The Premier League season is edging toward its climax, with a host of clubs battling to secure places in the UEFA Champions League (UCL), UEFA Europa League (UEL) and UEFA Conference League (UCoL).
Yet there are a whole host of clauses and considerations that could affect where the places go.
Will the league get an extra place due to its clubs’ performances in Europe this season?
What happens to the places reserved for the domestic cups?
And what does it mean if any English clubs lift a European trophy?
Here’s your guide to European qualification in the Premier League.
This article will be updated through to the end of the season as more details emerge.
What’s the usual allocation for the Premier League?
At the start of every season, the Premier League’s European allocation is:
Champions League: Places 1-4
Europa League: 5, FA Cup winners
Conference League: Carabao Cup winners
What does Newcastle winning the Carabao Cup mean?
Newcastle United are guaranteed a place in the Conference League after they beat Liverpool 2-1 in the Carabao Cup final on March 16.
So that makes the allocation:
Champions League: 1-4
Europa League: 5, FA Cup winners
Conference League: Newcastle United
However, if Newcastle (who are sixth) finish in the top five, they will play in the Champions League or the Europa League, and the Conference League place transfers to another team:
Champions League: 1-4
Europa League: 5, FA Cup winners
Conference League: 6
However, the above scenarios can also be affected by the FA Cup.
How about the FA Cup?
There are four teams left in the FA Cup: Crystal Palace, Aston Villa, Manchester City and Nottingham Forest. (Stream the semifinals on April 26-27 on ESPN+)
The winners of the competition qualify for the Europa League.
However, as with Newcastle, if the winners finish in the top five, the place transfers to the league, and that may well be the case if one of Villa (ninth), Man City (fifth) or Forest (third) lift the cup.
Champions League: 1-4
Europa League: 5, 6
Conference League: Newcastle United
If Palace, who are 12th, win the FA Cup, then it’s very likely the league places will be unaltered:
Champions League: 1-4
Europa League: 5, Crystal Palace
Conference League: Newcastle United
But if both Newcastle and the winners of the FA Cup finish inside the top six, a Europa League place goes to sixth and the allocation for the Conference League drops down another place to seventh:
Champions League: 1-4
Europa League: 5, 6
Conference League: 7
What if a Premier League team wins the Champions League?
If Arsenal win the Champions League and finish inside the top four (the latter of which is almost certain), the places are unaltered. The place in the Champions League group stage reserved for the holders, which Arsenal will not need, goes to the highest-ranked team in the playoff round.
Champions League: 1-4
Europa League: 5, FA Cup winners
Conference League: Newcastle United
If Aston Villa win the Champions League, it could look a little different. If Villa — who are ninth right now — finish fifth, the Premier League would have five teams in the Champions League (seven teams in Europe as is standard) and it would surrender the place in the Europa League designated for Aston Villa by league position.
Champions League: 1-5
Europa League: FA Cup winners
Conference League: Newcastle United
If Aston Villa win the Champions League and finish sixth, the Premier League would have an eighth team in Europe, as they would not — as it stands — be in a domestic European place.
Champions League: 1-4, Aston Villa
Europa League: 5, FA Cup winners
Conference League: Newcastle United
What about if Newcastle United finish inside the top five, plus Aston Villa finish sixth and win the UCL? Villa would be in the Conference League place and the Premier League would give up that spot and have no team in the competition.
Champions League: 1-4, Aston Villa
Europa League: 5, FA Cup winners
Conference League: —
The scenarios would drop down one place if the FA Cup winners finish inside the top five.
So, if Villa finish sixth and win the UCL, the Premier League would give up a UEL place. If Villa were seventh, it would be the Conference League spot.
What if a Premier League team wins the Europa League?
Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are both in the quarterfinals of the Europa League, with the winners earning a place in the Champions League for next season.
It seems unlikely that either team will finish in a European position domestically, with United 13th and 10 points off sixth with nine games to play. Spurs are a further place and another three points further back.
Therefore, either team winning the UEL would provide an eighth team in Europe.
Champions League: 1-4, Man United/Tottenham
Europa League: 5, FA Cup winners
Conference League: Newcastle United
If Aston Villa also won the UCL and finished outside the top five, this would mean six Premier League teams in the Champions League and nine in Europe.
Champions League: 1-4, Aston Villa, Man United/Tottenham
Europa League: 5, FA Cup winners
Conference League: Newcastle United
What if Chelsea win the Conference League?
Chelsea sit in fourth place in the Premier League, though they are only five points ahead of 10th-placed AFC Bournemouth.
By rights, the winners of the Conference League get a place in the Europa League. If Chelsea lift the trophy and finish inside the top five, there will be no change to the allocation.
Champions League: 1-4
Europa League: 5, FA Cup winners
Conference League: Newcastle United
If Chelsea win the Conference League and finish outside the top five (or outside the domestic places however they fall), the Premier League gets an extra team in the Europa League, and eight in Europe.
