Brighton’s final day, Champions League to no Europe, what each route would take | OneFootball

Brighton and Hove Albion could end up in the Champions League or miss Europe entirely on the final day. According to NY Times, Fabian Hurzeler’s side are seventh after 37 matches and host Manchester United on Sunday.

A 1-0 defeat at Leeds on Sunday squandered a chance to bank European football. The game was settled by a 96th-minute winner after Jan Paul van Hecke’s underhit back-pass. Brighton produced 19 shots, 13 after the break, for an xG of 2.76.

The Champions League remains a long shot and will vanish before Sunday if Bournemouth beat title-chasing Manchester City on Tuesday. If City win, Brighton still need Aston Villa to win the Europa League against Freiburg in Istanbul, then slip from fourth to fifth on the final day. Brighton would also have to beat United, while Bournemouth need only two points from City and Nottingham Forest to secure sixth.

The Europa League is more realistic. Staying seventh, or finishing sixth with Villa fourth, would do it. Victory over United seals seventh, while a draw suffices if Brentford do not win at Liverpool and Chelsea do not win both against Tottenham on Tuesday and at Sunderland on Sunday.

Brighton’s +9 goal difference helps, with only Arsenal and City conceding fewer than 43. Recent Europa League nights brought profile and income, but a last-16 exit to Roma still stings.

Eighth would mean the Europa Conference League, provided rivals slip. If Brentford win and Chelsea take four points, it could come down to goal difference with Chelsea on 53 points, theirs currently +6. The competition also offers a realistic trophy and prize money of £19m for last season’s winners.

No Europe feels bleak, yet Brighton cannot finish lower than ninth, which would still equal the club’s third-best league finish.

Source: NY Times