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The last 16 of this year's Champions League has not even begun but with 13 games left in the Premier League, thoughts are already turning to qualifying for next year's tournament.

The race for the top four - or most likely five, but we will come back to that later - is pretty tight, as only eight points separate Nottingham Forest in third and Aston Villa all the way down in ninth, with 39 points left to play for.

Liverpool and Arsenal look certain to reach next season's Champions League and enjoy a 17-point and 10-point buffer over fifth spot already.



Kick off 5:30pm

Both Super Sunday games also feature Champions League chasers facing off, as Liverpool face fourth-placed Man City and third-placed Forest host seventh-placed Newcastle, with both games also live on Sky Sports.

Also See:Sunday 23rd February 1:00pm.

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That puts England comfortably at the top of the charts for its European coefficient this season, which is an accumulation of wins and draws picked up by each country's sides, with points also awarded for how far they make it in each competition.

The top-two ranked countries at the end of the season will receive an extra Champions League place next season, with Italy and Spain currently battling it out for second spot.

A word of caution, though.

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There may still be 13 matches to go but Opta has given both Liverpool and Arsenal an almost certain chance of reaching next season's Champions League owing to their buffer over the teams below them and the difficulty of their remaining fixtures relative to the other sides in the race.

With that in mind, Man City are third-favourites to qualify for next season's tournament despite sitting behind Forest in the table - though Nuno Espirito Santo's side have the next-best chance of rounding off the top four.

Bournemouth and Chelsea will both be hoping for a fifth spot in the Champions League, with their qualifying prospects jumping by more than 20 per cent for a top-five finish compared to if they need to reach the top four.

Newcastle are the only other side with a double-digit percentage chance of reaching next season's competition at this stage, Opta says.

Here is the average position of each Premier League side's next five opponents, taking them right into the final throes of the season...

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Remaining games between the teams in the mix...

Teams included with a one-per-cent or greater chance of qualifying:

February 22: Aston Villa vs Chelsea - live on Sky SportsFebruary 23: Newcastle vs Nottingham Forest, Man City vs Liverpool - both live on Sky SportsFebruary 25: Brighton vs BournemouthFebruary 26: Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal, Liverpool vs NewcastleMarch 8: Nottingham Forest vs Man City, Brighton vs FulhamMarch 15: Man City vs BrightonMarch 16: Arsenal vs Chelsea - live on Sky SportsApril 1: Arsenal vs Fulham, Brighton vs Aston VillaApril 5: Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest, Fulham vs LiverpoolApril 12: Bournemouth vs FulhamApril 19: Aston Villa vs Newcastle, Fulham vs ChelseaApril 26: Man City vs Aston VillaMay 3: Aston Villa vs Fulham, Brighton vs Newcastle, Chelsea vs LiverpoolMay 10: Bournemouth vs Aston Villa, Liverpool vs Arsenal, Newcastle vs ChelseaMay 18: Arsenal vs Newcastle, Brighton vs Liverpool, Man City vs BournemouthMay 25: Fulham vs Man City, Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea
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