Premier League: Who qualifies for Champions League, Europa League, Europa Conference League?
- Published
The title race may be done - but the battle for European places is still going on.
So who can qualify for the Champions League this season, what is the story with the Europa Conference League and would an English team winning a European trophy this season change anything?
Let us explain...
Who will qualify for the Champions League?
The top four in the Premier League qualify for the Champions League group stages - plus the winners of the Champions League and Europa League.
There can be a maximum of five English teams in the Champions League.
England does not get any extra Champions League places if English teams win one or both European tournaments and finish in the top four in the Premier League.
Who qualifies for the Europa League?
This season there are only two Europa League spots, because of the introduction of the Europa Conference League (more on that in a bit).
That is the winner of the FA Cup (Chelsea and Leicester play in the final) and the team which finishes fifth in the Premier League. If the FA Cup winners finish in the top five, which seems likely, then sixth place qualifies for the Europa League.
Only 32 teams are in the Europa League group stages from now on, down from 48 in previous years.
England could end up with only one team in the competition if an English team win a European tournament and also qualify for the Europa League through domestic football.
Who qualifies for Europa Conference League?
The Europa Conference League is Uefa's new third-ranked competition, effectively a step down from the Europa League.
Sixth or seventh place in the Premier League (depending on who wins the FA Cup) will go into the final round of qualifiers next season.
It should be the Carabao Cup winners, but Manchester City are guaranteed a Champions League place.
There could be no English teams in the tournament if the team who finish in the UECL position win this season's Champions League or Europa League.
How many English teams qualify for Europe?
Seven Premier League teams qualify for Europe - but it could be eight if Chelsea win the Champions League without qualifying for Europe through domestic football (which seems unlikely to happen).
If an English team win a European tournament - and qualify for one through domestic football - it does not free up a European space for another English team.
It could also mean instead of four Champions League teams, two in the Europa League and one in the Europa Conference League, the number of teams in each of those tournaments could change.
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