Champions League qualification: Liverpool face test of nerve

Next season's Champions League could feature five teams from the Premier League if Liverpool beat Sevilla in the final of the Europa League.

Jurgen Klopp's side will earn an additional place in Europe's premier club competition if they win in Basel, joining the top four finishers in the Premier League.

And that equation leaves Arsenal, Manchester City, West Ham and Manchester United fighting over the two undecided spots.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"Leicester, as champions, are already guaranteed their spot among the top seeds in next season's Champions League, while Tottenham are guaranteed at least fourth place [in the league]," says the Daily Mail.

The Gunners can guarantee third place if they beat Man City on Sunday, a result that would also leave United and West Ham within striking distance of the Sky Blues.

Things would have been very different - and far more confused - had City not failed in their bid this week to make it to the final of the Champions League, where victory would have given them a place in next year's tournament regardless of their league position.

"Countries are permitted a maximum of five teams in the competition and a potential City and Liverpool European double would have kicked United into the Europa League if they finished fourth," explains the Manchester Evening News.

"Should Sevilla beat Liverpool, then just four English clubs will play Champions League football next season."

If Liverpool lose, then, for the second season in a row, it will be Spain with five teams in the Champions League.

The stakes are high for the Reds as their chances of qualifying for Europe via the league are almost dead. Defeat to Sevilla will deny them any form of European football next season.

Although they made it to the final of the Capital One Cup, where they lost to Man City, the losers are no longer able to qualify for the Europa League if the winners qualify for the Champions League, as the spare Europa spot is decided on league position.