Friday, May 22, 2026

Premier League Championship Sunday

While the Premier League champion is already determined, there is much to be decided on Championship Sunday. Battles for Europe and the battle for Premier League survival will play out simultaneously on Sunday.

Four clubs are already assured of Champions League football. There is one more Champions League berth assured with the prospect that a sixth spot could be available. The European iterations include a potential sixth Champions League spot because Aston Villa is the Europa League champion, which comes with a Champions League ticket, after defeating Freiburg 3-0 on Wednesday.

The trick is that, under the convoluted voodoo of the UEFA qualification system, Villa must finish fifth for the Premier League to receive a sixth Champions League bid. The fifth “coefficient” based “bonus” slot, based on table position, would then pass to the sixth-place team in the Premier League while Aston Villa uses its Europa League Champion card for admission to Europe’s top competition next season.

Aston Villa would need to lose at Manchester City in Pep Guardiola’s final game as manager of the Citizens, and Liverpool defeat Brentford at Anfield for the Premier League to secure a sixth Champions League place. If those dominoes were to fall, either Bournemouth or Brighton would win the spot based on the results of their games on Sunday.

Bournemouth is currently sixth in the league as it travels to Nottingham Forest. The Cherries are three points ahead of seventh place Brighton, though they have an inferior goal disadvantage which could play into a tiebreaker should the Seagulls win at home versus Manchester United while Bournemouth loses at the City Ground. At worst, Bournemouth has already secured a Europa League spot at minimum and will play in Europe for the first time in the club’s 127-year history.

If Bournemouth wins by a wide margin against the Red Devils on Sunday, the Cherries could even finish fifth with a Liverpool loss should they be able to overcome an imposing six goal deficit in goal differential versus that of Liverpool.

Brighton, meanwhile, faces an enormously high-stakes match against Manchester United as the Seagulls could conceivably qualify for any of the three European competitions or be restricted to domestic play next season. A sixth-place finish and a possible Champions League berth is clearly a remote possibility for Brighton. However, the Seagulls could also lose out on the Europa League and Conference League competitions with a loss at home Sunday as Chelsea, Brentford and even tenth place Sunderland are in position to overtake the currently seventh place Seagulls. Essentially, absent an unlikely Champions League qualification, Brighton is in a four-team scramble for two European spots, one in the Europa League and one in the Conference League.

Currently, Brighton is two points ahead of tenth place Sunderland which has a must-win match at the Stadium of Light with Chelsea on Sunday. Chelsea currently occupies the eighth-place position which would receive a Conference League invitation. Brentford is level on points with Chelsea but has a four-goal deficit versus Chelsea in the goal differential tiebreaker entering the final day when the Bees visit Liverpool.

Crystal Palace may qualify for Europe for a second consecutive season, but it will have nothing to do with its currently poor Premier League table position and certainly nothing to do with Sunday’s game versus champion Arsenal. The Eagles will lock down a Europa League place should the Eagles win their Conference League title match next Wednesday versus Rayo Vallecano. A Crystal Palace victory would earn a Europa League place for next season and make the Eagles a ninth Premier League club to qualify for Europe.

Two other English clubs, meanwhile, are competing not for Europe but for their very Premier League survival. Tottenham Hotspur is clinging to a two-point advantage over West Ham in the tight race for Premier League survival near the bottom of the table. Both clubs have been awful this season and West Ham particularly has wilted under the pressure in recent weeks, failing to score a goal in three consecutive losses. The Hammers get one last chance when they host Leeds at London Stadium but will need Spurs to stumble versus Everton. A draw should be enough for Spurs to clinch survival even should West Ham win, based on a massive goal differential advantage.

Even further down the table is the most meaningless game of the final weekend as Burnley and Wolves will square off in what will mercifully be the final Premier League match for a while for the two already relegated sides. In a game of better clubs but still inconsequential consequences, Fulham will close out the season at Craven Cottage versus Newcastle. 

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