Mid-table Race Heats Up for European Spot

BRIGHTON & HOVE, MONDAY – Five teams are intensifying the competition to secure tickets for the Europa League and the UEFA Europa Conference League next season. Their rankings have the potential to change after completing the matches of week 27, which will be held simultaneously on Wednesday (26/2/2025) at 2:30 AM WIB.

The five teams occupying the sixth to 10th positions in the Premier League up to week 26 will undergo a decisive duel, in the middle of this week. The match between Brighton & Hove Albion (ranked 9/points 40) against Bournemouth (6/43) at the AMEX Stadium is the only match that brings together teams that compete directly in the non-Champions League European zone.

Three other teams, Chelsea (7/43), Aston Villa (8/42), and Fulham (10/39) will also play at the same time. Chelsea will host bottom team Southampton at Stamford Bridge, then Aston Villa play at Crystal Palace, and Fulham visit Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Referring to the current quota for next season's European club competitions, only the teams that finish sixth and seventh will compete in next season's continental competition. The sixth-placed team will compete in the Europa League, while the seventh-placed team will be allocated to the Europa Conference League.

However, the quota could increase or decrease based on the performance of the English ambassador in European competitions this season, then the winner of the English League Cup and FA Cup. If an English team advances to the final of the three European competitions in the 2024-2025 edition, the Premier League has the opportunity to send five teams to the 2025-2026 Champions League.

Furthermore, if the champions of the English League Cup and FA Cup occupy the Champions League zone, then the quota of two Europa Leagues and one Europa Conference League will be allocated to the teams ranked sixth to eighth.

As a result, the five teams in sixth to 10th place have a great chance to chase the remaining European tickets. Brighton's match against Bournemouth will have a big influence on the team's position in the European zone.

A win would help Brighton match Bournemouth's points tally, further tightening the competition in the European zone. With the additional three points, Bournemouth opens up hope of not only maintaining sixth place, but also having the opportunity to move into the top four. The reason is, the team nicknamed "The Cherries" is only one point behind Manchester City who sits in fourth place.

After suffering a shocking 0-1 defeat to Wolves on Saturday (22/2/2025), Bournemouth showed signs of inconsistency in February. They have suffered two defeats from three games and only won once.

The result is a stark contrast to Bournemouth's 11-game unbeaten run between November 2024 and January 2025. A defeat to league leaders Liverpool in early February ended that impressive record.

Interestingly, the last team to beat Bournemouth before going on an 11-game unbeaten run was Brighton. The Cherries lost 1-2 to Brighton in the first duel at the Vitality Stadium. However, that negative result was a turning point for Bournemouth's performance this season.

The last three defeats suffered by Bournemouth occurred on their home ground. As for away games, they have not returned empty-handed since their 0-1 loss to Leicester at King Power Stadium on October 5. Bournemouth has gone eight away matches without a loss. They have secured five victories, including wins at the home grounds of Manchester United and Newcastle United, as well as three draws.

The result is Bournemouth's capital to avenge the defeat in the first game from Brighton. They also do not want to slip again which could cause their dream of appearing in European competition for the first time to evaporate.

"We will try to bounce back and get a better result (losing to Wolves). We didn't have enough time to prepare for Brighton, but we are focused on recovering to do things differently," Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola was quoted as saying by The Independent on Monday (24/2/2025).

Meanwhile, Brighton showed significant improvement after being crushed 0-7 by Nottingham Forest on February 1. The next two Premier League games were won thanks to a collection of seven goals and a clean sheet. They defeated Chelsea 3-0 and Southampton 4-0.

According to Brighton Manager Fabian Hurzeler, the performance of his players has been maturing week by week. Not only in their efforts to control the game but also in various phases of creating opportunities.

"The most important thing is that we go step by step, game by game. Tuesday (Wednesday WIB) against Bournemouth is the next opportunity to prove the quality of our current performance. That game is very important to maintain the current momentum," Hurzeler said as reported by the BBC.

In another game, Chelsea are trying to get out of a two-game losing streak. The fate of the “Blues” since the turn of the year has worsened. They were once Liverpool’s rivals at the top of the standings, but now they are 21 points behind the “Reds”.

If they do not want to be thrown out of the European zone competition, Cole Palmer and his friends must beat Southampton. Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca is optimistic that his team will soon get a positive result after two consecutive defeats.

"Referring to the result against Aston Villa (Sunday, 23/2/2025), we played better than against Brighton. All the players gave a good reaction for us to end this bad result trend," Maresca was quoted as saying on the club's website.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa will again hope for the good performances of two new players, Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio, to beat Crystal Palace. Then, Fulham will compete fiercely with Wolves for three points to maintain their hopes of breaking into the European zone.