Six English clubs could qualify for the Champions League in 2025/26

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The Football Faithful

·24 February 2025

Six English clubs could qualify for the Champions League in 2025/26

The race for Champions League qualification heated up over the weekend in what promises to be a fascinating battle.

Newcastle United moved level on points with Manchester City in fourth, after beating third-place Nottingham Forest 4-3 at St James’ Park. There was also a huge win for Aston Villa, who got their challenge back on track by beating Chelsea.

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Just five points currently separates the teams from third to eight in the table, while Brighton (9th), Fulham (10th) and Brentford (11th) can not be discounted as things stand. The latter are just seven points from the Champions League places after thrashing Leicester City on Friday night.

How many teams qualify for the Champions League?

In a standard season, the top four positions in the Premier League are guaranteed a place in the Champions League.

Runaway leaders Liverpool (64 points) are almost certain to claim Champions League qualification, with second-place Arsenal (53 points) also boasting a healthy cushion over the chasing pack. Currently, Nottingham Forest (47 points) and Manchester City (44 points) hold the guaranteed qualification places.

Newcastle (44 points) moved level on points with City at the weekend but have an inferior goal difference.

Bournemouth (43 points), Chelsea (43 points), Aston Villa (42 points) are all right in contention.

Could the Premier League be handed an additional place in the Champions League?

As things stand, the Premier League is set to be allocated an additional place in the 2025/26 Champions League.

Countries that finish first and second in UEFA’s coefficient table for the previous season earn an additional Champions League spot for the following season.

The co-efficient is based on performance in Europe the previous year. The Premier League leads the way with six of the seven English teams that started the continental campaign still in Europe.

What about the Europa League winners?

The Europa League winners earn entry to the following season’s Champions League, which has opened up the prospect of six English teams reaching next season’s competition.

Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United are the Premier League representatives in the Europa League this season and have progressed to the Round of 16. However, both sides are enduring difficult domestic campaigns and look unlikely to reach Europe through their league position.

Should either side win the Europa League and finish outside the Premier League’s top five, English football will gain six entrants to next season’s competition.