Will we qualify for the CL?

[eye digress]

Hard to see how Amorim remains at the helm of ManYoo, given yesterday's apparent threat to work to rule.

Our rivals are falling apart.

[Rigadon]

You mean Arsenals rivals

[TelfordVilla]

Can someone please confirm what happens if we win the Europa and finish on the top 5? Does the spawny 6th place club get Champions League?

[LeeB]

Looking better with each passing week.

70 would be guaranteed.

67 enough if 5th.

Good that other than Arsenal the others have to go hard on next 2 games in ECL to get top 8. 

The year Leicester won the league, they could have won it with 72 points (they got 81 in the end).  I think 80 points is not entirely beyond us, and then who knows...?

That did require the team in second to lose seven matches and draw eleven across the season though - a similar scenario would mean Arsenal would only win another five matches between now and May.

The funniest thing about that season was Tottenham coming 3rd in a two horse race.

[Dave]

Can someone please confirm what happens if we win the Europa and finish on the top 5? Does the spawny 6th place club get Champions League?

Nope, goes elsewhere in Europe. Needs the winner to not qualify via the league for there to be a sixth.

Last time I saw reference to it, it would have gone to the third-placed team in Portugal.

[cdbearsfan]

I think 6th qualifies for Champions League if England gets extra place but only if Europa League winner finishes exactly fifth. This was widely reported when Atalanta were in Europa Final a couple of years ago. They eventually finished fourth so it didn't happen.

Edit: mentioned below.

https://www.espn.co.uk/football/story/_/id/40224810/lookman-scores-again-europa-league-champion-atalanta-beats-torino-3-0-roma-qualify-cl

[Dave]

I think 6th qualifies for Champions League if England gets extra place but only if Europa League winner finishes exactly fifth. This was widely reported when Atalanta were in Europa Final a couple of years ago. They eventually finished fourth so it didn't happen.

Edit: mentioned below.

https://www.espn.co.uk/football/story/_/id/40224810/lookman-scores-again-europa-league-champion-atalanta-beats-torino-3-0-roma-qualify-cl

With the Atalanta example, UEFA themselves said this:

What if the winners also qualify via their domestic league?

Under the 2024-27 club competition format, if the Europa League winners were to qualify directly for the league phase of the Champions League via their domestic league, then the club with the best individual coefficient of all the teams in Champions League qualifying (champions path and league path) goes directly through to the league phase.

However, no leapfrogging is permitted here, meaning a team from the league path could only move up to the league phase provided that this club is the highest ranked domestically of those from its association that have not already qualified for the league phase of the competition directly. If this is not the case, the automatic league phase place would go to the club with the next best coefficient.

https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/news/0275-152ea803235f-f90ebb18192d-1000--do-uefa-europa-league-winners-atalanta-automatically-quali/

[cdbearsfan]

There is an exception if the club finishes in the "extra" place as the two extra places cannot be passed onto another league.

[algy]

There is an exception if the club finishes in the "extra" place as the two extra places cannot be passed onto another league.

Yep - essentially the priority that places are assigned is:


1. CL Places awarded via UEFA multi-season coefficient (for England, top 4) - transferrable (but not really because they're awarded first)

2. Champions League places awarded to previous Champions League and Europa League winners - non-transferrable

3. CL Places awarded via UEFA single-season coefficient (which makes up the  5th spot) - transferrable

4. Europa League places awarded for multi-season coefficient (for England, 5th place in league + FA Cup winner) - transferrable

5. Europa League places awarded for previous Conference League winners - non-transferrable

6. Conference League places awarded for multi-season coefficient (for england, League Cup winner) - transferrable

Essentially places awarded via coefficients can be given to other clubs, places awarded via winning European competitions cannot.

What this means in short is that ...

- The Top 4 always qualify for the Champions League.

- The Champions League & Europa League winners *always* qualify for the Champions League, but their places can't be transferred so if they finish in the top 4, they're lost.  As of such, from a maximising places perspective the best outcome is they finish 5th & 6th.  It doesn't matter in which order.

- The 'extra' place then gets awarded.  As 5th & 6th have already qualified, it drops down to 7th place.

- The Europa League places then get awarded, but are transferrable.  So ideally the FA Cup winner finishes in the top 7, which gives 2 places to the league.  8th & 9th qualify for the Europa League

- Then, if the Conference League winner finishes exactly 10th (so doesn't qualify via the league or the FA Cup), they also go in to the Europa League

- Finally, the last Conference League place is transferrable, so as long as the League Cup winners finish in the top half of the table, the Conference League place goes to the team that finishes 11th.

1st-7th are in the Champions League, 8th, 9th, & 10th in the Europa League, and 11th in the Conference League.

[cdbearsfan]

Conference League winner goes in the Europa League, surely? Sure I vaguely remember them saying last year that if Chelsea had won Conference League and finished in England's Conference League spot, then that place wouldn't be passed down and England would have just had no team in Conference League this season.

[tomd2103]

Hard to see how Amorim remains at the helm of ManYoo, given yesterday's apparent threat to work to rule.

Our rivals are falling apart.

It would seem that way.  Golden opportunity to secure Champions League football again.

[TelfordVilla]

Can someone please confirm what happens if we win the Europa and finish on the top 5? Does the spawny 6th place club get Champions League?

Nope, goes elsewhere in Europe. Needs the winner to not qualify via the league for there to be a sixth.

Last time I saw reference to it, it would have gone to the third-placed team in Portugal.

Excellent news. Thanks for clarifying

[dorsetvillian]

We are in a great position. Hope we can avoid injuries to key players. We do have away games at Newcastle, Wolves, City and Utd. So on the basis we were happy with a point at Palace, we will need our brilliant home form to continue.

[Olof's Beard]

I am sure the second half of the season will be more challenging especially if we reach the latter stages in Europe but 8 wins, 3 draws and 6 losses gets us 70 points and that's upper mid table form really. Should be the first target, something we haven't done for 33 years and a virtual guarantee of top 4 unless some of those beneath us go on crazy runs.

[Skipper_The_Eyechild]

I absolutely don't see 3 teams going on such a run to overtake a 9,10,11 point deficit. One? Yeah, maybe. 2? Possible but unlikely. 3, nah, not having it.