How Liverpool could finish in Champions League, Europa League, Conference League or out of Europe

Liverpool is still aiming for a spot in the Champions League. But here are all the permutations, including how it could end up in the Europa Conference League.

It is often said that Liverpool has won everything possible under the guidance of Jürgen Klopp. Technically, that is not true.

Back in 2016, Liverpool suffered its first real heartbreak under Klopp, when a giddy run to the Europa League final came to a sorry end. Daniel Sturridge had put his side in front against Sevilla with an incredible strike, one which deserves a happier place in club history, but the kings of Europe’s second tier came roaring back to win.

Of course, nobody associated with Liverpool has been exactly itching to put that particular record straight. Since then, Klopp has delivered the Champions League trophy, reaching Europe’s showpiece final on two other occasions as well.

But the reality of the current campaign is that the Europa League could yet beckon. So too could the Europa Conference League, for that matter, a competition many Liverpool fans may not have even bothered to get their heads around yet.

Naturally, a place in the top four remains the aim at Liverpool, and it is not out of sight yet. But as the season enters its endgame with so much still up in the air, it’s worth looking at what scenarios would secure Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League qualification respectively, as well as what would leave the Reds without any place in Europe at all.

Champions League
A relatively straightforward picture. The short version is that Liverpool just has to finish in the top four — easy on paper, a huge ask in practice.

However, there is technically a scenario where Liverpool could finish in the top four and still be denied entry to the Champions League. UEFA stipulates that a maximum of five teams from any one country can qualify for the tournament, and the winners of its own competitions take priority.

As such, Chelsea would automatically bank a place if it were to somehow win the Champions League. Meanwhile, Manchester United is still going in the Europa League, and would also earn a place if it lifted the trophy. If neither side finished in the top four of the Premier League (a foregone conclusion in Chelsea’s case), the team that did finish fourth would miss out.

At this point, therefore, Liverpool officially needs to finish third to truly ‘guarantee’ Champions League football next season.

Europa League

There are two routes into the Europa League from English competition. One is finishing fifth in the Premier League, while the other is winning the FA Cup.

Liverpool, of course, is out of the FA Cup, although the presence of Sheffield United in the semi-final does raise the novel prospect of a Championship side qualifying (even if the Blades look likely to gain automatic promotion back to the top flight). However, the domestic cup could still have a bearing on Klopp’s side.

Here’s why. If the FA Cup winner also finishes in the Premier League top five, the available Europa League slot passes to the next-highest ranked team in the division.

Three of the remaining four teams in the FA Cup are Manchester City, Manchester United and Brighton, all of whom are all still capable of finishing in the league’s top five, albeit with varying degrees of likelihood. Should the eventual winner of the cup already qualify for the Europa League through its league finish, sixth place would be enough for Liverpool to gain entry to the competition too.

Europa Conference League

Well, at least if West Ham doesn’t win it this season, Liverpool could have the honor of being the first English side to do so, right? A place in the Europa Conference League would come with precious few silver linings for Klopp, and would arguably be the worst possible scenario.

Yet it remains on the cards. The spot is technically reserved for the winners of the EFL Cup, but the same stipulation applies in terms of victors who have already qualified for UEFA competition via another route. As such, provided this season’s winner Manchester United remains in the European places in the Premier League, the Europa Conference League spot is up for grabs via league finish.

Whether Liverpool would need to finish sixth or seventh to bank that place remains dependent on the FA Cup result. If the team in sixth qualifies for the Europa League because the spot is not required by the cup winners, then the team in seventh would be entered into the Conference League.

Any English team who qualifies for the Europa Conference League enters at the play-off stage.

No Europe
The absolute cut-off for Liverpool is eighth place. Finish there, and there will be no European football next season.

As above, seventh could also bring about the same scenario, depending on the FA Cup and where in the league its eventual winners finish.

Interestingly, the ‘Manchester United wins the Europa League and Chelsea wins the Champions League’ scenario would not hinder Liverpool’s chances of making it into Europe in some guise. Should the unlucky team in fourth miss out on the Champions League, it is granted an extra Europa League berth, with no trickle-down effect, as confirmed by the Premier League.