Premier League set to retain fourth Champions League berth despite poor recent fortunes for English sides

English clubs could have been stripped of a fourth qualifying place if Italian teams out-performed them this season

(2016 Getty Images)

The Premier League is set to retain its fourth Champions League berth next season, easing anxiety surrounding English’s football’s demise on the European stage.

Uefa rank the performance of European clubs over a five-year period and distribute Champions League and Europa League spots accordingly.

There was a fear that Premier League sides may have been stripped of their four-berth status if Italian teams out-performed their English counterparts this season.

Arsenal and Chelsea were eliminated from the Champions League at the round-of-16 stage, by Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, while Manchester United dropped from the group stage into the Europa League, where they eventually suffered a two-legged defeat by Liverpool.

Tottenham Hotspur were knocked out of the same competition, formerly the Uefa Cup, by Borussia Dortmund while West Ham United and Southampton failed to qualify for the group stages last summer.

The departures of Juventus, Roma and Lazio from European competitions, however, and the progress of Manchester City and Liverpool, in the Champions League and Europa League respectively, ensures that four English teams will likely compete in European football’s top-tier competition next season.

At present Leicester City, Tottenham, Arsenal and City are on track to book a place in the Champions League with the fourth-placed side participating in the final qualifying round in the summer.

Barcelona players including Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez celebrate winning the Champions League in 2015 (Getty)

West Ham, Manchester United, Southampton, Stoke City and Liverpool also have designs towards gate-crashing the top-four before the season’s close.

English sides have added 12.750 points to an overall coefficient tally of 74.784 compared to Italy’s current rating of 70.439 while City and Liverpool could yet strengthen that total further with strong European campaigns.

Spain’s La Liga, meanwhile, has become the first league to register a three-figure rating, amassing a total of 100.713 points, while the German Bundesliga sits in second-place with 78.891. The Portuguese Premeira Liga, in fifth, trails Italy with 52.915.

In terms of individual club ratings, Real Madrid lead the way and are followed by Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Atlético Madrid and Chelsea in European football’s top-five.