Crystal Palace will play European football next season after beating Manchester City to win the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
The Eagles will be in the Europa League alongside one other Premier League club as they return to the continental stage after 27 years away. Their last appearance came in 1998/99, when they entered, and very quickly exited, the Uefa Intertoto Cup.
Their qualification for Europe does have a knock-on effect in the league as it means eighth place will not be awarded with a spot in the Uefa Europa Conference League. It will instead go to seventh, which is currently occupied by Nottingham Forest.
That’s a blow Brentford, Brighton, Bournemouth and Fulham’s hopes of qualifying for Europe, but there is still a slim chance for them. If Chelsea win the Conference League while finishing sixth and Newcastle United finish seventh, or Chelsea finish seventh while winning the Conference League, that means the Premier League gets an extra Europa League spot. And the team in eighth would qualify for the Conference League.
The second Europa League spot will go to whichever team finishes sixth in the table. As it stands that would be beaten FA Cup finalists Man City.
Six teams from the Premier League will compete in the Uefa Champions League thanks to England’s strong coefficient score and Manchester United or Tottenham Hotspur‘s progression to the Europa League final.
The top five in the final Premier League table will qualify alongside the winners of the final on 21 May. Liverpool have already qualified for the as champions, while Arsenal need just more win to guarantee their spot. Newcastle, Chelsea and Aston Villa currently occupy the final three spots.
Premier League’s European places as it stands
Champions League: Liverpool, Arsenal, Newcastle United, Chelsea, Aston Villa (plus Man Utd or Spurs)
Europa League: Manchester City, Crystal Palace
Europa Conference League: Nottingham Forest
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