The battle for sixth... and why teams might need to lose on final day

Breaking news from the world of sport: The battle for sixth... and why teams might need to lose on final day Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Junior Kroupi scored Bournemouth's second goal in their 3-0 win against Crystal Palace on Sunday By Emlyn Begley Sport journalist Published 11 minutes ago Bournemouth have claimed the edge in the battle for sixth place in the Premier League - and what could be the strangest Champions League spot yet. The in-form Cherries' 3-0 win over Crystal Palace helped them overtake Brentford into that position.

Even more remarkably there might be teams on the final day who might need to LOSE to end up in the Champions League. At the very least sixth will earn a Europa League place - with some of the contenders having never qualified for Europe before. Sport looks into what this all means.

Match Details

How could sixth qualify for Champions League? Both elements needed for sixth place to be a Champions League spot seem quite plausible. Aston Villa would need to finish in fifth spot exactly (where they currently reside) and win the Europa League.

They trail Nottingham Forest 1-0 after the semi-final first leg, but are at home for Thursday's return leg. This scenario will only play out if Villa finish fifth - and not in the top four (or below fifth) - because of a quirk in Uefa's rules. The Premier League landed a fifth Champions League place because of English teams' performances in Europe - something called the European Performance Spot (EPS).

In short, when it comes to dishing out European spots, Uefa goes by domestic positions and who won the European trophies first, before factoring in the EPS. So if Villa win the Europa League and finish fifth, that EPS spot would be passed down to the team in sixth - who would qualify for the Champions League. However, if Villa finish in the top four then winning the Europa League would make no difference to any other English teams.

Reactions and Expectations

In this situation the sixth-placed finisher would qualify for the Europa League. Who is battling for sixth spot? With Aston Villa six points clear in fifth spot, sixth appears to be the highest any of the other teams could finish.

At the moment Bournemouth are on 52 points, one point clear of Brentford , who are in turn one point above Brighton . Bournemouth and Brentford have never played in any European competition before, while Brighton 's only Uefa campaign was in the 2023-24 Europa League. Chelsea are four points behind the Cherries, but have a game in hand against Nottingham Forest on Monday.

Fulham are level on points with Chelsea . Everton - who have a game in hand against Manchester City - and Sunderland are on 47 points, so just about in the race. Newcastle , Crystal Palace and Leeds could still mathematically - but not realistically - qualify for the Champions League.

The story has climbed to the top of the sports agenda, with fans and analysts following closely.