Premier League European Qualification Explained: How Villa's Europa League Run Impacts Champions League Spots

Manchester City lifted the FA Cup with a 1-0 win over Chelsea at Wembley on Saturday - earning a place in the Europa League in the process.

But as City are guaranteed to qualify for the Champions League, the place in Europe for lifting the FA Cup will transfer to the Premier League.

Meanwhile, a host of Premier League clubs will be backing Aston Villa to win the Europa League - as it could yet secure Champions League qualification for whoever finishes sixth.

Villa will take on Freiburg in Istanbul on Wednesday - just four days before the final day of the league season in England.

Qualification for European competition has become pretty complicated in the past few seasons.

This has largely been caused by Uefa's new European Performance Spots (EPS).

These are the extra places in the Champions League given to the two leagues with the best overall record each season.

The Premier League has secured one of the two berths for 2026-27, with the Spanish La Liga claiming the other - just like last season.

It means there will be at least eight English teams in Europe next season.

With Villa, Arsenal and Crystal Palace all in a European final, what could this mean for the rest of the Premier League?

The logic of the EPS is simple. But other factors complicate matters.

It has two pillars: it is applied after all other considerations about domestic and European cup winners; it always provides one additional place to the overall allocation.

So England was set to have seven teams in Europe before securing an EPS - but now will have at least eight.

As it stands right now:

The top five will go into the Champions League

The teams finishing sixth and seventh will go into the Europa League

The team finishing eighth will go into the Conference League

The top five have pulled away in recent weeks, with the Arsenal (79 points), Manchester City (77), Manchester United (65) and Aston Villa (62 points) having booked their places in the Champions League.

Liverpool (59), who have played an extra game than those below them, are in fifth.

There is a four-point cushion to Bournemouth (55) in sixth place. Brighton (53) and Brentford (51) in seventh and eighth have the final European places.

Hoping to break into the top eight and qualify for Europe are Chelsea (49), Everton (49), Fulham (48) and Sunderland (48).

The first thing to remember is that the Europa League winners qualify for the Champions League.

If Villa win the Europa League and finish in the top four, then nothing changes in terms of England's European spots. There would still be five teams in the Champions League, and eight in Europe.

The place in the Champions League reserved for the Europa League titleholders would pass to the team in qualifying with the best Uefa coefficient.

As it stands, that could be Portugal's Sporting Lisbon.

If Villa finish outside the top four, the Premier League will have six teams in the Champions League:

The top four

Villa as Europa League winners

The EPS

Villa's precise final position would decide the Premier League's total European allocation.

If they finish fifth, the EPS passes to the Premier League's sixth-placed team.

And as we will know if Villa have won the Europa League ahead of the final day, it could presenta titanic battle to finish in sixth.

Right now, Villa sit in fourth but, if on the final day they lose at Manchester City, and Liverpool win at home to Brentford, then the Villans will finish fifth.

And that could potentially put sixth into the Champions League.

The Premier League would surrender a place in the Europa League. Overall, England would still have eight European places.