The race for Europe: Which Premier League clubs will qualify for the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League? | Football News

Title contenders Manchester City and Arsenal look guaranteed to finish in the Champions League places, but nothing is assured beneath them as clubs jostle for position in the home straight of this engrossing Premier League season.

Manchester United and Newcastle currently occupy the remaining two Champions League spots, but even Liverpool in eighth position will feel they have an outside chance of gatecrashing the top four with eight games remaining.

United’s disastrous exit from the Europa League at the hands of serial winners Sevilla means England cannot have five representatives in next season’s premier cup competition.

Had Erik ten Hag’s side gone on to lift the trophy at the Puskas Arena in Budapest on May 31 – and finished outside the top four – the Premier League would have boasted five Champions League contenders next season, but we now know that qualification can only come via league position.

Sky Sports takes a look at the various permutations for those sides still harbouring European aspirations in an especially congested Premier League table.

What is already set in stone?

At the start of the campaign, it was stipulated that the Premier League’s top four qualify for the Champions League, while fifth place and the FA Cup winners enter the Europa League. The winners of the Carabao Cup qualify for the Europa Conference League.

Manchester United won the Carabao Cup, so they are guaranteed at the very least a place in the Europa Conference League next season.

As it stands:

• Champions League: 1, 2, 3, 4
• Europa League: 5, FA Cup winners
• Europa Conference League: Man Utd

The places are subject to change, however, depending on the FA Cup winners, and where Manchester United finish – plus West Ham’s possible Europa Conference League glory. It’s up for grabs.

RACE FOR THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Premier League leaders Arsenal’s last appearance in the Champions League was during the 2016/17 season, in what was their 17th consecutive campaign in the competition.

But that wait will end next season, with Manchester City joining them as the title protagonists battle it out for supremacy.

Newcastle and Man Utd in pole position

The top four Premier League clubs will qualify automatically for next season’s Champions League group stages. No play-offs, no qualifiers needed. Teams will be placed in four pots.

Pot 1 contains eight seeded teams – the titleholders of the Champions League and the Europa League, plus the champions of Europe’s top six leagues – the Premier League, LaLiga, Serie A, the Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and Portugal’s Primeira Liga.

Pots 2 through to 4 are ordered on UEFA coefficient, which measures results and performance in Europe over a five-year period.

Newcastle, currently in fourth position, will only be focused solely on qualifying for the Champions League proper, but were they to finish in third position – above Manchester United – the likelihood is that they would be in Pot 4 due to their lowly club coefficient.

Eddie Howe’s men will head into the latest round of fixtures having slipped into fourth place as a result of last Saturday’s 3-0 defeat at Aston Villa and United’s 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest the following day.

However, three points against Tottenham on Sunday, live on Sky Sports, would put them six points clear of their closest rivals and having played a game less, a far cry from the relegation battle in which they were engaged when Howe arrived a month into the new regime’s tenure.

Howe said: “Sometimes for a split-second, it’s good to reflect back on those changes and be proud of where we have come from and the speed of our journey – but that’s only a split-second because it always has to be about what is in front of us, and that is an opportunity to achieve something really special.”

THE EUROPA LEAGUE PLACES

What will happen next at Tottenham?

Away from the chaos off the pitch, Tottenham are struggling to stay in the top-four race after a shock loss at home to Bournemouth.

Spurs are fifth and only three points off Newcastle, but Sunday’s hosts have a game in hand.

Aston Villa and Brighton, in sixth and seventh respectively, are breathing down the neck of Cristian Stellini’s side, who face Manchester United and Liverpool over a crunch seven-day period.

Villa the dark horses

Unai Emery expects Aston Villa to face a serious test of their European credentials when they travel to Brentford on Saturday.

Villa’s transformation since Emery took over has been hugely impressive and last weekend’s 3-0 defeat of Newcastle made it five Premier League victories in a row.

They sit in the top six and could even make a late run for the Champions League spots, but Emery is keen to keep expectations in check.

Villa have been very effective at both ends of the pitch, conceding just two goals in their last eight games and scoring 16, while Ollie Watkins has netted 11 times in his last 12 outings.

Emery’s team have moved above Brentford, whose European hopes have been hit by a run of five games without a win, and the Villa boss knows how quickly things can change.

Brighton with games in hand

Fifth place is the only guaranteed Europa League spot through the league table; Brighton are currently seventh but have two games in hand over fifth-placed Spurs, who are four points above them.

If United and City make it through to the FA Cup final, the likelihood is that sixth place will be enough to qualify for the Europa League.

