Newcastle's Carabao Cup triumph could have big implications for the number of Premier League teams in Europe next season - with 11 sides potentially qualifying
Sport
Updated 13:25, 17 Mar 2025
Newcastle's triumph in the Carabao Cup could potentially pave the way for as many as 11 Premier League teams to secure a spot in European competitions next season.
Typically, England is allocated four Champions League spots, two for the Europa League and one for the Conference League play-off stage – totalling seven places.
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Each season, two leagues are granted an additional Champions League spot based on average UEFA coefficients. Currently, England is comfortably leading the standings, with more clubs still in the running in this season's European competitions than top competitors Spain, Germany and Italy.
This means that the top five teams in the Premier League would all qualify.
Additional spots are reserved for the winners of the Champions League and Europa League, provided they haven't already qualified. Both Arsenal and Aston Villa have reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League, while Manchester United and Tottenham are at the same stage in the Europa League.
The team next in line in the league table would qualify for the Europa League, along with the FA Cup winners.
Having secured their spot in the Conference League through their Carabao Cup victory, Newcastle could potentially upgrade to the Champions League or Europa League depending on their league position – they currently sit sixth with a game in hand over the teams above them.
Should this happen, the Carabao Cup winners' place would be transferred to the highest-ranked team in the league not already qualified for Europe. The same rule applies to the second Europa League spot should the FA Cup winners qualify via the league.
The winners of the Conference League also secure a spot in next season's Europa League, with Chelsea still in the running.
For 11 teams to make it to Europe, the following scenarios must unfold:.
– England secures a fifth Champions League slot.
– Villa clinches the Champions League title and finishes outside the top five – or Arsenal, though they are currently second and highly unlikely to drop out of the top five.
– Manchester United or Spurs triumph in the Europa League, and Chelsea wins the Conference League while falling out of the league's qualifying positions.
– Newcastle secures at least a Europa League spot through their league standing, thereby vacating their Conference League position.
This could potentially result in the following qualifiers:.
– Champions League (seven): Liverpool, Arsenal, Nottingham Forest, Manchester City and Newcastle via league position; Aston Villa as Champions League victors; Manchester United or Tottenham as Europa League champions.
– Europa League (three): Brighton through league standing; Fulham as FA Cup champions; Chelsea as Conference League victors.
– Conference League (one): Bournemouth, inheriting the Carabao Cup winners' spot from Newcastle as the highest non-qualified team.