Europa League permutations may bring real drama

With the Europa League back in full swing on last night, both Manchester United’s Louis van Gaal and Liverpool’s Jürgen Klopp have highlighted the competition as the likeliest way for their sides to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

But what happens if the improbable-but-not-impossible occurs and Guus Hiddink’s Chelsea win the Champions League and with it a qualifying spot for next season’s competition? Would a Europa League-winning Manchester United miss out? Would England have six sides in the Champions League?

The answer is no, and that would be bad news for the side finishing fourth in the Premier League.

The number of Champions League sides from a single country is capped at five and wins in the continental competitions take precedence over fourth spot in the domestic league.

So should Chelsea (or Manchester City should they slip further in the table) lift the European Cup and Manchester United or Liverpool (or, potentially, Tottenham should they suffer a horrendous late-season collapse in league form) lift the Uefa Cup but finish outside the top four in the Premier League, then the team finishing fourth would qualify instead for the Europa League.

With the Premier League finishing on May 15th and the Champions League final not until May 28th, it raises the tantalising prospect of Pep Guardiola's Bayern Munich needing to beat Chelsea in the final in order to secure his new team's place in the competition for 2016/'17.

Certainly there’s a chance that the fourth-placed Premier League side – be it Manchester City, Leicester City, Tottenham or whoever – could have a vested interest in the outcomes of the two European finals on May 18th and 28th. Guardian Service