Tottenham handed major Champions League fifth-spot lifeline as they continue to chase down Aston Villa

Tottenham Hotspur issued a major warning shot last weekend when they thrashed Aston Villa 4-0 away from home to creep closer to the Premier League top four. Spurs closed the gap between them and Unai Emery's side to just two points after James Maddison, Brennan Johnson, Son Heung-min and Timo Werner all enjoyed getting on the scoresheet.

Ange Postecoglou's side have posted some impressive results this season, holding champions Manchester City to a thrilling 3-3 draw, and beating Liverpool 2-1. But they have also dropped points after frustrating outcomes, including a 2-2 draw against Everton.

The pressure has been on for Tottenham to move in on Villa and eventually leapfrog into fourth place but they could be handed a major lifeline in their Champions League pursuit. The tournament is due to expand to 36 teams next season, meaning two football leagues will be granted an extra qualification place. For the Premier League, this could mean that the team who finishes fifth will also earn their spot among Europe's elite.

Therefore, Tottenham's fate could essentially rest in the hands of their rivals currently competing in their respective European tournaments. At the end of the season, the two best-performing leagues will be granted an extra Champions League qualification spot.

Countries will earn coefficient points based on their performances in the Champions League, Europa League, and Europa Conference League. Points will be earned for each team's win (two) and draw (one) as they progress through the competitions. So the longer Villa, West Ham, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City stay in their respective tournaments, the more coefficient points England will earn towards their fifth UCL spot.

Bonus points will also be awarded along the way, and all points collected will then be added together and divided by the amount of clubs each country participating in Europe that season, to create the coefficient average.

The bonus points will be awarded as follows:

Champions League bonus points 4 — Group stage participation 5 — Reaching the Round of 16 1 — Reaching the quarter-final, semi-final, final

Europa League bonus points 4 — Group winners 2 — Group runners-up 1 — Reaching the Round of 16, quarter-final, semi-final, final

Europa Conference League bonus points 2 — Group winners 1 — Group runners-up 1 — Reaching the semi-final, final

With five teams still alive and well in Europe, England have a very good chance of finishing in the top two on coefficient average. West Ham's win over SC Freiburg has handed England a major boost as a German side has been knocked out of the picture. Italy currently lead the points table. Here are the current top 10 countries following the latest round of results as the round of 16 comes to a close.

1. Italy, 17.714 2. Germany, 16.357 3. England, 16.250 4. France, 14.750 5. Spain, 14.187 6. Czechia, 13.250 7. Belgium, 13.200 8. Turkey, 11.500 9. Portugal, 10.1666 10. Netherlands, 10.000