As the Premier League season comes to a close, there isn’t much to decide because the champions are Liverpool and the three relegated teams are the three promoted the previous season (Ipswich Town, Leicester City, and Southampton), but all eyes are now on who qualifies for Europe.
Saturday’s FA Cup final, in which Crystal Palace defeated Manchester City for the title, has an impact on who qualifies for European competitions the following season.
So here’s what you should know while Champions League, Europa League, and Europa Conference League play is still ongoing:
Premier League standings
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 36 | 25 | 8 | 3 | 81 | 35 | +46 | 83 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 36 | 18 | 14 | 4 | 66 | 33 | +33 | 68 |
| 3 | Newcastle United | 36 | 20 | 6 | 10 | 68 | 45 | +23 | 66 |
| 4 | Manchester City | 36 | 19 | 8 | 9 | 67 | 43 | +24 | 65 |
| 5 | Chelsea | 36 | 18 | 9 | 9 | 62 | 43 | +19 | 63 |
| 6 | Aston Villa | 36 | 18 | 9 | 9 | 56 | 49 | +7 | 63 |
| 7 | Nottingham Forest | 36 | 18 | 8 | 10 | 56 | 44 | +12 | 62 |
| 8 | Brentford | 36 | 16 | 7 | 13 | 63 | 53 | +10 | 55 |
| 9 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 36 | 14 | 13 | 9 | 59 | 56 | +3 | 55 |
| 10 | AFC Bournemouth | 36 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 55 | 43 | +12 | 53 |
| 11 | Fulham | 36 | 14 | 9 | 13 | 51 | 50 | +1 | 51 |
| 12 | Crystal Palace | 36 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 46 | 48 | -2 | 49 |
| 13 | Everton | 36 | 9 | 15 | 12 | 39 | 44 | -5 | 42 |
| 14 | Wolves | 36 | 12 | 5 | 19 | 51 | 64 | -13 | 41 |
| 15 | West Ham | 36 | 10 | 10 | 16 | 42 | 59 | -17 | 40 |
| 16 | Manchester United | 36 | 10 | 9 | 17 | 42 | 53 | -11 | 39 |
| 17 | Tottenham Hotspur | 36 | 11 | 5 | 20 | 63 | 59 | +4 | 38 |
| 18 | Ipswich Town | 36 | 4 | 10 | 22 | 35 | 77 | -42 | 22 |
| 19 | Leicester City | 36 | 5 | 7 | 24 | 31 | 78 | -47 | 22 |
| 20 | Southampton | 36 | 2 | 6 | 28 | 25 | 82 | -57 | 12 |
Who makes what competition?
England earned an additional Champions League spot for the following season as a result of their performance in European competition, which increased their coefficient points.
Here’s how things stand right now:
- First through fifth place will qualify for the UEFA Champions League
- The Europa League winners between Manchester United and Tottenham will also qualify for UCL
- Sixth place, for now, goes to Europa League
- Seventh place, for now, goes to the Conference League
What does Crystal Palace’s win mean?
Crystal Palace’s win means they qualify automatically for the Europa League next season.
What if Chelsea win the Conference League?
This is where things get wonky. Qualifications could get tricky based on if they win the competition or not.
If Chelsea win the tournament and finish in the top five of the Premier League:
- The top five, including Chelsea, will qualify for the Champions League along with the winner of the Europa League final (Tottenham vs. Man United).
- Crystal Palace and the sixth-place team will make Europa League.
- Newcastle, expected to make Champions League through league position, would make Conference League as Carabao Cup winners if they don’t finish in the top five.
If Chelsea win the tournament and finish sixth in the Premier League, they get an extra team in Europa League:
- The top five will qualify for the Champions League along with the winner of the Europa League final (Tottenham vs. Man United).
- Crystal Palace, Chelsea (as Conference League winners) and the seventh-place team will make Europa League.
- Newcastle, expected to make Champions League through league position, would make Conference League as Carabao Cup winners if they don’t finish in the top five.
How can the eighth-place team make it?
Now we’re getting into bizarro-world scenarios. However, there is a chance that the eighth-place team could qualify for European competition:
For that to happen, the following will need to take place (this is all assuming Newcastle finish in the top six):
- Chelsea win the Conference League and finish outside of the top five.
Because winning the Conference League would entitle Chelsea to a Europa spot, pushing the Europa spot they would have claimed through league position down to seventh place, effectively dropping the conference league spot reserved for seventh place to eighth. It’s a little more technical than that, but we don’t really want a weekend headache. Do you? Fine.
According to ESPN, this is how it would look before any spots were allocated.
UCL: 1-4 and the Europa League winners
EL: 5, Crystal Palace
CL: 6
If Chelsea finish seventh and win the Conference League final:
UCL: 1-4 and the Europa League winners
EL: 5, Crystal Palace, Chelsea as CL winners
CL: 6
Once performances are factored in, the CL spot jumps over Chelsea since they would be in Europa as CL winners:
UCL: 1-5 and the Europa League winners
EL: 6, Chelsea as CL winners
CL: 8
