𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Tottenham Hotspur booked themselves a Champions League spot for the 2025/26 season as they battled past Manchester United 1-0 in a low-quality Europa League final.

That means there will be a record six Premier League teams in Europe’s top-tier competition next term, with Europa League and Conference League spots also up for grabs.

The race for the European places has come down to the final day of the Premier League season, with Arsenal, Newcastle, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Manchester City and Nottingham Forest competing for the final four Champions League places in a bid to join Liverpool, who qualify as Premier League champions, and Spurs as English representatives.

Crystal Palace’s FA Cup triumph against Man City sealed their Europa League spot, while Newcastle will at least have a Conference League place following their Carabao Cup victory – although will hope to do better than that thanks to their league placing – and Chelsea battle Real Betis in the Conference League final in Wroclaw, which will also have an impact.

Here’s how Premier League teams can qualify for European competition next season:

Champions League

The top five teams in the Premier League qualify for next season’s Champions League due to the league’s performances in all of Uefa’s competitions this season, and a guaranteed top-two spot in Uefa’s association club coefficient rankings, unlocking a “European Performance Spot” (EPS).

The Premier League will now have SIX clubs in next season’s Champions League – five from the top five clubs in the Premier League, plus Tottenham, who won the 2024/25 Europa League.

The battle for a top-five finish is incredibly tight between Arsenal, Manchester City, Newcastle, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest – with everything to be decided on the final day

Europa League

English football has two Europa League places.

One usually goes to the fifth-placed finisher in the Premier League but this now becomes the sixth-placed team after England was handed an additional fifth Champions League spot, as detailed above.

The other Europa League place goes to the winners of the FA Cup: Crystal Palace. Given the Eagles cannot finish inside the European places through the Premier League standings, only sixth in the table will secure entry to the Europa League.

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Uefa Conference League

The winners of the EFL Cup also qualify for the Conference League: Newcastle United.

After ending a 56-year wait for a trophy, Eddie Howe’s side are sure of a place in Europe, but will hope to qualify for the Champions League, or could end up in the Europa League if they finish sixth, either of which would unlock an extra Conference League place through the league standings.

How else can clubs make it to Europe?

The winners of the Champions League and Europa League qualify for the following season’s Champions League and the winners of the Conference League (Chelsea and Real Betis battle it out for glory in Wroclaw) are handed a place in next year’s Europa League.

If Newcastle, as the EFL Cup winners, qualify for the Champions League or Europa League via other means, as seems likely, then their Conference League place will go to the next-highest Premier League side who have not qualified for Europe, which will likely be seventh in the table. But that’s not the last hope for Premier League sides.

How Chelsea impact their Premier League rivals’ hopes for Europe

European title winners automatically qualify for Europe – but if their Premier League finish qualifies them for the competition their title win earns them entry into anyway (or the next tier up) then there is no additional place passed on.

However, if the European title winners secure a Premier League spot which qualifies them for the competition below the level they have earned due to their European title, then an additional place is passed on to a team below. That means:

If Chelsea win the Conference League and finish inside the top five (earning Champions League qualification): Chelsea’s Europa League spot for winning the Conference League is given up.

If Chelsea win the Conference League (earning Europa League qualification) and finish sixth: Chelsea’s Europa League spot for finishing sixth is passed on to seventh.

If Chelsea win the Conference League and finish in a Premier League position which would qualify them for the Conference League play-off (passed on from Newcastle, should they finish inside the top six): Chelsea qualify for the Europa League through their Conference League win and the Conference League play-off place is passed on meaning teams as low as eighth could qualify for European competition.