Do the top four in the Premier League qualify for the Champions League? If only it were that simple.
We take a look at the qualification criteria for the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League from the Premier League.
How many teams qualify for the Champions League from the Premier League?
Last season, five Premier League teams qualified for the Champions League via their league position: Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and Newcastle United.
Under the Champions League’s new-ish Swiss model system, there are 36 teams instead of 32 teams competing and two of those extra four teams come from the countries with the strongest records in that season’s European competitions.
In six of the last eight seasons that would have meant an extra place allocated from England, and that was the case with the performances of English clubs in 2024/25.
But the numbers are re-set at the start of this season and having six clubs in the Champions League could backfire on the Premier League as performances will be averaged across an unprecedented nine clubs across the three competitions.
How do Premier League teams qualify for the Europa League?
England gets two Europa League places. One belongs to the highest-placed finisher not in the Champions League (Aston Villa last season) and the other goes to the winner of the FA Cup, unless the winner of the FA Cup qualifies by other means.
Last season, Crystal Palace qualified as FA Cup winners, though they were replaced by Nottingham Forest (via their league position) in that competition because of multi-club ownership rules.
How do Premier League teams qualify for the Conference League?
As well as all the fizzy pop they can drink, the Carabao Cup winners also receive a place in the play-off stages for the Europa Conference League. Newcastle United did not need that place last season as they had already qualified for the Champions League so the place reverted to Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League. It was then handed to Crystal Palace as Forest were promoted to the Europa League.
That was a peculiar scenario but the basic rule is that the place goes to the Carabao Cup winners unless they have already qualified for the Champions League or Europa League, at which point it reverts to the team next best placed in the Premier League.
Do the Europa League winners qualify for the Champions League?
Yes. And the important thing to remember here is that when a team wins either of the two main European competitions that come with the reward of a Champions League spot and finish outside the qualifying spots through their domestic league, it counts as an extra place.
So 17th-placed Tottenham are now playing in the Champions League as Europa League winners, making six Premier League teams in the Champions League this season.
Which Premier League teams are on course to qualify for Europe?
Champions League: Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham.
Europa League: Everton.
