With Watford in the FA Cup final and still very much in the hunt for a seventh place finish in the Premier League, the possibility of them featuring in Europe next season remains in tact.

There are seven European places handed down to English clubs each season, with four Champions League places and three Europa League spots.

The Champions League is currently beyond Watford (for this season, at least) but two routes into the Europa League remain.

However, with each of the seven respective routes to European competition dependent on a number of different factors, it can be difficult to work out who will be appearing in which competition next season.

So, with that in mind, these are the following circumstances that would send the Hornets into Europe.

Watford win the FA Cup

The easiest route to Europe for Watford is to win the FA Cup.

With Manchester City standing in their way, that may not be so simple, but a victory in the FA Cup final would see the Hornets progress straight through to the group stages of the tournament without having to go through qualification stages, which start early in the summer.

Watford lose the FA Cup final, but finish seventh in the league

Ordinarily finishing seventh would not put a club through to the Europa League, however, this season is different.

Usually the three English Europa League spots are presented to the winners of the FA Cup, the winners of the League Cup and the team that finishes fifth in the Premier League.

However, Manchester City's cross-competition dominance this year means that seventh place could be enough to feature in Europe next season, if City claim both the League Cup and the FA Cup.

With City chasing the Premier League title and guaranteed a place within the top four, they will feature in next season's Champions League, which they still could win this season as well.

Therefore the Europa League place they have won via the League Cup will get passed on to the next-highest ranked team not qualified for UEFA competitions in the Premier League, i.e. the team that finishes sixth.

The same would happen if Manchester City won the FA Cup instead of Watford, which would mean the team that finished seventh would qualify for the Europa League as well, but would enter the competition at the second qualifying round.

A further caveat comes from current sixth place incumbents Manchester United, who are also still in with a chance of winning the Champions League.

If they were to win that competition, then they would take part in it again the following season as Champions, meaning they would no longer participate in the Europa League.

However, their place in the Europa League would not be passed on to eighth place and instead would simply not be given to an English club.

Additionally, Watford could return to Wembley at the start of next season with a place in the league's annual curtain raiser, the Community Shield.

In order for the Hornets to earn a place in that competition, they would need to win the FA Cup.

Even if Manchester City win both the league and the FA Cup, Watford would still not play in the game, as the opposition would then be the Premier League runners up, as last happened in 2010 when Chelsea won the double.