The dust has barely settled on the 2022/23 Premier League season but supporters from eight teams are already pulling out their passports in preparation for the following campaign.
Champions Manchester City are joined by runners-up Arsenal, Manchester United and Newcastle in qualifying automatically for the group stages of the Champions League.
They will all now await the draw on August 31. The Champions League and Europa League winners are in Pot 1 alongside the league champions of the top six associations based on the 2022 UEFA country coefficients.
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Man City, Barcelona, Napoli, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Benfica are all top seeds.
In finishing in fifth and sixth respectively, Liverpool and Brighton fans can look forward to entering the Europa League, likewise in the group stages.
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Key 2023/24 European dates
- Champions League third qualifying round draw: July 24
- Champions League play-off draw: August 7
- Champions League group stage draw: August 31
- Europa League play-off draw: August 7
- Europa League group stage draw: September 1
- Europa Conference League play-off draw: August 7
- Europa Conference League group stage draw: September 1
West Ham have also qualified for the Europa League group stage after beating Fiorentina 2-1 in the Europa Conference League final.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa kept hold of seventh spot on the final day to secure a Europa Conference League play-off spot at the expense of Tottenham, who have failed to qualify for European football next season for the first time since 2008-09.
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As things stand, the European qualification picture is as follows:
- Champions League: Man City (Q), Arsenal (Q), Newcastle (Q), Manchester United (Q)
- Europa League: Liverpool (Q), Brighton (Q), West Ham (Q)
- Europa Conference League: Aston Villa (Q)
Sky Sports runs through the key dates for the Premier League clubs to look forward to regarding the respective draws for next season’s European competitions…
Liverpool
Image: Liverpool are among the favourites for the Europa League
Europa League group stage draw: September 1
Jurgen Klopp insists Liverpool will be Premier League contenders next season after ending an underwhelming campaign with a thrilling 4-4 draw at relegated Southampton.
The fifth-placed Reds arrived at St Mary’s knowing they had already missed out on a top-four finish for the first time since 2015-16.
Liverpool boss Klopp was happy to see the back of 2022-23 and confident next term would be far more memorable.
Where is the 2024 Europa League final?
The 2023/24 Europa League final will take place at the Aviva Stadium in the Republic of Ireland.
First opened in 2010, the stadium will be staging its second Europa League decider, having been the venue for the all-Portuguese final of 2011 between Porto and Braga, when Radamel Falcao scored the only goal as the Dragons took the trophy.
“There were moments during the season when you thought ‘the season will be four years long’,” he said. “Thank God for the last 11 games, that helped massively, gave us a real boost, gave us a perspective, gave us a basis for what we have to do.
“That it didn’t turn into the best ever season, we see that, we know that, we are very disappointed about the fact that we didn’t make it to the top four.
“But there are moments when you have to admit there were four teams that were better than us – that’s the truth. We played a bad season, we come fifth, that is a message as well.
“Imagine we were our normal self, which we absolutely will be again next season and will be a contender again. That’s how is it. The last 11 games helped us to realise that again.”
Brighton
Image: Roberto De Zerbi has secured European qualification
Europa League group stage draw: September 1
Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi admits the Seagulls will need to spend ahead of their European debut. They have qualified for the Europa League for the first time in their history after finishing sixth in the Premier League.
Brighton had already wrapped up sixth spot before the final-day 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa and De Zerbi knows they will need to expand their squad to cope with the demands of European competition.
“We are not ready to play three games in a row, three games per week. We are not used to playing three games in a row,” he said.
Image: Brighton have qualified for the Europa League
“We have to work in the transfer market, we have to build a stronger squad, with more players and then we have to improve.
“The result we achieved this year was incredible, Tony [Bloom], me and Paul Barber, we have the dream to improve this result.
“The season is finished which is bad news for me – it’s difficult without football. I will go to Italy and will work with Tony Bloom and the club to improve the squad. This season was fantastic and we have to try and repeat it.”
West Ham
Image: West Ham have qualified for the Europa League
Europa League group stage draw: September 1
West Ham have qualified automatically for the Europa League group stages – and a Pot One spot – after their victory in the Europa Conference League final.
Defeat at Leicester ended a disappointing Premier League season for West Ham where they finished 14th, six points above the drop zone.
But boss David Moyes ended the season on the high with a dramatic victory in Prague.
He told BT Sport after the game: “If someone said when I took the job three years ago that we would avoid relegation, we would finish in Europe, they would probably have said you’re mad. Then, to do it two years in a row and get to a semi-final, then to get to a final… wow.
“And yes, we know this year’s not been great in terms of how our Premier League form has gone, but this competition has been great for us. The players have been remarkable, what they have done.”
Aston Villa
Image: Aston Villa grabbed a Europa Conference League berth
Europa Conference League play-off draw: August 7
Europa Conference League play-off dates: The first legs will be played on August 24 and the second legs on August 31.
Unai Emery toasted Aston Villa’s “champagne moment” after they qualified for Europe for the first time since 2010.
The manager has sparked a turnaround at Villa Park having been appointed in October, after the club sacked Steven Gerrard sitting three points above the relegation zone.
Sunday’s 2-1 win over Brighton – who had already qualified for the Europa League – earned a Europa Conference League play-off spot after a seventh-placed finish in the Premier League.
Douglas Luiz and Ollie Watkins scored to seal their return, despite Deniz Undav’s strike for Brighton.
“Today is a champagne moment,” said Villa boss Emery.
“When you are working and focusing week-to-week, you are not having a lot of days to celebrate something, 70 per cent of our time was spent working.
“I want to celebrate with the club, players, friends, family and I want to enjoy what we have achieved.
“It was not the first objective in this year, our progression has been fantastic. We did it and it’s very important to celebrate and be happy now, to enjoy the moment in our life.
“We started thinking our progression was going well and some teams, they are not being consistent. When we won at Chelsea (a 2-0 win in April to move to ninth) we were with them and we were in 11th for a long time. It was the most difficult step going up.
“When we were in the top 10 we started thinking about getting sixth or seventh. Brighton did a great season, they deserve to be in the Europa League.”
What about in Scotland?
Celtic will be in either Pot 3 or Pot 4 of the Champions League group stages.
Rangers, in finishing second in the Scottish Premiership, enter the Champions League third qualifying round.
After Celtic won the Scottish Cup, Aberdeen have qualified for the Europa League play-off round, while Hearts enter the third qualifying round and Hibernian enter the second qualifying round.
When are the 2023/24 Europa League group stage matches?
Matchday 1: September 21
Matchday 2: October 5
Matchday 3: October 26
Matchday 4: November 9
Matchday 5: November 30
Matchday 6: December 14
When is the 2023/24 Europa League knockout stage?
Knockout round play-offs: February 15 and 22, 2024
Round of 16: March 7 and 14
Quarter-finals: April 11 and 18
Semi-finals: May 2 and 9
Final: May 22
When are the 2023/24 Europa Conference League group stage matches?
Matchday 1: September 21
Matchday 2: October 5
Matchday 3: October 26
Matchday 4: November 9
Matchday 5: November 30
Matchday 6: December 14
When is the 2023/24 Europa Conference League knockout stage?
Knockout round play-offs: February 15 and 22, 2024
Round of 16: March 7 and 14
Quarter-finals: April 11 and 18
Semi-finals: May 2 and 9
Final: May 29
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