Premier League may pay dearly for mediocre European performances

There are still five weeks before a long football season reaches its climax with the Champions League final in Berlin but it’s already clear that this season has a sting in its tail.

The sting is the Uefa rankings and the victim is England. By this time next year the Premier League could be in serious danger of losing one of its qualifiers for Europe’s top competition. Instead of that precious Top Four spot, clubs could be battling for a place in the top three.

As things stand that might seem unlikely. Look at the current rankings, just updated on the Uefa website, and England are even ahead of Germany, both countries trailing well behind Spain. Only three countries are entitled to four Champions League qualifiers and both England and Germany appear to be comfortably ahead of Italy.