SAINTS fans are this morning trying to figure out the permuations needed for Southampton to qualify for Europe for the second year running.

West Ham's win over Manchester United made the task a lot more complicated for Ronald Koeman's side, taking destiny out of their own hands.

Thankfully, Liverpool's draw with Chelsea did them a favour and puts at least a seventh place finish in Southampton's own hands.

As it currently stands, Saints could finish anywhere between fifth and eighth in the Premier League.

As of Thursday morning, these are the relevant Premier League fixtures remaining:

  • Manchester United v Bournemouth (3pm Sunday)
  • Saints v Crystal Palace (3pm Sunday)
  • Stoke v West Ham (3pm Sunday)
  • West Brom v Liverpool (3pm Sunday)

So what do Saints need to happen to get into the Europa League?

Finishing Fifth:

The first place outside the Champions League positions offers a place in the group stage of the Europa League. Saints will finish fifth if they beat Crystal Palace AND Manchester United lose AND, West Ham draw.

Finishing Sixth:

This position offers a third qualifying round place for the Europa League or - if Manchester United finish fifth or higher AND win the FA Cup - a place in the group stages. To finish sixth, Saints must beat Crystal Palace AND hope that either Man United lose or West Ham fail to win.

Finish Seventh:

Finishing in seventh will deliver a spot in the third qualifying stage if Manchester United win the FA Cup AND finish sixth or higher. Saints will finish seventh if they win while West Ham win and United draw OR if both Saints and Liverpool fail to win.

Finishing Eighth:

There is no European spot in any scenario for the team finishing eighth. Saints will finish eighth if they fail to win and Liverpool win.

What if Liverpool win the Europa League?

Liverpool face Sevilla in the Europa League final on May 18. If they win, they will be given a place in next season's Champions League qualifying stage. If they have already qualified for the Europa League, that place will simply be transferred to the Champions League. Instead of having four Champions League sides and three in the Europa, England would have five Champions League sides and still two in the Europa if Liverpool are in a Euro spot, and five and three if they are not. This means Liverpool's result in the Europa League final has no bearing on Saints' aspirations.