With the knockout phase of all three European competitions having begun this week, how is the race for the extra places in the Champions League shaping up?
The two nations which perform best across the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League this season will be handed European Performance Spots (EPS) by Uefa.
That means fifth place in the Premier League table could go from being a Europa League place to a ticket into the Champions League - Newcastle benefited this way last season.
But will an English club get that reward again?
How do European Performance Spots work?
To work out who are the successful nations, Uefa takes into consideration the overall performance of clubs in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.
It creates an average by taking the total coefficient score and dividing it by the number of clubs each league has in European competition.
So, the Premier League has a total score of 188.625 this season. Divide that by nine clubs and you get an average of 20.958.
The top two leaguesin the table get an extra place in the Champions League.
Each win - regardless of the competition - is worth two coefficient points, with a draw worth one.
The key differential is in bonus points awarded based on clubs' finishing positions in the league phase and knockout rounds, as these are much higher in the Champions League.
By way of an example, the teams that finish 25th-36th in the Champions League got six bonus points - even though they were eliminated.
Yet the team who finished top of the Conference League table - Strasbourg - received just four points.
Bonus points for progressing through the knockout rounds are also weighted. In the Champions League it is 1.5, Europa League 1, and Conference League 0.5.
This means it is almost certain that one of the top European leagues will get the extra places each season because they have more clubs in the Champions League.
With all bonus points now dished out, the table is taking shape.
What does the table look like?
Here's what it means going into the knockout play-off rounds.
ENGLAND
England is the only country to still have all teams active - and there are nine of them.
It will be very hard for England to throw it away after bagging 72.50 bonus points from the Champions League final placings.
But nothing should be completely taken for granted, as England seemed destined to get an EPS slot in 2023-24 only to suffer a terrible set of results in the quarter-finals.
England can consolidate its position with results in the knockout play-off rounds. It has three teams active, while only Italy (five) of the major European leagues has more.
Newcastle are well-placed to make the round of 16 of the Champions League after winning 6-1 at Qarabag.
As a picture of how far England is ahead, Portuguese clubs are effectively 12 wins behind, for German sides it is 17 wins. Then for the Italian teams it is 20 victories and for the Spanish clubs 22.
PORTUGAL
Portugal did not seem to really stand a realistic chance of making the top two after Santa Clara were knocked out out of the Conference League in the qualifying rounds.
Still, it moves into the knockouts with four teams active but will need all to go very deep to have any chance.
Only Benfica can add coefficient points in February and they lost the first leg at home to Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Even if Benfica pull off another surprise and knock out the La Liga giants, Portugal is likely to drop down the table. Other leagues have more teams in action.
GERMANY
Only Eintracht Frankfurt have been eliminated, so the Bundesliga is well placed to take an EPS slot alongside England.
Borussia Dortmund beat Atalanta in the Champions League knockout play-off round first leg. Bayer Leverkusen and Stuttgart could pick up more coefficient points.
Germany's chances are hampered by the bracket. If Leverkusen and Dortmund get through one of them must meet Bayern Munich in the last 16.
SPAIN
With eight teams in Europe, Spain needed to have a strong campaign.
Chances were severely damaged by Villarreal and Athletic Club's Champions League elimination.
While Spain have six teams still active, each win is worth less to the coefficient than those of their rivals for second place.
La Liga does have three teams in action in February: Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and Celta Vigo.
Real Madrid won away to Benfica to put themselves into a strong position for the round of 16.
ITALY
Serie A had a slow start but remains in contention despite losing Napoli from the Champions League.
With Italy having five teams in action in February there is the potential to significantly boost its score.
Bologna, Fiorentina and Inter Milan could all add to the tally in the knockout play-offs.
But Atalanta and Juventus both lost the first legs of their Champions League ties.
POLAND
It will come as a surprise to many to find Poland so high up in the table, and that it was in the top two for a while. But Poland will not be here for long.
All four of the country's teams have been playing in the Conference League, while over a third of its points were picked up in the qualifying rounds.
At least the remaining trio are potentially at opposite ends of the Conference League bracket.
FRANCE
It has been a disappointing season for Ligue 1 teams, starting with Nice's failure to make it through Champions League qualifying.
It has not got much better from there for Nice, as they were theneliminated from the Europa League.
Lille, Monaco and Paris St-Germain will feature in the play-offs.
France's chances have been further reduced by Monaco and PSG drawing each other.
GREECE
Greece still has four teams active but is a long way behind the top two slots.
However, all of its teams will play in February to boost the score.
CYPRUS
Another surprise name on the list, boosted by Pafos reaching the Champions League for the first time.
But with only two teams still active, and both in the Conference League, Cyprus is not a contender.
DENMARK
Only FC Midtjylland remain, so Denmark can be discounted too.
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What are the key future dates?
Last season, the Premier League's extra place in the Champions League was confirmed on 8 April.
Such has been the high level of English clubs' performance in the top competition this season that it could come earlier this time.
Here are some key dates for the diary:
24-26 February: Knockout play-off round second legs are played for all three competitions which will result in 24 more teams being eliminated.
27 February: Draws are held to place the top eight teams in each competition into the knockout bracket. This is very important as it creates the full path and determines each league's maximum coefficient score. It sets out potential meetings of clubs from the same league, or rival leagues for an extra Champions League place.
17-19 March: Second-leg ties for the round of 16 take place in each competition, with another 24 teams knocked out.
14-16 April: Quarter-final ties are completed. It is possible that the extra places will be confirmed.
5-7 May: Semi-final second legs take place, with the finals being held at the end of the month.
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How does the Premier League race for Champions League places look?
Premier League leaders Arsenal (57 points) are four points ahead of Manchester City (53) with Aston Villa (50) in third.
Manchester United (45) are currently fourth and, right now, the extra place in the Champions League would go to fifth-placed Chelsea (44). Liverpool are in sixth place (42).
There are just four points between Chelsea and seventh-placed Brentford - so we could end up with a race for the prize of finishing fifth.
This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.