Why the FA Cup final is important to Chelsea, Man Utd and Newcastle – BBC.com
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Another Premier League season is over but there are clubs who still do not know whether they will be playing in Europe next season.
Seven English sides will compete in either the Champions League, Europa League or Europa Conference League during 2024-25.
Champions Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa are already planning for next season's expanded Champions League, external after finishing first, second, third and fourth respectively.
Tottenham, who finished fifth, will join the likes of Porto and Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League.
But what about managerless Chelsea, Newcastle and Manchester United who finished sixth, seventh and eighth respectively?
Only after Saturday's FA Cup final between Manchester City and Manchester United (15:00 BST kick-off) – a match you can watch live on BBC One – will they know which European competition they will be competing in, if at all.
BBC Sport looks at the permutations.
Let's get one thing clear straight away – whoever takes charge of Chelsea following Mauricio Pochettino's departure will be taking over a team guaranteed European football next season.
The question is: which competition?
It's only three years ago that the Blues were crowned European champions in Porto after defeating Manchester City in the Champions League final.
They have since won the Uefa Super Cup and Fifa Club World Cup but missed out on playing in Europe in 2023-24 after finishing 12th the previous season.
Chelsea's absence from European competition looked set to continue until they ended the season with five straight wins to seal sixth spot.
As it stands, they will play in the Conference League play-off round on 22 and 29 August.
But Chelsea will be elevated to the Europa League – where they would be guaranteed eight league phase games between September 2024 and January 2025 – if Manchester City win on Saturday.
"We are not going out to celebrate [qualifying for the Conference League] but this is the first step towards achieving bigger things," said Pochettino before his departure was announced by Chelsea on Tuesday.
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Newcastle dined at the top table with European royalty during 2023-24, playing AC Milan, Paris St-Germain and eventual finalists Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.
So a place in next season's Conference League might, on paper at least, feel a little underwhelming.
But Eddie Howe overcame an injury list from hell to keep Newcastle's season alive, and a place in Europe – whatever the competition – will be seen by many as an achievement.
Right now, Newcastle will not be playing in Europe but that could all change on Saturday.
If Manchester City win at Wembley, Newcastle can start planning for the Conference League.
"We would love the opportunity to play in Europe again," Magpies boss Eddie Howe told BBC Sport.
"It is important for the dynamic of the club, we want to be in these competitions.
"But it's not in our hands and we'll just have to take the consequences of what happens in the FA Cup final."
'Any form of European qualification will be deemed a success in my eyes'
'Are we sure Europe is actually what we want?'
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It's been a season of success – Howe
Everything changes if Manchester United, who finished 31 points behind Manchester City in the league, produce a surprise and win the FA Cup.
The Red Devils would play in the Europa League, Chelsea in the Conference League and Newcastle would miss out.
But it's a big if.
City have won six of the past seven meetings between the two sides – including last season's FA Cup final – scoring 21 times and conceding eight.
The last time United failed to play in Europe was the 2014-15 season, after they finished seventh the season before.
Since then they have reached two Europa League finals, defeating Ajax in the final to win it under Jose Mourinho in 2017 and finishing runners-up to Villarreal under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2021.
"I'm not thinking about a negative scenario," said Ten Hag, when asked about United's failure to qualify for the Champions League.
"We have the opportunity to qualify for the Europa League, and it is in our own hands so we need to go for it.
"I'm thinking positive. I'm a positive man and it's in our own hands, so we have to go for it."
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Ten Hag – "Looking forward to FA Cup final"
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