What is the Europa Conference League? New UEFA format explained

Manchester City and Manchester United have booked their places in the Champions League for 2021/22, but there's all-out war for the the two remaining seats at the top table of European football.

Chelsea, Liverpool and Leicester head into the final day battling for a prestigious spot in UEFA's top competition, with the loser of those three teams to fall into the Europa League.

The second-tier European tournament still boasts plenty of big names and has increasing prestige, but UEFA has now sought to introduce an all-new third format: The Europa Conference League.

RadioTimes.com brings you up to speed with everything you need to know about the Europa Conference League.

What is the Europa Conference League?

The Europa Conference League is the third UEFA club competition designed to slot into their club tournament system below the Champions League and Europa League.

The new format begin from the 2021/22 season, meaning teams are currently fighting to qualify for – or avoid, if they boast higher ambitions – the tournament.

Of course, the Champions League looks set to be reformed in the coming years, but for now it will operate in familiar fashion.

However, from next season, the Europa League group stage is set to be reduced from 48 teams to 32, the idea being that it is harder to qualify for the second-tier tournament and more quality teams will slide into the Europa Conference League.

It has been confirmed that 10 teams who are eliminated from the Europa League play-offs will drop into the UECL.

The winners of each group will progress to the Round of 16 knockouts, while the second-placed teams in each group will play the third-placed teams in the Europa League to determine who will also qualify for the UECL Round of 16.

What happens if you win the Europa Conference League?

The winner of the Europa Conference League will be automatically rewarded with a place in the Europa league for the following season, unless they qualify for the Champions League.

It remains to be seen whether the tournament will be truly embraced by teams who already field often weakened sides in the Europa League, but the allure of silverware – regardless of what it is – will always be a draw.

What are the Premier League European places?

Now, the big question, the multi-million pound question: which Premier League teams will qualify for the Europa Conference League?

The top four teams will qualify for the Champions League. The top three will all slide effortlessly into the Group Stage, while the fourth-placed team must go through a qualifying round first.

Teams in fifth and sixth will qualify for the Europa League. Leicester have already qualified for the tournament as a result of winning the FA Cup, but can boost that up to a Champions League place if they finish in the top four. The Foxes, Chelsea or Liverpool will finish fifth.

West Ham only need a point from their final game to secure sixth place, though Tottenham and Everton still boast a chance of landing a place.

English teams' route to qualification for the Europa Conference League is by winning the EFL Cup, but as Manchester City have already secured Champions League football, the qualification spot will be handed to the team who finishes in seventh place on Sunday.

In addition to West Ham, Tottenham and Everton who currently occupy sixth to eighth, Arsenal or Leeds could theoretically still qualify on the final day.

It's as simple as that, really.

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