Idman.biz
Today's Europa League final in Istanbul could affect not only the fate of "Aston Villa" and "Freiburg," but also the distribution of Champions League spots for next season.
Idman.Biz reports that, according to UEFA regulations, the Europa League winner directly qualifies for the Champions League group stage. However, the situation with "Aston Villa" is more complicated. The English club is already in a zone to qualify for the main European competition through the Premier League.
Currently, "Aston Villa" is fourth in the Premier League with 62 points, followed by "Liverpool" with 59 points. With a better goal difference, the Merseyside team has a chance to overtake Unai Emery's team in the final round.
Precisely "Aston Villa"'s final position will determine who gets England's additional fifth spot. The key point here is that the spot given to the Europa League winner and the additional quota earned by England's successful performance in European competitions are distributed through different mechanisms.
If "Aston Villa" wins the Europa League and finishes fourth in the Premier League, the club will already be considered a Champions League participant through the championship. In this case, the spot intended for the Europa League winner will remain vacant and will be given not to the sixth team of the Premier League, but to the club with the highest coefficient among the Champions League qualifying stage participants. Currently, this club is "Sporting" Lisbon.
In addition, the fifth team of the Premier League will also qualify for the Champions League. This spot is given due to the European Performance Spot - an additional quota earned by England's overall performance in European competitions. That is, if "Aston Villa" finishes the season in fourth place, England will be represented by five clubs in the Champions League.
A completely different situation will arise if "Aston Villa" wins the Europa League but drops to fifth place after the final round. In this case, the Birmingham team will advance to the Champions League as the Europa League winner, and the additional quota earned by England's seasonal rating will not be "burned" and will go to the next team in the Premier League. That is why, in such a scenario, the sixth place in the English championship will also give a ticket to the Champions League.
Currently, the main candidate for this position is "Bournemouth." However, theoretically, "Brighton" also has a chance. Therefore, the Europa League final is also of particular importance for these clubs. Against the background of certain results, "Aston Villa"'s victory could open the way to the Champions League for one of them.
If "Freiburg" wins the final, the situation will be simpler. The German club will directly qualify for the Champions League as the Europa League winner, and the sixth place in the English championship will not give a ticket to the main European competition.
Thus, the Europa League final is not only a fight for the cup in Istanbul. Behind one match lies a more complex intrigue related to Champions League spots. And the fate of the additional spot for English clubs depends not only on "Aston Villa"'s victory, but also on which place Unai Emery's team will finish in the Premier League.
