Premier League: Qualification for Champions League, Europa League and Conference League permutations as run-in heats up | Football News

The race for Europe could not be tighter after a dramatic Super Sunday in which Sunderland, Brighton and Brentford were all in action.

It was confirmed on Saturday that eight Premier League teams will now play in European competition next season after Manchester City’s win in the FA Cup final.

Their place in the Europa League as cup winners now passes to seventh place in the Premier League, while eighth will now secure a Conference League spot.

Those two places are currently taken up by Brighton and Brentford respectively. The Seagulls could have secured seventh place on Sunday, but were beaten late on by Leeds.

Brentford came from behind twice to draw against Crystal Palace – who themselves could play in the Europa League next season if they win the Conference League. The Bees are a point behind Brighton.

Then there is Sunderland. They were 3-1 winners against Everton on Sunday, and are now two points behind Brighton. They also hold a two-point gap over Chelsea, but the Blues have two games in hand and could yet earn a place in Europe under new manager Xabi Alonso.

However, they are unlikely to catch Bournemouth in sixth – which could be enough for Champions League football next season, but will certainly be a Europa League spot.

The Cherries also have two games in hand and are four points behind Liverpool, who are not yet assured of a spot in Europe’s top competition next year.

However, Aston Villa will be playing in the Champions League regardless of their Europa League final result on Thursday as they will finish in the top five. If they win in Istanbul, it will have a huge bearing on the Premier League places.

Manchester United, Man City and Arsenal will also finish in the top three places.

If Villa win the Europa League…

Villa finish third or fourth: The Premier League’s top five go into the Champions League, sixth and seventh into Europa League, eighth into Conference League.

Villa finish fifth: The extra Champions League spot would be passed on to sixth and the Premier League would give up its Europa League spot for league position.

So the Premier League could have NINE places in Europe next season as Crystal Palace will also play in the Europa League if they win the Conference League in addition to the other league finishes.

Who qualifies for Europe?

Thanks to England’s strong UEFA coefficient ranking, the Premier League has been awarded an extra fifth place in the Champions League for next season.

So currently, the top five teams in the Premier League go into the Champions League in addition to two Europa League qualifying places (the team finishing sixth and the FA Cup winners) and a single Conference League space (Carabao Cup winners).

Man City have already secured a Champions League spot, so their Conference League place as Carabao Cup winners will be passed on to the next highest finisher in the Premier League who hasn’t qualified for Europe. So that means sixth is Europa League, seventh is Conference League.