Premier League: Does sixth place qualify for Europa League?

The final day of the 2023/24 Premier League season threw up a fair amount of drama as teams contested the title, European places and relegation.

The Champions League qualifiers had long been decided bar Aston Villa, who secured a top-four berth after Tottenham Hotspur's defeat to Manchester City several days before the final matches. That left Spurs battling for fifth place, with the likes of Chelsea, Newcastle United and Manchester United all hopeful of sealing their spots in either the Europa League or Conference League.

While sixth is usually enough to guarantee Europa League football, Man Utd's FA Cup final victory over Man City has changed things dramatically.

Does sixth place in the Premier League qualify for Europa League?

Usually, sixth place is a Europa League position in the Premier League. Chelsea finished there after a fine late season run of form, yet they will not play in Europe's second most prestigious competition next term as things stand.

Instead, Man Utd will play in next season's Europa League after beating rivals Man City 2-1 in the FA Cup final a week after the Premier League's conclusion. The winners of the FA Cup automatically qualify for the competition, regardless of where they finished in the league.

As a result, Chelsea will have to settle for a Europa Conference League spot, while Newcastle United - who finished seventh in the league - will no longer play in the Europa Conference League after Man Utd's cup triumph. The Magpies have now missed out on Europe entirely.

However, things could yet change with Man Utd's participation in the 2024/25 Europa League in jeopardy. The club's co-owners INEOS also own French club Nice, who have qualified for the competition as well. This conflicts with UEFA rules and as a result, the Red Devils could be demoted to the Europa Conference League - although a solution is likely to be found to allow Man Utd to feature in the Europa League.

Which teams have qualified for Europe?

Manchester City ended up claiming the Premier League title ahead of Arsenal on the final day of the season, with Liverpool falling out of contention around a month or so before the climax.

They all qualified for the Champions League alongside Aston Villa, who enjoyed a remarkable campaign under Unai Emery and ended up pipping Tottenham to a top-four place.

Spurs secured Europa League after coming fifth and will now be joined by FA Cup winners Man Utd despite their eighth place finish. Chelsea will play in next season's Europa Conference League, with Newcastle no longer featuring in Europe.

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