Manchester United are eyeing a spot in the Champions League (Picture: James Gill/Danehouse/Getty Images) It’s not just the Premier League title and relegation battles that look set to go down to the wire – the fight to secure European football for the next campaign will almost certainly last until the end of the season. But while Arsenal and Manchester City have already guaranteed themselves a European adventure for next term, a whole host of teams below them in the league are still dreaming of whipping out their passports and touring the continent next season. But exactly how many teams qualify for the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League? Let’s take a look at the Premier League rules surrounding final placings for European qualification.
A maximum of seven teams can qualify for European football from domestic performance in the Premier League. The top four teams will qualify automatically for the group stage of next season’s Champions League. Liverpool are pushing hard for a top four finish (Picture: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images) The fifth-placed team will qualify automatically for the group stage of the Europa League, whilst another spot in the competition is reserved for the winners of the FA Cup. But with FA Cup finalists Manchester City and Manchester United both set for at least a top five finish, this means that the team finishing sixth will almost certainly qualify for the Europa League group stage as well. And with Manchester United having won the Carabao Cup, the Europa Conference League play-off spot they secured will likely be passed down to the team finishing in seventh. The only way eight English teams can play in Europe next season is if West Ham win the Europa Conference League, which will see them qualify automatically for the Europa League group stage. If Manchester City win the Champions League next month, the Premier League will not receive an extra spot in the competition.
Which clubs have already qualified for Europe next season? Title rivals Manchester City and Arsenal have qualified automatically for the Champions League next season. Arsenal have not played in Europe’s flagship club competition since 2016/17, which saw them qualify after finishing as Premier League runners-up behind Leicester the previous season. The rest of the European qualification spots are yet to be determined, although Newcastle remain firmly on track to feature in the Champions League for the first time since the 2002/03 season. Brighton, meanwhile, are eyeing a European campaign for the very first time in the club’s history.