As the Premier League season approaches its finale, a host of teams are keeping a keen eye on permutations with ambitions of European qualification for 2026/27.
Top-flight title holders Liverpool and last season’s Conference League winners, Chelsea, are among the sides embroiled in a typically tight contest for a Champions League spot through league placings.
The number of English clubs taking part in next season’s Champions League and the question of whether eighth place will ensure qualification are also yet to be resolved.
101GreatGoals.com explains how European qualification works for English clubs, including which competition the FA Cup winners enter and which teams are on course to represent the country on the continent next season.
Premier League European qualification
There are set to be at least eight English teams in European competition next season because of competition organisers UEFA’s coefficient rankings, which offer an extra Champions League place to the two nations whose teams perform best in Europe this season.
England are firmly on course to earn an extra spot via those rankings as the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League campaigns approach the quarter-final stage.
Champions League qualification
The top four teams in the Premier League are guaranteed to reach the league phase of the Champions League. The side finishing fifth this season are also likely to because of the coefficient rankings.
The winners of the Champions League and Europa League will enter the league phase of the competition.
That means Aston Villa or Nottingham Forest can guarantee their involvement by lifting the Europa League trophy, as would any English team to win the Champions League but not finish in the top five.
FA Cup European qualification: Europa League
The FA Cup winners qualify for the league phase of the Europa League, as will the sixth-placed team, assuming England gains five Champions League spots.
If the winners of the FA Cup have already qualified for European competition through their league position or another method, each spot goes to the next-highest team in the Premier League not to have qualified for Europe.
EFL Cup European qualification: Conference League
The EFL Cup champions qualify for the Conference League play-offs, with their berth also going to the next-highest ranked team in the Premier League if they qualify for European competition via another method.
Should that be the case for both competitions, the team finishing seventh could qualify for the Europa League, with the eighth-placed team reaching the Conference play-offs.
The winners of the Conference League – potentially Crystal Palace, as England’s sole participants in this season’s competition – gain an extra Europa League place the following season.
Will eighth place in the Premier League qualify for Europe?
That is likely to depend upon who wins the FA Cup. Should the victors have already qualified for Europe by finishing in the top six, eighth place is likely to ensure a Conference League play-off place.
Which Premier League teams will qualify for Europe?
Before the Premier League fixtures on the weekend of March 20, statistics experts Opta projected this final top eight.
| Position | Team | Expected points |
| 1 | Arsenal | 84.79 |
| 2 | Man City | 74.44 |
| 3 | Man United | 66.40 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 64.09 |
| 5 | Liverpool | 61.76 |
| 6 | Chelsea | 60.14 |
| 7 | Brentford | 56.06 |
| 8 | Newcastle | 54.34 |
That would guarantee Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and Aston Villa places in the Champions League, with the likely extra spot in the competition going Liverpool’s way.
The identity of the English clubs in the Europa League and Conference League would depend on domestic and European cup winners and league positions.
Should Brentford qualify, it would represent the first time the club has taken part in European competition. You can follow Opta’s latest predictions here.
