The club football season is coming to an end, and two of the five top leagues in Europe have found their champions (Bundesliga and Serie A), while the other three are yet to be decided.
Out of these, the Premier League will have five automatic UEFA Champions League qualification spots available at the end of the season, with Arsenal, Manchester City, and most recently Manchester United already booking their place in the European top tier for next season.
How did the Premier League get five Champions League spots?
In the ongoing campaign, England gained an extra berth – the European Performance Spot (EPS) – after leading the UEFA coefficient rankings by a comfortable margin last season alongside Spain, and the same has been the case for the 2026-27 campaign.
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Liverpool and Aston Villa sit fourth and fifth, respectively, in the Premier League standings with 58 points and are on track to play in the Champions League next season. Meanwhile, Bournemouth and Brentford are in the Europa League and Conference League places respectively.
How can Premier League have a sixth team in Champions League next season?
Villa is set to face Nottingham Forest in the Europa League semifinal, and if either side manages to win the competition, they will receive an automatic spot in next season’s Champions League, irrespective of where they finish in the league.
If Villa wins the Europa League and finishes fifth or below, then the next best-placed team will be eligible for the EPS. But if it finishes fourth and wins the European title, then no extra place will be awarded.
If Nottingham Forest (16th in standings) wins the Europa League, then it will be the sixth team to play in the Champions League just like Tottenham Hotspur featured in this edition of the competition.
Published on May 04, 2026
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