Premier League swaps: How Chelsea, Manchester United and Newcastle can qualify for Europe today

On the final day of the Premier League, Chelsea, Newcastle and Manchester United will battle it out to qualify for Europe.

Tottenham are guaranteed a top-six finish and either Chelsea or Newcastle will join them in the Europa League next season – depending on the outcome of the FA Cup final.

Man Utd go into today’s games in eighth place and can only reach the Europa Conference League via the league route, partly due to their inferior goal difference, with next weekend’s trip to Wembley determining whether they can rise to Europe’s second-tier competition.

So it’s all to play for and here we lay out the permutations for those sides who are still unsure whether they will play on Thursday nights in 2024-25.

How Chelsea can qualify for Europe

A brilliant run of form which has seen Chelsea win their last four games in a row has catapulted them up the table.

After finishing 11th back in March, Chelsea have now overtaken both Newcastle and Manchester United and are suddenly favorites to finish sixth.

If Chelsea win and Tottenham lose at Sheffield United, Chelsea will finish fifth and Tottenham sixth, confirming a Europa League place for Chelsea.

They need at least a point at home against Bournemouth to confirm sixth place – which would also be enough for the Europa League if Manchester United fail to win the FA Cup.

If they lose and Newcastle win at Brentford, Newcastle will finish sixth due to their superior goal difference and Chelsea will finish seventh. Chelsea will then have to rely on Manchester City winning the FA Cup to reach the Conference League.

How Newcastle can qualify for Europe

Newcastle have also bounced back from early season struggles to put themselves firmly in contention for Europe.

Having remained in 10th place after losing to Chelsea on March 11, they have won five of their last nine games, although Wednesday night’s 3-2 loss to Manchester United means they must get a result on the final day.

Newcastle need to improve on Man Utd’s result and hope that either Chelsea lose to Bournemouth or Manchester City win the FA Cup final.

If Chelsea lose and win, they will finish sixth and be guaranteed a place in either the Europa League or the Conference League.

Their superior goal difference to Man Utd means they can improve their result, finish seventh and reach the Conference League – but only if City win the cup.

If Newcastle fail to improve on the Red Devils’ result, they will finish eighth and out of the European qualification places regardless of what happens at Wembley.

How Man Utd can qualify for Europe

After sitting in sixth place all season, a poor end to the season saw Manchester United in danger of dropping out of Europe altogether.

Wednesday night’s win against Newcastle kept them in seventh place, although their poor goal difference means they will likely have to rely on winning the FA Cup to secure European qualification.

If Manchester United struggle at Brighton and fail to better Newcastle’s result, they will finish eighth, outside the European qualification places. They will then need to win the FA Cup final to qualify for the Europa League.

If they can get past Newcastle, they will be guaranteed a European place regardless of what happens in the FA Cup final. Should they finish seventh but lose the FA Cup final, they will qualify for the Conference League.

Their poor goal difference compared to Chelsea means a 16-goal turnaround will need to happen if they are to somehow wrest sixth place.