How Crystal Palace vs Man City FA Cup 2025 Result Will Affect Champions League and Europa League Qualification Scenario in Premier League?
Crystal Palace have a date with history as they prepare to face Manchester City in the English FA Cup final on May 17. Ahead of Crystal Palace is a chance to lift a major trophy in English football for the first time in its 120-year history and a shot at European football for the 2025-26 season. The new rule will allow the FA Cup winners to do so.
Winners of the FA Cup qualify for the Europa League, and with Crystal Palace lying 12th on the log with 49 points, their best bet lies in the FA Cup. But they face a Pep Guardiola and Man City desperate for some silverware after a lacklustre season which has seen them fall way below expectations in all competitions bar the FA Cup.
An 8th FA Cup triumph for Manchester City along with a top five finish-which is champions league football- would mean the slot for Europa League football next season lies with the teams who finish 6th and 7th on the log, Right now though both positions are currently occupied by Manchester City (6th) and Nottingham Forest(7th).
How FA Cup 2025 Result Affect the Champions League and Europa League Qualification Scenario in the Premier League?
Ahead of the 2025-26 season, the winners of the FA Cup and the team that finishes 6th on the log qualify for next season’s Europa League. A win for Crystal Palace will qualify the London club directly to the Europa League, it also means the other Europa League slot rests with the team that finishes 6th on the log, which is currently Manchester City.
Also Read: Eight Premier League Teams Battle For Possible Five Champions League Spot Next season After Wild Game 36.
There are sides between the 8th and 10th who would love for Crystal Palace to lose as it brightens their chance of European football for next season.
A win for Manchester City in the FA Cup final and along with a top five finish plus Newcastle (who already claimed a Europa Conference League slot via EFL Carabao Cup) finishing in the top 6 positions means the Europa Conference League slot will be handed down to the team in 8th which in this moment is Brentford with 55 points but with Brighton(55) Bournemouth(53) and Fulham(51) hot on its heels it’s anybody’s guess who takes it.
A Palace win will seriously dent those aspirations.
One Key Thing to Observe with Chesea
European title winners get a place in Europe, but if they finish in a Premier League spot, which qualifies them for the competition, their title win earns them entry (or the next tier up) – there is no additional place passed on.
If the European title winners finish in a Premier League spot which does not qualify them for the competition, their title win earns them entry, so there is an additional place.
So following are the different scenarios for Chelsea to have European football next season:
Chelsea can qualify for the Champions League as a top-five finisher. If they do that and win the Conference League, their Europa League spot for winning the Conference League is given up.
If Chelsea win the Conference League and finish sixth, they qualify for the Europa League through their Conference League win, and their league position entry to the Europa League is passed on.
If Chelsea win the Conference League and finish in a Premier League position, which would qualify them for the Conference League play-off (passed on from Newcastle), they would qualify for the Europa League through their Conference League win, and the Conference League play-off place would be given up.
While there are different possibilities allowing multiple Premier League sides representing the English FA in Europe, the question remains the same: who would lift the biggest trophy at the end of the season?
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