After a six-week break over the Christmas and New Year period, European football is ready to return with a host of Premier League sides in action.
With qualification for the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League knockout stages at stake, and a possible extra European spot for the Premier League next season up for grabs, there is plenty to play for.
Here, writer Ben Bloom looks at everything you need to know as the Premier League contingent head towards the conclusion of their league phases in Europe.
Liverpool
UEFA Champions League | Position: 1st
Results
AC Milan 1-3 Liverpool
Liverpool 2-0 Bologna
RB Leipzig 0-1 Liverpool
Liverpool 4-0 Bayer Leverkusen
Liverpool 2-0 Real Madrid
Girona 0-1 Liverpool
Arne Slot’s side have been imperious in Europe so far this season, not dropping a single point as the only UEFA Champions League team with an unblemished record.
As such, Liverpool are all but guaranteed a place in the playoffs as a bare minimum with two matches to spare.
Should they earn one more point in either of their remaining league-phase matches - against Lille or PSV Eindhoven - they would secure a top-eight finish in the league, which provides direct progress to the round of 16.
The higher up the table a club finishes, the greater their seeding for the knockout phase.
Currently in possession of a three-point lead over Barcelona at the top of the standings, and five points ahead of every other club, Liverpool are looking highly likely to go through to the Round of 16 in a strong position.
Remaining fixtures
21 Jan: Liverpool v Lille
29 Jan: PSV Eindhoven v Liverpool
Arsenal
UEFA Champions League | Position: 3rd
Results
Atalanta 0-0 Arsenal
Arsenal 2-0 Paris Saint-Germain
Arsenal 1-0 Shakhtar Donetsk
Inter Milan 1-0 Arsenal
Sporting 1-5 Arsenal
Arsenal 3-0 Monaco
Behind Liverpool and Barcelona, the remaining six teams currently occupying the top eight spots all sit level on 13 points. Courtesy of their +9 goal difference, Arsenal narrowly top that pile.
Mikel Arteta’s side have only lost one of their six Champions League matches so far and one more point would guarantee them at least a playoff spot as they bid to reach the last 16.
The Gunners will be hoping for more than that though, and their two remaining fixtures look eminently winnable.
Dinamo Zagreb sit 24th in the 36-team table, with eight points, while Girona are down in 30th, having won only one game in the tournament so far.
Remaining fixtures
22 Jan: Arsenal v Dinamo Zagreb
29 Jan: Girona v Arsenal
Aston Villa
UEFA Champions League | Position: 5th
Results
Young Boys 0-3 Aston Villa
Aston Villa 1-0 Bayern Munich
Aston Villa 2-0 Bologna
Club Brugge 1-0 Aston Villa
Aston Villa 0-0 Juventus
RB Leipzig 2-3 Aston Villa
Villa’s return to the top level of European competition for the first time since 1982/83 has already provided some memorable moments - none more so than Jhon Duran’s brilliant finish to beat six-time European champions Bayern Munich at Villa Park.
Unai Emery’s team have an identical record to Arsenal, but sit two places behind them due to an inferior goal difference of +6.
While they are firmly on track for at least a playoff place to reach the Round of 16, they face a slightly trickier task than Arsenal as they look to secure automatic qualification.
Upcoming opponents Monaco (16th) and Celtic (21st) are in the thick of a battle to progress, and will be hunting points of their own to remain in the competition.
Remaining fixtures
21 Jan: Monaco v Aston Villa
29 Jan: Aston Villa v Celtic
Manchester City
UEFA Champions League | Position: 22nd
Results
Man City 0-0 Inter Milan
Slovan Bratislava 0-4 Man City
Man City 5-0 Sparta Prague
Sporting 4-1 Man City
Man City 3-3 Feyenoord
Juventus 2-0 Man City
While their Premier League counterparts may well skip the playoffs and head straight to the Round of 16, Man City’s hopes of following the same route appear slim.
Without a win in their last three Champions League matches, Pep Guardiola’s side sit 22nd, with only the top 24 progressing to the playoffs.
Even victory in their remaining two matches would likely not be enough to secure a route straight through to the Round of 16, which means their attention will firstly be on making the knockout phase, and secondly taking a seeded spot (for ninth-16th) over an unseeded spot (for 17-24th).
