Chelsea's Champions League hopes received a boost on Thursday as Uefa confirmed their guidelines for awarding places next season.
Europe's governing body announced that while leagues should "explore all possible options" to continue their respective seasons, Champions League and Europa League places must be awarded on "sporting merit" should that become impossible, meaning a possible points per game system.
The Premier League are hoping to finish the current season by July 31, but if that is not achievable some of the otherwise palpable pressure - for fourth-placed Chelsea at least - may now have been eased.
There was some momentary concern for Chelsea, after suggestions that Uefa could look to base qualification for next season's Champions League on a club's coefficient ranking, which is determined by their year-on-year European performance.
In that case, Chelsea would have fallen below the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham and potentially missed out on a Champions League place.
However, it seems that using the coefficient ranking is no longer a viable option after Uefa's latest announcement.
