Premier League may have nine teams qualifying for Europe next season

There are
seven European berths available for English football teams, but that number could climb
to nine, and the number of teams in each individual competition can change.
Generally:

·       The top four in
the Premier League qualify for the UEFA Champions League group stage

·       Fifth place and
the FA Cup winners qualify for the Europa League group stage

·       The Carabao Cup
winners qualify for the Europa Conference League playoff

However,
given the FA Cup winner this season will be either Liverpool or Chelsea, both
of which are expected to finish in the top four, their Europa League qualifying
berth for winning the FA Cup will be passed down to the next highest Premier
League finisher who does not qualify for Europe.

Similarly,
because Liverpool won the Carabao Cup and are expected to finish in the top
four, their Europa Conference League qualification position from that
competition will be awarded to the next highest Premier League finisher who
does not play in Europe. As a result, teams finishing sixth and seventh in the
Premier League table will be in the running for a place in either the Europa
League or the Europa Conference League next season.

If
Manchester City or Liverpool win the Champions League, they will automatically
qualify for the competition’s group stages the following season. That is
regardless of where they finish in the Premier League table.

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If they
qualify for the competition in two ways, i.e., by winning it and finishing in
the top four, no additional Champions League spot is provided for another team
to fill, and the number of Premier League clubs in next season’s Champions
League remains at four. However, if West Ham wins the Europa League and
finishes outside the top four, the Premier League could have a maximum of five
teams in the Champions League next season. Winning that competition qualifies
them for the group stages of the Champions League.

If Leicester
win the Europa Conference League, they will automatically qualify for the
Europa League the following season, giving them an extra European slot.

That implies
that if West Ham and Leicester win their respective championships but finish
outside the top seven in the Premier League, there will be nine English teams
competing in European play next season.

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The nine
teams would be: the top four and West Ham in the Champions League, fifth and
sixth in the Europa League, plus Leicester, and seventh in the Europa
Conference League. However, if Leicester win the Europa Conference League and
finish seventh – the position that will be rewarded with a Europa Conference
League spot – there will be no English teams in the Europa Conference League
the following season, as Leicester will be promoted to the Europa League. Last
season, Sevilla and no other La Liga team participated in the Europa Conference
League.