Manchester United secured their spot in next season’s Champions League on Thursday night with a commanding 4-1 win over Chelsea at Old Trafford.
United are now third in the table and are guaranteed top four. Newcastle are currently fourth, but Eddie Howe’s side would jump to third if they beat Chelsea on Sunday and United fail to win against Fulham.
Thursday’s results mean the Premier League‘s Champions League qualifiers are now decided, with the aforementioned two sides joining Manchester City, who earned a third straight title, and Arsenal in next year’s competition.
They also mean Liverpool are now certain to finish outside the top four for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
Can Liverpool still qualify for the Champions League?
Liverpool are now guaranteed a fifth-place finish, meaning it is impossible for them to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
The only way a team that finishes outside of the top four in the Premier League can reach the Champions League is either by winning it, or by winning the Europa League, as the Champions League and Europa League winners automatically qualify for next season’s Champions League. However, Liverpool were knocked out of the Champions League at the round-of-16 stage by Real Madrid.
Even if Manchester City win the Champions League final against Inter, Liverpool will not be granted an extra place.
In rare circumstances, the team that finishes fourth can actually miss out on Champions League qualification.
If a Premier League club wins the Champions League and another wins the Europa League, and neither of those teams finish in the top four, the team fourth in the table will drop into the Europa League group stage. This is because a maximum of five English teams can qualify for the Champions League each season.
This Europa League group stage place will be in addition to the one for the club finishing fifth and and places for the FA Cup and League Cup winners (or their replacements if the cup winners have already qualified for Uefa competitions through their league position).
Who qualifies for the Europa League?
The team that finishes fifth in the Premier League is awarded automatic qualification to the Europa League group stage. This year that will be Liverpool.
The FA Cup winners also get automatic qualification to the group stage. However, if the FA Cup winners finish in the top five of the Premier League, their Europa League group stage place will go to the next-highest placed team in the league that have not qualified for Uefa competition.
Since this year’s FA Cup final is between Manchester City and Manchester United, that means the team that finishes sixth in the league is guaranteed Europa League qualification this year. Brighton have secured that spot, meaning they will play in Europe for the first time in their 112-year history.
A Premier League team can also qualify for the Europa League by winning the Europa Conference League. West Ham have a chance to do that this season, as they are playing AZ Alkmaar in the final of the competition.
Who qualifies for the Europa Conference League?
The winners of the League Cup qualify for the qualifying playoff stage of the Europa Conference League, which was launched last season
If the League Cup winners finish in the top five of the Premier League (or top six if the FA Cup winners also finish in the top five), their Conference League playoff place will go to the next-highest ranked team not qualified for Uefa competitions in the Premier League.
That means that this year, since Manchester United won the League Cup, the team that finishes seventh will get into the Conference League playoffs.
Aston Villa are currently in seventh with 58 points, but Tottenham (57 points) and Brentford (56 points) still have a chance of taking that spot.
Villa are at home against Brighton on Sunday, while Tottenham travel to a Leeds team fighting to avoid relegation, and Brentford host the already-crowned Manchester City, who will probably rest players ahead of their upcoming FA Cup and Champions League finals.
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