As many as 10 Premier League teams can qualify for Europe next season, with everything to play for in the final week of the campaign.
The lowest position possible which can earn continental football will be eighth, giving Brighton, Brentford, and Bournemouth hope of trips abroad.
In the craziest scenario, the Premier League would send six teams into the Champions League, three into the Europa League, and one into the Europa Conference League.
It’s the sort of news that will strike fear into the hearts of minnows abroad, given English clubs’ regular dominance on the continental stage.
And it would arguably make next season’s Premier League much more open, given the demands that would be placed on half the teams in the league.
Mail Sport explains how the Premier League could end up with 10 teams jetting off abroad.
Brighton, Brentford, and Bournemouth can all still qualify for the Europa Conference League
However, they are relying on a favour from either Chelsea or Newcastle to pass down the spot
Chelsea’s Conference League final – as well as their and Newcastle’s finishing spot – determines whether the spot in Europe’s third-tier tournament will be passed on
First, a guarantee: we’re going to get six English clubs in the Champions League.
The Premier League sends a regular allowance of four, but also has an extra spot for fifth place due to the division’s prominence in UEFA’s coefficient rankings.
That ‘European Performance Spot’ will go to the fifth-placed Premier League team this campaign.
Then, we’ll get a sixth because the Europa League winner is handed a Champions League spot, and Manchester United and Tottenham contest that final on Wednesday.
So far, only Liverpool and Arsenal are assured of their Champions League places. Newcastle, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Manchester City, and Nottingham Forest are all vying for the remaining three league spots.
Now, some crucial points. Typically, the team that finishes sixth in the Premier League will go into the Europa League, while the club that wins the Carabao Cup (Newcastle have done that) goes into the Conference League pot.
But Chelsea and Newcastle have the potential to influence this scenario and hand the seventh-placed club the Europa League spot, with eighth taking the Europa Conference League gig.
Chelsea are in the Europa Conference League final, and if they win that, they’ll be guaranteed a place in the Europa League for next season.
English clubs’ prowess in Europe has earned an extra Champions League spot, and passed down our Europa League place
Brentford, Bournemouth, or Brighton will get a Conference League spot for finishing eighth if things go their way
If Chelsea finish seventh and win the Conference league, an extra team will make Europe
If Chelsea finish sixth and win the Conference League, and Newcastle finish seventh, then again, eighth would take on the final European spot
But if Chelsea do that and finish seventh in the league (the typical Europa Conference League spot), then the place in Europe’s third-tier tournament will be passed onto the eighth-placed club.
There is another scenario. Newcastle have already assured themselves of a Europa Conference League spot by winning the Carabao Cup earlier this campaign.
If Chelsea finish sixth and win the Europa Conference League, and Newcastle finish seventh, then Newcastle would gain the passed-down Europa League spot, and hand their Conference League place onto the club who finishes eighth.
Those are the two scenarios that Brighton, Brentford, and Bournemouth are clinging onto. All of them are still capable of finishing eighth and will hope one of the above scenarios plays out.
Crystal Palace have already guaranteed a spot in the Europa League by winning the FA Cup on Saturday – their first piece of silverware.
But all of Brighton, Brentford, and Bournemouth could be denied. If Chelsea lose the Conference League final, there will be no extra European position to hand down.
Likewise, if Chelsea and Newcastle finish in the top six, they would simply take their place in the Champions League or Europa League, and the Premier League would just send its seventh-best team into the Conference League.
