Champions League Permutations ahead of the Premier League’s final day

By Ben Browning


Published: May 20, 2021 6:08 pm

Last Updated: May 20, 2021 7:48 pm

Lots still to play for:

It seems only fitting that, after such a hectic season, the teams that qualify for next season’s Champions League will only be decided on a frantic final day. Manchester United and Manchester City, first and second in the Premier League respectively, have already assured qualification, but there are two places still up for grabs.

The #PL table heading into the final day of the season pic.twitter.com/oHSjC4Glno

— Premier League (@premierleague) May 19, 2021

These spots will go to two of Liverpool, Leicester City and Chelsea, whilst the odd side out will have to console themselves with the prospect of Europa League football next season. Below is an outline of what each team needs to do to make one of these two spots their own on Sunday.

Remaining fixtures:

Chelsea:
Aston Villa (A)

Leicester City:
Spurs (H)

Liverpool:
Burnley (A)
Crystal Palace (H)

What will the Premier League top four look like come the end of the season? pic.twitter.com/DN6ugQUxka

— Goal (@goal) May 18, 2021

Chelsea:

Sitting in third place, a point clear of Leicester City, Chelsea know that if they win their final game of the season they will be in the Champions League next season. However, they travel to Villa Park to take on an Aston Villa side buoyed by the return of talisman Jack Grealish. Having just dispatched of another London outfit in Tottenham Hotspur, the Villans will be hoping to live up to their nickname, and rain on Chelsea’s parade.

Should Chelsea draw against Dean Smith’s side, they would then rely on Liverpool or Leicester dropping points. Alternatively, if Liverpool secure all three points, the Blues will rely on Leicester not winning their game by a margin of three goals, in which case the Foxes would prevail by virtue of goals scored.

A defeat would have the same effect as a draw for Thomas Tuchel’s side – they would need one of Leicester or Liverpool to lose, or Leicester to draw their game, which would see the west Londoners prevail by virtue of their superior goal difference.

Recap a night with you all back with us at the Bridge. #CHELEI pic.twitter.com/pKvQ9FdeSY

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) May 19, 2021

In essence, therefore, Chelsea must match the results of Leicester and Liverpool below them in order to guarantee qualification, though defeat would not rule them out of the top-four running, provided one of their rivals lose, or Leicester stutter to a draw.

It is worth noting that Chelsea will have another chance to claim a Champions League spot when they contest the Champions League final against Manchester City on Saturday the 29th of May. The winner of the competition is automatically entered into the next iteration, meaning the Londoners could feasibly fall out of the top-four in the Premier League on the final day, and still play Champions League football next season.

Liverpool:

Seemingly out of the race for Champions League Football at one point of the season, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool head into the final day with their destiny in their own hands. If they win their game by one goal, at home to Crystal Palace, they will qualify for Europe’s elite competition unless Leicester extraordinarily beat Tottenham Hotspur by a minimum of six goals. For every further goal Liverpool win their fixture by, Leicester will need to respond to remain ahead on goal difference.

1️⃣ game to go pic.twitter.com/e9FodwuGaO

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) May 20, 2021

Should the Merseyside club draw their fixture, they will need one of Leicester or Chelsea to drop points. A Chelsea defeat by one goal would be enough to secure Champions League football, no matter the Leicester City result. Moreover, the Reds will qualify if Leicester draw.

Lose, however, and the situation becomes clearer. Liverpool would need Leicester to also fall to defeat.

Leicester City:

Leicester have the hardest task of the three sides, but also the most simple. They must win their game to stand any realistic chance of qualifying for the Champions League next season. Even a win would need to fall in line with other results going their way, with one of Liverpool or Chelsea dropping points.

Having narrowly missed out on qualification last season, the Foxes will surely be dead-set on doing all that they can to prevent history repeating itself in successive years, although they will console themselves, should the worst come to fruition, with an FA Cup trophy that demonstrates this season’s progress.

This Tielemans goal was good it literally made ‘WHAT A GOAL’ trend on Twitter #EmiratesFACup @LCFC pic.twitter.com/18i7AKkVOI

— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) May 20, 2021

Read more:

Leicester City vs Liverpool live streaming: Watch Premier League online

Chelsea vs Leicester City live streaming: Watch Premier League online

This article was edited by
Conor Laird.

