Despite a disappointing stalemate denting their top four hopes at the weekend, Manchester United may have gone another step closer to qualifying for Europe for next season.
The goalless draw with Watford has thrown their hopes of finishing fourth and securing a place in next season’s Champions League in serious doubt, with Arsenal just a couple of points behind and now with three games in hand.
And with the likes of West Ham, Tottenham and Wolves all still within touching distance, there is still the possibility United could miss out on qualifying for Europe altogether – although Liverpool may well have helped out on that front.
United’s great rivals lifted the first piece of major silverware this season on Sunday after beating Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final, with the showpiece event at Wembley ending in a dramatic penalty shootout as Kepa Arrizabalaga’s miss proved decisive.
Liverpool’s win means that, as winners of the cup, they’re entitled to a place in next season’s Europa Conference League.
Of course though, the Jurgen Klopp’s side already look well on course to qualify for the Champions League as they battle it out with Manchester City for the Premier League title.
That means that Conference League place will likely be handed to the next eligible team in the Premier League, while another European place could open up depending on who wins this season’s FA Cup.
Currently, the team finishing fifth will secure a place in next season’s Europa League, and should one of City, Liverpool, Chelsea, West Ham or Tottenham win at Wembley in May and finish inside the top five, an extra Europa League spot for the team finishing sixth will also open up.
That means the side finishing in seventh would then qualify for the Conference League, meaning European football is looking like a major likelihood for United next season in some form of guise.
There is, however, another variable that provides another twist in the race for European qualification.
With Leicester having gone through to the last-16 of the Europa Conference League, the Foxes are still in the hunt for a Europa League place for next season, despite being well off the pace in the Premier League.
Should Brendan Rodgers’ side win the inaugural competition, they would snatch one of the places reserved for next season’s Europa League, with England only allocated two teams in Europe’s second-tier club competition.
That means the Europa Conference League place would revert back to the side finishing in sixth, meaning finishing seventh, which remains a possibility for United, would result in no European football next season.
Having gone into this season with hopes of a potential title charge, United fans will hope they don’t suffer the ignominy of not even qualifying for one of the three continental competitions.
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