The Premier League season is edging toward its climax, with a host of clubs battling to secure places in the UEFA Champions League (UCL), UEFA Europa League (UEL) and UEFA Conference League (UCoL).
Yet there are a whole host of clauses and considerations that could affect where the places go.
First of all, the Premier League will have five teams in the UCL next season after it secured one of the extra places for performance by clubs across the three competitions.
But what happens to the places reserved for the domestic cups?
What does it mean that either Manchester United or Tottenham Hotspur will win the UEL? And what if Chelsea win the UCoL?
Here's your guide to European qualification in the Premier League.
This article will be updated through to the end of the season as more details emerge.
What's the usual allocation for the Premier League?
At the start of every season, the Premier League's European allocation is:
Champions League: Places 1-4
Europa League: 5, FA Cup winners
Conference League: Carabao Cup winners
But now there's an extra place in the Champions League?
The two leagues with the best set of collective results in European competition get a fifth team in the Champions League through the European Performance Spots (EPS).
It was confirmed on April 8 -- through Arsenal's 3-0 win over Real Madrid -- that the Premier League will get one of the two EPS.
The extra place goes to fifth in the league.
For the final positions in the 2024-25 season, to qualify for Europe the positions are now:
Champions League: 1-5 (Liverpool are confirmed)
Europa League: 6, Crystal Palace as FA Cup winners
Conference League: Newcastle United as Carabao Cup winners
However, there are a host of factors that could change this.
What happens to the EPS if a Premier League team wins a European competition?
The EPS is applied after all considerations related to the winners of domestic cups and the three European competitions.
In all circumstances, the EPS provides a plus-1 to a league's allocation -- so the Premier League will have nine teams irrelevant of anything else.
So nine because Man United or Spurs will win the Europa League?
Yes, Man United and Spurs are in the final of the Europa League, which will be played in Bilbao on May 21, with the winners earning a place in the Champions League for next season.
Neither team will finish in a European position domestically, so whoever lifts the trophy will play in the UCL as UEL titleholders.
This guarantees there will be nine Premier League clubs in Europe, and six in the Champions League.
Champions League: 1-5, Man United/Tottenham as UEL winners
Europa League: 6, Crystal Palace as FA Cup winners
Conference League: Newcastle United as Carabao Cup winners
Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens debate who will finish in the top five spots in the Premier League.
What does Newcastle winning the Carabao Cup mean?
Newcastle United are guaranteed a place in the Conference League after they beat Liverpool 2-1 in the Carabao Cup final on March 16.
So that makes the allocation:
Champions League: 1-5, Man United/Tottenham as UEL winners
Europa League: 6, Crystal Palace as FA Cup winners
Conference League: Newcastle United as Carabao Cup winners
However, where Newcastle finish in the table could impact the allocation.
If the Magpies qualify for the Champions League or the Europa League, the Conference League place transfers to the Premier League.
So, if Newcastle finish in the top six the Conference League place passes to seventh.
Champions League: 1-5, Man United/Tottenham as UEL winners
Europa League: 6, Crystal Palace as FA Cup winners
Conference League: 7
This is now looking very likely as Newcastle are in third place with a four-point gap to Forest in seventh.
How about the FA Cup?
Crystal Palace beat Manchester City in the FA Cup final. (stream a replay on ESPN+ in the U.S.)
The winners of the competition qualify for the Europa League.
As Palace are 12th, the league places will be unaltered:
Champions League: 1-5, Man United/Tottenham as UEL winners
Europa League: 6, Crystal Palace as FA Cup winners
Conference League: Newcastle United as Carabao Cup winners
If Man City had won the FA Cup and finished in the top six, the Europa League place for the FA Cup would have transferred to seventh in the league.
What if Chelsea win the Conference League?
This could prove crucial for one Premier League club, as it's Chelsea's performance in the Conference League, coupled with their final league position, which has the greatest chance to benefit another team (more detail on this in a later section.)
Chelsea sit in fourth place, four points ahead of seventh-placed Forest (they have a game in hand) -- who they play on the final day. Chelsea will play Real Betis in the final of the Conference League in Wroclaw, Poland on May 28.
Depending on where Chelsea finish, their performance in the final could directly influence eighth place.
By rights, the winners of the Conference League get a place in the Europa League. If Chelsea lift the trophy and finish inside the top five, there will be no change to the allocation.
Champions League: 1-5, Man United/Tottenham as UEL winners
Europa League: 6, Crystal Palace as FA Cup winners
Conference League: Newcastle United as Carabao Cup winners
If Chelsea win the Conference League and finish sixth, the Premier League gets an extra team in the Europa League, and nine in Europe. Once the EPS is applied, the Europa League place originally for fifth goes to the team in seventh.
Champions League: 1-5, Man United/Tottenham as UEL winners
Europa League: 7, Crystal Palace as FA Cup winners, Chelsea as UCoL winners
Conference League: Newcastle United as Carabao Cup winners
How seventh could yet qualify for the Europa League
If Newcastle finish inside the top five, thus passing the Conference League place to sixth and Chelsea finish in sixth, the Premier League surrenders the berth in the Conference League and Chelsea play in the Europa League. After the EPS is applied, the UEL place makes a jump and goes to seventh. The Premier League would have three teams in the UEL and nine in Europe.
