The Bundesliga has eight teams in this year’s European competitions thanks to its splendid performances in Europe last year. However, this time out, an extra Champions League spot will prove hard to gain.
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Why do teams get an extra Champions League spot?
As of 2024, UEFA has changed the Champions League so it has increased in size from 32 to 36 teams and has changed to a league phase format which includes play-off games to get into the final-16.
Also, as of the 2024-25 season, teams in Europe were able to have more than four teams in the Champions League thanks to the new Champions League format allowing for more teams from Europe’s top five leagues to play at the highest level in midweek.
How are the Bundesliga clubs faring this season?
The current standings in coefficient following the last-16 games in the UEFA Champions League is as follows:
- England – 24.250
- Spain – 21.678
- Italy – 19.937
- Germany – 17.921
- Portugal – 16.250
As it is to be seen, Germany is quite far behind England in top spot (who are almost guaranteed of getting a fifth Champions League spot) and a decent amount behind Spain.
This is mostly due to the poor performance of teams like RB Leipzig and VfB Stuttgart in the Champions League initial league phase as both teams exited with the first of two only winning a single game.
Also, the all-German match-up of Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich in the last-sixteen has harmed the coefficient as it reduced the chance of more German teams making it through to the quarter-finals.
Currently, the chances of getting a fifth spot in the UCL are incredibly slim but a run to the Europa League final for Eintracht Frankfurt and a potential German finalist out of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund could bring about hope for another spot.
