Revealed: How Chelsea could still qualify for the Champions League even if they finish 7th

UEFA have confirmed the possibility

The likes of Liverpool and Chelsea face a serious uphill battle to ensure they make it into the Premier League top four or even top five, to guarantee UCL qualification.

Following a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Brighton on Saturday, the Redmen are very lucky to still be a point ahead of the sixth-placed Blues, and two ahead of Brentford in seventh, after all three also dropped points over the weekend.

Chelsea fared even worse, losing 3-0 to Everton, who are now themselves just three points away from Liverpool in 5th place, summing up just how close fought the battle for European places.

Despite the setback for Liam Rosenior's side, who also crashed out of this season's Champions League at the hands of PSG last week, there is some good news on the horizon, both for Chelsea, and the many other English sides vying for a European campaign next year.

UEFA have confirmed to the Shield Gazette that it could be possible for as many as seven English teams to play in next season's Champions League, if a very specific set of results play out over the remainder of the season.

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As is already widely understood, the Premier League is almost certain to benefit from a 5th UCL spot this season, thanks to the strong performance of English sides across all three European competitions handing the league a commanding lead at the top of the UEFA co-efficient table, used to determine who deserves an extra qualifying place.

When this inevitably happens, the Europa League qualification spot would then move down to sixth, unless another complicated set of circumstances were to play out.

Aston Villa and Liverpool are amongst the favourites to win the UEFA tournaments they are currently competing within, and should they do so, it could upset the entire Premier League order.

Winning either of the Europa League or Champions League is another pathway to earning automatic Champions League qualification, meaning that Liverpool and Villa would not need to take up one of the Premier League's performance-based spots, allowing it to pass below them in the table.

Should Villa drop to 5th in the Premier League table and win the Europa League, the Premier League's extra spot would pass down to the team that finishes sixth, but if Liverpool and Villa both win the Champions and Europa Leagues respectively — whilst simultaneously finishing 5th and 6th— the Premier League's extra UCL spot would pass down to the team in 7th.

This complicated scenario has been confirmed by a spokesperson for UEFA, speaking to the Shield Gazette.

They said: "If Liverpool win the UEFA Champions League and finish 5th and Aston Villa win the UEFA Europa League and finish 6th, the EPS would be awarded to the seventh-ranked club in the EPL, in accordance with Article 3.08 and 3.09 of the competition regulations."