We look at the European places up for grabs from the English domestic cup competitions ahead of the quarter-finals in the Carabao Cup.
Which teams qualify for Europe from the Carabao Cup?
There is always confusion around which Premier League teams earn European spots at the end of the season. For the Carabao Cup, however, let’s try to simplify this. The winners of the Carabao Cup automatically qualify for a place in the Europa Conference League play-off round.
The tournament is UEFA's third-tier continental club competition behind the Champions League and the Europa League. Jose Mourinho’s Roma side were the inaugural winners of the competition last season, which this year contains the likes of West Ham United, Lazio, Nice and Villarreal.
Up until the 2019/20 season, the winners of the Carabao Cup received a place in the Europa League (second tier), but since 2020/21 the rule was changed so that the winners earned a place in the Europa Conference League.
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If the winner of the Carabao Cup has already qualified for a European competition through their league finish (placing 5th or above in the Premier League or winning either the Champions League or Europa League), the Europa Conference spot reserved for the Carabao Cup winner goes to the highest-placed Premier League side that has not already qualified for a European competition.
For example, if Manchester City win the Carabao Cup, current favourites for that trophy at a best price of 6/7, but have already been assured of European football for the next season, the Europa Conference League spot would go to the 7th place Premier League team, as the 6th place Premier League team earns the right to qualify for the Europa Conference play-off spot already.
What happened last season?
Last season, the winners of the 2021/22 FA Cup and the 2021/22 EFL Cup, Liverpool, had already qualified for the Champions League by finishing 2nd in the Premier League behind Manchester City.
The spot given to the FA Cup winners (Europa League group stage) was passed to the 6th place team, Manchester United, and the spot given to the League Cup winners (Europa Conference League play-off round) was passed to the 7th place team, West Ham United.
Who could qualify for Europe this season?
Looking at the current 2022/23 Premier League table, should a team like Manchester City or Manchester United (who are in both still in the Carabao Cup and into the FA Cup fourth round) win the Carabao Cup or FA Cup and finish within the top four, a similar scenario would occur.
It would mean that 6th place Liverpool would get the Europa League group stage spot from the FA Cup, and 7th place Fulham would receive the Europa Conference League play-off spot.
And what about the Champions League?
Another scenario which may affect these European permutations would be if Tottenham Hotspur, currently in 5th place in the table, Liverpool in 6th or Chelsea in 10th won the Champions League.
The winners of the Champions League are guaranteed a group stage spot in the competition, regardless of where they finish in the final Premier League table.
This gets even more confusing when you add in the potential of Manchester United winning the Europa League, but finishing outside the Top 4. The winners of the Europa League are guaranteed a spot in the Champions League group stages, but there is a maximum of five teams from one country that can enter the tournament.
So, if Tottenham, Liverpool or Chelsea were to win the Champions League and finish outside the Top 4, and Manchester United were to finish outside the Top 4 and win the Europa League, the 4th place team in the league (which is usually guaranteed of a Champions League group stage spot) would miss out and have to settle for a Europa League group stage spot.
