Could Southampton make a late bid for the Europa League places?

After their win against Manchester City on Sunday, the question that has to be asked is whether or Southampton could still make a late bid for the Europa League places. Ideally Ronald Koeman would prefer a top 6 finish come May but even if they were to miss out on that there is still every chance they could be in UEFA’s second tier competition next season. If they do finish 6^th then they will have reached the competition for the second season in a row, however even if they do miss out then it’s not necessarily doom and gloom for the South Coast club.

Here is what they would need to happen depending on league position.

Finish 6^th – Europa League Qualification Outright

Finish 7^th – As long as Manchester United win the F.A. Cup then this would be sufficient

Finish 8^th – They would need Manchester United to win the F.A. Cup and Liverpool to win the Europa League

With them in 7^th the most likely scenario is them staying there and then hoping Louis Van Gaal does his compatriot Ronald Koeman a massive favour on May 21^st. I have a feeling that Liverpool will stay 8^th in the table as one way or another they won’t necessarily want to be in the Europa League next season.

They’ll obviously set out to win the competition outright but if they fail to get past Villarreal or even win the final for that matter will then they settle for 8^th place themselves and give them a proper crack at the Top 4 next season?

There are still many permutations left, we’ll now more on how the landscape of the Europa League race lies once Liverpool have played Villarreal on Thursday and also whether Southampton can upset a probably depleted Tottenham thanks to Moussa Dembele set to join Dele Alli on the sidelines due to suspension. The title may be won but there are still some issues left to be settled.