Manchester United's European pedigree should see them in pot two for next season's Champions League draw, should the Reds secure qualification.
The Premier League win over Aston Villa moved Erik ten Hag's side one step closer to a return to the elite European competition. United have been in the Champions League just twice in the past five seasons but have a seven-point cushion inside the top four heading into the final weeks of the campaign.
And while United have been absent from Europe's top table more than they would like in recent years, performances in the Europa League have maintained their club co-efficient - the system used to determine Champions League seedings.
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United reached the last eight of the Europa League this season and their previous two entries into that competition saw them lose in the final and semi-final. Those points accrued have helped them into the top 10 of the European club rankings. Indeed, United currently sit seventh, having been 10th a year ago.
It puts them high up the list of competing Champions League clubs ahead of the draw. The eight top seeds are taken up by domestic champions in Europe's top six leagues, as well as holders of the Champions League and Europa League, meaning United cannot be in pot one for the draw.
But they are all but certain to be in the second pot, meaning they could avoid the likes of Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. The German side are currently top of their domestic league but are only a point ahead of Dortmund and should they slip to second they would not be among the top seeds. Madrid are a distant second to Barcelona and will only be in pot one should they win this season's Champions League, meaning a Manchester City victory in the semi-final would ensure Madrid and United could not be grouped together in next season's competition, as both teams would be in pot two. Italian giants Juventus, Roma and Inter as well as Spanish heavyweights Atletico Madrid are also clubs United could potentially avoid.
The club coefficients are based on the results of clubs competing in the five previous seasons of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League. The rankings determine the seeding of each club in relevant UEFA competition draws.
For this season's Champions League pots two, three and four contained the remaining teams, seeded based on their 2022 UEFA club coefficients. All four of England's representatives go straight into the group stage meaning there would be no qualification matches for United to negotiate.
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