The Premier League's aspirations of securing an additional Champions League spot have been dealt a significant blow, as the UEFA coefficient system comes into play.

From next season, a new Champions League format will be introduced, allowing four extra teams to participate in the competition. Two of these spots will be allocated to the countries with the highest UEFA coefficient ranking, which is determined by their clubs' performance in Europe this season.

Points are awarded for positive results and progression to the next stage of UEFA competitions within the coefficient system. A nation's average is calculated by dividing the total points by the number of their clubs competing in Europe; eight in England's case.

The largest bonus points are awarded in the earlier rounds of the Champions League and are scaled down in the other competitions, though all become equally important at this stage in the season.

Despite early Champions League exits from Manchester United and Newcastle, England were second in the coefficient rankings, ahead of Germany, going into the quarter-final stages. In the Premier League, United were hoping that England would secure an extra Champions League spot, given their slim chances of finishing fifth, currently 10 points behind Tottenham Hotspur with six games remaining.

However, both Arsenal and Manchester City suffered defeats in their respective quarter-finals on Wednesday, dealing a significant blow to England's chances of securing a fifth spot. Liverpool and West Ham are also teetering on the brink of elimination from the Europa League.

Meanwhile, in the Europa Conference League, Aston Villa stands as the only English side holding a first-leg lead in their tie against Lille.

The recent results have dealt a severe blow to the Premier League. Italy (18.428) and Germany (17.642) currently occupy the top two spots, with the former almost guaranteed an extra place.

England, with a score of 16.785, will now have to pin their hopes on Liverpool (0-3) and West Ham (0-2) pulling off remarkable comebacks in their respective return legs, as well as Villa progressing, to keep any hope alive. This is particularly crucial for the Hammers, who face newly crowned Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen, a match that could effectively determine England's fate.

Given that England is directly competing with Germany for the second spot, Arsenal's defeat to Bayern Munich has already allowed momentum to swing significantly in favour of the Bundesliga. Borussia Dortmund also advanced to the Champions League semi-finals.

There is a possibility that England could lose all three of their remaining teams on Thursday.

Manchester United, under Erik ten Hag, face a daunting task of bridging a 13-point gap to Villa in order to secure a fourth-place finish. The Red Devils would need to win all their remaining six games and hope that Villa only manage five points from their last five matches, ending the season with a worse goal difference.

Newcastle and Spurs are also currently above United in seventh.

The coefficient points system is as follows:

Win - two points.

Draw - one point.

Reaching Champions League semi-final, final - one point.

Reaching Europa League semi-final, final - one point.

Reaching Europa Conference League semi-final, final - one point.

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