Premier League: Qualification for Champions League, Europa League and Conference League permutations as run-in heats up
The Premier League could have as many as NINE teams playing in European competition next season; If Man City win the FA Cup they will pass on their Europa League spot to seventh, and eighth would qualify for the Conference League
Saturday 16 May 2026 11:49, UK
The outcome of Saturday's FA Cup final between Man City and Chelsea has significant European consequences for several other Premier League clubs.
Aston Villa are now fourth in the Premier League after beating Liverpool on Friday. This is a blow for Bournemouth and Brighton as they seek to reach next season's Champions League.
That door for a first-ever appearance in Europe's elite club competition for either Bournemouth, who currently sit sixth, or Brighton, in seventh, is still possible as if Aston Villa lose on the final day at Manchester City and Liverpool beat Brentford, then Villa would drop back into fifth.
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Chelsea and Everton have fallen away from Bournemouth in the race for sixth, after dropping points in the most recent round of fixtures, while Fulham and Sunderland are now both out of the running for a top-six finish.
Arsenal, Man City, Man Utd and Aston Villa have already secured a top-five finish in the Premier League and a place in next season's Champions League, while Liverpool require just three more points from their final match or Bournemouth to drop points in one of their two games to confirm a spot in Europe's premier club competition.
But there are more scenarios which could play out to boost the number of Premier League sides in Europe next season...
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.
How does winning the FA Cup affect things?
If Chelsea, who currently sit ninth in the table, win the FA Cup, they will qualify for the Europa League.
If they finish sixth, then the Europa League spot via Premier League position would go to seventh, and the Conference League spot would go to eighth.
However, if the Blues end up outside the top seven, they will just take up their spot in the Europa League as FA Cup winners, with no extra European place given to the Premier League.
Meanwhile, if Man City are victorious at Wembley on Saturday afternoon, Pep Guardiola's side - who are guaranteed a top-seven league finish - will pass on their Europa League spot to seventh, and eighth would qualify for the Conference League.
If Crystal Palace win the Conference League, they qualify for the Europa League - in addition to the above.
But if Villa win the Europa League...
Villa finish third or fourth: The Premier League's top five go into the Champions League, sixth into Europa League, seventh into Conference League - and then factor in the knock-on impact of the FA Cup winner.
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. If Chelsea win the FA Cup and remain outside the qualification places, they would take England's one remaining Europa League spot.
If Man City win the FA Cup, the Europa League spot would be passed on to seventh.
So the Premier League could have NINE places in Europe next season: six in the Champions League, two in the Europa League and one in the Conference League.
A final-day conundrum? Not any more!
There are lots of moving parts and possibilities... one of which was that Brentford or Brighton may prefer to LOSE on the final day to reach the Champions League - but no longer.
Those two both play Villa's top-five rivals Liverpool and Manchester United respectively, and for a while had the potential of needing their opponents to win to guarantee Villa did not end up finishing above fifth.
Brighton still need a Liverpool win on the final day to stand any hope of the Reds leapfrogging Villa but that would no longer help Brentford into the Champions League, as it would stop them from finishing in sixth - and taking any extra spot which could have come their way.
