Premier League clubs set to be guaranteed four Champions League group-stage spots from 2018-19 season

THE Premier League is set to be guaranteed FOUR places in the Champions League group stage from the 2018-19 season.

The Uefa competition is set for a revamp and in two seasons time and that would mean that whoever finishes fourth would not have to go through the play-off rounds – as Manchester City did by qualifying with a 6-0 aggregate success over Steaua Bucharest.

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Currently there are just three automatic spots available to Prem clubs – with a fourth having to qualify through a play-off.

But a new system would see the top four nations in Uefa’s rankings for club competitions – currently Spain, Germany, England and Italy – guaranteed places for the teams finishing in the top four of those leagues.

An announcement is expected on Friday after a string of meetings took place today, following others over several months with Uefa stakeholders.

There had been the threat of a breakaway league – as exclusively revealed by SunSport – when Prem giants Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool attended a meeting with representatives of Stephen Ross, the brains behind the International Champions Cup.

Bosses from the elite Prem clubs had met Relevent Sports’ people, later claiming that it was only to discuss the pre-season tournament organised by Ross.

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