The favourites for Champions League qualification - ranked
- The race for the top four is heating up as the 2023/24 Premier League campaign nears its end
- Aston Villa hoping to secure return to top-flight European football
- Spurs face deadly run-in that could extinguish any remaining hopes of UCL qualification
Champions League qualification is a little more complicated this season.
The Premier League had looked primed to secure an extra place in Europe's elite club competition, but damaging results for English sides in various continental tournaments means it's now hugely unlikely that fifth place will be rewarded with Champions League football.
Therefore, the only way to guarantee a spot in next season's UCL is by finishing in the top four in the Premier League, something that looks guaranteed for Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool.
That leaves just one spot still to be occupied, with Aston Villa, Tottenham and Manchester United battling it out for a top-four finish in 2023/24. As the season draws to a close, the stakes get higher for all three sides with each passing week.
Here are the favourites for Champions League qualification - ranked.
3. Manchester United
Very little has clicked for Man Utd during Erik ten Hag's second season in charge.
A mass raft of injuries has left the Dutchman scrambling to put starting XIs together, though that hardly protects the rest of the underperforming Red Devils squad from criticism.
Their campaign has been punctured by baffling losses and questionable tactics. While the future could be brighter with the arrival of Ineos and Sir Jim Ratcliffe off the pitch, things look familiarly dire on it.
England's UEFA coefficient score is bleak but Man Utd would still need a ridiculous collapse from Tottenham just to snare fifth place. Villa are clearly too far ahead, leaving the Red Devils requiring victory in the FA Cup final against Man City to at least finish the campaign in a positive light.
2. Tottenham
Tottenham looked to have taken control of the race for top four when they hammered Villa 4-0 on the road in March, but losses to Fulham and Newcastle and a draw with West Ham has seen Ange Postecoglou's side drop crucial points.
The Lilywhites are sat six points behind Villa with two games in hand, but they are due to face each of the title contenders before the end of the campaign in an extremely tough-looking gauntlet.
A home north London derby and Man City's visit are compounded by a trip to Anfield, while Spurs also have to travel to meet former manager Mauricio Pochettino at Chelsea.
While Champions League qualification remains just about in their hands, their middling recent form makes it tough to back Tottenham to overturn such a deficit with so little of the season remaining.
1. Aston Villa
Aston Villa astonished onlookers last season by qualifying for the Europa Conference League after a dismal start to the campaign under Steven Gerrard, but Unai Emery's side look set to go even further this term by finishing in the top four.
The Midlands side have been largely consistent despite some difficult periods and are firmly in the driving seat for Champions League qualification as things stand.
Villa still have the distraction of European football - something Spurs don't have to deal with - but have shown they have more than enough in the tank to maintain their lead until the end of the campaign.
A remarkable win at title challengers Arsenal gave their top-four push fresh impetus and they just need to hold their nerve in their remaining fixtures to return to Europe's grandest stage.
Pos | Team | Played | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
3. | Liverpool | 34 | +41 | 74 |
4. | Aston Villa | 34 | +21 | 66 |
5. | Tottenham | 32 | +16 | 60 |
6. | Man Utd | 33 | +1 | 53 |
7. | Newcastle | 33 | +15 | 50 |
8. | West Ham | 34 | -9 | 48 |
9. | Chelsea | 32 | +4 | 47 |
10. | Bournemouth | 34 | -11 | 45 |
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