While Italy are on the verge of securing a fifth Champions League spot, there is also a way in which there could be six Serie A sides in the expanded tournament.
Italy is currently in the top 4 teams leading the UEFA rankings (with England, Spain and Germany), so they were awarded 4 spots to participate in the Champions League group stage. But next season, when Europe’s No. 1 playground increases the number of participating teams to 36, Italian football may be awarded 6 participation spots.
Italy is currently very close to the 5th place to participate in the Champions League next season because it is leading the UEFA rankings this season (2023-24). According to Opta’s assessment, Italy’s chance of winning the 5th spot is up to 99.8%, much higher than England (57.8%) and Germany (41.8%).
So which scenario brings the 6th ticket to the Champions League group stage next season for Italy?
First, it must be emphasized that UEFA still maintains the old regulations when awarding tickets to the Champions League to the two teams that win the Champions League and Europa League. In this season’s Champions League, Italy’s representatives were all eliminated after the 1/8 round. But in the Europa League, Serie A still has 3 clubs participating in the quarterfinals: Atalanta, AC Milan and AS Roma.
With the assumption that Italy wins 5 spots to participate in the Champions League group stage next season, 5 spots for the top 5 clubs in Serie A this season. Football in the country of pasta will win 6 spots if Roma or Atalanta win the Europa League this season, and finish outside the top 5 in Serie A.
In previous seasons, UEFA limited each Association to a maximum of 5 places to participate in the Champions League. But in the 2023-24 season, UEFA has not mentioned this issue at all, so the 6th place is still a possible scenario for Italian football.
In fact, with the above scenario, Italy will only win 5 Champions League spots according to normal regulations. The difference is that they were awarded an additional spot thanks to reaching the top 2 of UEFA this season.
Up to now, after round 31, the top 4 teams in Serie A are Inter Milan, AC Milan, Juventus and Bologna. In particular, Inter Milan is sure to win tickets to the Champions League next season. The following clubs are AS Roma (5), Atalanta (6), Lazio (7) and Napoli (8).
