Aston Villa's progression into the Europa League semi-finals is good news to many in the top half of the Premier League with prospect of potentially six English clubs participating in next year's Champions League
Aston Villa securing a place in the semi-final breeds a new sense of excitement for many hopeful clubs looking to secure Premier League football for next season. Thanks to Arsenal's win in Portugal against Sporting Lisbon in the first-leg of their Champions League clash, the Premier League has a guaranteed five spots in next year's competition but there is still the chance of securing a sixth
While it will be an all-English semi-final with Villa facing fellow Midlands side Nottingham Forest, many clubs such as Chelsea, Brentford and Everton will have a lot at stake for their prospects next season with a possible sixth Champions League spot to fight for.
A lot still remains as Villa will need to beat Forest, a fixture which Unai Emery has won in four of their seven league meetings and lost just twice. Meanwhile, they will be keeping a close eye on Freiburg and Sporting Braga who will be in the other fixture with the winners of the semi-finals meeting at the Tupras Stadium in Istanbul in just over a month's time.
With six games to go, the scenario now opens up to all the clubs from 6th (Chelsea) all the way down to 14th (Newcastle) with just six points separating them. This means Brentford, Everton, Brighton, Sunderland, Bournemouth, Fulham and Crystal Palace all complete the list of potential clubs to qualify for Europe's top-tier club.
Not only that, but those who misses out on Champions League football has potentially three other European spots to fight for. If Man City win the FA Cup then 7th and 8th-place are given to Europa League spots - subject to Villa lifting the Europa League cu. Following that,
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