Here’s what you need to know about how many English sides can compete in next season’s Champions League
The Premier League is winding down, but the race for top for is hotting up – with Leicester, Chelsea and Liverpool all in contention for the final two Champions League spots.
With Manchester City and Chelsea facing each other in the Champions League and Manchester United contesting the Europa League final against Villarreal, how many English teams can participate in the Champions League next season – and will the top-four finisher lose out if a Premier League team wins the Champions League?
Goal takes a look.
Editors’ Picks
- What went wrong for USWNT star Rose Lavelle at Manchester City?
- Kane tells Tottenham he wants to leave this summer amid Man Utd, Man City & Chelsea links
- Andrija Radulovic: Why are Man City and Barcelona keen on ‘the Serbian Shaqiri’?
- Penalty saves and praise from Tevez – River’s ‘little keeper’ Alan Diaz and his surreal Superclasico debut
What happens if Manchester City win the Champions League?
UEFA allocate England a maximum of five spots in the 32-team Champions League.
Four places are reserved for the teams who finish in the top four of the Premier League, while an extra spot is saved should an English side win the tournament but finish outside of the top four.
With Manchester City already having won the Premier League, England would not receive an additional Champions League spot if the Citizens are crowned European champions.
What happens if Chelsea win the Champions League, and finish in top four?
Chelsea winning the Champions League while also finishing in the top four has no ramifications on the Premier League.
England would retain their four qualification spots, and the fifth-placed Premier League team qualify for the Europa League group stage.
What happens if Chelsea win the Champions League, but finish outside top four?
Chelsea would still automatically qualify for next season’s Champions League as tournament winners, and England would have five teams competing.
Whoever finishes fourth in the Premier League would not drop down to the Europa League. They would qualify for the Champions League.
What happens if Chelsea win the Champions League and finish in top four and Man Utd win the Europa League?
England will still have four teams in next season’s Champions League, and the fifth-placed finisher will play in the Europa League.
Should a team win the Europa League but finish in the top four, their spot in Champions League qualifying will not be freed up for another team.
What happens if Chelsea win the Champions League but finish outside the top four, and Man United win the Europa League?
Man Utd winning the Europa League has no effect on Premier League teams qualifying for the Champions League. England would still have four teams in the Premier League, with fifth playing in Europa League.
Which teams will qualify for the Europa League?
Two Premier League teams will qualify for the Europa League due to the implementation of the brand-new Europa Conference League.
The spots go to the winners of the FA Cup and the fifth-placed Premier League team.
Because Leicester have won the FA Cup and look set to finish in the Premier League top five, the Europa League qualifying spot will go to the sixth-placed finisher.
