Crystal Palace’s legendary Conference League win could cost the Premier League an additional Champions League spot from next season onwards. The Eagles defeated Rayo Vallecano 1-0 in Wednesday’s final, capping Oliver Glasner’s historic spell in south London with a third trophy and first European title.
With the nine teams qualifying for next season’s European football, the coefficient formula used to calculate European wins will be changed. According to the regulations, all wins are valued at 2 factor points, draws are valued at 1 point, and this total is divided by the number of clubs that the opposing team’s country has in Europe.
This means that a win for the England side will divide the points accumulated for each win or draw next season by nine, meaning that a win will be valued at just 0.222 points against the country’s coefficient. This is less than the number that Serie A and Bundesliga clubs accumulate to win (0.285), as there will be seven teams in Europe for Serie A and Bundesliga clubs next season.
Given the lack of European pedigree, the possibility of losing additional spots could also be in jeopardy depending on how far the likes of Bournemouth and Sunderland can improve in their respective competitions. Brighton’s inclusion in the Conference League could also hurt England’s reputation, with all three clubs facing tougher group stage draws as lower seeded teams. Their poor performance could reduce England’s overall points coefficient if they are eliminated from European competition early.
Realistically, this means that at least three English clubs need to reach the semi-final or final stages across the three competitions. England sides have the chance to accumulate bonus points through the European league phase format, depending on their respective league table positions.
You can earn up to 12 bonus points for finishing first in the Champions League, six points for finishing first in the Europa League and four points for finishing first in the Conference League. Additional points are also awarded for each knockout round that a team progresses through, ranging from 1.5 points per round in the Champions League to 0.5 points in the Conference League.
Liverpool finished fifth, further securing a spot in next season’s Champions League, with Arsenal, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace each qualifying for the European finals.
