What would Crystal Palace winning Conference League mean for English clubs in Europe?

There will be nine Premier League clubs in Uefa's three club competitions next season if Crystal Palace win Wednesday's Conference League final.

Oliver Glasner's side face Spanish outfit Rayo Vallecano at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig, with the winner booking a place in next season's Europa League.

With Palace guaranteed to finish outside of the Premier League's top eight this season and eight clubs already getting places across the three competitions, Palace would increase that number to nine.

The Europa League has two designated spots for English clubs. In theory, this is meant to be for the team finishing fifth in the Premier League this season and the winners of the FA Cup. However, this is now at sixth and seventh but again, could change.

Because England won one of two Elite Performance Spots (EPS) for the performance of their clubs in European competitions this season, at least five English teams will enter the Champions League this season.

On top of that, second-place Manchester City were the winners of the FA Cup. Because they had already qualified for the Champions League, that freed up another place.

At present, sixth and seventh place will qualify for the Europa League. This will only change on the final day of the Premier League season if Aston Villa, who won this season's Europa League final on Wednesday, drop down to fifth in the table.

In that scenario, sixth place would also qualify for the Champions League, and only seventh would earn a place in the Europa League based on Premier League results.

Palace's result does not change what happens to Premier League teams in Europe. All a win would mean is that there is effectively a bonus English club in the competition, taking the place of the Conference League title holders instead of one of England's qualification places.

Regardless of how the Premier League season ends, Palace will qualify for the league phase of next season's Europa League with a win over Rayo Vallecano.

For winning the FA Cup for the first time last season, Palace did actually earn qualification for this season's Europa League. They were however later demoted to the Conference League due to a breach in multi-club ownership rules.

Get in touch

Send us your questions

Which clubs would qualify for each competition if Crystal Palace win Conference League?

Crystal Palace's players celebrate

Image caption, Crystal Palace are one game away from winning their first ever European trophy

If Aston Villa finish fourth in the Premier League

Top five enter Champions League's league phase

Sixth, seventh and Crystal Palace enter Europa League's league phase

Eighth enter Conference League's play-off qualifying round

If Aston Villa finish fifth in the Premier League

Top six enter Champions League's league phase

Seventh and Crystal Palace enter Europa League's league phase

Eighth enter Conference League's play-off qualifying round