Champions League: 1-5, Man United/Tottenham as UEL winners
Europa League: 7, Crystal Palace as FA Cup winners, Chelsea as UCoL winners
Conference League: --
How Chelsea could get eighth place into Europe by league position
For clubs hovering around eighth in the table, the performance of Chelsea is now their only chance of playing in Europe next season. They are the only team who could win a European title and finish in a position to cause this drop down.
We need to assume Newcastle United have finished inside the top six.
This is the allocation before the EPS:
Champions League: 1-4, Man United/Tottenham as UEL winners
Europa League: 5, Crystal Palace as FA Cup winners
Conference League: 6
Chelsea finish seventh and win the Conference League final. Chelsea would play in the Europa League, and the Premier League would have 10 teams in Europe.
Champions League: 1-4, Man United/Tottenham as UEL winners
Europa League: 5, Crystal Palace as FA Cup winners, Chelsea as UCoL winners (7)
Conference League: 6
Add the EPS, and everything moves down one place -- but the Conference League spot for 6th position jumps over Chelsea and is given to eighth.
Champions League: 1-5, Man United/Tottenham as UEL winners
Europa League: 6, Chelsea as UCoL winners (7)
Conference League: 8
Isn't there a clause in case Chelsea also qualify for the Champions League?
Yes. If Chelsea win the Conference League and qualify for the Champions League, they can choose which competition they play in next season: The UCL or the UEL as European titleholders.
Of course, there's no doubt that Chelsea will take up the place in the Champions League, so why does this clause exist?
It's to cover a team from one of Europe's lower-ranked leagues winning the Conference League. If they take up their domestic UCL place in the qualifying rounds they wouldn't be guaranteed to play in the UEL. If they feel making the UCL league phase through qualifying is tough, they can opt to take the automatic place in the UEL league phase earned by winning the Conference League.
The maximum in Europe is 10 for next season
For 10 to qualify, it would require Chelsea to win the Conference League and finish outside the European places.
The 10 would be made up of:
The top 6
Chelsea in 7th as Conference League winners
8th
Crystal Palace as FA Cup winners
Man United/Tottenham as UEL winners
This is the same scenario set out above, explaining how eighth can still qualify for Europe.
The other possible scenario sees Newcastle finish seventh and Chelsea sixth. In this, Chelsea do not finish in a domestic European place.
Before the EPS:
Champions League: 1-4, Man United/Tottenham as UEL winners
Europa League: 5, Crystal Palace as FA Cup winners, as Chelsea as UCoL winners (6)
Conference League: Newcastle United as Carabao Cup winners (7)
After the EPS, Newcastle would be guaranteed Europa League and eighth in the Conference League. The UEL place moves to Newcastle, and the UCoL place down one:
Champions League: 1-5, Man United/Tottenham as UEL winners
Europa League: Newcastle United (7), Crystal Palace as FA Cup winners, Chelsea as UCoL winners (6)
Conference League: 8
Hypothetical: How there could be seven English teams in the Champions League
Seven:
The top four spots (4)
The extra place for the EPS (1)
The winners of the Champions League (1)
The winners of the Europa League (1)
The winners of the UCL and UEL would have to finish outside the top four to create the extra UCL allocation.
As there is no Premier League team in the Champions League final, the maximum this season is six.
Hypothetical: How 11 Premier League clubs could qualify for Europe
Each European titleholder is guaranteed a place in Europe. As above, if any team finishes in a European place domestically, there is no additional place. However, if a team does not qualify from domestic competition, it's an extra spot for the titleholders on top of the league allocation -- even if all three were to do so.
So that means it's possible, though highly improbable, for the Premier League to have 11 teams in Europe, including the EPS.
Champions League: 1-5, UCL winners, UEL winners
Europa League: 6, FA Cup winners, UCoL winners
Conference League: Carabao Cup winners
Hypothetical: How ninth, 10th and 11th could qualify for Europe
This is like the earlier scenario relating to eighth and the Europa League, the difference being the European titleholder finishes in the first place outside the European positions.
For this to happen a European title winner would need to finish eighth. This cannot happen this season.
So, the Conference League winners finish in eighth place -- one below the Conference League spot. Chelsea play in the Europa League as Conference League winners, and the Premier League has eight teams in Europe.
Champions League: 1-4
Europa League: 5, 6, UCoL winners (8)
Conference League: 7
Now the EPS is applied with fifth in the UCL, and as this creates the plus-1 in all scenarios there are now nine teams in Europe. The European places drop down one, but as Chelsea already have a place in the Europa League, the Conference League spot "jumps" over them and goes to ninth.
Champions League: 1-5
Europa League: 6, 7, UCoL winners (8)
Conference League: 9
The same EPS logic can be applied to push the allocation down two or three places in the league.
It requires multiple European titleholders to be in consecutive places outside the domestic spots, to create two or three "jumps."
This is the effect of two teams winning European titles and finishing eighth and ninth -- 10th gets the Conference League spot after the EPS is applied.
Champions League: 1-5, UEL winners (9)
Europa League: 6, 7, UCoL winners (8)
Conference League: 10
Add in the UCL winners finishing in a consecutive place, and 11th gets the Conference League.
Champions League: 1-5, UCL winners (8), UEL winners (10)
Europa League: 6, 7, UCoL winners (9)
Conference League: 11