UEFA Champions League: Tottenham Hotspur can lock up spot this week

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It has been five years since Tottenham Hotspur last played in the UEFA Champions League – a 2010-11 campaign which ended in bitter disappointment in the quarter-finals as Real Madrid clobbered them 5-0 on aggregate.

While the Spurs have only the slimmest chances of winning the Premier League left, needing to win their final three games with Leicester City claiming fewer than three points in their final five games, the season will in all likelihood end with a long-awaited return to the Champions League.

There are several scenarios in place in which the Spurs can secure a Champions League spot as early as Monday if they handle their business at Stamford Bridge and get some help from their arch-rivals.

As of writing, Tottenham Hotspur will be guaranteed a spot in at least the play-off round of the 2016-17 Champions League with:

1. A win vs Chelsea
OR
2. A Man United loss vs Leicester City

By the same token, Tottenham Hotspur will be guaranteed a spot in the group stage of the 2016-17 Champions League with:

1. A win vs Chelsea
AND
2. A Man City draw/loss vs Southampton OR an Arsenal draw/loss vs Norwich City

The Spurs would most likely prefer the group stage lockup scenario as Man United’s loss to Leicester would clinch the title for the Foxes.

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