With just two matches remaining in the Premier League this season, Wolverhampton Wanderers are on course to finish in 7th place.
Despite being tipped by many to have a good season, no one could have realistically seen Wolves finishing so high up the table having only just won promotion from the Championship.
There are no guarantees in football of course and Wolves have two games remaining. One of which looks tough, away at Liverpool with the other against Fulham at home which will be played this week.
If Wolves do finish in 7th place this season, they will need Manchester City to win the FA Cup to get a place in the Europa League.
However, entering the Europa League from 7th place in the table does not mean an automatic place in the group stages of the competition. What it really means is a place in the second qualifying round and that starts on the 26th July 2019.
While the fans would love a European adventure, is it ideal for the players and worth the extra effort it will take to try and qualify for the group stages?
Burnley started this season in the second qualifying round of the Europa League. They played a total of six games and did not make it to the group stages, losing out at the final hurdle. The early start to the season and disappointment of not making into the Europa League group stages seemed to hit their Premier League form hard.
Burnley failed to win any of their first five Premier League matches and this immediately put them on the back foot. They lost at home to Watford and Manchester United plus tasted defeat at two newly promoted clubs, one of which was Wolves and the other Fulham.
In fact, the Clarets won only two of their first fifteen Premier League games, a run which left them in the relegation zone, sitting 19th in the table. Entering the New Year and things picked up and Burnley produced a run of good results to move them up the league and into safety.
Nonetheless, the impact an early Europa League campaign had on the club cannot be underestimated and would it be in Wolves’ best interests to be thrust into the same situation having played only one season back in the Premier League?
Wolves have used a small group of players this season, with only 15 men having 10 starts or more to their name throughout the campaign in all competitions. They are surely going to add to their squad in the summer but at the moment, it is not a squad which is capable of challenging on both the domestic and European front next season.
Perhaps it would be for the best if Wolves missed out on a second round Europa League qualifying place and continued to build their growing reputation in the Premier League without any early season distractions?