What happens if Tottenham are relegated but win the Champions League?

Tottenham Hotspur are one point clear of the Premier League relegation zone but remain in the Champions League for the knockout stages

As Tottenham Hotspur supporters grapple with the genuine prospect of relegation, the north London club find themselves on the verge of making unwanted history.

A record of 29 points from 29 league games leaves them just one point above the bottom three, but they have simultaneously booked their place in the Champions League knockout rounds and could yet win that competition while also dropping down to the second tier.

Spurs got through the league phase of Europe's premier competition with an identical record to the one they produced in last season's Europa League. On that occasion they finished fourth in the league phase with five victories, two draws and one defeat before ultimately lifting that trophy in Bilbao in May.

Last season's European campaign came at a cost to Spurs' domestic form, though they never faced the level of jeopardy they currently endure. It's a different story this term, though, with 17th placed Nottingham Forest and West Ham in 18th both just a point behind Igor Tudor's team.

Should the unthinkable occur and Spurs drop into the Championship, it would not prevent them from competing in Europe next season. If they clinch a second European trophy in as many seasons, they would become the first club to compete in both the Champions League and Championship during the same campaign.

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It would be a first, but second-tier teams have been involved in other European competitions before. Most notably, Wigan Athletic won the FA Cup in 2013 but suffered relegation in the same campaign, leaving incoming manager Owen Coyle to juggle a Europa League group stage run alongside what ultimately proved to be a fruitless promotion bid.

The Latics weren't a one-off, either. Birmingham City also embarked on a Europa League campaign after pairing their League Cup triumph with relegation in 2011, whilst Ipswich Town secured UEFA Cup qualification through the fair play rankings in 2002 despite dropping out of the Premier League, progressing to the second round.

Spurs wouldn't face a ban from Europe even if relegated, and a Champions League trophy would no doubt ease a lot of the pain. However, the unlikely scenario would place Spurs in the uncomfortable position of juggling the expanded European format alongside the notoriously demanding 46-match league schedule.

Their survival remains in their own hands, though, with their next Premier League fixture seeing them host Liverpool while relegation rivals Forest and West Ham take on Fulham and Manchester City respectively. Before that, Tudor's side make the trip to Atletico Madrid's Estadio Metropolitano for the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 clash.

They've already faced Spanish opposition once this term, in their European curtain-raiser. Villarreal were the opponents on that occasion, with an own goal from Luiz Junior settling the tie in Spurs' favour

Atletico were required to navigate a play-off tie against Club Brugge, recovering from a 3-3 draw away from home to claim a commanding 4-1 victory on their own patch to advance. This time around, it is Spurs who hold the benefit of hosting the second leg — though just how significant that advantage proves, given their current struggles, remains very much open to debate.