UEFA announce competition changes that could impact Newcastle United, Man Utd and West Ham

Newcastle United are eyeing an immediate return to European competition after weekend results raised hopes of securing a top seven finish in this season's Premier League.

Goals from Alexander Isak, Anthony Gordon and Tino Livramento helped Eddie Howe's side to a 3-0 win against fellow European contenders Wolves at St James Park on Saturday afternoon. There was further good news for the Magpies as the likes of Manchester United, Brighton and Hove Albion, Brentford and Chelsea all dropped points as the race for Europe continues to take a number of twists and turns.

Qualifying for the Champions League seems a near impossible task for Howe and his players as they currently sit 15 points adrift of fourth placed Aston Villa with 11 games left in the season - but Newcastle remain firmly in the race for place in next season's Europa League and Europa Conference League. Should they qualify for either the Europa League and Europa Conference League, they will take part in a somewhat historic moment after UEFA announced details of a new structure for all three of their major competitions.

The traditional group stage and knockout format are no more as they are replaced by a single league format followed by a knockout round. The new format, described as the 'Swiss Model', will see the Champions League and Europa League consist of a 36-team league and each team will play a total of eight matches, with four home games and four away games.

The top eight in the league table will go directly into the round of 16 but the teams that end the league stage between ninth place and twenty fourth place will face off in an additional knockout phase, with the winners progressing into the round of 16. The clubs that finish in the bottom 11 of the league table will be eliminated from the competition. The knockout stages will see the current two-legged system utilised with teams facing off in home and away legs. The Conference League will also follow this new format, but teams in UEFA's newest club competition will be split into six different pots and play just six games, three at home and three away, during the league phase.