English clubs in all three of this season’s European club finals. Coincidence, or maybe the Premier League is stronger than we think. The next few weeks will give us those answers and there is another question regarding Andoni Iraola’s next job. Strap yourself in. Issue 96. Go.

There’s a version of this season in European football that feels almost like a statistical anomaly.

One nation placing a club in each of UEFA’s three major competitions at the same time:

On its own, that sounds like an interesting quirk but viewed together, it starts to look like something more structural It is not just about elite English sides being strong. It is about the entire competitive range of the Premier League now translating into Europe.

Arsenal represent the expected end of the spectrum: a club under Mikel Arteta now built to compete for the Champions League and domestic titles simultaneously. Their position at the sharp end of both competitions is not surprising in isolation.

What is more notable is how normal that now feels.

Villa are the clearest signal of the shift. Aston Villa are not operating in the historical “elite European regular” category, yet they are now one of the most credible Europa League sides in the competition.

A first major trophy in decades and Champions League qualification are not fairytale outcomes anymore, they are realistic targets under Unai Emery. A club that has done its best to crack the glass ceiling should be winning a European second tier competition at a canter.

Crystal Palace entering Europe for the first time and immediately functioning as a genuine Conference League contender is where the pattern sharpens.

This is not a traditional powerhouse adapting to a weaker competition. This is a mid-table Premier League side stepping into Europe and behaving like they belong there from day one.

That is the key change. Not dominance at the top but compression of quality across the league. This season’s Champions League has already underlined it. English clubs were among the strongest performers in the league phase, even if they fell short en masse in the knockout phase.

The more revealing takeaway is not superiority at the very top. It is the consistency of competitiveness across different English representatives, regardless of status: when you step outside the traditional “European contenders”, the results do not collapse.

When Tottenham Hotspur can win a European trophy after a 17th-place league finish, it stops being an exception and starts becoming a pattern: English squads retain European viability even when domestic form is poor.

Nottingham Forest reaching the Europa League semi-finals despite sitting 16th domestically reinforces that point and that is the uncomfortable shift for the rest of Europe.

The question is no longer whether the Premier League’s best teams can compete with Europe’s elite. It is whether multiple tiers of Premier League clubs can do so simultaneously.

That creates a different kind of imbalance.

European competition has always depended on contrast. Different leagues, different financial realities, different tactical identities colliding in meaningful ways.

But if a single domestic league consistently produces clubs that are competitive across all three UEFA tournaments at once, the ecosystem starts to flatten.

Not in the sense that games become predictable at the very top but in the sense that the entry threshold for competitiveness is increasingly English.

This is where the conversation shifts away from simple dominance.

Because the issue is not just that England’s best teams are strong. It is that England’s median strength is now competing at a European level. That has two consequences:

First, it reduces variance in European competitions. Fewer genuine outsiders can sustain deep runs because the baseline physicality, depth, and squad quality required has risen.

Second, it compresses opportunity. If multiple English clubs across different tiers can realistically win or reach finals in different competitions simultaneously, then the distribution of European success narrows further.

This is already visible in how the competitions are being populated. The same countries repeatedly cycle through the latter stages. The same financial ecosystems dominate squad construction.

That raises a more uncomfortable strategic question for UEFA.

If European competitions are designed to identify the continent’s best clubs, what happens when one league’s internal structure effectively guarantees representation across all levels of those competitions?

Because at that point, it is no longer just about elite superiority. It becomes about systemic depth and that is much harder for the rest of Europe to match (and watch with a great degree of envy)

This season might not end with all three English clubs lifting trophies. But the more important story is that the possibility itself is no longer surprising.

Arsenal competing for the top prize. Villa pushing for a first breakthrough. Palace entering Europe and immediately competing. Forest overperforming in Europe while underperforming domestically.

It is all part of the same signal. The Premier League is no longer just exporting elite teams.

It is exporting competitive density.

What a final act it could be for Oliver Glasner, leading Crystal Palace to European success before bowing out as manager. That would be the dream scenario but there is also the reality of who will be the next Eagles boss.

Which if you are to believe one of the BBC Sport website’s latest articles, the man in question is Andoni Iraola. Yes, the same man who himself has announced his upcoming departure from a Premier League mainstay.

Many felt that Iraola would be going back to Athletic Bilbao but former Borussia Dortmund manager Edin Terzic got their first and that recent decision has seemingly put other clubs on red alert in the race for his services.

Now the news that Crystal Palace have reportedly placed Iraola at the top of their shortlist does come with a caveat. They may be interested in hiring the Spanish coach but the feeling does not necessarily have to be receptical.

As referenced in the top section of the issue, Palace could win the Conference League and in turn be playing Europa League football but it could be a competition that houses Bournemouth as well.

Whether the Cherries qualify for Europe or not, is not going to be something that makes Iraola offer a u-turn in terms of his current decision but it does make you think if he doesn’t fancy a European campaign with Bournemouth than why would he at Palace?

Of course, stranger things have happened but this time around, I don’t personally think this will be one of them. Then again, another strange decision would be seeing Iraola take the reins at Stamford Bridge instead.

With their current goal difference, Liverpool are most likely just one win away from securing a return to the Champions League next season. The quicker that they can achieve this, the less stress for their support and the increasing likelihood that Arne Slot is still in charge on the other side of the summer break.

