Premier League clubs participating in Europe will face an overcrowded fixture list if they fail to finish in the top eight in their respective league phase, with some clubs facing the prospect of playing nine games in 29 days.
Arsenal are top of the Champions League after six games, with Manchester City in fourth place.
A top eight finish (and Arsenal’s almost certain to advance) would mean both clubs would automatically advance to the knockout stages, avoiding playing two extra play-off games.
However, Chelsea, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool make up the other English teams in the Champions League, which sit outside the top eight with two matches remaining.
All four clubs are currently in the play-off spots and will compete in a two-legged knockout play-off in February to secure their place in the next stage.
There is no rest for other European competitions either. The Europa League and Conference League schedules are the same, but the latter has two fewer group games.
Aston Villa are third in the Europa League standings, while Nottingham Forest are 11th and in a position to qualify for one of the play-off double headers.
Crystal Palace finished the Conference League in 9th place and will face Zrinjski Mostar in a two-leg play-off for a place in the knockout stages.
The first leg of the play-offs in all three competitions will take place in midweek from February 17-19, with replays taking place from February 24-26.
The two additional play-offs come at a hectic period for English clubs, with an FA Cup fourth round and Premier League games on either side, with Spurs, Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace all eliminated in the FA Cup.
Manchester City, Newcastle, Arsenal and Chelsea also remain in the Carabao Cup, with the second leg of their respective semi-finals to be played on February 3 or 4.
The addition of Champions League matches alongside Premier League and Carabao Cup matches in February means teams participating in the play-offs will be able to play a total of nine games in 29 days, while teams already eliminated from the League Cup could play eight games in that time.
The draw for the last 16 stages of the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League will be held on February 27th.
How does the Opta supercomputer predict the end of CL?
The Opta supercomputer has predicted the phase table for the final stages of the Champions League with two games remaining. Some of the big clubs will be in the play-offs to reach the knockout stages.
With six matches played, Arsenal are the only team with a 100 per cent record, ahead of second-placed Bayern Munich and third-placed Paris Saint-Germain.
Opta predicts that the top two teams will remain where they are, with Manchester City ahead of PSG, Atalanta fifth and Liverpool sixth.
Last year, in the first edition of this new format, you needed 16 points to get into the top 8 and 11 points (with a convenient goal difference) to get into the top 24. Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid are currently expected to finish in 7th and 8th place, with expected points totals of 15.8 and 15.5.
This means Tottenham, Chelsea and Newcastle will finish in 11th, 13th and 14th place respectively.
Possible Arsenal match
31st January – Leeds (a), Premier League 3rd February – Chelsea (h) – Carabao Cup semi-final second leg 7th February – Sunderland (h), Premier League 11th February – Brentford (a), Premier League 15th February – Wigan (h) – FA Cup fourth round *17th or 18th February – Play-offs first leg, Champions League 21st February – Tottenham Hotspur (a), Premier League *February 24 or 25 – Play-offs second leg, Champions League February 28 – Chelsea (h), Premier League
Possible Chelsea match
31st January – West Ham (h), Premier League 3rd February – Arsenal (a) – Carabao Cup semi-final second leg 7th February – Wolves (a), Premier League 11th February – Leeds United (h), Premier League 13th February – Hull City (a) – FA Cup fourth round *17th or 18th February – Play-offs first leg, Champions League 21st February – Burnley (h), Premier League *February 24 or 25 – Play-offs second leg, Champions League February 28 – Arsenal (a), Premier League
Possibility of Man City matchup
February 1st – Tottenham (a), Premier League February 4th – Newcastle (h) – Carabao Cup semi-final second leg February 7th – Liverpool (a), Premier League February 11th – Fulham (h), Premier League February 14th – Salford or Swindon (h) – FA Cup fourth round *February 17th or 18th – Play-off first leg, Champions League February 21 – Newcastle (h), Premier League *February 24 or 25 – Play-off second leg, Champions League February 28 – Leeds (a), Premier League
Possibility of Liverpool matchup
31 January – Newcastle (h), Premier League 7 February – Man City (h), Premier League 11 February – Sunderland (a), Premier League 14 February – Brighton (h) – FA Cup 4th round *17 or 18 February – play-off first leg, Champions League 21 February – Nottingham Forest (a), Premier League *24 or 25 February – Play-off second leg, Champions League February 28 – West Ham (h), Premier League
Possibility of Newcastle matchup
January 31 – Liverpool (a), Premier League February 4 – Man City (a) – Carabao Cup semi-final second leg February 7 – Brentford (h), Premier League February 11 – Tottenham (a), Premier League February 14 – Aston Villa (a) – FA Cup fourth round *February 17 or 18 – Play-offs first leg, Champions League February 21 – Man City (a), Premier League *24th or 25th February – Play-off second leg, Champions League 28th February – Everton (h), Premier League
Possible Tottenham match
February 1 – Man City (h), Premier League February 7 – Man United (a), Premier League February 11 – Newcastle (h), Premier League* February 17 or 18 – Play-off first leg, Champions League February 21 – Arsenal (h), Premier League* February 24 or 25 – Play-off second leg, Champions League February 28 – fulham (a), premier league
Possibility of Aston Villa matchup
1 February – Brentford (h), Premier League 7 February – Bournemouth (a), Premier League 11 February – Brighton (h), Premier League 14 February – Newcastle (h) – FA Cup 4th round* 19 February – Play-off first leg, Europa League 21 February – Leeds United (h), Premier League* 26 February – Play-off second leg, Conference League February 28 – Wolves (a), Premier League
Nottingham Forest potential match-up
February 1 – Crystal Palace (h), Premier League February 7 – Leeds United (h), Premier League February 11 – Wolverhampton (h), Premier League* February 19 – Play-off first leg, Europa League February 21 – Liverpool (h), Premier League* February 26 – Play-off second leg, Conference League February 28 – Brighton & Hove Albion (a), Premier League
Possibility of Crystal Palace clash
1 February – Notum Forest (a), Premier League 7 February – Brighton (a), Premier League 11 February – Burnley (h), Premier League* 19 February – Play-off first leg, Conference League 21 February – Wolverhampton (h), Premier League* 26 February – Second leg of play-offs, Conference League 28 February – Manchester United (a), Premier League
*Games marked with an asterisk only apply if the team finishes between 9th and 24th in their respective Europa League phase and secures a place in the Finals play-offs.
