How Does European Qualification Work in the Premier League and How Many Teams Could Qualify?
Tom Hancock
As the Premier League season reaches its business end, the race for Europe is hotting up.
More than half the clubs in the league will still fancy their chances of qualifying for Europe, with places in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League all up for grabs.
Here’s all you need to know about how the Premier League’s European qualification spots are determined.
How Does European Qualification Work in the Premier League?
As standard, seven Premier League clubs qualify for Europe in any given season, with the qualification slots allocated as follows:
The sides finishing first, second, third and fourth qualify for the Champions League league phase
The side finishing fifth qualify for the Europa League league phase, along with the FA Cup winners
The winners of the EFL Cup qualify for the Conference League play-offs
However, the strong performance of English sides in Europe this season means that, once again, the Premier League will have five Champions League qualification spots this term.
The Premier League could earn a fifth Champions League qualification spot based on the performance of English clubs in Europe this term.
As a result, the team finishing sixth in the Premier League will qualify for the Europa League league phase.
Europa League qualification changes if the FA Cup winners qualify for Europe by virtue of their league position. In that event, the next highest-placed Premier League side not already qualified for Europe will take the FA Cup Winners’ spot in the Europa League league phase.
The same goes for the Conference League if the EFL Cup winners qualify for Europe through their league position – and it looks highly likely that this season’s EFL Cup winners, Manchester City, will finish in the top five and, therefore, qualify for the Champions League.
How Else Can Premier League Clubs Qualify for Europe?
Premier League clubs can also qualify for Europe by winning one of the three UEFA competitions.
The winners of the Champions League and Europa League both qualify for next season’s Champions League league phase, with the winners of the Conference League qualifying for next season’s Europa League league phase.
If Aston Villa win this season's Europa League and finish fifth in the Premier League, sixth place will also qualify for the Champions League. However, if Villa win the Europa League and finish higher than fifth, sixth place does not qualify for the Champions League.
If a Premier League side win the Conference League and don’t finish high enough in the Premier League to qualify for the Europa League, they go into the Europa League as an additional Premier League club.
How Many Premier League Clubs Could Qualify for Europe?
In theory, as many as 11 Premier League clubs could qualify for Europe next season. A very specific set of circumstances would need to play out, but here’s how it’s possible:
Liverpool win the Champions League and finish outside the top five of the Premier League (Arsenal are also still in the Champions League but can finish no lower than fifth in the Premier League)
Aston Villa or Nottingham Forest win the Europa League and finish outside the top five of the Premier League
Crystal Palace win the Conference League and finish outside the top six of the Premier League
If all of the above were to happen, there would be seven Premier League clubs in next season’s Champions League (Liverpool and Aston Villa or Nottingham Forest, plus the Premier League top five) and three in the Europa League (the highest-placed Premier League finishers not qualified for the Champions League, the FA Cup winners* and Crystal Palace as Conference League winners).
*Unless the FA Cup winners qualify for the Europa League or Champions League via their league position, in which case the next highest-ranked Premier League side not qualified for the Europa League would assume the spot
The Conference League play-off qualification spot would then go to the next highest-ranked Premier League side not already qualified for Europe.
