Everything Aston Villa fans need to know about European qualification including Champions League chances

Aston Villa supporters will be dreaming of a European adventure next season after their incredible turn around in form since the arrival of Unai Emery.

The former Arsenal head coach has Villa currently sitting sixth in the Premier League table and finishing there would currently be enough to guarantee them group stage football in one of UEFA’s three competitions next season. The rules for how qualification to these competitions work are somewhat complicated and there is still the chance that the Midlands club could end up playing in any of the tournaments, including the Champions League, or miss out on European football altogether. Here is how Villa could find themselves in each of the three competitions next season:

UEFA Europa Conference League

England’s UECL group stage place is awarded, in the first instance, to the team that wins the EFL (Carabao) Cup. However, if the team who wins this competition also finishes in the top five of the Premier League then the place is awarded to the next highest ranked side in the Premier League.

With Manchester United winning the EFL Cup and highly likely to finish in the top five, that means that sixth place would be enough to guarantee a spot in the UECL next season. However, Aston Villa fans will hope to at least qualify for the next competition, which is a strong possibility...

UEFA Europa League

At present, this is the competition Aston Villa will realistically be targeting a place in next season. In the first instance they can do this by finishing fifth in the Premier League which guarantees a group stage place. However, a second UEL group stage place is awarded to England and that is to the FA Cup winners.

Manchester City face Sheffield United and Manchester United take on Brighton in the two FA Cup semi-finals this weekend and those matches could have major implications in the race for European football. If the FA Cup winners finish in the top five of the Premier League then their UEL place is awarded to the next highest ranked Premier League side.

This is where things get a bit complicated but, if Manchester City or Manchester United win the competition and both finish in the top five, then the team who finishes sixth would be awarded a place in the UEL and team who finishes seventh a place in the UECL. If Brighton win the FA Cup that could create another scenario as the Seagulls can also finish in the top six. In a scenario where Roberto Zebri’s side finish sixth and Villa seventh then an FA Cup win for Brighton would mean that Villa enter the UECL group stage. However, if Villa finish sixth and Brighton seventh but Birghton win the FA Cup then the Seagulls would play in the UEL and Villa in the UECL.

There is also the matter of West Ham United who could win this season’s UECL and will not finish in the top five. If this happens the Hammers are awarded an additional UEL place with no impact on any other English club.

UEFA Champions League

A maximum of five Premier League teams are eligible to play in the Champions League each season although that does not mean that Villa could qualify for the elite level competition by finishing fifth in the table. First of all, the top four are guaranteed qualification to the UCL. The only way a fifth English club can also qualify for the UCL is by winning the competition itself or the UEL the previous season while also finishing outside of the top four.

There is a scenario where even the team who finished fourth in the Premier League could miss out on the UCL if English club’s won both the UCL and UEL but neigher finished in the top four - however that is highly unlikely this season with only Manchester City still in the UCL and Manchester United still in the UEL.