The English Premier League’s top five clubs are now guaranteed a place in next season’s Champions League, one more than usual. This comes after Arsenal's impressive 3-0 victory over Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday, which secured England's position in the top two of the UEFA coefficient rankings.
This ensures an additional ‘European Performance Spot’ (EPS), or in simpler terms, an extra spot in Europe's premier club competition.
The top five teams heading into this weekend's matches are Liverpool (73 points), Arsenal (62 points), Nottingham Forest (57 points), and Chelsea and Newcastle, both with 53 points.
England could secure a sixth spot in the Champions League if Manchester United or Tottenham win the Europa League, as the winner of the competition gains direct entry into the Champions League. United sits 13th in the EPL with 38 points, while Tottenham is one place and one point behind.
Aston Villa, currently in seventh place with 51 points – just one behind Manchester City – faces an uphill battle to qualify for the elite European competition after losing 3-1 to Paris St-Germain on Thursday.
However, should Villa overturn this deficit and win the Champions League, it will also earn automatic entry into next season's competition, giving English clubs an unprecedented seven entries.
Meanwhile, Liverpool received some positive news on Thursday as reports confirmed that Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk are on the verge of signing two-year contract extensions.
Salah, the club’s top scorer with 27 goals from 31 league games, has consistently expressed his intention to remain at Merseyside. Similarly, Van Dijk, who could become the first Dutchman to captain a team to the Premier League title, has also stated his desire to stay at Liverpool.
Both players' contracts are set to expire in June, leaving Trent Alexander-Arnold as the only player potentially leaving after his deal expires in two months.
The news that Salah and Van Dijk are staying is a major boost for Liverpool as they prepare to face West Ham on April 13 (9pm), following a surprise 3-2 defeat to Fulham. Liverpool only needs another 11 points to secure a record-equalling 20th top-flight title.
In other news, Southampton's 2-1 defeat to Tottenham on April 6 confirmed their relegation to the Championship. With seven matches still remaining, this sets a record for the quickest relegation in Premier League history.
The previous record was held by Ipswich (1994-1995), Derby (2007-2008), Huddersfield (2018-2019), and Sheffield United (2020-2021), all of whom were relegated with six matches left.
Southampton, with only 10 points at this stage, will aim to avoid Derby's unwanted record of the lowest ever points total in a Premier League season (11 points).
Alongside Leicester (17 points) and Ipswich (20 points), the trio need to earn another 19 points to avoid making history as the worst bottom three in Premier League history.
Last season, the bottom three – Luton (26), Burnley (24), and Sheffield United (16) – had a combined total of 65 points.
Fixtures (Malaysian time)
April 12
Manchester City vs Crystal Palace (7.30pm)
Southampton vs Aston Villa (10pm)
Nottingham Forest vs Everton (10pm)
Brighton vs Leicester (10pm)
April 13
Arsenal vs Brentford (12.30am)
Chelsea vs Ipswich (9pm)
Wolves vs Tottenham (9pm)
Liverpool vs West Ham (9pm)
Newcastle vs Manchester United (11.30pm)
April 15
Bournemouth vs Fulham (3am)
April 17
Newcastle vs Crystal Palace (2.30am)
