Premier League secures fifth Champions League spot for a second season running
Fifth-place Premier League finish will be enough to secure Champions League qualification; England earns additional Champions League spot for second season running; Arsenal's quarter-final first leg win at Sporting confirms extra place with PL top of European Performance Standings
Tuesday 7 April 2026 23:04, UK
The Premier League has secured a fifth Champions League spot for next season's competition.
A fifth-place finish will now be enough for Champions League qualification after Arsenal's 1-0 win at Sporting in the quarter-final first leg sealed the extra place.
It is the second consecutive year that the Premier League has earned an additional spot, with the Premier League top of the European Performance Standings.
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Currently, Liverpool sit fifth in the Premier League but Arne Slot's side are only a point ahead of sixth-placed Chelsea.
However, there could be further representatives for England in next year's Champions League.
If Aston Villa, who are currently fourth, win the Europa League and finish outside the top four, then England will have six teams in Europe's top-tier competition.
The same scenario applies for Liverpool in the Champions League.
If either win a European trophy and finish in fifth, then sixth place would qualify for the Champions League. If both were to win a European trophy and finish in fifth and sixth, then seventh place would qualify for the Champions League.
Nottingham Forest could also play Champions League football next season by winning the Europa League.
Who could get second additional CL spot?
UEFA awards an additional place to two leagues, so with the Premier League guaranteed one of those, the race is on for the other spot.
Spain are on course to secure it ahead of Germany and Portugal.
How does the coefficient table work?
Each nation is awarded points based on the performance of their clubs in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.
Its points totals are then divided by the number of clubs it has competing in European competition, with nations ranked in the table by their average scores.
Wins are worth two coefficient points, draws are worth one, and defeats are worth none.
Additionally, bonus points are awarded according for finishing positions in the league phase tables, and progress through each knockout round.
The bonus points are far higher in the Champions League compared to the other two competitions.
The team finishing top of the Champions League phase table earns 12 bonus points, compared to six for the team finishing top of the Europa League league phase table, and four for the team finishing top of the Conference League league phase table.
