The race for Europe is heading for a thrilling finale, with six teams battling for four remaining places in three European competitions.
Here, we explain the state of play and look at what's at stake ahead of the final day of the Premier League season on Sunday.
Champions League spots
Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and Aston Villa are guaranteed a top-five finish and will all play in the UEFA Champions League — Europe's elite club competition — next season.
Usually, only the teams who finish from first to fourth in the Premier League table qualify for the Champions League. But this season, the Premier League will earn a fifth Champions League spot — as it did last season for the first time.
This is because England (i.e. the Premier League) will again claim one of two European Performance Spots (EPS) available through UEFA’s coefficient table, which measures how clubs from each country perform as a collective across European competitions.
See: Why Premier League will get fifth Champions League spot
Villa have actually qualified for the Champions League through two different routes - first through their league position and also by winning the UEFA Europa League on Wednesday. The knock-on effect is that the SIXTH-placed Premier League team could get into the Champions League (more on this below).
Liverpool look set to take the fifth Champions League spot, sitting three points ahead of sixth-placed AFC Bournemouth - who only have three points to play for - and six goals ahead on goal difference. Liverpool host Brentford on the final day, while Bournemouth visit Nottingham Forest.
Even if Bournemouth miss out on a top-five finish, they are guaranteed a top-seven place - with the top eight teams qualifying for Europe - so they will play in Europe next season for the first time in their 127-year history. They have secured at least a place in the UEFA Europa League — Europe's second-tier club competition.
Sixth-placed team could be upgraded to Champions League spot
As it stands the sixth-placed team, which is currently Bournemouth but could be Brighton & Hove Albion or Liverpool, will qualify for the Europa League.
However, the sixth-placed team would be upgraded to a Champions League spot if Aston Villa drop below Liverpool into fifth place in the final table on Sunday. This is because, as Europa League winners, Villa wouldn't need the European Performance Spot that is awarded to the fifth-placed team, so it would drop down to sixth.
See: How sixth place could get a Champions League spot
Thrilling battle for final two European places
The teams who finish seventh and eighth will qualify for the Europa League and UEFA Conference League respectively, and all of the clubs down to 10th place are still in contention for one of those spots.
Brighton and Chelsea currently occupy those positions, but the race is so close that Chelsea jumped three places into eighth place on Tuesday by beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-1.
Brentford and Sunderland can also still finish seventh or eighth and are within touching distance of Europe, with only two points separating seventh-placed Brighton from Sunderland in 10th.
Final fixtures
| MW38 | |
|---|---|
| Brighton | MUN (H) |
| Chelsea | SUN (A) |
| Brentford | LIV (A) |
| Sunderland | CHE (H) |
UEFA Europa League
Two Europa League places are awarded to English clubs.
One of them is set to go to the Premier League's sixth-placed team (with the caveat that sixth place would be upgraded to a Champions League spot if Villa finish fifth, as discussed above).
The other is initially given to the FA Cup winners, but Man City have won that competition and don't need the Europa League place (because they have qualified for the Champions League instead), so the Europa League spot will instead go to the team finishing seventh.
Crystal Palace, who are 15th, would also qualify for the Europa League as UEFA Conference League winners if they beat Rayo Vallecano in the final on 27 May.
UEFA Conference League
The team who finish eighth will qualify for the UEFA Conference League.
The Conference League place is initially awarded to the EFL Cup winners. But, just like the situation above with the FA Cup, Man City don't need the Conference League spot they earned for winning the EFL Cup, because they have qualified for the Champions League instead.
The Conference League place will therefore go to the highest-ranked team in the Premier League who have not already qualified for UEFA competitions.
With the top five teams qualifying for the Champions League, and the sixth and seventh-placed teams currently due to get a Europa League spot, the eighth-placed team will get the Conference League place.
The Final Day