England could have as many as seven teams in the 2025/26 edition, if Aston Villa wins the competition this year, but fails to qualify through the Premier League, and if Manchester United or Tottenham win the Europa League.
In the face of ongoing reformations in the UEFA Champions League, teams from the Premier League are guaranteed a minimum of five spots in the Champions League next season after Arsenal’s victory over Real Madrid in the first leg of the quarter-finals.
With Arsenal’s 3-0 victory over Real Madrid in the first leg of the quarter-finals, it will only take a miracle for the Spanish team to turn the tables.
According to the recent arrangement, two extra spots are awarded to countries based on their ranking in UEFA’s coefficient table.
Liverpool and Arsenal look set to finish in the top two in the Premier League, and 12 points separate Nottingham Forest in third position from 10th-placed Bournemouth.
Chelsea, Newcastle, Manchester City, Aston Villa, Fulham, and Brighton sit between those two teams.
Italy is placed second in the coefficient rankings, with Spain and Germany behind.
How countries earn an extra Champions League spot
Each country’s league earns a coefficient ranking based on how its teams perform in UEFA’s three men’s club competitions: the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League.
Coefficient points are earned through match results, two for a win and one for a draw.
The points earned by clubs from the same domestic league are added up and divided by the number of clubs the league has in Europe.
For instance, if the Premier League had 100 points, that would be split by the number of teams playing in Europe, seven, giving England a coefficient of 14.28.
This season, bonus points are available to clubs playing in the Champions League, which is advantageous to leagues with more clubs competing in it, such as Germany and Italy.
Countries that finish in the coefficient table’s top two earn an additional Champions League spot for the following season.
Those spots are awarded to the teams who finish in the first position below the standard Champions League allocation in those leagues.
In England, the top four clubs automatically qualify for the Champions League via league position, so any additional place would go to the team in fifth.
Additional spots for the 2024-25 Champions League were given to Bologna and Borussia Dortmund, who finished fifth in Serie A and the Bundesliga, respectively.
The Europa League winners
England could end up with seven Champions League teams next season, if the country emerges as winners of the Europa League, as well as the Champions League.
Under previous rules, any single league could only have a maximum of five clubs in the Champions League. However, that rule has been scrapped.
This season, any team that wins the Europa League or Champions League but does not qualify for the Champions League via their domestic league position will go into the Champions League.
Hence, if Aston Villa wins the Champions League and finishes outside the top five in the Premier League, that will give English clubs another spot.
Similarly, if Manchester United and Tottenham, both languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League, but are in the quarter-finals of the Europa League, either of them wins the tournament, that would mean another team from England will be playing in the 2025/26 season’s elite European competition.
