sport news The Premier League has fallen BEHIND the Bundesliga in the race for a fifth ... trends now
Next week's European second-leg ties could play an enormous role in deciding which the continent's top leagues receives an extra place in the Champions League next season after a slew of surprise results in this week's matches.
Liverpool's 3-0 collapse at Anfield against Serie A side Atalanta not only put a huge dent in their chances of making the Europa League final in Dublin next month, but may have also stymied England's prospects in gaining the all-important slot.
Similarly, Arsenal were expected to bloody the noses of a beleagured Bayern Munich at the Emirates on Tuesday night, but were held to a 2-2 draw by the serial German champions ahead of next week's testing trip to the Allianz.
With the Champions League set to expand to 36 teams and the 'Swiss League' format next season, the two additional spots in Europe's top flight will go to the two countries who finish their international season with the highest coefficient ranking.
Rather than being largely dependent on the result of UEFA's flagship competition, a country's team's performance at any level receives bonus points for success - making Aston Villa's Europa Conference League run as valuable as their Premier League rivals in the first and second division competitions.
Liverpool were shocked at Anfield by a barnstorming performance from Serie A side Atalanta
Harry Kane helped Bayern Munich hold Arsenal to a draw at the Emirates in their first-leg Champions League meeting
Bayer Leverkusen continued their remarkable unbeaten run in their first-leg against West Ham
Italy is all but confirmed as one of the countries to receive an additional slot next season, with four teams still in contention across Europe - Atalanta, Roma, and AC Milan in the Europa League, and Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League.
After Thursday night, their coefficient stands at 18.428, with a maximum score of 22.375 still possible.
Boosting their chances, the nation is also guaranteed a team in the semi-final due to the all-Italian quarter-final between Milan and Roma, which the latter leads 1-0 after Thursday meeting at the San Siro.
Serie A could yet see two of its sides in the final four, should Liverpool fail to respond appropriately in Bergamo next Thursday.
Jurgen Klopp's side were cleaved open by Atalanta's hungry attack on the road, with former West Ham outcast Gianluca Scamacca reintroducing himself to his former Premier League rivals with
