Road To Europe: How 10 Premier League Teams Can Qualify For Europe

As the fight for Europe heats up during The Run In, here’s everything you need to know about Premier League clubs attempting to qualify for European participation next season.

The fight to qualify for the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, and UEFA Conference League is growing more thrilling – and harder to forecast.

The Premier League’s top five clubs are certain to qualify for the Champions League, with only four points separating the five teams positioned third through ninth.

Another fascinating race is taking place a bit farther down the table. As many as ten clubs might qualify for Europe, as explained below, and the four teams from ninth to eleventh are separated by only four points.

How do teams qualify for European competition?

UEFA Champions League

The top five Premier League teams will advance to next season’s Champions League.

Thanks to Premier League teams’ accomplishments in all UEFA tournaments this season, England is officially assured a top-two slot in UEFA’s association club coefficient rankings, earning a “European Performance Spot” (EPS).

It implies that the Premier League might have up to SIX clubs in the Champions League next season: the top five teams in the league, plus the Europa League champions if they finish outside the top five.

Liverpool are assured to compete in the Champions League since they will finish first in the table, and the top five clubs will qualify for the competition in 2025/26.

UEFA Europa League

English football earns two Europa League spots.

One is typically handed to the Premier League’s fifth-place finisher, but this season it will go to the sixth-place team because England has earned an additional fifth Champions League slot.

The other Europa League spot goes to the FA Cup winners.

UEFA Conference League

The winners of the EFL Cup are eligible for the Conference League. Newcastle clinched a European berth this season with a victory over Liverpool at Wembley Stadium, breaking a 56-year trophy drought.

Newcastle has guaranteed a UEFA Conference League berth for next season after winning the EFL Cup. However, they might still qualify for either the Champions League or the Europa League. More about that below.

How might ten English teams compete in Europe next season?

Ten English clubs may compete in European events next season. Here is one situation in which this may occur:

• Liverpool, Arsenal, Nottingham Forest, Newcastle, and Manchester City finish in the top five and are eligible for the Champions League. – Aston Villa or Brighton finish sixth and qualify for the Europa League. – Bournemouth finish seventh and take the Conference League place from EFL Cup winners Newcastle.
• Chelsea finish eighth and qualify for the Europa League after capturing this season’s Conference League.
• Crystal Palace finish tenth and qualify for the Europa League by winning this season’s FA Cup.
• Manchester United or Tottenham Hotspur finish 11th and qualify for the Champions League by winning this season’s Europa League.

Such an unlikely conclusion would result in SIX English teams competing in next year’s Champions League, THREE in the Europa League, and ONE in the Conference League.

The domestic struggles of Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, who are 14th and 16th, mean that winning the Europa League trophy is now their only chance of remaining in Europe next season. They might face in the final on May 21 in Bilbao, with the winner earning a spot in the 2025/26 Champions League.