Explained: What needs to happen for England to secure 5th UCL spot after Arsenal and Man City's defeats
Following Arsenal and Manchester City's elimination from the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League (UCL), English clubs face an arduous task to earn a fifth qualification spot for next season's UCL.
UEFA are set to expand the Champions League from 32 to 36 teams from 2024-25 onwards. According to this re-shuffled format, two extra spots will be given to the nations with the highest coefficient ranking in European competitions.
As it stands, Italy are comfortably in the top spot and almost guaranteed a fifth qualifying spot. England just trail second-placed Germany, who had both of their UCL teams (Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund) progress into the semifinals.
The English teams still alive in Europe include Liverpool and West Ham in the Europa League and Aston Villa in the Europa Conference League.
However, Liverpool lost 0-3 in the first leg of their quarterfinal against Atalanta at Anfield last week. West Ham also dropped their first leg away in Germany against newly-crowned Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen (2-0).
Only Aston Villa hold a 2-1 lead after the first leg in Birmingham against French side LOSC Lille.
If England are to win another qualifying spot, the Reds and the Hammers will have to overcome their first-leg deficits and advance to the semifinals. Not only that, the Villans will likely have to win the Europa Conference League to give England a fighting chance of overtaking Germany.
Liverpool take on Atalanta in Bergamo, West Ham host Leverkusen at the London Stadium and Aston Villa play Lille in France. All three matches will take place on April 18, with the fate of England's fifth UCL spot hanging in the balance.
UEFA Champions League semi-final fixtures and dates confirmed
The fixtures and dates for the semi-finals of the 2023-24 edition of the UEFA Champions League were confirmed after Bayern Munich and Real Madrid's victories in the quarterfinals.
The quarterfinals saw 32 goals scored across the eight games, setting a record for the most goals scored at the quarterfinal stage of a UCL tournament ever (via @centregoals on X).
Following the high-octane drama and action, the fixtures and dates for the UCL semi-finals have been decided.
German giants Bayern Munich kick off semi-final proceedings at home, playing host to 14-time winners Real Madrid on April 30. The reverse fixture will be played on May 8 at the Santiago Bernabeu.
In the other semi-final, Borussia Dortmund will host French giants Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) at the Westfalenstadion on May 1. The second leg will be played at the Parc des Princes in Paris on May 7.
The final will be played at the iconic Wembley Stadium in London on June 1. The last time the final was played at the legendary venue, Bayern Munich got the better of Borussia Dortmund by a 2-1 scoreline.
With both teams on opposite sides of the bracket, a rematch is possible. However, they face formidable oppositions in the form of PSG and Real Madrid, who will be looking to script new chapters in their Champions League history.