The Premier League will have five representatives in next season’s Champions League after securing one of the additional spots awarded based on club performances across Europe’s three major competitions.
Under the revamped Champions League format, which expands the competition to 36 teams, two leagues are granted a European Performance Spot (EPS). This new system rewards the best-performing leagues over the season.
England has led the EPS standings for much of the campaign, with its position effectively cemented following a string of disappointing results from Italian clubs in the knockout playoffs and round of 16. That left Premier League clubs needing just one win—or two draws—to clinch the extra place.
Arsenal’s 3-0 home victory over Real Madrid on Tuesday sealed the deal, ensuring the league’s fifth-placed team will qualify for the Champions League.
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Chelsea and Newcastle United are currently tied on 53 points in fourth and fifth, with Newcastle holding a key game in hand. However, the race for the top five remains wide open, with Manchester City (52 points), Aston Villa (51), Fulham (48), and Brighton & Hove Albion (47) all in contention.
CAN IT BE EXTENDED TO 6 TEAMS?
If Aston Villa goes on to win the Champions League—having reached the quarterfinals against Paris Saint-Germain—and finishes fifth in the Premier League, England would gain six spots in next season’s Champions League. Those would go to the top four, Villa as titleholders, and the European Performance Spot (EPS), which would then pass down to the sixth-placed team.
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The theoretical maximum number of English clubs in the Champions League is seven. That would happen if the top four qualify, plus the EPS spot, and Aston Villa and Manchester United or Tottenham Hotspur win the Champions League and Europa League, respectively.
Up to 11 Premier League teams could qualify for European competition next season if Villa, Manchester United or Spurs, and Chelsea each win one of the three UEFA trophies but finish outside the usual qualifying places. Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League winners all earn automatic qualification for next season’s competitions, regardless of domestic league position.
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However, if Arsenal or Aston Villa win the Champions League and also finish in the top four, it doesn’t free up an extra spot—the league would still send only five teams, including the EPS slot.
Spain, like England, still has five teams alive in European competition and is currently in line to claim the second EPS. However, Italy remains in the hunt and could still overtake them.
Last season, Italy and Germany received the two EPS places, with Bologna and Borussia Dortmund both qualifying by finishing fifth in their domestic leagues.
