Liverpool have slipped down to 6th place in the Premier League, and now likely need to rely on England maintaining top spot in the UEFA coefficient rankings to qualify for the Champions League.
Arne Slot watched on as his side suffered a disappointing 2-1 loss to Wolves on Tuesday evening, giving Chelsea the chance to overtake them.
The Blues ended up beating Newcastle United and are now ahead of Liverpool in 5th, which is currently enough to qualify for the Champions League as long as the UEFA coefficient ranking table stays the same.
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Liverpool need England to remain top of UEFA coefficient ranking table
Despite slipping down to sixth on Wednesday evening, Opta still predicted Liverpool to end the season in 5th place.
Traditionally, that would not be enough to earn qualification into the Champions League, but the top two countries in UEFA’s coefficient rankings are given an extra place, and England are currently first.
At present, all nine of the Premier League sides who began the season competing in the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League are still in their respective competitions.
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It means England have so far garnered 200.625 points in UEFA’s table, with an average of 22.91.
Their closest competitors are Germany, who have five out of seven teams still competing and a total of 123 points with an average of 17.571.
Currently, Spain are the closest challenger to the top two, with five out of seven teams competing, 139.250 total points and an average of 17.406.
| Posistion | Country | Teams competing | Points | Average |
| 1 | England | 9/9 | 200.625 | 22.291 |
| 2 | Germany | 5/7 | 123.000 | 17.571 |
| 3 | Spain | 6/8 | 139.250 | 17.406 |
| 4 | Italy | 4/7 | 121.500 | 17.357 |
| 5 | Portugal | 3/5 | 83.000 | 16.600 |
We are now into the last-16 stages of European competitions, and the deeper teams go, the more points they will earn for their country.
It means Liverpool are having to rely on the other eight Premier League clubs to enjoy successful tournaments to ensure England are given an extra Champions League place this term.
But should the Reds fail to get into Europe’s premier competition next term, Jamie Carragher thinks Slot will be sacked.
The financial cost of no Champions League football is high, though Liverpool’s summer transfer plans are not expected to be impacted.
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