How SIXTH place in Premier League could get Champions League spot

It was recently confirmed that five English teams will qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League through their final Premier League position in 2025/26. But did you know that the sixth-placed side could also get a spot in Europe’s elite club competition?

It raises the stakes ahead of Brighton & Hove Albion v Chelsea on Tuesday, given Brighton would leapfrog Chelsea into sixth place if they win the head-to-head.

How could sixth place qualify for the Champions League?

For this to happen, Aston Villa would need to win the UEFA Europa League and finish fifth in the Premier League. That is because fifth place in the Premier League will be given a European Performance Spot (EPS) in the Champions League, as a reward for English clubs’ collective progress in Europe this season.

See: What is the European Performance Spot?

Villa are currently in fourth place and have reached the Europa League semi-finals, in which they will face fellow Premier League club Nottingham Forest.

If Villa finish fifth and have already qualified for the Champions League by winning the Europa League, the EPS would be passed down to the team finishing sixth in the Premier League.

However, as a consequence, the Premier League would then no longer have a team qualifying for the Europa League via their league position. That spot would pass to another country.

Race for sixth is EPIC

The race to finish sixth is set to be a hugely intriguing one, given only six points separate sixth-placed Chelsea from 14th-placed Newcastle United.

Indeed, that gap between sixth and 14th has only once been tighter in the Premier League on this calendar date, 21 April. That was in 1992/93, the competition’s first season, when five points separated the teams in those positions.

The gap from fifth to sixth is bigger, with Liverpool now seven points ahead of Chelsea.

See: How Premier League clubs qualify for Europe