Their remaining opponents, Paris Saint-Germain and Club Brugge, both sit within three places of City, so face a near-identical task.
Remaining fixtures
22 Jan: Paris Saint-Germain v Man City
29 Jan: Man City v Club Brugge
New Champions League round for 24/25
The new knockout-phase playoffs will feature the teams that finish from ninth to 24th place in the league phase, while the top eight sides qualify automatically for the Round of 16.
The eight clubs that prevail in the two-legged playoffs will join the top eight in the last 16. The draw for the playoffs will be made on Friday 31 January, with the two legs scheduled for 11/12 February and 18/19 February.
For a club like Liverpool, competing for four different trophies, the benefit they would gain from an automatic place in the Round of 16 is clear. They would have two fewer matches to plan for and play, and their Premier League game in hand, at Everton, would go ahead on Wednesday 12 February, without the need to reschedule it again.
Manchester United
UEFA Europa League | Position: 7th
Results
Man Utd 1-1 Twente
Porto 3-3 Man Utd
Fenerbahce 1-1 Man Utd
Man Utd 2-0 PAOK
Man Utd 3-2 Bodo/Glimt
Viktoria Plzen 1-2 Man Utd
After languishing down in 21st place following draws in all of their first three Europa League matches, Man Utd have risen through the rankings to seventh with three successive wins.
That improvement has guaranteed at least a place in the playoffs for the Round of 16.
Whether they can avoid that potential banana skin and head straight through depends on their results against Rangers and Romanian club FCSB in the coming weeks.
Those two teams sit directly beneath Ruben Amorim’s side, with 11 points apiece to United’s 12.
Remaining fixtures
23 Jan: Man Utd v Rangers
30 Jan: FCSB v Man Utd
Tottenham Hotspur
UEFA Europa League | Position: 9th
Results
Spurs 3-0 Qarabag
Ferencvaros 1-2 Spurs
Spurs 1-0 AZ
Galatasaray 3-2 Spurs
Spurs 2-2 Roma
Rangers 1-1 Spurs
Spurs' UEFA Europa League campaign has been the polar opposite of Man Utd’s.
Three consecutive wins to start the competition put them second in the league standings, before they were winless in their following three games.
That has left them two places beneath Man Utd, with one fewer point. A draw in their remaining two fixtures would likely be enough for a play-off spot.
If they are to secure a route straight through to the Round of 16 they will almost certainly need at least one win over TSG Hoffenheim or IF Elfsborg, who are both struggling to stay in the competition, sitting 24th and 26th respectively.
Remaining fixtures
23 Jan: TSG Hoffenheim v Spurs
30 Jan: Spurs v IF Elfsborg
Chelsea
UEFA Conference League | Position: 1st
Results
Chelsea 4-2 Ghent
Panathinaikos 1-4 Chelsea
Chelsea 8-0 Noah
Heidenheim 0-2 Chelsea
Astana 1-3 Chelsea
Chelsea 5-1 Shamrock Rovers
With only six league-phase matches per club rather than eight, the UEFA Conference League does not resume until mid-February, when the knockout-phase playoffs take place.
Having won all six of their league-phase matches to comprehensively finish top of the standings, Chelsea have already advanced to the Round of 16 and will therefore not have any European action until March.
Enzo Maresca's side will face either the winner of Ghent v Real Betis or Copenhagen v Heidenheim in the Round of 16.
An extra Champions League spot?
While the seven Premier League sides are all fighting to prolong their involvement in European competition, they are also battling on behalf of their domestic rivals to earn an extra place in Europe for English clubs next season.
The expansion of the Champions League for the 2024/25 season meant four additional places were created in the competition.
Two of those are determined by the European Performance Spots, which are awarded to the top two nations with the best collective performance by their clubs in the previous season’s UEFA club competitions.
This season, Bologna and Borussia Dortmund benefitted from Italy and Germany topping the 2023/24 charts.
Currently, England and Portugal are leading the way in this year’s UEFA competition standings.
Should all seven English clubs progress to the knockout phases of their respective competitions, it would make it highly likely that the Premier League will receive an extra Champions League spot for next season.
That would mean the top five Premier League teams at the end of 2024/25 all playing in Europe’s leading competition next season, with three others qualifying for the Europa League and Conference League.
