Chelsea require Aston Villa Europa League win to secure Champions League
Chelsea retain a complex but viable route to next season’s Champions League by finishing sixth in the Premier League, provided Aston Villa win the Europa League and finish exactly fifth.
The West London club suffered their fourth consecutive league defeat over the weekend after losing 1-0 to Manchester United at Stamford Bridge.
That setback, combined with dramatic stoppage-time victories for both Liverpool and Aston Villa, leaves Liam Rosenior’s side severely trailing in the race for Europe.
The Blues are now seven points adrift of the fifth-placed Merseyside outfit and ten points behind the automatic qualification spots.
UEFA performance spots explained
England is set to secure an extra place in Europe’s elite tournament by topping UEFA’s European Performance Spots (EPS) for a second successive campaign.
This system rewards the two domestic leagues boasting the best overall record across all three continental competitions each season.
Consequently, the top five teams in the English top flight are virtually guaranteed a place in next year’s premier cup competition.
The intricate path to sixth place
For the current sixth-placed side to qualify, they must rely entirely on the European success of the Midlands club currently sitting above them.
Aston Villa are scheduled to face Nottingham Forest in a two-legged Europa League semi-final starting later this month.
If the Villans lift that trophy while finishing exactly fifth domestically, they will enter the Champions League as titleholders rather than via their league position.
This specific scenario would cause the EPS allocation to roll down to the team finishing in sixth place.
Tight race for European football
Securing sixth place itself remains a formidable challenge for a team struggling with poor recent domestic form.
Brentford and Bournemouth sit level on points with the Stamford Bridge outfit, while Brighton, Everton, Sunderland, and Fulham remain in close pursuit.
Furthermore, the Londoners will need Liverpool to collect maximum points to overtake Villa in the standings and ensure the Birmingham club drops to fifth.
A pivotal encounter in this qualification puzzle awaits on 9 May when Chelsea host their top-five rivals.
