What Man City's FA Cup win means for Premier League places in Europe

Breaking news from the world of sport: What Man City's FA Cup win means for Premier League places in EuropeImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, The Premier League will have at least eight clubs in Europe next seasonByDale Johnson Football issues correspondentPublished11 minutes agoManchester City lifted the FA Cup with a 1-0 win over Chelsea at Wembley on Saturday - earning a place in the Europa League in the process. But as City are guaranteed to qualify for the Champions League, the place in Europe for lifting the FA Cup will transfer to the Premier League. Meanwhile, a host of Premier League clubs will be backing Aston Villa to win the Europa League - as it could yet secure Champions League qualification for whoever finishes sixth.

Villa will take on Freiburg in Istanbul on Wednesday - just four days before the final day of the league season in England. Qualification for European competition has become pretty complicated in the past few seasons. This has largely been caused by Uefa's new European Performance Spots (EPS).

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These are the extra places in the Champions League given to the two leagues with the best overall record each season. The Premier League has secured one of the two berths for 2026-27, with the Spanish La Liga claiming the other - just like last season. It means there will be at least eight English teams in Europe next season.

With Villa, Arsenal and Crystal Palace all in a European final, what could this mean for the rest of the Premier League? How the European places work and how they standThe logic of the EPS is simple. But other factors complicate matters.

It has two pillars: it is applied after all other considerations about domestic and European cup winners; it always provides one additional place to the overall allocation. So England was set to have seven teams in Europe before securing an EPS - but now will have at least eight. As it stands right now: The top five will go into the Champions LeagueThe teams finishing sixth and seventh will go into the Europa LeagueThe team finishing eighth will go into the Conference LeagueThe top five have pulled away in recent weeks, with the Arsenal (79 points), Manchester City (77), Manchester United (65) and Aston Villa (62 points) having booked their places in the Champions League.

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Liverpool (59), who have played an extra game than those below them, are in fifth. There is a four-point cushion to Bournemouth (55) in sixth place. Brighton (53) and Brentford (51) in seventh and eighth have the final European places.

Hoping to break into the top eight and qualify for Europe are Chelsea (49), Everton (49), Fulham (48) and Sunderland (48). What if Arsenal win the Champions League? Arsenal meet Paris St-Germain in the final of the Champions League on 30 May.

The Gunners are going to finish in the top four of the Premier League, so winning the Champions League cannot impact the allocation. The place reserved for the Champions League titleholders would pass to the league champions in qualifying with the best Uefa coefficient.

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