Crystal Palace Will Play in Europe Next Year | OneFootball

Hear me out. The way I see it, if Manchester United can unveil plans for a 100,000 seat stadium while their principal investor and scrooge-in-residence Sir Daniel Radcliffe justifies sacking the tea lady during a chinwag with Gary Neville, the statement above is ludicrously probable.

Of course, in order for this to happen, more has to happen outside of an undefeated run for the Eagles. A sequence of events outside their control must occur. And they must occur a LOT. But it’s still possible.

Where We Stand

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I’m not naïve enough to think Champions League is in the cards. But that 5th and 6th place position are within reach, both only 8 points above Palace’s current spot. In the past five matches, only Liverpool have better form. Frustratingly, Brighton are matching Palace win-for-win, so something will have to give there. What follows is a breakdown for the rest of the season.

Gameweek 29

Inexplicably, Crystal Palace, Newcastle and Aston Villa all have a bye this weekend. Brighton will travel to the Etihad and suffer their second loss in a row. Fulham will screw the pooch at home and let Spurs have a win they probably won’t deserve. Bournemouth and Brentford will draw, and up at the top, Chelsea will lose to Arsenal.

Gameweek 30

Crystal Palace visit Southampton and (of course) come away with three points. Brighton host Aston Villa, and the Seagulls’ third loss in a row send them into a tailspin. The Cherries will heap misery on Ipswich. Poor Fulham won’t be able to compete with a surging Arsenal. Chelsea and Newcastle both draw, against Spurs and Brentford respectfully.

Gameweek 31

The M23 derby comes to South London. Eagles rip the Gulls to shreds, further sinking them in to a deep, dark hole. Bournemouth topples West Ham. Nottingham Forest take Villa. Chelsea draws at Brentford, while Fulham falls to Liverpool. The Manchester Derby will be a push, granting Amorim a brief moment (about five seconds) of calm. The boldest take of this madness is Newcastle losing to Leicester after the latter change managers.

Gameweek 32

Rubber meets road here in a week where Palace play a double… The lads will fly high, securing a draw against Newcastle and a win over City. Chelsea maul Ipswich. Brighton thumps Leicester. Villa takes Southampton. Bournemouth and Fulham draw. Newcastle beat Manchester United.

At this point, Palace have 49 points and sit in 10th place.

Gameweek 33

Fulham finally gets a win over Chelsea. Three draws this week keep the tables somewhat stable: Everton v. City, Newcastle v. Aston Villa and Palace v. Bournemouth. Brighton will defeat Brentford.

Gameweek 34

After shocking City with a draw, Everton do it again against Chelsea. Brighton stumble to West Ham. Newcastle suffer a shock defeat to Ipswich. Crystal Palace manage to top Arsenal in one of the upsets of the season. Aston Villa lose at City, as does Bournemouth to the red side of Manchester.

Gameweek 35

Bournemouth lose again to Arsenal. Crystal Palace’s prospects dim with a loss to Nottingham Forest. City will handily defeat Wolves. Chelsea lose to impending champions Liverpool. The Magpies and Seagulls draw; so do Fulham and Aston Villa.

At this point Palace have 53 points, the same total as Brighton, Aston Villa and Bournemouth. Goal differential is hurting them.

Gameweek 36

Chelsea make a surge and take Newcastle at home. Palace travel to Spurs and take the three points. Fulham get an overdue victory over Everton. Bournemouth fall to Aston Villa. Brighton go north to Wolverhampton and win. I won’t even speculate how much City will crap on Southampton.

Gameweek 37

Arsenal does Palace a favor by taking down Newcastle. Spurs surprise everyone by defeating Aston Villa. Critical draws this week include Chelsea v. Manchester United and City v. Bournemouth. Fulham beat Brentford, and Brighton lose to Liverpool in the match that also clinches them the league title.

Gameweek 38

Liverpool, still hungover from the league win, put up a soft team and Palace eke out a draw. Chelsea will not do the business over Forest. City will take Fulham to lock in their Champions League spot. None of the other games will matter, since they all trail Palace by at least three points.

There you have it. Crystal Palace finish in 6th place with 60 points, thereby qualifying for the Conference League Play-Off.

Hey, it could happen. Right?