How it stands and remaining fixtures
Everything you need to know as Premier League teams fight for a place in Europe’s biggest club competition
As the 2025/26 season enters the homestretch, the battle for qualification for next season’s UEFA Champions League heats up.
At the end of the campaign, the four or – more likely – five teams in the Premier League table will be rewarded with a place in Europe’s biggest club competition, allowing them to take on the continent’s top clubs in 2026/27. See further down this page for an explanation of why five teams could qualify.
Who is likely to be eligible?
Premier League leaders Arsenal look set to take their place in next season’s Champions League, given they have a 19-point buffer between them and fifth-placed Chelsea. Mikel Arteta’s side are unbeaten in their last eight league matches.
Second-placed Manchester City are also in a strong position, nine points clear of third place, despite only managing a 2-2 draw at home to Nottingham Forest last time out.
The gap between the next four teams – Manchester United, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Liverpool – is minimal. Only three points separate this quartet, which remains nine days in the championship. Surprisingly, Chelsea were the only one of them to avoid defeat last time out.
Will four or five teams qualify for the Champions League?
The top four teams in the 2025/26 Premier League table are guaranteed to participate in the Champions League next season.
What is currently unknown is whether the team that finishes fifth will join them.
Last season was the first in which five Premier League clubs qualified for the Champions League through their league position. Indeed, England have won one of two additional places available in the UEFA coefficient table, which measures the collective performance of each country’s clubs in European competitions.
A repeat of this scenario appears likely in 2025/26, with England (the Premier League) holding a commanding lead at the top of the coefficient table.
UEFA coefficient ranking*
| Association | Ave. pts | Clubs still in Europe / departing | Total points |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 22,291 | 9/9 | 200,625 |
| Germany | 17,571 | 5/7 | 123,000 |
| Spain | 17,406 | 6/8 | 139,250 |
| Italy | 17,357 | 4/7 | 121,500 |
| Portugal | 16,600 | 3/5 | 83,000 |
*Source: UEFA, accurate as of March 9. Scroll to see the full table
If England remain in the top two places, the team that finishes fifth in the Premier League would qualify for next season’s Champions League. This seems very likely given the current gap to third-placed Spain and the fact that all nine English clubs are still in Europe.
Who is in the best shape?
Arsenal and Man City haven’t lost since January, but Villa and Liverpool have both been inconsistent of late. Man Utd and Chelsea both recently suffered their first league defeats since changing head coaches in January to Michael Carrick and Liam Rosenior respectively.
What are the remaining appointments?
This appears to be an advantage for Arsenal in terms of their remaining matches, as they only have to face one club in the top six. However, it was Man City, in a blockbuster match at the Etihad Stadium on April 19.
All other teams currently fighting for a Champions League place will have three meetings with other occupants of the current top six.
Key meetings between the top six teams
March 15 Man Utd v Aston Villa
April 12 Chelsea vs Man City
April 18 Chelsea vs Man Utd
April 19 Man City vs. Arsenal
May 2 Man Utd vs Liverpool
May 9 Liverpool vs Chelsea
May 17 Aston Villa vs Liverpool
May 24 Man City v Aston Villa
Remaining schedule for the first six
| MW | Arsenal | Man City | Man Utd | Villa Aston | Chelsea | Liverpool |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | EVE (H) | WHA (A) | AVL (M) | MUN (A) | NEW (M) | TOT (H) |
| 31 | – | – | BOU (A) | WHU (H) | EVE (A) | BHA(A) |
| 32 | BOU (H) | CHE (A) | LEL (H) | NPO (A) | MCI (M) | FULL (M) |
| 33 | MCI (A) | ARS (H) | CHE (A) | SUN (H) | MUN (M) | EVE (A) |
| 34 | NEW (M) | BUR (A) | BRE (H) | COMPLETE (A) | BHA(A) | CRY (M) |
| 35 | FULL (M) | EVE (A) | LIV (H) | TOT (H) | NF (H) | MUN (A) |
| 36 | WHU(A) | BRE (M) | SUN (A) | BUR (A) | LIV (A) | CHE (M) |
| 37 | BUR (H) | BOU (A) | NF (H) | LIV (H) | TOT (M) | AVL (A) |
| 38 | CRI (A) | AVL (H) | BHA(A) | MCI (A) | SUN (A) | BRE (M) |
Scroll to see the full table