It’s getting closer and closer between Tottenham, Newcastle, Chelsea and Manchester United as the race for European qualification looks set to end.
As always, there are few certainties but many variables at play as the season enters its final stages.
First the certainties: Arsenal, Manchester City And Liverpool qualified for the Champions League.
Aston Villa need three more points in their last two games to join them.
With Italy and Germany claiming additional Champions League qualifying places, only the top four from the Premier League will take part in next season’s expanded Champions League.
Fifth-placed Tottenham are seven points behind Aston Villa with a game in hand. They need some mistakes from Unai Emery – although Villa have a few tough games ahead in the Premier League…
Aston Villa’s latest matches
May 9: Olympiakos (A) – Europa Conference League semi-final second leg, kick-off at 8 p.m.
May 13: Liverpool (H) – Premier League, kick-off at 8 p.m.
May 19: Crystal Palace (A) – Premier League, kick-off at 4 p.m.
Should Spurs look to the Champions League or Europa League?
Spurs will almost certainly need to take maximum points from their remaining matches if they want to overtake Aston Villa (although two wins and a draw could do it with a big goal difference).
However, all of a sudden, not only do Tottenham’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League seem slim, but Spurs fans could be forgiven for worrying about qualifying for Europe, period.
Three teams – Newcastle, Chelsea and Manchester United – all moved to within six points of Tottenham after their late season slump.
As things stand, Tottenham still need to win two of their remaining games to be sure of finishing in Europe.
Tottenham’s latest matches
May 11: Burnley (H) – Premier League, kick-off at 3 p.m.
May 14: Man City (M) – Premier League, kick-off at 8 p.m., live Aerial sports
May 19: Sheffield United (A) – Premier League, kick-off at 4 p.m.
Who will qualify for the Europa League?
Fifth place in the Premier League will qualify for the Europa League next seasonwith the team entering the new league stage directly, rather than having to play an additional qualifying or play-off match.
However, there is a second place available in the Europa League – and United could take it…
What will happen if Man Utd win the FA Cup… and what will happen if they don’t?
THE FA Cup winners also takes place in the Europa League.
If the winners of the FA Cup, which will be either Manchester United or Manchester City, finish in the top five of the Premier League – and therefore qualify for the Champions League or the Europa League thanks to its league ranking – their Europa League place for FA Cup glory will pass to the highest-ranked Premier League team not competing in Europe.
With United currently in eighth position, that means Chelsea – seventh – would miss out on European football altogether for a second consecutive season if Erik ten Hag’s side win the FA Cup.
As it stands: who will qualify for Europe if Man Utd win the FA Cup?
Champions League: Arsenal, Man City, Liverpool, Aston Villa
Europa League: Tottenham, Man Utd (as FA Cup winners)
UEFA Conference League: Newcastle
As it stands: who qualifies for Europe if Man Utd DON’T win the FA Cup?
Champions League: Arsenal, Man City, Liverpool, Aston Villa
Europa League: Tottenham, Newcastle
UEFA Conference League: Chelsea
Man Utd’s latest matches
May 12: Arsenal (H) – Premier League, kick-off at 4:30 p.m., live Aerial sports
May 15: Newcastle (H) – Premier League, kick-off at 8 p.m., live Aerial sports
May 19: Brighton (A) – Premier League, kick-off at 4 p.m.
May 25: Man City (N) – FA Cup Final, kick-off at 3 p.m.
Newcastle’s latest matches
May 11: Brighton (M) – Premier League, kick-off at 3 p.m.
May 15: Man Utd (A) – Premier League, kick-off at 8 p.m., live Aerial sports
May 19: Brentford (A) – Premier League, kick-off at 4 p.m.
Chelsea’s latest matches
May 11: Nottingham Forest (A) – Premier League, kick-off at 5:30 p.m., live Aerial sports
May 15: Brighton (A) – Premier League, kick-off at 7:45 p.m.
May 19: Bournemouth (H) – Premier League, kick-off at 4 p.m.
What if Aston Villa won the Europa Conference League?
There would have been a bonus place in the Europa League available if Aston Villa were expected to win the Europa Conference League and failed to finish in the Champions League or Europa League qualifying places. However, Villa have guaranteed a top-five finish and at least a place in the Europa League.
But this bonus qualifying place for the Europa League exists not pass on to another Premier League team. SO Villa’s success or failure in the Europa Conference League will have no impact on the European places of Premier League teams next season.
How does the new Champions League format work?
By increasing the total number of teams from 32 to 36 in the Champions League, the most significant change will be the transformation of the traditional group stage into a single championship stage including all participating teams.
Each club will now be guaranteed a minimum of eight league matches against eight different opponents (four home matches, four away) instead of the previous six matches against three teams, played on a home-and-away basis.
The top eight teams in the league will automatically qualify for the round of 16, while teams finishing ninth to 24th will compete in two-legged play-offs to secure their path to the round of 16 of the competition.
Teams ranked 25 to 36 are eliminated from all competitions.
Are the Europa League and the Europa Conference League also changing?
Similar changes will be made to the Europa League and Europa Conference League formats, with 36 teams each.
Europa League teams will play eight matches against eight different opponents in the league stage.
In the Europa Conference League – renamed the UEFA Conference League – teams will play six matches against six different opponents in the league stage. UEFA Conference League matches will be played between September and December.
The knockout stage of the competitions will run throughout the second half of the season and culminate at the end of the campaign, as is currently the case.
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