Which Premier League clubs will compete in European competitions next season is soon to be decided as the season approaches its end.
The top five of the Premier League will qualify for the Champions League, but there are ways that a sixth team could again get into Europe’s elite competition too, however.
As outlined, the clubs that finish in the top five of the Premier League will secure qualification for next season’s Champions League.
It would certainly be a surprise at this point to see any of Manchester United, Liverpool and Aston Villa drop out of the top five given the eight-point gap they have to Brighton in sixth, though not impossible.
But a sixth team could also qualify for the Champions League. There are several ways that could happen, including by finishing sixth in the Premier League.
For this to happen, Villa would need to win the Europa League and finish fifth in the Premier League, not in the top four.
UEFA’s European Performance Spots (EPS) has made the permutations incredibly complicated. Winning the Europa League and finishing fifth would mean Villa’s Champions League qualification spot would pass down to sixth. In this instance, however, the qualification spot for the Europa League via league position in the Premier League will be lost, with that spot passing to another country under UEFA rules.
If Villa finish in the top four then it stays as normal, with fifth getting the final Champions League spot, sixth and the FA Cup winners/seventh getting Europa League and eighth getting Conference League.
There is also the possibility of Nottingham Forest winning the Europa League and becoming a sixth Premier League team in the Champions League too, however.
How many teams qualify for the Europa League and Conference League depends on several factors, however, including what Villa do.
Should the EPS Champions League spot drop to sixth by Villa winning the Europa League and finishing fifth, then the Premier League would give up the spot in the Europa League which is secured via league finish.
The FA Cup winners gain qualification to the Europa League, but there is a high chance this spot is instead passed on to the highest ranked Premier League side who have not qualified for Europe instead.
Manchester City will qualify for the Champions League next season meaning their Europa League qualification spot earned by winning the FA Cup would be passed to the Premier League side in seventh, with eighth getting into the Conference League.
Chelsea winning the FA Cup is more complicated. Should they finish outside the top seven, as they currently are, then they will simply earn qualification to the Europa League by winning the FA Cup and seventh would get into the Conference League.
But if they finish inside the top seven, eighth gets Conference League football.
The other way that eighth place could get Conference League is by Crystal Palace climbing up to seventh and also winning this season’s Conference League.
The maximum number of English teams that can qualify for Europe this season is ten. The top five in the Champions League, sixth and the FA Cup winners/seventh in the Europa League, eighth in the Conference League, Crystal Palace in the Europa League as Conference League winners and Nottingham Forest in the Champions League as Europa League winners.