Champions League: 1-4
Europa League: 5, Chelsea, FA Cup winners
Conference League: Newcastle United
However, if Newcastle finish inside the top five, thus passing the Conference League place to sixth and Chelsea finish in that place, the Premier League surrenders the berth in the Conference League and Chelsea play in the Europa League. The Premier League would have three teams in the UEL and seven in Europe.
Champions League: 1-4
Europa League: 5, Chelsea, FA Cup winners
Conference League: —
What if multiple teams win European trophies?
This all depends on where the clubs finish in the league, but each European titleholder gets a place in Europe.
If the team finishes in a European place domestically, there is no additional place. However, if the team does not qualify from domestic competition, it’s an extra place for the titleholders on top of the league allocation. Ergo, a team winning a European title cannot adversely affect another team’s qualification.
So that means it’s possible for the Premier League to have 10 teams in Europe, but it’s very unlikely. It would require Aston Villa to win the UCL, Man United or Tottenham to win the UEL, and Chelsea the Conference League and all three finish outside the top five:
Champions League: 1-4, Aston Villa, Man United/Tottenham
Europa League: 5, Chelsea, FA Cup winners
Conference League: Newcastle United
If Newcastle were to finish in the top five, or the FA Cup winners do so, that shifts the places down by one or two.
Is the Premier League going to get an extra place in the Champions League?
Yes, it’s all but mathematically certain that the Premier League will get one of the two European Performance Spots (EPS).
The two leagues with the best set of collective results in European competition will get a fifth team in the Champions League through the EPS.
LaLiga is likely to get the second spot, though there’s a small chance that Serie A could take it.
The extra place goes to fifth in the league, and is an additional place in all circumstances. Once confirmed, the allocation for all competitions will drop down one place:
Champions League: 1-5
Europa League: 6, FA Cup winners
Conference League: Newcastle United
This means that if Newcastle (who are sixth) finish in the top six, they will play in the Champions League or the Europa League, and the Conference League place transfers to seventh in the league:
Champions League: 1-5
Europa League: 6, FA Cup winners
Conference League: 7
And if both Newcastle United and the winners of the FA Cup finish inside the top seven, a Europa League place goes to seventh and eighth gets in the Conference League:
Champions League: 1-5
Europa League: 6, 7
Conference League: 8
What’s the maximum number of teams in the Champions League?
Seven: the top four spots, the extra place for the EPS plus the winners of the Champions League and the Europa League if they finish outside the domestic places and qualify as titleholders.
Champions League: 1-5, UCL winners (Aston Villa), UEL winners (Man United/Tottenham)
And what’s the maximum number of teams in Europe?
Eleven, but only if Premier League clubs win all three European competitions and finish outside the domestic places.
It will be the usual four in the UCL, the EPS, the three European titleholders, two places in the Europa League, and one in the Conference League.
Champions League: 1-5, UCL winners (Aston Villa), UEL winners (Man United/Tottenham)
Europa League: 6, FA Cup winners, Conference League winners (Chelsea)
Conference League: Newcastle United
How is the EPS place affected by the European titleholders?
The EPS is applied after all the usual rebalancing related to the winners of the three European competitions has taken place.
In all circumstances, the EPS provides a plus-1 to a league’s allocation — so the Premier League will have eight teams minimum. But it could be up to 11, as noted above.
If Villa win the Champions League and finish fifth, the EPS place goes to sixth — so the top six in the Champions League.
How ninth, 10th and 11th in the Premier League could qualify for Europe
As the EPS is applied after the other rebalancing, if a European title winner finishes one place outside the regular European places in the league, then the EPS causes the last place to “jump” down the table.
For this, let’s assume Newcastle United and the FA Cup winners have finished inside the top six. This is the allocation before the EPS:
Champions League: 1-4
Europa League: 5, 6
Conference League: 7
If Chelsea (though it can be any of the teams in Europe) win the Conference League and finish in eighth place (it has to be eighth; it cannot be any lower) they would play in the Europa League.
Champions League: 1-4
Europa League: 5, 6, Chelsea (8)
Conference League: 7
Once the EPS is applied, the European places drop down one. But as Chelsea already have a place in the Europa League, the Conference League spot jumps over them and goes to ninth.
Champions League: 1-5
Europa League: 6, 7, Chelsea (8)
Conference League: 9
The same logic can be applied to Aston Villa and Man United/Tottenham winning the UCL and/or the UEL. If they finish eighth, it creates the “jump.” And if the European titleholders are in consecutive places, this can create multiple “jumps.”
So if Chelsea and Aston Villa win European titles and finish eighth and ninth that puts 10th in the Conference League:
Champions League: 1-5, Aston Villa (9)
Europa League: 6, 7, Chelsea (8)
Conference League: 10
And if you add Man United or Tottenham lifting the UEL and finishing 10th, that pushes the place in the Conference League down to 11th.
Champions League: 1-5, Aston Villa (9), Man United/Tottenham (10)
Europa League: 6, 7, Chelsea (8)
Conference League: 11
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