I’m sure what they are doing in the EPL is just to minimize collateral damage as they sure know they are out of it and isn’t getting anything from the league this season. They just need to climb to a some worth comfortable spot while any hopes of getting a trophy this season, they would take that up with the Europa.
But they're still playing with the same players, so it's hard to see them do better in another competition just because they want to win something. Don't you think it will affect their confidence if the coach or board tells them to just play whatever in the league, but they have to do well in the Europa League? Because it shows there's a high chance most of them will be sold in the next window. I can't imagine that if the board truly thinks like that, they'll keep the players they have right now.
It’s management, just management.
You know when a team has EPL over the weekend and a UCL fixture in the coming days,,, they always tend to reserve some players and even do some changes to their formation and game strategies just to be well prepared for the UCL than they will for the premier league. Given that, the EPL is more about points, you don’t get kicked out of the league without having all 32 games played and your points don’t tally up.
It’s not the same with the other leagues as, a home and away loss could do the job. Different strategies are employed to keep the team fit. That’s what happens when you’ve lost hope in a trophy and still have some chance at the other. You tend to put more energy and concentration on the other.