How FA Cup final result will impact Premier League’s European places

Oliver Glasner can guide Crystal Palace into the Europa League with a win over Manchester City today – and deny a host of Premier League rivals hoping to finish eighth

Today’s FA Cup final is set to have a huge impact on next season’s European places with those in the race for eight place in the Premier League hoping Manchester City can defeat Crustal Palace at Wembley.

While five Champions League spots are already guaranteed, a victory for Pep Guardiola’s team would see eighth place qualify for the UEFA Conference League – once City secure a top six finish in the Premier League.

That is because the Europa League spot awarded for winning the Cup moves to the next highest placed team in the league not to have qualified via that route.

And entering this weekend’s league action four teams – Brentford, Brighton, Bournemouth and Fulham – are in a battle to seal fourth position.

READ MORE: FA Cup Final prize money as Crystal Palace and Man City face Wembley showdownREAD MORE: Man Utd and Spurs’ rearranged Premier League games break promise made by FA

A City win could also end up being music to the ears of Chelsea, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest fans because one from those three are likely to end up in seventh position.

Should Palace be triumphant at Wembley that would end up as the Conference League spot rather than a Europa League qualifier if City come out on top.

The winners of the FA Cup stand to make a little less than £4m in prize money – but their participation in the Europa League next season makes it a far more lucrative prize than initially thought.

On Sunday Brentford will look to secure a fifth win in a row for the first time as a Premier League club and knock Fulham out of contention for eighth – although they will already know whether finishing there will open the doors to a European tour.

Chelsea and Aston Villa, both in the hunt for a Champions League place, will play before the Cup final on account of their respective opponents Manchester United and Tottenham being given equal rest ahead of next week’s Europa League final in Bilbao.

While United and Spurs are closer to the bottom three than the top three in the Premier League, the winner will also enter next season’s Champions League, meaning six teams competing in the competition from England.

In total that means nine teams from the Premier League will begin next season in European action.

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