkable campaign for Italian clubs so far with Inter Milan, Napoli and Lazio all reaching the last 16 of the Champions League. AC Milan, however, dropped into the Europa League to Atalanta with Roma facing a play-off to reach the last 16. Fiorentina are in the last 16 of the Conference League after securing top-spot in their group with Ferencvaros in matchday 6.
Germany narrowly lead England in second place with a coefficient ranking of 13.64 after six of their seven clubs progressed to the knockout phases. Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig are all through in the Champions League with Dortmund impressing to win a group containing Newcastle United, AC Milan and PSG. Bayer Leverkusen sit top of the Bundesliga and their stunning form continued in Europe as they topped their Europa League group but Freiburg face a play-off to reach the last 16. Eintracht Frankfurt are in the knockout play-off in the Conference League with Union Berlin the only German team to crash out in the Champions League.
It was a hugely disappointing Champions League campaign for English clubs with Newcastle United and Manchester United finishing bottom of their groups and crashing out of Europe completely. England’s coefficient chances will likely hinge on teams outside in the Europa League and Conference League with all four clubs topping their group. Brighton and West Ham secured top spot with final matchday victories while tournament favourites Liverpool eased through and Aston Villa won their Conference League group.England are only 0.01 coefficient points behind Germany and it will be a fascinating race next year with Spain also a threat.
La Liga had five clubs in the Champions League after Sevilla won the UEL last saeson but they crashed out of Europe completely after finishing bottom of their group. Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Real Sociedad all qualified leaving Spain with the most teams left in Europe’s premier competition. Villareal are through to the last 16 of the Europa League but Real Betis dropped to the Conference League play-off after losing to Rangers at home in the final matchday. Spain would have been top of the coefficient table had Osasuna qualified for the Conference League but they were knocked out in qualifying.
- Total Market Value:
- €586.85m
- Competition:
- Serie A
- Position:
- 1.
- Manager:
- Simone Inzaghi
- Squad size:
- 25
- Latest Transfer:
- Davy Klaassen
- Total Market Value:
- €534.25m
- Competition:
- Serie A
- Position:
- 5.
- Manager:
- Walter Mazzarri
- Squad size:
- 27
- Latest Transfer:
- Jesper Lindstrøm
- Total Market Value:
- €533.45m
- Competition:
- Serie A
- Position:
- 3.
- Manager:
- Stefano Pioli
- Squad size:
- 28
- Latest Transfer:
- Luka Jović
- Total Market Value:
- €245.13m
- Competition:
- Serie A
- Position:
- 11.
- Manager:
- Maurizio Sarri
- Squad size:
- 29
- Latest Transfer:
- Christos Mandas
- Total Market Value:
- €323.15m
- Competition:
- Serie A
- Position:
- 8.
- Manager:
- José Mourinho
- Squad size:
- 26
- Latest Transfer:
- Romelu Lukaku
- Total Market Value:
- €252.00m
- Competition:
- Serie A
- Position:
- 6.
- Manager:
- Vincenzo Italiano
- Squad size:
- 31
- Latest Transfer:
- Maxime López
- Total Market Value:
- €931.95m
- Competition:
- Bundesliga
- Position:
- 2.
- Manager:
- Thomas Tuchel
- Squad size:
- 25
- Latest Transfer:
- Aleksandar Pavlovic
- Total Market Value:
- €442.80m
- Competition:
- Bundesliga
- Position:
- 5.
- Manager:
- Edin Terzic
- Squad size:
- 30
- Latest Transfer:
- Niclas Füllkrug
- Total Market Value:
- €499.60m
- Competition:
- Bundesliga
- Position:
- 4.
- Manager:
- Marco Rose
- Squad size:
- 27
- Latest Transfer:
- Christopher Lenz
- Total Market Value:
- €211.65m
- Competition:
- Bundesliga
- Position:
- 6.
- Manager:
- Dino Toppmöller
- Squad size:
- 36
- Latest Transfer:
- Elias Baum
- Total Market Value:
- €795.25m
- Competition:
- Premier League
- Position:
- 7.
- Manager:
- Erik ten Hag
- Squad size:
- 30
- Latest Transfer:
- Sofyan Amrabat
- Total Market Value:
- €640.70m
- Competition:
- Premier League
- Position:
- 6.
- Manager:
- Eddie Howe
- Squad size:
- 29
- Latest Transfer:
- Lewis Hall
- Total Market Value:
- €866.60m
- Competition:
- Premier League
- Position:
- 2.
- Manager:
- Jürgen Klopp
- Squad size:
- 26
- Latest Transfer:
- Ryan Gravenberch
- Total Market Value:
- €1.29bn
- Competition:
- Premier League
- Position:
- 4.
- Manager:
- Pep Guardiola
- Squad size:
- 24
- Latest Transfer:
- Matheus Nunes
- Total Market Value:
- €1.11bn
- Competition:
- Premier League
- Position:
- 1.
- Manager:
- Mikel Arteta
- Squad size:
- 25
- Latest Transfer:
- David Raya
- Total Market Value:
- €638.50m
- Competition:
- Premier League
- Position:
- 3.
- Manager:
- Unai Emery
- Squad size:
- 26
- Latest Transfer:
- Clément Lenglet
- Total Market Value:
- €488.10m
- Competition:
- Premier League
- Position:
- 9.
- Manager:
- Roberto De Zerbi
- Squad size:
- 27
- Latest Transfer:
- Ansu Fati
- Total Market Value:
- €462.10m
- Competition:
- Premier League
- Position:
- 8.
- Manager:
- David Moyes
- Squad size:
- 25
- Latest Transfer:
- Andy Irving
- Total Market Value:
- €187.00m
- Competition:
- LaLiga
- Position:
- 14.
- Manager:
- Quique Sánchez Flores
- Squad size:
- 27
- Latest Transfer:
- Sergio Ramos
- Total Market Value:
- €1.04bn
- Competition:
- LaLiga
- Position:
- 2.
- Manager:
- Carlo Ancelotti
- Squad size:
- 24
- Latest Transfer:
- Kepa Arrizabalaga
- Total Market Value:
- €472.00m
- Competition:
- LaLiga
- Position:
- 4.
- Manager:
- Diego Simeone
- Squad size:
- 24
- Latest Transfer:
- Samu Omorodion
- Total Market Value:
- €431.10m
- Competition:
- LaLiga
- Position:
- 6.
- Manager:
- Imanol Alguacil
- Squad size:
- 25
- Latest Transfer:
- Álvaro Odriozola
- Total Market Value:
- €202.80m
- Competition:
- LaLiga
- Position:
- 7.
- Manager:
- Manuel Pellegrini
- Squad size:
- 26
- Latest Transfer:
- Sokratis Papastathopoulos
- Total Market Value:
- €116.60m
- Competition:
- LaLiga
- Position:
- 12.
- Manager:
- Jagoba Arrasate
- Squad size:
- 24
- Latest Transfer:
- Raúl García
- Total Market Value:
- €562.55m
- Competition:
- Bundesliga
- Position:
- 1.
- Manager:
- Xabi Alonso
- Squad size:
- 27
- Latest Transfer:
- Nathan Tella