Updated at 14.02
MANCHESTER UNITED COULD end up playing in the Europa League if they finish fifth or sixth in the Premier League this season, though seventh place is no longer a possibility.
According to UEFA rules, there are three spots available for the Premier League — the fifth place team, the FA Cup winners and the League Cup winners.
However, with Manchester City set to qualify for the Champions League and having won the League Cup, another place for the sixth-placed team will become available.
The same rules do not apply to the FA Cup however, with the runners-up in the competition getting a spot in Europe if the winners qualify via another route.
So if Arsenal win the FA Cup, one of either Hull or Sheffield United will end up in the Europa League provided Arsene Wenger’s men finish in the top four in the league and thus, qualify for the Champions League.
There is also potentially an additional place provided if the Premier League ranks in the top three countries in the Fair Play League, but with United well down the pecking order in this year’s Fair Play table, they are highly unlikely to qualify via this route.
Of course, they could also qualify for the Champions League without getting in the top four in the unlikely scenario that they win this year’s competition, as both Chelsea and Liverpool have done previously.
(Manchester City’s League Cup win means there will be an extra Premier League space available for the Europa League)
So at the moment, it looks like a straight contest between Tottenham and Manchester United for the final Europa League spot, with the former currently two points ahead of the latter with six games each to play.
Neither side has an especially difficult run-in, with United having home games against Hull, Sunderland and Norwich, as well as away trips to Newcastle, Everton and Southampton.
Tottenham, meanwhile, visit West Brom, Stoke and West Ham, while hosting Sunderland, Fulham and Aston Villa.
Of course, Europa League football is a dubious honour — the financial rewards for qualifying pale in comparison to the Champions League, while the strain of regularly playing games on a Thursday has patently affected many teams in the past — and so, both sides may secretly hope to avoid qualifying for the competition.
However, there will be further incentive to win it next year, with the victors set to be given a Champions League spot for the first time.
Moreover, at least one United legend believes qualification would be good for the team. Speaking to United Review recently, Bryan Robson insists qualifying for the competition won’t have a negative impact on the club.
“In my opinion, people are completely wrong to dismiss the Europa League,” he said. “When you have been used to playing in Europe every year for such a long time, you get into that habit and always want to be competing in it, in any format.
“The club has been used to European football in most seasons, ever since the Sir Matt Busby days, and, certainly over the last 26 years of Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign, the fans have been accustomed to having European nights.
“Maybe the Europa League is not as prestigious as the Champions League but it still has some of the best teams in Europe who have just missed out in their domestic leagues. As a former player, I think it would be a great achievement to win the Europa League.”
