The race for European football is going to the Premier League’s final day.
What needs to happen for another Premier League team to qualify for European competition next season has become clearer.
Heading into the Premier League’s final gameweek, clubs competing for European qualification now know exactly what they need to do.
Champions Liverpool and second-place Arsenal have qualified for the Champions League, while three other league spots are still up for grabs.
Newcastle in third, Chelsea in fourth and Aston Villa in fifth currently occupy the other qualification spots with one game remaining.
The Magpies are already guaranteed a Conference League place due to winning the Carabao Cup.
Brighton occupy eight place following their 3-2 win against Liverpool (Credit:Getty)
Manchester City, in sixth, have a game in hand and will take on Bournemouth on Tuesday.
Nottingham Forest in seventh, could also qualify if they beat Chelsea on Sunday and other results go their way.
The top seven are guaranteed a European spot in some capacity, but the eighth spot is particularly interesting and equally confusing.
To add to the drama, Manchester United and Spurs will face off in the Europa League final, with the winners also gaining Champions League qualification.
This means nine Premier League clubs will be in Europe, and six in the Champions League.
After Crystal Palace’s FA Cup final victory last Saturday, they will play in the Europa League.
So, what if Chelsea win the Conference League?
If Chelsea beat Real Betis in the UECL final in Wroclaw, Poland, this could help eighth place – currently Brighton – qualify for Europe as they are the only side who could win a European title and finish in a qualification spot via their league position.
Chelsea will have a huge say on the race for Europe (Credit:Getty)
For this to happen, Chelsea would have to finish seventh and win the UECL.
The latest scenarios have been published by the Premier League via [ESPN].
There are two ways that the eighth-place team can get a place in the Conference League.
1) Chelsea finish seventh and win the Conference League
Champions League: 1st to 5th, Man Utd or Spurs as Europa League winners
Europa League: 6th, Crystal Palace as FA Cup winners, Chelsea as Conference League winners (7th)
Conference League: 8th
2) Chelsea finish sixth and win the Conference League, while Newcastle finish seventh
Champions League: 1st to 5th, Man Utd or Spurs as Europa League winners
Europa League: Newcastle (7th), Crystal Palace as FA Cup winners, Chelsea as Conference League winners (6th)
Conference League: 8th
In either of these scenarios, the Premier League would have 10 teams playing in Europe next season.
Brighton, Bournemouth and Brentford could still finish eighth.
