Manchester United have been handed a boost ahead of future Champions League campaigns.
New UEFA rules mean that finishing in fourth place in the Premier League will result in automatic qualification for the group stages of Europe’s top club competition.
Under previous rules, any side which finished fourth in the league would have to qualify for the competition via a two-legged play-off.
The Reds finished fourth in the 2015-16 season and had to overcome a play-off fixture against Belgian champions Club Brugge.
However, under the restructure, which comes into effect next season, the top four will be guaranteed qualification.
New rules will also see two new kick-off times, with the traditional 7.45pm kick-offs being scrapped in favour of 5.55pm and 8pm slots.
Winning the Champions League and the Europa League will now also guarantee qualification to the last 32.
However, if two teams who finish outside England’s top four win those two competitions, then the fourth-placed team would drop into the Europa League.
Under the new rulings 26 teams will automatically qualify for the groupstages.
For 2018/19 they will be…
- UEFA Champions League holders (1)
- UEFA Europa League holders (1)
- Top four from associations ranked 1st to 4th: Spain, Germany, England, Italy (16)
- Top two from associations ranked 5th and 6th: France, Russia (4)
- Champions of associations ranked 7th to 10th: Portugal, Ukraine, Belgium, Turkey (4)
Source: manchestereveningnews