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Liverpool vs Crystal Palace odds: result, both teams to score, correct score & goalscorers

Liverpool vs Crystal Palace Result/Both teams score	Yes	No
Liverpool	8/5	10/11
Crystal Palace	20/1	22/1
Draw	9/1	22/1

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Premier League table

#	Team	MP	D	P
1	Manchester City FC	37	46	83
2	Manchester United FC	37	28	71
3	Chelsea FC	37	23	67
4	Liverpool FC	37	24	66
5	Leicester City FC	37	20	66
6	West Ham United FC	37	12	62
7	Tottenham Hotspur FC	37	21	59
8	Everton FC	37	4	59
9	Arsenal FC	37	14	58
10	Leeds United	37	6	56
11	Aston Villa FC	37	8	52
12	Wolverhampton Wanderers FC	37	-15	45
13	Crystal Palace FC	37	-23	44
14	Southampton FC	37	-18	43
15	Newcastle United FC	37	-18	42
16	Brighton & Hove Albion FC	37	-4	41
17	Burnley FC	37	-21	39
18	Fulham FC	37	-24	28
19	West Bromwich Albion	37	-39	26
20	Sheffield United FC	37	-44	20

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Player	Team	Goals
Kane, Harry	Tottenham Hotspur FC	22
Salah, Mohamed	Liverpool FC	22
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United FC	17
Son, Heung Min	Tottenham Hotspur FC	17
Bamford, Patrick	Leeds United	16
Calvert-Lewin, Dominic	Everton FC	16
Watkins, Ollie	Aston Villa FC	14
Vardy, Jamie	Leicester City FC	13
Gundogan, Ilkay	Manchester City FC	13
Lacazette, Alexandre	Arsenal FC	13
Wilson, Callum	Newcastle United FC	12
Ings, Danny	Southampton FC	12
Wood, Chris	Burnley FC	12
Iheanacho, Kelechi	Leicester City FC	12
Rashford, Marcus	Manchester United FC	11
Pereira, Matheus	West Bromwich Albion	11
Zaha, Wilfried	Crystal Palace FC	11
Sterling, Raheem	Manchester City FC	10
Antonio, Michail	West Ham United FC	10
Cavani, Edinson	Manchester United FC	10

Player	Team	Red Cards	Yellow Cards
McGinn, John	Aston Villa FC	0	11
Maguire, Harry	Manchester United FC	0	11
Gallagher, Conor	West Bromwich Albion	0	10
Hojbjerg, Pierre	Tottenham Hotspur FC	0	9
Milivojevic, Luka	Crystal Palace FC	1	8
Lundstram, John	Sheffield United FC	1	8
Phillips, Kalvin	Leeds United	0	9
Luiz, Douglas	Aston Villa FC	0	8
Bissouma, Yves	Brighton & Hove Albion FC	1	8
Soucek, Tomas	West Ham United FC	1	7
Shaw, Luke	Manchester United FC	0	8
Xhaka, Granit	Arsenal FC	1	7
Bellerin, Hector	Arsenal FC	0	8
Andersen, Joachim	Fulham FC	1	7
Egan, John	Sheffield United FC	1	7
Holgate, Mason	Everton FC	0	8
Hayden, Isaac	Newcastle United FC	0	8
Dallas, Stuart	Leeds United	0	7
McGoldrick, David	Sheffield United FC	0	7
Reid, Bobby	Fulham FC	0	7

Player	Team	Assists
Kane, Harry	Tottenham Hotspur FC	13
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United FC	12
Son, Heung Min	Tottenham Hotspur FC	10
Grealish, Jack	Aston Villa FC	10
De Bruyne, Kevin	Manchester City FC	10
Rashford, Marcus	Manchester United FC	9
Vardy, Jamie	Leicester City FC	8
Mane, Sadio	Liverpool FC	8
Harrison, Jack	Leeds United	8
Werner, Timo	Chelsea FC	8
Raphinha	Leeds United	8
Gross, Pascal	Brighton & Hove Albion FC	8
Cresswell, Aaron	West Ham United FC	8
Pereira, Matheus	West Bromwich Albion	7
Ward-Prowse, James	Southampton FC	7
Eze, Eberechi	Crystal Palace FC	7
Alexander-Arnold, Trent	Liverpool FC	7
Robertson, Andrew	Liverpool FC	7
Digne, Lucas	Everton FC	7
Bamford, Patrick	Leeds United	6