What will Premier League’s sixth place get if Aston Villa win Europa League and finish fifth?

Aston Villa booked their spot in the Europa League final at Nottingham Forest’s expense on Thursday night.

Having lost the first leg at the City Ground last week, a second half Chris Wood penalty was enough to separate the two sides, Villa made light work of their Premier League rivals in the return fixture.

Ollie Watkins levelled the tie 10 minutes before the break at Villa Park.

And the Villans took control of the semi-final clash on the hour mark as Emi Buendia made no mistake from the spot to put Villa 2-0 up on the night and 2-1 up on aggregate.

John McGinn then bagged a quickfire double to wrap up the tie as a contest as Villa set up a Europa League final meeting with Freiburg later this month, the German side booking their trip to Istanbul after they claimed a 4-3 aggregate win over Braga.

Unai Emery’s side, who sit fifth in the Premier League, are now on the cusp of a first major piece of European silverware since 1982.

And the winner of the Europa League secures their spot in the Champions League, just as Tottenham managed last season.

However, with fifth place now enough to secure a spot in Europe’s elite club competition for the 2026-27 campaign, there are question marks over what happens if Villa win the Europa League and finish fifth.

It was recently confirmed that the Premier League will be given a European Performance Spot in the Champions League as reward for English clubs’ collective progress in European competition this season.

There will be a Premier League side in the Champions League, Europa League and UEFA Conference League finals this season, with Arsenal and Crystal Palace joining Villa in their pursuit of continental silverware.

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Teams currently in sixth, though, will be playing close attention to Villa’s run in and their looming clash with Freiburg.

That’s because if Villa finish fifth and win the Europa League, then the Premier League will earn an additional Champions League spot.

As things stand, Bournemouth on 52 points would earn a place in the competition next season.

The Cherries face competition from below, however, with Brentford just one point off the south coast side.

Brighton, who handed head coach Fabian Hurzeler a new contract on Thursday, are currently eighth on 50 points.

Chelsea, Everton and Fulham, meanwhile, are all locked on 48 points and still have an outside chance of finishing sixth.

Conversely, should Villa finish fourth or above and win the Europa League, then the Premier League won’t be awarded an additional Champions League spot.

In this instance, the team that finishes sixth would then qualify for the Europa League regardless of Villa’s European exploits.

Villa are currently level on points with fourth-placed Liverpool ahead of the final three matchdays of the season.

Emery’s side are still to face Burnley, Liverpool and Manchester City in the coming weeks, while their Europa League final meeting with Freiburg kicks off four days before the end of the season.