How The Premier League Secured 5 UEFA Champions League Spots

Arsenal’s 3-0 thrashing of Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal has led to the Premier League securing five spots in the 2025-2026 UCL. The Premier League clubs were very close to securing one more spot since they just needed one win in any of the three UEFA competitions namely the UCL, UEFA Europa League, and the Conference League. This is due to England’s first-place rank in UEFA’s coefficient table which gives them one more spot alongside the usual four.

What Is UEFA’s Coefficient Ranking And How Does It Work?

Each team earns two points for a win in a UEFA Competition namely the UCL, UEL, and the Conference League, and one point for a draw. The points obtained by each club are then totaled and divided amongst the number of clubs from that respective league participating in a UEFA competition.

Maximum Number Of Teams From Each League In UCL 2025/26

As of now Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Real Madrid has officially propelled the Premier League towards five spots in the 2025-2026 edition of the UCL. The Premier League can potentially even have seven spots in the 2025-2026 edition of the UCL if Aston Villa wins this year’s UCL to gain automatic qualification and if Manchester United or Tottenham Hotspurs win the Europa League.

La Liga, Serie A, and Bundesliga have four spots each as of now but are contending to gain an extra spot in the 2025-2026 edition as well. However, Germany is quite behind in the rankings and now Spanish clubs and Italian clubs will contend for the second spot in the rankings so as to get the additional berth.

The second spot will be decided on the basis of the performances of the Spanish and Italian clubs in the respective European competitions and how further they advance. As of now, Spain’s active teams are Real Madrid and FC Barcelona in the quarter-final stage of the UCL, Athletic Club in the quarter-final stage of the UEL, and Real Betis in the quarter-final stage of the Conference League. Italy’s active teams are Inter Milan in the quarter-final stage of the UCL, Lazio in the quarter-final stage of the UEL, and Fiorentina in the quarter-final stage of the Conference League. The Spanish clubs will have to outperform the Italian clubs or vice-versa to get the additional spot in the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League.

Which Premier League Clubs Can Qualify For The 2025-26 UEFA Champions League?

Liverpool are in first place in the Premier League currently with 73 points and are very likely to not only qualify for the 2025-2026 UCL but win the PL this season as well. Arsenal are in second place with 62 points and are also very likely to qualify for the 2025-2026 UCL. As for the remaining teams, Nottingham Forest are in third place with 57 points whereas Chelsea and Newcastle United have 53 points each and Manchester City has 52 points. Aston Villa also has 51 points being in 7th place. The extra spot in the UEFA Champions League will surely benefit either Chelsea, Newcastle United, Manchester City, or Aston Villa since the top-four race has now become a top-five race.