The race for Champions League qualification is heating up and there are some huge Premier League clubs scrapping away to finish in the top five, with five spots in the Champions League for 2026-27 very likely to be handed to the Premier League.
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With the title race heating up between Arsenal and Manchester City, there are at least 10 teams behind them all involved in an almighty battle for three spots in the UEFA Champions League. And then you add in the fact that Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest could both qualify for the Champions League for next season even if they don’t finish in the top five of the Premier League by virtue of winning the Europa League...
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Below we look at everything you need to know regarding the Premier League’s race for Champions League qualification and reveal the five teams we think will qualify.
Current Champions League race, latest table
- Arsenal — 17-5-3, +32 GD, 56 points — CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GUARANTEED
- Manchester City — 15-5-5, +27 GD, 50 points — CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GUARANTEED
- Aston Villa — 14-5-6, +9 GD, 47 points — CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GUARANTEED
- Manchester United — 12-8-5, +10 GD, 44 points — CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GUARANTEED
- Chelsea — 12-7-6, +17 GD, 43 points — LIKELY CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SPOT — Explainer
In the hunt...
6. Liverpool — 11-6-8, +5 GD, 39 points
7. Brentford — 12-3-10, +5 GD, 39 points
8. Everton — 10-7-8, 0 GD, 37 points
9. Sunderland — 9-9-7, -2 GD, 36 points
10. Fulham — 10-4-11, -2 GD, 34 points
11. Bournemouth — 8-10-7, -3 GD, 34 points
12. Newcastle United — 9-6-10, -1 GD, 33 points
How many Premier League teams can qualify for the Champions League?
The teams who finish in the top four of the Premier League table during the 2025-26 season will qualify automatically for the 2026-27 Champions League campaign. Just like last season the team who finish fifth in the Premier League table are also highly-likely to qualify given that England has a huge lead atop UEFA’s coefficient table and the top two nations based on the performance of their clubs in all European competitions are handed an extra place in the Champions League. That is all explained here.
There is also the possibility of six Premier League teams qualifying for the Champions League league phase once again for next season, as was the case last season. How can that happen? Well, if England maintain their position in the top two of the UEFA coefficient rankings, the Premier League’s top five teams would qualify via their position in the table and if one of Aston Villa or Nottingham Forest finished outside the top five (the former seems unlikely, the latter seems likely) and also won the UEFA Europa League trophy, they would claim their prize of Champions League qualification and therefore make it six Premier League teams in the Champions League league phase for next season.
Analyzing the likely qualifiers, and the chasing pack
Okay, we are going to go ahead and assume that the main title contenders, Arsenal and Manchester City, will qualify for the Champions League. Arsenal have a huge 17-point lead over sixth-place Liverpool and they would have to collapse massively to fall out of the top five. Man City have an 11-point gap to sixth-place and are expected to kick on, as they always seem to do, in the final months of the season.
Aston Villa look pretty set for a top five finish too as they have an eight-point lead over sixth-place right now, but that is looking a bit dicey given the huge injury problems in midfield which have hit Unai Emery’s side hard. With both Manchester United and Chelsea surging just behind Aston Villa, it seems more likely that United and Chelsea will scrap for third place and Villa (given their Europa League exertions) will be involved in the almighty scramble to finish in fifth.
Liverpool have the quality to put a winning run together and finish in the top five, while Brentford, Everton and Sunderland don’t have the distraction of European competition and will have plenty of rest between league games and also no pressure on them whatsoever. The same goes for Fulham and Bournemouth who are a little bit further down the table and don’t rule out Newcastle United who haven’t been in great form but are only 10 points off the top five and are a very streaky team.
Key fixtures remaining
February 23: Everton vs Manchester United
March 4: Aston Villa vs Chelsea
March 15: Manchester United vs Aston Villa
March 21: Everton vs Chelsea
April 18: Everton vs Liverpool
April 18: Chelsea vs Manchester United
April 25: Manchester United vs Brentford
May 2: Manchester United vs Liverpool
May 9: Sunderland vs Manchester United
May 9: Liverpool vs Chelsea
May 17: Aston Villa vs Liverpool
May 24: Liverpool vs Brentford
Why Manchester United should have the edge
United play just one team (Aston Villa) currently above them in the table between now and the end of the season, have no other competitions to worry about and two of their three toughest remaining games are at home against Liverpool and Villa. They basically have to navigate a tough trip to Chelsea in mid-April (by the way, Chelsea could have a Champions League quarterfinal second leg just a few days before it) and then take care of business against teams from much lower down the table. There is a very real scenario that Michael Carrick’s side will go unbeaten in their final 13 games of the season — that would be a 21-game unbeaten run overall — and win at least 10 of them. Seriously.
Who has the toughest, and easiest, run-in?
As aforementioned Man United have it pretty easy, while Chelsea have trips to Arsenal and Liverpool plus home games against both Man United and Man City still to navigate as it’s looking like a tough run-in for Liam Rosenior. Aston Villa have to play Chelsea and Man United in back-to-back games in March, then basically play bottom half teams until the final two weekends of the season when they head to Liverpool and then host Man City. If Villa are still in the hunt for the Europa League trophy at that point it will be intriguing to see what Unai Emery does with his squad rotation in May.
When it comes to Liverpool, there’s no doubt they have the toughest final run-in of the Champions League-chasing teams as they travel to Everton, Man United and Villa in their final three away games and then host Chelsea and Brentford in their final two home games. That is a brutal final five-game run for Arne Slot’s side at the end of an exhausting season as every game will be a six-pointer. Upstarts Sunderland host Man United and Chelsea in their final two home games and have a trip to fellow surprise-package Everton sandwiched in-between that. Brentford have a big chance to continue their great run in March and April, but then their final three away games of the season are at Man United, Man City and Liverpool. Can the Bees stun everyone and qualify for Europe? There is absolutely no pressure on them and that counts for a lot during the run-in, as Everton also have a very favorable run-in and David Moyes will use all of his experience to get the Toffees really close to fifth place.
Predictions for who will qualify for the Champions League, with final points total
If we assume that Arsenal and Manchester City will finish in the top two, in whatever order, then this is how I predict the rest of hte table will stack up.
3. Manchester United — 73 points
4. Aston Villa — 70 points
5. Chelsea — 65 points
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6. Liverpool — 64 points
7. Everton — 64 points
8. Brentford — 59 points
