I honestly don't see which way it goes, 4 teams, 2 spots, games in hand, tough run ins, and like above, we've almost got them all running into each other.
Does the winner of the champions league still occupy a place if they win?
Chelsea won in 2012 whilst Spurs finished fourth, I remember this because we ourselves were fighting for that fourth spot and in the end it would ultimately have been pointless. So obviously in the unlikely scenario Leicester City actually won it, fourth spot would then be theirs.
That's not really what I was getting at there though, United could win the Europa League which has a prize of Champions League football bundled with it, which IIRC does not effect league standing qualification in any way.
So winning the harder and more prestigious champions league allows you to defend it at the expense of your fellow teams league position. Winning the Europa allows 5 English teams in the Champions League
Why can't they just allow 5 teams in either scenario? assuming the CL winner hasn't finished in a qualifying spot.