As the 2025/26 season enters the home straight, the battle to qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League intensifies.
At the end of the campaign, the top four or – more likely – five teams in the Premier League table will be rewarded with a place in Europe’s top club competition, enabling them to take on the continent’s best clubs in 2026/27. See lower down this page for an explanation of why it could be five teams who qualify.
Who is likely to qualify?
Premier League leaders Arsenal look nailed on to take their place in the Champions League next season, 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 spot, 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. Just three points separate that quartet, all of whom have nine league fixtures remaining. Amazingly, 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 standings are guaranteed to play in next season’s Champions League.
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 via their league position. This was because England claimed one of two additional spots available through UEFA’s coefficient table, which measures how clubs from each country perform as a collective across European competitions.
A repeat of that scenario looks likely again in 2025/26, with England (the Premier League) holding a commanding lead at the top of the coefficient table.
UEFA coefficient rankings*
| Association | Ave. pts | Clubs still in Europe / at start | Total pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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, correct as of 9 March. Scroll across to see full table
If England stay in the top two spots, the team that finishes fifth in the Premier League would qualify for next season’s Champions League. That looks a distinct probability given the current gap to third-placed Spain and the fact all nine English clubs are still in Europe.
Who is in the best form?
Arsenal and Man City have not 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 their head coaches in January, to Michael Carrick and Liam Rosenior respectively.
What are the remaining fixtures?
It appears to be advantage Arsenal in terms of the remaining fixtures as they only have to face one club in the top six. However, that just happens to be Man City, in a blockbuster match at the Etihad Stadium on 19 April.
Every other team currently battling it out for a Champions League place will have three meetings with fellow occupants of the current top six.
Key fixtures between top six sides
15 March Man Utd v Aston Villa
12 April Chelsea v Man City
18 April Chelsea v Man Utd
19 April Man City v Arsenal
2 May Man Utd v Liverpool
9 May Liverpool v Chelsea
17 May Aston Villa v Liverpool
24 May Man City v Aston Villa
Remaining fixtures for the top six
| MW | Arsenal | Man City | Man Utd | Aston Villa | Chelsea | Liverpool |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | EVE (H) | WHA (A) | AVL (H) | MUN (A) | NEW (H) | TOT (H) |
| 31 | - | - | BOU (A) | WHU (H) | EVE (A) | BHA (A) |
| 32 | BOU (H) | CHE (A) | LEE (H) | NFO (A) | MCI (H) | FUL (H) |
| 33 | MCI (A) | ARS (H) | CHE (A) | SUN (H) | MUN (H) | EVE (A) |
| 34 | NEW (H) | BUR (A) | BRE (H) | FUL (A) | BHA (A) | CRY (H) |
| 35 | FUL (H) | EVE (A) | LIV (H) | TOT (H) | NFO (H) | MUN (A) |
| 36 | WHU (A) | BRE (H) | SUN (A) | BUR (A) | LIV (A) | CHE (H) |
| 37 | BUR (H) | BOU (A) | NFO (H) | LIV (H) | TOT (H) | AVL (A) |
| 38 | CRY (A) | AVL (H) | BHA (A) | MCI (A) | SUN (A) | BRE (H) |
Scroll across to see full table