What Easter really Means

PREMIER LEAGUE

The top four teams in the Premier League will qualify for the Champions League. The top three will go straight to the group stage, the fourth-placed team will face a play-off.

English clubs are offered three places in the Europa League (formerly the Uefa Cup) – for the FA Cup winners, the Carling Cup winners and the fifth-placed team in the Premier League.

Manchester United were the first team to book their place in Europe

With Manchester United having won the Carling Cup – barring the unlikely (but not impossible) scenario of United finishing outside the top four, the Europa League place allocated to the Carling Cup winners will go to the sixth-placed team.

There are also three additional Europa League places awarded to the three national associations which finish highest in its Respect Fair Play league standings. Norway, Denmark and Scotland were the highest-ranked associations in late January.

Each qualifying association is then entitled to put forward the highest-placed club from its own fair play standings which has not already qualified for Europe.

INTERNET LINK: Norway lead Respect Fair Play rankings (26 January)

The Intertoto Cup – previously an alternative route into the Uefa Cup for clubs – has been abolished.

The bottom three teams will be relegated to the Championship.

Two teams are promoted automatically, with the next four taking part in the play-offs. Wolves are leading the charge for promotion to the Premier League.

The bottom three teams will be relegated to League One. Bottom club Charlton are on the brink of relegation and need to win all of their remaining games and hope other results go their way to stand a chance. Two more out of Norwich, Barnsley, Nottingham Forest and Southampton are set to join them.

Two teams are promoted automatically, with the next four taking part in the play-offs. Leicester City need just two points from their final three matches to confirm a return to the Championship.

The bottom four teams will be relegated to League Two – bottom two Hereford and Cheltenham seem certain for the drop.

Three teams are promoted automatically to League One, with the next four taking part in the play-offs. Only five points separate the top four teams following Easter Monday’s games.

Luton Town were relegated to the Blue Square Premier on Easter Monday after a 0-0 draw with Chesterfield. It looks as though one out of either Chester, Grimsby or Bournemouth will join them.