Chelsea will qualify for Europe with victory over Liverpool (Picture: Getty)
Chelsea will take on Liverpool in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final at Wembley looking to secure the first trophy of the Mauricio Pochettino era.
But the Blues will have to reverse recent precedent in order to do so, having tasted defeat in each of their previous five domestic cup finals.
That includes being edged out by Liverpool in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup finals in 2022, with Wembley heartache on both occasions coming as a result of penalty shootout defeats.
If the Londoners can avoid becoming the first English club to be beaten in six consecutive finals, not only will they get their hands on their first trophy since 2021, but they will also qualify for Europe next season.
Which European competition will Chelsea qualify for if they beat Liverpool?
Should Chelsea beat Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final, they would automatically qualify for the Europa Conference League play-off round.
Chelsea have not played in the competition since it was launched by UEFA in the 2021/22 season.
It will be the Conference League, not the Europa League, for Chelsea (Picture: Getty)
Up until that year, the winners of the League Cup would qualify automatically for the Europa League.
But if Chelsea can qualify for the Europa League through their league position, they will instead compete in that European competition next season – with the Europa Conference League spot then handed down to the next-highest team in the Premier League.
There is talk, however, that Chelsea could strike a deal with UEFA to ban themselves from European football for next season in a bid to save money and stay clear of breaching financial rules.
Qualifying for a continental competition would bring them under UEFA’s financial regulations, which are stricter than the Premier League’s.
‘By the time you pay the players’ bonuses for qualifying for the competition, transport, accommodation and other costs, you’re only making a small amount of money from the Conference League,’ football finance expert Kieran Maguire told The Athletic.
‘You’ll struggle to get a decent number of fans to attend Stamford Bridge if the opposition is modest. That isn’t a criticism of them. It’s modern-day economics.
‘If they are exceeding the UEFA limits, the question becomes: ‘Do we want to go and play in the Conference League next season?’. Because they won’t make any money from it.’
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