Chelsea are in the Europa Conference League this season, hunting for a top-four place in the Premier League.

Chelsea are looking to keep their pursuit of a Champions League place alive, as they currently sit sixth in the Premier League table. They lost 3-1 to Manchester City in their last game.

The result was a big blow for the Blues, as City are now in fourth place, and have re-emerged as a strong contender for a Champions League spot for next season. Enzo Maresca’s side face a game against London rivals West Ham this weekend, where they will look for their second win in their last eight league matches.

However, with their focus on trying to make the Champions League via the top four, the Blues may be about to receive a major boost in their chances of getting into Europe’s most prestigious competition next season.

English teams performing well in UEFA competitions could hand Chelsea a Champions League spot

UEFA has a coefficient system, which means that they keep track of the performances of each team from every country in UEFA competitions, (The Champions League, Europa League, and Europa Conference League).

The two leagues that produce the best performances in UEFA competitions will get an extra Champions League spot, meaning that the top five in the Premier League would get to play in the competition next season.

Currently, according to the coefficient table, English teams have performed the best in UEFA competitions this season, amounting to 100.37 points in the table. Italy is second on 88.41 points, and Spain in third on 82.43 points.

This means that the Premier League are currently the frontrunners to land an extra Champions League place this season, which could provide Chelsea with a fantastic opportunity to get into the competition.

According to Opta, there is a 98% chance that the Premier League will earn an additional place in the competition next season. Seeing as they already lead Italy’s points tally by almost 12 points, the chances are looking good for the Blues.

Manchester United and Tottenham could produce sixth English Champions League team

Furthermore, the fact that there are two English sides in the Europa League means that there is a chance that we could see six Premier League sides in the Champions League next year.

The winners of the Europa League are given a Champions League spot, regardless of what league they are in, or where they finish domestically. Manchester United and Tottenham both look very unlikely to finish in a Champions League place in the league, meaning that if one of them were to win the Europa League.

United currently sit 12th in the Premier League, 11 points away from the top four. Considering their recent fluctuating form under Ruben Amorim, it looks unlikely that they will make a late surge up the table.

Meanwhile, Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs are down in 15th, 17 points away from the Champions League positions. They haven’t won a league game in seven matches, and so the Spurs boss is under pressure.

They also don’t look likely to get a Champions League spot, meaning that their chance at the competition will also come through the Europa League. Both English sides are currently in the top eight places in the Europa League, meaning that they both have an excellent chance to automatically qualify for the round of 16, with just one more round of fixtures to go.

Tottenham play against Swedish side Elfsborg on Thursday, whereas United play against Romanian side FCSB.

In other news, Crystal Palace are reportedly interested in a Chelsea defender who was previously linked with Manchester United in the summer transfer window.