More details on the teams battling for places in UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Conference League

The race for Europe is heading for a thrilling finale, with more than half of the 20 Premier League clubs battling for places in three European competitions, and a host of key head-to-heads taking place this weekend.

With the top five teams set to qualify for the UEFA Champions League, and the European places as a result set to go down to seventh place, there is all to play for.

Just 10 points separate the nine teams who are currently ranked fifth to 14th, from Liverpool all the way down to Newcastle United.

Race for Europe

Champions League spots

Usually, at the end of each season, the top four teams in the Premier League table qualify for the next season's UEFA Champions League - Europe's elite club competition.

But this season the Premier League is set to earn a fifth Champions League spot - as it did last season for the first time.

This is because England (i.e. the Premier League) will again claim one of two additional spots available through UEFA’s coefficient table, which measures how clubs from each country perform as a collective across European competitions.

Arsenal will return to the Champions League next season as they are guaranteed a top-five finish, and Manchester City are close to securing the same as they are 16 points clear of sixth-placed Chelsea after beating them last weekend.

Third-placed Manchester United and fourth-placed Aston Villa both have seven-point cushions above sixth spot. Man Utd visit Chelsea in a huge match on Saturday.

Liverpool are holding the final, fifth Champions League spot, sitting four points ahead of Chelsea. In another key match this weekend, the Reds visit Merseyside rivals Everton, who sit just one point behind Chelsea.

Brentford, Brighton & Hove Albion and Sunderland also remain in contention - and Sunderland visit Aston Villa this weekend.

UEFA Europa League

Two Europa League places are given to English clubs.

One is given to the FA Cup winners. The other is set to go to the Premier League's sixth-placed team, with the top five clubs qualifying for the Champions League, as above.

It means there is plenty at stake for the teams who are chasing Liverpool and Chelsea and don't regularly earn European qualification.

For example, seventh-placed Brentford have never been in Europe, and eighth-placed Everton were last involved in European competition six years ago, in 2017/18.

Significantly this weekend, there is just a three-point gap between the teams for both Brentford v Fulham and Newcastle United v AFC Bournemouth.

UEFA Conference League

Man City won the EFL Cup in March, but as it stands, they won't need the Conference League spot that goes to the winners of that competition. That is because they are on course to qualify for a better European competition - the Champions League or Europa League - through their final Premier League position.

In that case, the Conference League place would go to the next-highest ranked team below who have not qualified for UEFA competitions in the Premier League.

With the top five teams set to qualify for the Champions League, the sixth-placed team would get a Europa League spot, and the seventh-placed team would get a Conference League place. (Premier League)

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