epa12975391 Eli Junior Kroupi (L) of Bournemouth celebrates with teammate James Tavernier after scoring the opening goal during the English Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Manchester City in Bournemouth, Great Britain, 19 May 2026. EPA/DANIEL HAMBURY EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos, 'live' services or NFTs. Online in-match use limited to 120 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications.
Bournemouth could be playing in the Champions League next season (EPA)
Bournemouth, Brighton and Liverpool remain in contention to qualify for the Champions League after Aston Villa’s win in the Europa League final on Wednesday night.
By winning the Europa League, Villa have now secured qualification for next season’s Champions League, however, their result against Manchester City this Sunday will have a major impact on the remaining European places in the Premier League.
England have been given an extra Champions League place for next season due to the strong performances of Premier League clubs in UEFA competitions this term, this is called an Elite Performance Spot (EPS).
However, the EPS is applied after all other forms of qualification, meaning that Villa would need to finish fifth in order for the extra Champions League place to be given to the team who finishes sixth.
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Villa currently sit fourth in the Premier League and are three points clear of fifth-placed Liverpool.
European places if Aston Villa finish fourth
Arsenal – Champions League
Man City – Champions League
Man Utd – Champions League
Aston Villa – Champions League
Liverpool or Bournemouth – Champions League
Bournemouth, Brighton or Liverpool – Europa League
Bournemouth, Brighton, Brentford, Chelsea or Sunderland – Europa League
Brighton, Brentford, Chelsea or Sunderland – Conference League
Unai Emery’s side will finish fifth in the Premier League if they lose away to Manchester City and Liverpool win at home to Brentford on Sunday to secure fourth place.
If Villa finish fourth by avoiding a defeat to City, either Bournemouth or Liverpool will secure the fifth and final Champions League spot.
The Premier League table ahead of the final day of the season
Liverpool also face an outside chance of finishing sixth and in a Europa League place if they lose to Brentford and Bournemouth beat Nottingham Forest by a margin that sees them leapfrog Arne Slot’s side on goal difference.
As it stands, Bournemouth are in sixth place on 56 points ahead of their match away to Nottingham Forest this weekend.
European places if Aston Villa finish fifth
Arsenal – Champions League
Man City – Champions League
Man Utd – Champions League
Liverpool – Champions League
Aston Villa – Champions League
Bournemouth or Brighton – Champions League
Bournemouth, Brighton, Brentford, Chelsea or Sunderland – Europa League
Brighton, Brentford, Chelsea or Sunderland – Conference League
Brighton are three points behind Bournemouth but have a better goal difference, so if they beat Manchester United at home on Sunday and Bournemouth lose to Forest, Fabian Hurzeler’s side will finish sixth.
If Villa finish fifth and the Premier League gets six Champions League spots, a Europa League place will be lost. That means only seventh place would qualify for the Europa League, while the team who finishes eighth will be in the Conference League next season.
Crystal Palace, who are 15th in the Premier League, would also qualify for next season’s Europa League as Conference League winners if they beat Rayo Vallecano in the final on May 27.
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