The Premier League could have 11 representatives in European competition next season - but a number of results will need to go the way of English clubs
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Marco Asensio of Aston Villa celebrates scoring his team's third goal
Marco Asensio of Aston Villa celebrates
Newcastle United'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 - with Aston Villa key to the permutations.
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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However, each season, two leagues are granted an additional Champions League place based on average UEFA coefficients. Currently, England is leading the pack comfortably, 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 Premier League teams could all qualify for the showpiece tournament.
Extra spots are also available for the winners of the Champions League and Europa League, provided they haven't already qualified.
Both Arsenal and Villa have reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League, while Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are at the same stage in the Europa League.
The next team down in the league table qualify for the Europa League, along with the FA Cup winners.
Newcastle secured the Conference League spot with their Carabao Cup win, but could upgrade to the Champions League or Europa League through their league position – they are currently sixth with a game in hand on the teams above them.
That would see the Carabao Cup winners’ place transfer to the leading team in the league not already qualified for Europe. The same is true for the second Europa League place should the FA Cup winners qualify via the league.
The Conference League winners also qualify for next season’s Europa League, with Chelsea still in contention.
For 11 teams to qualify for Europe, the following must happen:
– England earns a fifth Champions League place.
– Villa win the Champions League and finish outside the top five – or Arsenal, though they are second and highly unlikely to fall out of the top five.
– Manchester United or Spurs win the Europa League, and Chelsea win the Conference League while slipping out of the qualifying positions in the league.
– Newcastle qualify for at least the Europa League through their league position to vacate their Conference League spot.
That could potentially leave the following qualifiers:
– Champions League (seven): Liverpool, Arsenal, Nottingham Forest, Manchester City and Newcastle through league position; Aston Villa as Champions League winners; Manchester United or Tottenham as Europa League winners.
– Europa League (three): Brighton through league position; Fulham as FA Cup winners; Chelsea as Conference League winners.
– Conference League (one): Bournemouth, inheriting the Carabao Cup winners’ spot from Newcastle as the highest non-qualified team.
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