With four of the six teams representing the Premier League eliminated in the last 16, it is a tough time for the English team heading into the Champions League.
But hope remains for next season, with as many as seven teams potentially qualifying for the 2026/27 competition.
How can seven teams from the Premier League qualify for the Champions League?
I’m glad you asked. A specific but very likely outcome is that England could have seven teams in next season’s tournament, or almost a fifth of all teams in the league.
To do that, Liverpool must win this season’s Champions League and at the same time finish within the top five in the Premier League. Due to their status as holders, in theory the free spots given to them in the league standings (assuming the Premier League holds five spots for next season, more on that later) will go to the team in sixth place.
According to Opta, if Aston Villa occupy sixth place and win the Europa League, they will also automatically qualify for the Champions League. He will break away from the team currently in seventh place (Brentford) to compete in Europe’s top competition as one of a record-breaking seven internationals.
And 4 more across Europe – 11 in total?!
Yes, if all goes well, more than half of the Premier League could be playing in Europe next season.
Even if the Premier League were to secure seven Champions League spots, they would still have two Europa League spots and one Conference League spot, which would drop them to 10th place.
If Crystal Palace win this season’s Conference League, they will also qualify for the Europa League, although they are also favorites to win the league. If they do that and finish outside the top 10, there will be 11 England teams in Europe next season.
What are the chances of the Premier League getting five Champions League spots?
Despite such a poor week for English clubs, the Premier League has more teams remaining in Europe than any other country except Spain, and currently leads the continent-wide coefficient rankings in the race for one of the top two spots to secure an additional Champions League spot.
The main problem facing their hopes is that England only has two clubs left in the Champions League. The Champions League is the competition that awards the most points per win, draw or round progression compared to the Europa League and Conference League.
On the plus side, Germany, Portugal and France each have one representative left in the Champions League, making it less likely that other countries will knock England out of the top two.
Who will qualify for the Champions League?
Assuming that England once again earns five Champions League spots based on league positions, there will be eight teams with at least a 5 per cent qualification, which of course would be even more likely if they finished fifth or higher in the Premier League.
Newcastle are given only a slim chance of qualifying, but even though they sit in 12th place, they are just seven points adrift of the crucial fifth place with the same number of games remaining.
There are many things involved in a run-in. Looking specifically at the teams currently in the top five and the two teams closest to them, Chelsea and Brentford, here’s how the final game will look…
