With the Premier League coming to a close this Sunday (28th), the battle for a place in Europe is getting more intense and suspenseful. The UEFA Europa League quarter-finals and the UEFA Cup have already been decided, and the last UEFA ticket will be fought by Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Brentford. Nonetheless, the Premier League could still field eight teams in Europe next season, depending on whether Westham come out on top in the UEFA Europa League.
According to the rules for allocating places in the Premier League's European competitions, the top four in the league normally advance directly to the UEFA Europa League group stage (Manchester City, Arsenal, Newcastle, Manchester United), while the fifth place in the league (Liverpool) as well as the winners of the EFL Cup (Manchester City/Man Utd) participate in the UEFA Europa League. However, as the EFL Cup winners have already clinched their UEFA Europa League spot, the places are extended to the sixth place in the league (Brighton).
UEFA Europa League qualification, which originally belonged to the EFL Cup winners (Manchester United), has likewise been deferred to seventh place in the league due to United already being in the top four, which is currently occupied by Aston Villa (58 points), but is only one and two points more than Tottenham Hotspur (57) and Brentford (56), which will be battling it out for seventh place on the final day.
In addition to the "regular" seven European spots, the Premier League could have an eighth participant next season. Westham, currently in 14th place in the Premier League, will be able to advance directly to the UEFA Europa League group stage if they win the UEFA Europa League final against Valentina. As for Manchester City, if they win the UEFA Champions League, their place in the league's European competition cannot be transferred to another team.
Premier League qualification for Europe next season:
UEFA: Manchester City, Arsenal, Newcastle, Manchester United
Europa League: Liverpool, Brighton, *West Ham (if they win the UEFA Europa League)