After such a stellar season for the Seagulls, a European adventure of any description next term would be richly deserved – and with both City and Arsenal still to play, they look set to have a big say on how the final weeks unfold.

Liverpool playing catch up

Then, there is Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp’s side are staring at the prospect of no Champions League football next season – but they are belatedly showing signs of life and momentum.

The fixtures, too, are kind. With Newcastle still to face Arsenal and a trip to Chelsea on the final day, there is an outside chance that Liverpool could even gatecrash the top-four race.

They have the pedigree and the squad depth to negotiate their favourable run-in – but they must be close to perfection.

How could the FA Cup affect it?

Manchester United will have a chance to answer their manager’s challenge when they face Brighton in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Sunday.

It represents the team’s last chance of adding to the Carabao Cup they won in February, after the prospect of a cup treble was extinguished by defeat in Spain.

Should United – or indeed Manchester City – go on to lift the FA Cup at the Wembley showpiece on June 3, an additional Europa League place could be granted based on league position.

With City set to be guaranteed a Champions League berth, were United to join them in via their Premier League position, sixth position would claim the other Europa League group stage position for next season. Of course, the same applies to Brighton were they to finish in the top-four spots and lift the famous trophy.

Sheffield United are on the brink of promotion to the Premier League, and they could crown that success with a European spot only if they ended City’s treble hopes and then overcame either United or Brighton in the final.

WHAT ABOUT THE EUROPA CONFERENCE LEAGUE?

The Europa Conference League position reserved to the English league has already been claimed by Manchester United after they overcame Newcastle to lift the Carabao Cup.

However, provided Ten Hag’s side stay in the top six or win the FA Cup, the Europa Conference League place for next season will go to the side that finishes in seventh place in the Premier League.

Villa, Brighton and Liverpool all still harbour hopes of finishing either in the Champions League or the Europa League. Finishing with a Europa Conference League spot will almost feel like a booby prize for these clubs given what is at stake.

The other clubs in contention for Europe are Brentford – in ninth on 43 points – Fulham, a point and a place further back having played one game less and Chelsea in 11th, who have 39 points after 31 games.

How much will no European football affect Chelsea?

The Blues are winless in four Premier League home games, their worst such run since their final five home games of the 2015/16 season when they finished 10th. They are closer to the relegation places – points-wise – than a Europa League berth.

Their final hope of salvaging a forgettable campaign ended with an emphatic 4-0 aggregate defeat by Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Thiago Silva admitted there is “a lot of indecision” at Stamford Bridge and concedes Chelsea’s bloated squad ensures there are always unhappy players.

The west London side have spent more than £600m on transfers since Todd Boehly’s takeover, with caretaker boss Frank Lampard their fourth manager this term following the sackings of Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter and one game under interim coach Bruno Saltor.

Chelsea are 17 points adrift of the top four and 10 off a potential Europa Conference League spot going into their final seven games. Lampard has lost four successive matches since returning on a temporary basis, with his side scoring just once in that period.

The Blues resume an underwhelming season at home to neighbours Brentford next Wednesday ahead of fixtures against Arsenal, Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest, Manchester City, Newcastle and Manchester United.

The last time Chelsea were not in European competition was during the 2016/17 season. They finished 10th in the Premier League the previous campaign and failed to win a cup competition.

Missing out on Europe ended up being a positive, however, as without the distraction and extra fixtures, the club won the 2016/17 Premier League title under Antonio Conte.

But with such a bloated dressing-room this time around, keeping players happy will be a huge task for the new manager.

What if West Ham win the Europa Conference League?

West Ham will earn a place in next season’s Europa League group stage should they prevail in Prague on June 7.

As the Hammers will not qualify for Europe domestically, England would have eight teams in Europe next season – even if West Ham were to be relegated.

If Manchester United then were to reach the FA Cup final while finishing in the top six, there would be no English representative in the Europa Conference League but three teams in the Europa League.

What if Man City win the Champions League?

It will not affect the Premier League representatives as City are going to finish in the top four regardless. A fifth Champions League spot is not filtered down via the league positions.

But a place in the group stage for the Champions League titleholders is left vacant. In this event, the champions of the country ranked 11th in the UEFA coefficient table at the end of the 2021/22 season – which is Serbia – would go direct to the Champions League group stage, rather than having to qualify.

However, with Russia ranked 10th and its clubs remaining excluded from European competition, the Serbian champions are already guaranteed a place in the group stage.

The means the champions of the 12th-ranked country – Ukraine – would be given a place in the group stage if City finally lift the Champions League trophy.