The Premier League will have at least eight clubs in Europe next season
Manchester City secured the FA Cup with a 1-0 victory over Chelsea at Wembley on Saturday, thereby earning a place in the Europa League.
However, since City have already guaranteed qualification for the Champions League, the European place awarded for winning the FA Cup will be transferred to the Premier League.
Meanwhile, several Premier League clubs are supporting Aston Villa in the Europa League final, as a victory could secure Champions League qualification for the team finishing sixth in the league.
Villa will face Freiburg in Istanbul on Wednesday, just four days before the final day of the Premier League season.
European qualification has become increasingly complex in recent seasons, largely due to UEFA's introduction of European Performance Spots (EPS).
These spots are additional Champions League places allocated to the two leagues with the best overall European records each season.
The Premier League has secured one of the two EPS berths for the 2026-27 season, with La Liga claiming the other, as was the case last season.
This guarantees at least eight English teams competing in Europe next season.
With Villa, Arsenal, and Crystal Palace all competing in European finals, the implications for the rest of the Premier League are significant.
How the European places work and current standings
The EPS system is straightforward in principle but complicated by other factors.
It operates on two main principles: it is applied after all other considerations regarding domestic and European cup winners, and it always adds one additional place to the overall allocation.
England was initially set to have seven teams in Europe before securing the EPS, but now will have at least eight.
Since Manchester City also won the EFL Cup, the Conference League place awarded for that competition transfers to the Premier League.
The current allocation is as follows:
- The top five Premier League teams qualify for the Champions League.
- The teams finishing sixth and seventh qualify for the Europa League.
- The team finishing eighth qualifies for the Conference League.
Recent weeks have seen the top five pull away, with Arsenal (79 points), Manchester City (77), Manchester United (65), and Aston Villa (62) securing Champions League qualification.
Liverpool (59 points), having played one more game than those below, occupy fifth place.
Bournemouth (55) sit in sixth, Brighton (53) in seventh, and Brentford (51) in eighth, holding the final European spots.
Teams aiming to break into the top eight and qualify for Europe include Chelsea (49), Everton (49), Fulham (48), and Sunderland (48).
What if Arsenal win the Champions League?
Arsenal will face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final on 30 May.
The Gunners are assured of finishing in the Premier League's top four, so winning the Champions League will not affect the allocation of European places.
The place reserved for the Champions League titleholders would then pass to the league champion with the best UEFA coefficient in qualifying, which appears to be Shakhtar Donetsk.
For the Premier League to gain a sixth Champions League spot through this route, Arsenal would have needed to finish outside the top four.
What if Villa win the Europa League?
The Europa League winners qualify for the Champions League.
If Villa win the Europa League and finish in the top four, the number of English teams in the Champions League remains five, and there will be eight teams in Europe overall.
The Champions League spot reserved for the Europa League winners would then pass to the team in qualifying with the best UEFA coefficient, potentially Sporting Lisbon from Portugal.
If Villa finish outside the top four, the Premier League will have six teams in the Champions League.
Villa's exact final league position will determine the Premier League's total European allocation.
If Villa finish fifth, the EPS will pass to the Premier League's sixth-placed team.
Since the Europa League final will occur before the last league matchday, this could create a fierce competition for sixth place.
Currently, Villa are fourth, but if they lose to Manchester City on the final day and Liverpool win against Brentford, Villa would finish fifth, potentially elevating the sixth-placed team into the Champions League.
This scenario would result in the Premier League relinquishing a Europa League spot but maintaining eight European places overall.
The reason a Europa League place would be forfeited is due to the EPS being applied after all other factors.
In this case, Aston Villa would have earned a Champions League place through the Europa League win but finished in a league position that qualifies them for the Europa League.
UEFA rules require that the berth in the lower competition be forfeited and passed to another league.
For example, La Liga had no team in the first edition of the Conference League because Villarreal won a European competition but finished seventh in the league.
If Villa finish fifth and the Premier League gives up a Europa League place, the EPS will then be applied to the sixth-placed team, who would be the first team not in the Champions League.
The seventh and eighth places would remain as Europa League and Conference League qualifiers, respectively.
What if Crystal Palace win the Conference League?
Crystal Palace will face Rayo Vallecano in the Conference League final on 27 May.
The Conference League winners qualify for the following season's Europa League.
Palace cannot qualify for Europe through their domestic league position.
If Palace win the Conference League, they would secure an additional Europa League spot as titleholders.
This would increase the number of Premier League clubs in Europe to nine.
What is the maximum number of clubs in Europe for next season?
Since Arsenal and Aston Villa are expected to finish in domestic European qualifying positions, winning a European trophy will not add an additional place.
Therefore, the maximum number of English clubs in Europe next season is nine:
- The top four in the Champions League
- Two teams in the Europa League (or one if Villa win the Europa League and finish outside the top four)
- One team in the Conference League
- Crystal Palace as Conference League winners
At the start of each season, the theoretical maximum is eleven teams.
This would require English clubs to win all three European competitions while finishing outside the domestic league qualification spots.
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