Both elements needed for sixth place to be a Champions League spot seem quite plausible.
Aston Villa would need to finish in fifth spot exactly (where they currently reside) and win the Europa League.
They trail Nottingham Forest 1-0 after the semi-final first leg, but are at home for Thursday’s return leg.
This scenario will only play out if Villa finish fifth – and not in the top four (or below fifth) – because of a quirk in Uefa’s rules.
The Premier League landed a fifth Champions League place because of English teams’ performances in Europe – something called the European Performance Spot (EPS).
In short, when it comes to dishing out European spots, Uefa goes by domestic positions and who won the European trophies first, before factoring in the EPS.
So if Villa win the Europa League and finish fifth, that EPS spot would be passed down to the team in sixth – who would qualify for the Champions League.
However, if Villa finish in the top four then winning the Europa League would make no difference to any other English teams. In this situation the sixth-placed finisher would qualify for the Europa League.
