Race for Europe: Breakdown of How 9 Premier League Teams Can Qualify for Europe Next Season

• The season is coming to its penultimate, with only a handful of games to go
• In Europe, English sides have impressed once again, and there is a huge chance teams from England will make the final of all three tiers of European competitions
• There is an extremely slim chance 10 English teams could qualify for European places next season
• This is dependent on a number of factors, including Leicester, West Ham, Manchester City/Liverpool winning their respective European competitions

With the season coming to an end, there are question marks on where several English sides will place in Europe for next season.

Manchester City and Liverpool have the chance to win the Champions League, while West Ham have had a brilliant run in the second-tier European competition, where they will face Eintracht Frankfurt in the semi-finals.

Leicester, despite manager Brendan Rodgers saying in January he did not understand the Conference League, find themselves in the competition’s semi-final.

Chelsea vs Arsenal: The London rivalry born in the 2000s

Football

Sports Brief takes a look at possible scenarios in Europe:

English teams that can qualify for Europe domestically

In England, a maximum of seven clubs can secure a place in European competitions in England purely from positions in the league.

However, European places for European titleholders are reserved separately provided the titleholder fails to qualify domestically.

For example, if West Ham wins the Europa League and finishes outside the top four, five English teams would head to the Champions League next season since Europa League winners have an automatic ticket to the competition.

With this in mind, an extreme case could see up to 9 Premier League sides qualify for Europe next season, although this is very unlikely.

Scenario 1: Liverpool/Man City win the Champions League

Based on their current positions domestically, Liverpool and Manchester City are almost guaranteed to finish in the Champions League places.

With this in mind, it should be noted that there will be no effect on the Champions League places if a team that has qualified domestically happens to win the competition.

Fascinating facts about the top 10 Manchester United managers of all time

Football

Because the Champions have already qualified domestically, the slot for titleholders remains vacant.

This would mean the qualifying rounds are rebalanced with clubs effectively receiving byes (automatic advancement to the next round).

The bye would be issued to the champions of the country ranked 11th in the UEFA coefficient table at the end of the 2020-21 season. That team would have otherwise had to go through qualifying stages.

Scenario 2: West Ham wins Europa League

It is well known that Europa League winners automatically qualify for next season’s Champions League, regardless of where they finish domestically.

If David Moyes’ side wins the Europa League and finishes in the top 4, the place for the Europa League titleholder is vacant and qualifying rounds are rebalanced.

The third-placed team in France will then be handed the bye to qualify directly to the Champions League group stages.

But if the Hammers finish in seventh place and with the Europa League, then there will be five English teams in the Champions League next season.

Which are the top ten biggest football clubs in London?

Football

The catch is that if West Ham wins the Europa League and finishes in either fifth, sixth or seventh place, the Premier League effectively loses a place in that competition.

For example, if West Ham wins the Europa League and finish in seventh place, qualification will look like this:

No team will be in the Europa Conference League if West Ham finishes seventh and win the second-tier Europa League.

The only situation where England’s top 7 will be unaffected is if West Ham wins the Europa League and finish in eighth place or lower.

Scenario 3: Leicester win Europa Conference League

This is far less complicated as the winner of the Europa Conference League automatically qualifies for the Europa League.

Because Leicester have an extremely slim chance of finishing in European places domestically, the Premier League slots for Europe will be unaffected.

Scenario 4: Nine Premier League sides in Europe

Liverpool go up against Benfica in challenging Champions League battle (Preview, kickoff time)

Football

This is only possible if West Ham wins the Europa League and Leicester win the Europa Conference League and both teams finish outside domestic European places, in which case qualification will look like this:

Champions League: 1, 2, 3, 4, West Ham

Europa League: 5, 6, Leicester

Europa Conference League: 7

Italy legend announces international retirement

Elsewhere, Sports Brief recently reported of Giorgio Chiellini's decision to quit international football.

Chiellini will play his last game for Italy when they face Argentina in a friendly match at the Wembley Stadium.

The veteran defender has been a mainstay in national team colours, racking up 116 appearances in the process. He made his debut in 2004 and has since won the Euro 2020 and was also a runner up in the same competition in 2012.