Who will be playing in the Europa Conference?
The winner of England’s Carabao cup will qualify for UEFA’s new competition, the Europa Conference League, set to be launched in the 2021-22 season. This is unless the league cup winner qualifies for Europe by other means such as Manchester City this year. In that case it will be determined by league position i.e. this year it would’ve gone to Wolverhampton Wanderers. So the question is who will be England’s representative at the inaugural Europa Conference League (ECL) competition.
Arsenal
Arteta is employing a complete overhaul at Arsenal and as with any overhaul comes uncertainty. It might be the boost Arsenal need after finishing outside the top 4 every year since Leicester City won the title – stat that would see Gooners punt on TVG rather than bet on their own sides fortunes.
They may also have to go through an adjustment period and this year after their 8th place finish they are only in Europe due to winning the FA Cup.
Burnley
Burnley seem to have finally recovered from qualifying for the 18/19 Europa League and earned themselves a respectable 10th place finish. They haven’t made huge movements in the transfer window but if they can build on their current squad and carry on the form they were showing at the end of the season then they may find themselves finishing higher.
Everton
Hear me out here. Everton did finish 12th this season but they have a solid team and a manager who has won a top flight trophy in Spain, Italy, Germany, France, and England. They need goals and Kean/Calvert-Lewin could really come good this year – I think there is a lot of untapped potential there.
They have spent a lot in previous windows so I wouldn’t expect a lot of movement but if their move for James Rodriguez materialises then they have an out-of-favour world class player to add the the ranks which could see them summit the table.
Leicester City
Leicester won eight games in a row at one point last season From December onwards they could not string more than two consecutive wins together and ended the season with one win from five and three losses. There are real question marks over how Leicester will return to the Premier League. I predicted Leicester to finish in the top 4 last season because I think Brendan Rodgers is a excellent Premier League manager.
I thought the only reason he doesn’t have a title is because of Gerrard’s Bambi impression but now I’m wondering if he’s a bottler who can’t handle the pressure when it comes to the crunch.
Is Jamie Vardy going to maintain his incredible performances as he turns 34 in January? His days are certainly numbered and if they slip slightly from their 5th place finish they could end up in the Europa Conference League.
Sheffield United
Sheffield United were last season’s success story and they only need to build slightly to improve. You could argue they have downgraded having been forced to replace the very promising Dean Henderson with Aaron Ramsdale. The transfer window is still open until October and if they recruit well they could also improve on last year to gain entrance to a European competition.
Southampton
Things were really looking up for Southampton towards the end of the season and they finished eleventh. If Ings continues the way he is and Southampton can sign more players on the same level as Kyle Walker-Peters, a solid replacement for Cedric, then they could improve on next year and earn a place in the third tier of the European competitions.
Tottenham Hotspur
Leicester are all but a Top 6 team which means someone will be forced out this could be Tottenham Hotspur but if their recent acquisitions are to set a precedent then Tottenham Hotspur could be a very strong team next year.
There have been some criticisms levelled at Mourinho in recent years especially after his stint at Manchester United. He’s too negative, the game has outgrown him etc but I agree with him helping that Manchester United team finish 2nd was a remarkable achievement.
Nobody other than City were winning the title that year and Mourinho did well to finish second. He may achieve something just as spectacular this year in his first full season as Tottenham manager which would make them too successful for the ECL.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
To be clear I support Wolverhampton Wanderers, I was born in Wolverhampton and I have loved this club from a very small age but this will not cloud my judgment and honestly on paper it looks like it will be a difficult year for the Wolves.
I count 13 players who can and will realistically be regular starters in the Premier League this season. This does not include Ryan Bennett who doesn’t seem to want to be at the club and Max Kilman who made some promising appearances last year.
With Nuno stalling on a new contract and club favourites leaving it looks like an uncertain year for Wolves and uncertainty doesn’t normally translate into success.
I think Leicester will bounce back from poor form at the end of the season, Tottenham will finish higher than this year, Everton will be the most improved but won’t quite break into European places while Burnley, Sheffield, Southampton and Wolves, will share 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th.
That leaves Arsenal in the right position for the European Conference League they won’t falter but I don’t think they will hit the ground running either so unless they win a domestic trophy I think they’re going to the European Conference League.
