After Saturday’s big day, the Premier League could have six teams in next season’s Champions League and 10 in Europe.
Liverpool’s win over Crystal Palace and Aston Villa’s loss to Fulham earlier in the day moved Arne Slott’s side into fourth place on goal difference.
If Unai Emery’s side finish fifth and also win the Europa League, Brighton, who are currently sixth on 50 points, will inherit fifth place, an additional place earned due to England’s recent performances in Europe.
However, just two points separate Brighton and 10th placed Fulham, meaning the European race is actually tied with Bournemouth (49 points), Chelsea (48 points) and Brentford (48 points), with a win against Manchester United on Monday could move them into sixth place.
At present, the Premier League is guaranteed to have five teams competing in Europe’s top club competition next season, with two Europa League spots (the team finishing sixth and the FA Cup winners) and one Conference League spot (the team finishing seventh) meaning at least eight teams will be competing in Europe.
More commonly, that number can even increase to up to 10. Here’s how:
Are there really six teams in the Premier League that can qualify for the Champions League?
The Premier League could have up to six teams participating in next season’s Champions League.
Yes, there are several possibilities for this to happen, but some are more likely than others.
The most likely option is to win the Europa League, with either Aston Villa or Nottingham Forest facing each other in the semi-finals, with either England playing in the final.
If Villa win the competition but finish in the top four, nothing will change and Champions League qualification, reserved for winning the Europa League, will go to the team with the highest UEFA coefficient in the qualifiers, which is currently Club Brugge.
However, if Unai Emery’s side win in Istanbul on May 20 but finish outside the top four, the Premier League will have six teams in next season’s Champions League, with Villa’s final position determining additional spots.
For example, if Villa finish fifth, the team in sixth place will qualify for Europe’s top club competition, but the Premier League will forfeit their right to next season’s Europa League.
However, England will still have eight European spots in total next season. This includes 6 spots for the Champions League, and 1 spot each for the Europa League (FA Cup winners) and Conference League (finishing in 7th place).
However, if Forest pull off an upset by winning Europe’s second-tier competition, as happened last time against Tottenham Hotspur, things won’t be that complicated as he will only be the sixth Premier League representative in the Champions League next season.
How can the Premier League have nine teams in Europe next season?
Remember, the team that wins the conference league will go straight to next season’s Europa League.
Crystal Palace, who will face Shakhtar Donetsk in the semi-finals, are favorites to lift the trophy in Leipzig on May 27th, while Oliver Glasner’s side will play in next season’s Europa League as they are 13th in the table and unlikely to qualify for Europe based on their league position.
As a result, there will be nine Premier League teams in Europe next season. Five teams will be in the Champions League, three will be in the Europa League (the FA Cup and Conference League winners and the team that finished sixth), and one team will be in the Conference League (the team that finished seventh).
So how can England have 10 teams in Europe?
In that scenario, either Palace would have to win the Europa Conference League, Forest or Villa would have to win the Europa League, and Villa would have to finish outside the top six in the Premier League.
In that case, the Premier League would have six teams in the Champions League (the top five teams plus the Europa League winner), three teams in the Europa League (the team that finished sixth, the FA Cup and Conference League winners), and one team in the Conference League (the team that finished seventh).
Does the identity of the FA Cup winner affect the situation?
Yes, it’s not about the number of teams that will be participating in Europe, but just who will be participating in which competitions.
For example, if Manchester City win their eighth FA Cup at Wembley on May 16th, 6th and 7th place in the Premier League will qualify for the Europa League, and 8th place will qualify for the Conference League.
However, if Chelsea win the cup, the west London club will need to finish inside the top seven to qualify for the Conference League and move into eighth place.
However, if Southampton or Leeds pull off an upset, they will qualify for next season’s Europa League.
