While the Premier League title race between Manchester City and Liverpool continues to excite, it looks as though the race for the two remaining Champions League places will be equally as gripping.

Following Tottenham’s domestic wobble, there are now just five points separating Spurs in third and Chelsea in sixth.

And with just nine games remaining, it looks set to go down to the wire.

Qualifying for the Champions League brings increased finances - and the ability to attract world-class players. Therefore, it's no surprise the four clubs are so desperate to finish third or fourth this season.

As we reach the latter stages of the season, football fans start asking hypothetical questions.

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‘What if Chelsea or Arsenal finish outside the top-four but win the Europa League?’

Winning the Europa League - and the Champions League - automatically earns you entry into the Champions League.

So what would happen to the side that finishes fourth? In this situation, the Premier League would have five sides in the Champions League with UEFA regulations allowing a maximum of five sides per nation in European competitions.

THE NIGHTMARE SCENARIO

But there is a potential scenario that would see the side that finished fourth fail to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

Let’s say the Premier League top-six finishes like this but Spurs win the Champions League and Chelsea win the Europa League.
:

1. Manchester City
2. Liverpool
3. Manchester United
4. Arsenal
5. Spurs
6. Chelsea

That would then mean Arsenal would fail to qualify for next season’s Champions League. (Of course, Arsenal and Chelsea can trade places with Chelsea finishing fourth with Arsenal sixth and winning the Europa League.)

It seems unlikely but it’s certainly not unimaginable.

Spurs have already progressed to the last-eight of the Champions League after beating Borussia Dortmund 4-0 on aggregate in their last-16 tie.

And Mauricio Pochettino's side still face trips to City and Liverpool in the league with their top-four finish far from guaranteed.

The nightmare scenario would become even more of a possibility if Man Utd can produce a miracle and overcome the 2-0 deficit against Paris Saint-Germain in their last-16 tie to give them an outside chance of European glory.

As for Chelsea and Arsenal, they face Dynamo Kiev and Rennes in the Europa League last-16 and will fancy their chances of qualifying for the quarter-finals.

Winning the Europa League may become the focus towards the end of the season if their chances of finishing in the top-four fade.