The league phase of the Champions League is over and we are starting to get a clear picture of which countries could get an extra place next season.
The two which perform best across the three European competitions this season will be handed European Performance Spots (EPS).
That means fifth place in the Premier League table could go from being a Europa League place to a ticket into the Champions League - Newcastle benefited this way last season.
But will an English club get that reward again?
How do European Performance Spots work?
To work out who are the successful nations, Uefa takes into consideration the overall performance of clubs in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.
It creates an average by taking the total coefficient score and dividing it by the number of clubs each league has in European competition. The top two in the table get an extra place in the Champions League.
Each win - regardless of the competition - is worth two coefficient points, with a draw worth one.
The key differential is in bonus points awarded based on clubs' finishing positions in the league phase and knockout rounds, as these are much higher in the Champions League.
By way of an example, the teams that finish 25th-36th in the Champions League got six bonus points - even though they were eliminated.
Yet the team who finished top of the Conference League table - Strasbourg - received just four points.
This means it is almost certain that one of the top European leagues will get the extra places each season.
With those Champions League bonus points now dished out, the table is taking shape.
What does the table look like?
Here's what it means after the end of the first stage of the Champions League.
ENGLAND
England is the only country to still have all teams active - and there are nine of them.
It will be very hard for England to throw it away after bagging 72.50 bonus points from the Champions League final placings.
But nothing should be completely taken for granted, as England seemed destined to get an EPS slot in 2023-24 only to suffer a terrible set of results in the quarter-finals.
While it might seem positive that five English clubs made it directly through to the Champions League round of 16, there is a twist.
The rival leagues all have teams in the knockout play-off rounds, and those clubs can score points by winning those two-leg ties.
As a picture of how far England is ahead, German clubs are effectively 17 wins behind, and for the Italian and Spanish it is 20 victories.
GERMANY
Only Eintracht Frankfurt have been eliminated, so the Bundesliga is well placed to take an EPS slot alongside England.
Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund could pick up more coefficient points in the play-offs.
SPAIN
With eight teams in Europe, Spain needed to have a strong campaign.
Chances were severely damaged by Villarreal's Champions League elimination. And Athletic Club followed them out of the competition on Wednesday, too.
While Spain have six teams still active, each win is worth less to the coefficient than those of their rivals for second place.
ITALY
Serie A had a slow start but remains in contention despite losing Napoli from the Champions League.
Atalanta, Inter Milan and Juventus could all add to the tally in the Champions League knockout play-offs.
PORTUGAL
Portugal did not really stand a realistic chance of making the top two as soon as Santa Clara were knocked out out of the Conference League in the qualifying rounds.
Still, they carry on with four teams active but will need all to go very deep to have any chance.
Benfica can add some coefficient points in February.
POLAND
It will come as a surprise to many to find Poland so high up in the table, and that it was in the top two for a while. But Poland will not be here for long.
All four of the country's teams have been playing in the Conference League, while over a third of its points were picked up in the qualifying rounds.
With Legia Warsaw eliminated and no bonus points on the way from the Europa League, Poland will drop further on Thursday.
FRANCE
It has been a disappointing season for Ligue 1 teams, starting with Nice's failure to make it through Champions League qualifying.
It has not got much better from there for Nice, as they are already eliminated from the Europa League. Lille could also yet drop out of the top 24.
Monaco and Paris St-Germain will play in Champions League play-offs but France has become a rank outsider for an extra place.
CYPRUS
Another surprise name on the list, boosted by Pafos reaching the Champions League for the first time.
But with only two teams still active, and both in the Conference League, Cyprus is not a contender.
GREECE
Greece still has four teams active but is a long way behind the top two slots.
DENMARK
Only FC Midtjylland remain, so Denmark can be discounted too.
What are the key future dates?
Last season, the Premier League's extra place in the Champions League was confirmed on 8 April.
Such has been the high level of English clubs' performance in the top competition this season that it could come earlier this time.
Here are some key dates for the diary:
29 January: The Europa League finishes and bonus points will be distributed for final positions.
30 January: The draw takes place for the knockout play-offs of the Champions League and Europa League. The ties will be influential as points can be added to the coefficient score.
24-26 February: Knockout play-off round second legs are played for all three competitions which will result in 24 more teams being eliminated.
27 February: Draws are held to place the top eight teams in each competition into the knockout bracket. This is very important as it creates the full path and determines each league's maximum coefficient score. It sets out potential meetings of clubs from the same league, or rival leagues for an extra Champions League place.
17-19 March: Second-leg ties for the round of 16 take place in each competition, with another 24 teams knocked out.
14-16 April: Quarter-final ties are completed. It is possible that the extra places will be confirmed.
5-7 May: Semi-final second legs take place, with the finals being held at the end of the month.
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How does the Premier League race for Champions League places look?
Arsenal (50), Manchester City (46) and Aston Villa (46) have opened a decent lead over the field in the top three places.
Manchester United (38) hold fourth place and, right now, the extra place in the Champions League would go to Chelsea (37) in fifth.
There are just four points between Chelsea and 11th-placed Sunderland - so we could end up with a race for the prize of fifth place.
This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.
