Thanks to the growing financial power of the last two decades, the Premier League has become a giant among European competitions.
While England’s top teams have yet to fight tooth and nail for European titles, the Premier League has proven its superiority in terms of depth.
The likes of Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool and other big clubs in England have largely taken on other European giants in UEFA’s top leagues, but the league’s ability to place its other clubs in European competitions and perform at all levels makes it a titan of the backwoods.
As more English clubs enjoy success on the European stage, the league continues to gain more qualification places in UEFA competitions, and the 2025/26 season will be no different.
The Sporting News looks at which clubs are in the hunt for qualification for the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League, and what potential scenarios could unfold to help the majority of English clubs find themselves among the European tournament fields next season.
Which Premier League teams have qualified for Europe?
As things stand, the following teams have qualified from the Premier League for European football in 2025/26:
*Teams in bold are guaranteed a place in that competition.
UEFA Champions League
Arsenal
city of manchester
3rd place in the Premier League table
Fourth place in the Premier League table
5th place in the Premier League table
UEFA European League
6th place in the Premier League table
FA Cup Winners 2026
UEFA Conference League
7th in the Premier League table
Monitoring the race through Europe in the 2024/25 Premier League
Here’s a breakdown of the Premier League teams looking to qualify for Europe in 2025/26.
Rankings and places updated after the Man United vs. match. Brentford on Monday 27th April.
champions league
| Pos. | Club | family doctor | points | WDL | God |
| 1. | Arsenal | 34 | 73 | 22-7-5 | +38 |
| 2. | city man | 33 | 70 | 21-7-5 | +37 |
| 3. | united man | 34 | 61 | 17-10-7 | +14 |
| 4. | Liverpool | 34 | 58 | 7-17-10 | +13 |
| 5. | Villa Aston | 34 | 58 | 7-17-10 | +5 |
european league
| Pos. | Club | family doctor | points | WDL | God |
| 6. | Brighton | 34 | 50 | 13-11-10 | +9 |
conference league
| Pos. | Club | family doctor | points | WDL | God |
| 7. | Bournemouth | 34 | 49 | 11-16-7 | +0 |
Out of the qualifying positions: on the hunt
| Pos. | Club | family doctor | points | WDL | God |
| 8. | Chelsea | 34 | 48 | 13-9-12 | +8 |
| 9. | Brentford | 34 | 48 | 13-9-12 | +3 |
| 10. | Fulham | 34 | 48 | 14-6-14 | -2 |
| 11. | Everton | 34 | 47 | 13-8-13 | +0 |
| 12. | SunderlandEdit | 34 | 46 | 12-10-12 | -9 |
How the Premier League’s European qualification places can change
Throughout the season, many things can affect the way the Premier League distributes its various European qualification places.
Until now, with four weeks left to play and the FA Cup final still to be played, several things can change in the future.
Here’s a look at what has already been decided at this point and what can still be determined in the future.
Will the Premier League achieve a fifth place in the Champions League?
With the reorganization of the Champions League to the Swiss model, UEFA has reserved two places in the group stage of the Champions League that will be awarded to the teams of the two federations with the best performance in European competition the previous season.
The Premier League has already mathematically confirmed a fifth place in next year’s Champions League, one of two leagues to be given an extra place.
You can read more about how this happened by clicking here.
What happens if a Premier League team wins a European title?
The winner of each European competition in 2025/26 will gain an automatic place in the competition higher than the one they won. If a Premier League club wins a European competition and has already qualified through the table, its place will go to the next club that has not yet qualified for the indicated competition.
In theory, a total of six Premier League clubs could qualify for the Champions League, with the additional spot of fifth place plus Aston Villa or Nottingham Forest potentially winning the Europa League after failing to secure a Champions League place at the end of the table.
If a Premier League team wins the Champions League or Europa League title while they have already qualified by table position (i.e. Arsenal win the Champions League or Aston Villa win the Europa League and finish in the top five domestically), WOULD NOT AFFECT the European qualifying places for England next season.
This is because if one of these two European winners has already qualified through a table position in their respective national league, the additional place will not go to another team in their association. Instead, their place in the league stage goes to the reigning European national champion with the highest individual club coefficient that has not yet qualified directly for the league stage.
Because each of the national champions of the top 10 ranked European leagues qualify directly for the league stage, it means that the highest ranked club outside the top 10 European leagues (currently Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk) would be promoted to guaranteed qualification for the league stage. From there, the improvements extend through the ranks until an additional team is added to the early stages of the ranks that would not have otherwise been included.
How does the winner of the FA Cup affect European qualification?
The winners of the 2025/26 FA Cup will automatically qualify for the league stage of the Europa League.
YEAH The winner of the FA Cup has already qualified for the Champions League or Europa League through table position, this qualifying position will go to the next highest team in the table that has not qualified for the Europa League.
Therefore, if Manchester City win the FA Cup, seventh place would become a Europa League position. Meanwhile, if Leeds United win the FA Cup title, they would qualify directly for next year’s Europa League.
How does the winner of the Carabao Cup affect European qualification?
Man City won the 2025/26 EFL Cup, meaning they would have an automatic route to the Conference League playoff round.
However, with Manchester City having already mathematically confirmed their place in next year’s Champions League, seventh place in the Premier League table now becomes a qualification spot for the Conference League.
This place could potentially drop further in the rankings due to other circumstances listed above.
How many Premier League clubs could qualify for Europe?
Given all the above circumstances, a significant number of English clubs could play in Europe next season.
At least eight teams in the Premier League will qualify for Europe. The base number for each season is seven, to which is added the additional place they have already obtained in the Champions League.
In the three European competitions, the maximum number of clubs that could potentially qualify is 10. This would happen YEAH all of the following happens:
- Nottingham Forest win the Europa League title EITHER Aston Villa wins the Europa League title but fails to finish in the top five in the Premier League standings.
- Crystal Palace win the Conference League title.
If both things happen, the following European places would be distributed:
- Champions League (6):
- Arsenal
- city man
- 3rd place in the Premier League table
- Fourth place in the Premier League table
- 5th place in the Premier League table
- Aston Villa/Nottingham Forest
- European League (3):
- Next highest in the Premier League table not yet qualified (6th place unless Aston Villa finish 6th)
- Leeds United (FA Cup winner) EITHER Next highest in the Premier League table not yet qualified (7th place unless Aston Villa finish 6th/7th)
- Crystal Palace (Conference League winners)
- Conference League (1):
- Next highest in the Premier League table not yet qualified (7th place unless Aston Villa finish 6th/7th)
The maximum number of Premier League teams that could play in next season’s Champions League is six, with all five qualifying through the table plus a sixth should Aston Villa or Nottingham Forest win the Europa League without directly qualifying through the league final.
