Man Utd handed huge Champions League boost which could save Erik ten Hag's Old Trafford career

Manchester United have been given a major boost to their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League courtesy of new data - and it could be great news for manager Erik ten Hag.

United are currently in sixth place in the Premier League, six points behind fourth-placed Tottenham after 24 games played.

But they are on a three-game winning streak, which continued with Sunday's 2-1 victory over Aston Villa.

The streak has eased some pressure on Ten Hag, who had received criticism for United's mixed form across the entirety of the season and their early exit from the Champions League at the group stage.

Ten Hag has said that United's impending new minority owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, wants to work with him, and there is no indication that his job would be in doubt if the club fail to qualify for next season's Champions League.

But failure to reach Europe's top table would potentially leave several questions to be answered ahead of the new season.

However, they have now received a major boost.

As per data from Opta Analyst, England are now in second position when it comes to the probabilities of attaining an additional Champions League qualification spot for next season.

The competition will expand from 32 to 36 teams next season, with two nations guaranteeing an extra place in the group stage based upon their performances in this season's European competitions.

And despite United and Newcastle being knocked out of the Champions League at the group stage, England are considered to have a 82.1 per cent chance of having a high enough co-efficient.

They are comfortably in front of Germany, who have a 21.8 per cent chance currently, while Italy lead the way on 84.7 per cent with all seven of their teams still active in Europe this term.

England and Germany, though, both have six, meaning it could be a race down to the wire to see which teams secure those all-important UEFA co-efficient qualifying spots.