Standing in their way are a team that had designs of being in that same competition but it is funny what six consecutive league wins will do to those hopes and with Chelsea’s form taking an absolute nosedive, the best they can hope for is a sixth place finish and Aston Villa winning the Europa League. The first part of that equation looks more unlikely by the week.

Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler signed a new contract in the week and will be keen to pay the board’s faith in him as soon as possible. They are another club that are now pinning their hopes on an Aston Villa win in Europe but the Seagulls still need to do their bit by jumping back into sixth place in the table.

To do so, they need to return to winning ways this weekend and it is basement side Wolves that provide the opposition at The Amex. Long since relegated but still in a position to finish off the foot of the table, a win here would make Burnley sweat in the race to the bottom.

No margin for error as far as Sunderland are concerned and if they are to get into Europe, they can no longer absorb any further defeats. They may even need to add nine points to their tally. A slightly tall order considering their indifferent form these past few weeks and their three-game end of season sprint starts with the visit of Manchester United.

A Manchester United side that now in the Champions League next season do have every right to go down through the gears across the next three weeks. Then again, Michael Carrick’s future is still yet to be confirmed and that bloke still needs his haircut, so maybe now is not actually the time to relax.

Fulham were torn apart by Arsenal last Saturday and that 3-0 defeat at the Emirates has left the Cottagers’ European hopes dangling by a string. They need to get as many points on the board as possible but the problem with Marco Silva’s men is that you just do not know what version of his side you are going to get. They are arguably the hardest team to read in the division.

While upcoming opppnents Bournemouth will hope the Fulham that plays hosts is a lot closer in performance to the one that appeared at the Emirates. The Cherries are unbeaten in their last 15 and it is they that currently have the Aston Villa beneficiary berth locked up. Imagine Champions League qualification under Andoni Iraola as his parting gift.

Manchester City need to bounce back after their miserable Monday night on Merseyside. Is the damage in terms of the title race already done or is there still another twist yet to unfold. If Pep Guardiola’s men can get the better of Brentford on Saturday, it will only further ratchet the pressure up on league leaders Arsenal a day later.

As for the Bees, they will hope that their win over West Ham last Saturday was not just the outlier of their recent form but the start of a late season winning streak. Talisman Igor Thiago is three behind Erling Haaland in the race for the Premier League Golden Boot, keep an eye on that battle at the Etihad.

After their bruising defeat at the hands of Aston Villa on Thursday night, Nottingham Forest now just have to make sure that their Premier League status is confirmed for another season. If results go their way this weekend, then Vitor Pereira’s men can at least take some comfort from keeping their heads above domestic waters.

They play host to a Newcastle side that will be keen to increase their misery and in doing so, increase their slim chances of squeezing into the European mix next season. I have no idea how many teams will be representing England in 2026/27, all you can do is finish as high up the table as possible and see what comes out in the wash.

Not a thriller at Turf Moor as Michael Jackson once again takes interim charge of Burnley. After the Clarets’ 3-0 loss at Leeds last Friday, those involved will be looking for some home cheer and perhaps more importantly, points that ward off any threat of Wolves overtaking them between now and the final day.

They play host to an Aston Villa side that will weigh up how to approach this game after the wholesale changes that were made before Sunday’s clash with Spurs. Ultimately the ends justified the means after their demolition of Nottingham Forest but they still need to get over the fifth place Premier League line as some form of insurance policy.

After celebrating qualification to their first ever European final (in their debut season no less), Crystal Palace now have to deal with the bread and butter of Premier League football and let’s be honest, if they had the opportunity not to play their last three domestic outings, the trio of upcoming fixtures would be tossed in the bin.

Which could mean good news for Everton and after succumbing to injury time winners in each of their last three league outings, manager David Moyes will be hoping that his players can stay fully tuned past the 90 minute marker. Not only to break that unwanted streak but to also thrust themselves back in the European conversation.

The game that could well define what happens at both the top and the bottom of the table at the end of the season. West Ham’s survival is not in their hands anymore, their plight could be worsened if they lose to Arsenal on Sunday. It’s not necessarily the 3-0 loss to Brentford that hurts the most, more the 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace.

Which means if Arsenal win here and help play a part in Tottenham up then so be it, I have made peace with that. The Gunners are five points clear of Manchester City before the weekend begins, if the gap is not down to two by the time matters get underway at the London Stadium, they could even afford a draw against their crosstown rivals.

With that being said, Tottenham supporters are going to have a very keen interest in what unfolds in East London the day before. Defeat for West Ham will only play further into Spurs’ hands and if they can get their own safety gap to five points by the end of Monday night, then the weekend’s results could not have gone any better for Roberto De Zerbi.

Standing in their way of a third successive league win are a Leeds side that are unbeaten in each of their last six league outings. There is no suggestion that they are going to rollover at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but with their work all but done, surely they don’t need to dampen Spurs spirits. Then again, the hosts have only won twice at home this season so nothing is a given at the start of next week.

Right, that’s the end of issue 96 as word continues to spread around the football world.

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Issue 97 drops Tuesday, I’ll be back with another round of insight, analysis and trends that matter. Any feedback or comments on this issue, contact me below:

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