Bournemouth have claimed the edge in the battle for sixth place in the Premier League – and what could be the strangest Champions League spot yet.
The in-form Cherries' 3-0 win over Crystal Palace helped them overtake Brentford into that position.
Sixth will earn a Europa League place at the very least, with some of the contenders having never qualified for Europe before.
However, both elements needed for sixth place to become a Champions League spot seem quite plausible.
Aston Villa would need to finish in fifth, exactly where they currently reside, and win the Europa League. They trail Nottingham Forest 1-0 after the semi-final first leg, but they are at home for Thursday’s return leg.
This scenario will only play out if Villa finish fifth – and not in the top four or below fifth – because of a quirk in Uefa's rules.
The Premier League landed a fifth Champions League place because of the English teams' performances in Europe – something called the European Performance Spot (EPS).
So if Villa win the Europa League and finish fifth, that EPS spot would be passed down to the team in sixth, who would qualify for the Champions League.
However if Villa finish in the top four, winning the Europa League would make no difference to any other English team and the sixth-placed finisher would qualify for the Europa League.
With Aston Villa six points clear in fifth, sixth place appears to be the highest any of the other teams could finish.
At the moment, Bournemouth are on 52 points – one point clear of Brentford, who are one point above Brighton.
The Cherries and the Bees have never played in European competition before, while the Seagulls' only Uefa campaign was in the 2023-24 Europa League.
Chelsea are four points behind Bournemouth, but they have a game in hand against Forest.
Fulham are level on points with Chelsea. Everton, who have a game in hand against Manchester City, and Sunderland are on 47 points – so they are just about in the race.
Newcastle, Crystal Palace and Leeds could still mathematically – but not so realistically – qualify for the Champions League.
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