What Aston Villa need for Champions League qualification after Liverpool draw

Aston Villa's quest to secure Champions League football moved a step closer with the draw with Liverpool.

Villa had to settle for a point in the 3-3 stalemate with Liverpool at Villa Park. Youri Tielemans was on the score sheet and supported by a Jhon Duran brace to earn a draw for Villa after going 3-1 behind on their home ground.

The result means that Villa remain in fourth place in the Premier League table and five points clear of Tottenham Hotspur who are fifth. Villa will travel to face Crystal Palace this weekend in their final fixture of the campaign.

Despite earning a point, Champions League football is not yet confirmed for Villa. There is still the possibility that they could be overtaken by Tottenham in the final week of the season.

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Spurs will face Manchester City on Tuesday night in what will be their game in hand over Spurs. Anything other than a win for Tottenham would see fourth place secured for Villa, and with it, a place in next season's revamped Champions League.

Should Tottenham claim a victory over Man City, then that would see the race for the top four go to the final day of the season. A win for Spurs would put them two points behind Villa with just one fixture left to play.

While Villa are travelling to Selhurst Park to take on Crystal Palace, Tottenham are also on the road. Ange Postecoglou's team are heading to South Yorkshire to face bottom club Sheffield United, who are already relegated to the Championship.

A draw for Villa against Palace would almost certainly secure fourth place, mainly due to their superior goal difference. In this scenario, Spurs would need to overcome the eight-goal difference compared to Villa over their final two matches against Man City and Sheffield United.

Thanks to Villa securing a point against Liverpool, the only way that Tottenham can qualify for the Champions League is by winning their final two matches and hope Villa lose to Palace. If that doesn't happen, Villa look set to finish fourth and Spurs will have to settle for Europa League football next season.