With the Premier League losing an additional spot in the Champions League next season, let’s have a look at the teams that are contending for European qualification. The top four race, Europa League and Conference League as Tottenham, Chelsea, Man Utd and Newcastle battle it out.
The steaks are getting higher and higher for Tottenham, Newcastle, Chelsea, and Manchester United as the European race intensifies.
Firstly, Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool have registered guaranteed Champions League spots.
Aston Villa is also closing in with just three points needed from the last two games to join them, so a win against Liverpool will seal the deal on Monday night landing them straight into the Champions League.
Standings — English Premier League
| Pos. | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Arsenal | 37 | 27 | 5 | 5 | 61 | 86 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 36 | 26 | 7 | 3 | 58 | 85 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 36 | 23 | 9 | 4 | 43 | 78 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 36 | 20 | 7 | 9 | 20 | 67 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 36 | 19 | 6 | 11 | 12 | 63 |
| 6 | Newcastle United | 36 | 17 | 6 | 13 | 22 | 57 |
| 7 | Chelsea | 36 | 16 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 57 |
| 8 | Manchester United | 36 | 16 | 6 | 14 | -4 | 54 |
| 9 | West Ham United | 37 | 14 | 10 | 13 | -12 | 52 |
| 10 | Brighton and Hove Albion | 36 | 12 | 12 | 12 | -4 | 48 |
Italy and Germany have taken the upper hand in securing the extra Champions League qualification spots, so only the top four in the Premier League can make it to the expanded Champions League.
Fifth-place Tottenham is four points behind Villa, hoping for any slip-ups from Unai Emery’s side who have some tricky fixtures ahead.
Aston Villa’s fixtures
May 13:Liverpool (H) – Premier League, kick-off 8 pm (GMT)
May 19:Crystal Palace (A)- Premier League, kick-off 4 pm (GMT)
Tottenham’s fixtures
May 14:Man City (H)- Premier League, kick-off 8 pm (GMT)
May 19:Sheffield United (A)- Premier League, kick-off 4 pm (GMT)
Who are the front-runners for the Europa League?
The Premier League’s fifth-place finishers will qualify directly to the Europa League group stage phase without any additional qualifiers or play-off games
However, the second Europa League spot is an all-grab for Manchester United.
What are the scenarios with Manchester United playing the FA Cup final?
The FA Cup winners also have a place in the Europa League.
With that said, either Manchester United or Manchester City will lift the FA Cup finishing in the top five and therefore qualifying for the Europa League or Champions League. Thus, their Europa League spot will be passed on to the next highest-ranking side in the Premier League without a European spot.
United are currently in eighth, putting Chelsea on the brick of missing another season without European football even though they sit in seventh if the Red Devil lift the cup.
However, Chelsea moved level with sixth-place Newcastle in points after a thrilling 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest, thereby having a straight shoot-out with the Magpies with two games remaining.
If Manchester United win, who qualifies for Europe?
Champions League: Arsenal, Man City, Liverpool, Aston Villa
Europa League: Tottenham, Man Utd (as FA Cup winners)
UEFA Conference League: Newcastle
As per current standing, who qualifies for Europe if Man Utd doesn’t win the FA Cup?
Champions League: Arsenal, Man City, Liverpool, Aston Villa
Europa League: Tottenham, Newcastle
UEFA Conference League: Chelsea
Manchester United fixtures
May 15:Newcastle (H)- Premier League, kick-off 8 pm (GMT)
May 19:Brighton (A) – Premier League, kick-off 4 pm (GMT)
May 25:Man City (N) – FA Cup final, kick-off 3 pm (GMT)
Newcastle fixtures
May 15:Man Utd (A)- Premier League, kick-off 8 pm (GMT)
May 19:Brentford (A)- Premier League, kick-off 4 pm (GMT)
Chelsea fixtures
May 15:Brighton (A)- Premier League, kick-off 7.45 pm (GMT)
May 19:Bournemouth (H)- Premier League, kick-off 4 pm (GMT)
Breaking down the new Champions League format
As the total number of teams has had a gradual rise from 32 to 36, the Champions League group sees a change from a traditional group stage to a single-phase group that includes all the participating teams.
Every club will have a guaranteed eight games from the group against eight different sides(four home games, four away) rather than the old six matches against three teams on the above similar pattern.
The top eight qualify directly to the knockouts, while the sides finishing from 9th to 24th will play a two-legged play-off to secure a place in the last 16.
The teams ranked from 25-36 will be eliminated from all competitions.
Changes in the Europa League and Conference League
The changes are the same in the Europa League and Conference League with 36 teams in each.
In the Europa League, there will be eight matches against eight different opponents.
But, the Conference League teams will have six matches against six different opponents, which will be played between September and December.
The second half of the season will have the knockout phases of the game with the culmination at the end of the campaign as they do now.
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