There is another round of Premier League fixtures, with most teams having completed 35 rounds of fixtures, with Chelsea vs Tottenham and Luton Town vs Everton refills in midweek. As the season draws to a close, the situation of the championship and the qualification for the three major European cups is gradually becoming clearer.
With only one win in the last 5 games, Liverpool suddenly fell into a slump, falling behind first, leaving the stage of the championship, and the outside world can only see the lost figure of the player. At the same time, the situation of the Premier League title has changed from "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" to "two people turning", Arsenal is one point ahead of Manchester City, who have one game less, and the two teams will decide the ownership of the Premier League title this season after the last three games. Liverpool, who fell behind, may end up in third place in the league, and Klopp cannot achieve a second Premier League title, so he can only use a League Cup title to bid farewell to the team he has been in charge for many years.
The competition for the championship belongs to the two teams, and there is still a certain amount of suspense in the qualification for the three major European cups. With the Premier League barely able to overtake the Bundesliga, four Champions League spots remain in place next season, with Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur in the top three in contention for the final Champions League qualification. Villado are currently seven points clear of Tottenham in two games, but with Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City still in their hands on three strong rivals, it is clear that Villa will have a better chance of qualifying for the Champions League, and Spurs may only be able to qualify for next season's Europa League.
According to the rules, fifth place in the Premier League qualifies for the Europa League, and the winner of the League Cup earns a place in the Europa League, which will be extended to the team with the highest Premier League table if Liverpool win the title. The FA Cup winner can qualify for a Europa League, and the two teams that reach the final, since Manchester City have already confirmed their participation in the Champions League, if they beat Manchester United to win the title, the Europa League qualification will be postponed to the league, otherwise it belongs to Manchester United.
So, if Manchester United win the FA Cup, sixth place in the Premier League will play in the UEFA Europa League, and if Manchester United cannot win the title, sixth place in the Premier League will play in the Europa League and seventh place will play in the Europa League. Judging from the Premier League standings, the top five teams seem to have constructed a "ceiling", and the teams starting from the sixth place are basically unable to catch up with the fifth-place Tottenham Hotspur.
With ninth-placed Chelsea (48 points) having played two games less, it will be difficult for teams behind eighth-placed West Ham (49 points) and 10th-placed Bournemouth (48 points) to compete for European qualification. Manchester United (54 points), Newcastle United (53) and Chelsea will be battling it out for the remaining Europa League and UEFA Europa League places. Although Chelsea are temporarily behind, there is still a game between Manchester United and Newcastle and Chelsea are not completely out of hope.
Interestingly, for Manchester United, if they finish sixth, they will definitely be able to participate in the Europa League, but for Chelsea, it is not necessarily, depending on whether United can lift the FA Cup. This season, Chelsea, who do not have a European mission, has not performed well, and there is no so-called "bonus" of a loose schedule, so even the Europa League or the Europa Conference League is not an optional event for the big teams, at least it is a European champion.
Moreover, after the rules change next season, the Champions League team will not fall into the Europa League again, and if Manchester United or Chelsea can enter the two European minor cups, they will definitely be the favourites to win the title, and the chances of winning the title will become quite high.