Does Fifth Place in the Premier League Get Champions League? Coefficient Tracker
Home/Soccer
Does Fifth Place in the Premier League Get Champions League? Coefficient Tracker
English clubs are fighting tooth and nail to feature in next seasonâs Champions League.
By Ewan Ross-Murray
5:30 PM EDT
Qualification for the Champions League is essential for Englandâs giants. / Juanma/UEFA/Getty Images
The race to qualification for next seasonâs Champions League is heating up across Europe and the battle in the Premier League appears set to be fiercely fought.
Arsenal and Manchester City are all but guaranteed places in Europeâs premier competition for 2026â27, but those below the top two are less certain of their places. Manchester United, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Liverpool are the realistic competitors for Champions League berths, yet not all of the quartet will make the cut.
Finishing in the top five is expected to be enough for Champions League qualification due to the competitionâs recent reformatting, but the underperformance of English sides in the knockout phase of this yearâs European competitions throws a potential spanner in the works.
Will Fifth Place in the Premier League Earn Champions League Qualification?
Four clubs are competing for three possible Champions League spots. / Alex Dodd/CameraSport/Catherine Ivill/AMA/Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC/Yagiz Gurtug/NurPhoto/Getty Images
Following the Champions Leagueâs expansion to 36 teams and the implementation of the so-called âSwiss model,â which introduced the league phase and knockout playoff round, there have been two extra qualification spots awarded to the nations with the highest UEFA coefficient rankings at the end of each campaign.
If England finishes as one of the two countries with the highest coefficient ranking in Europeâas they did last seasonâfive teams as opposed to the usual four will qualify for next seasonâs Champions League. Those positions will be taken up by the sides that finish in the top five of Englandâs top tier, with direct passage to the league phase.
As things stand, England lead the UEFA coefficient table and will therefore be awarded five places, but the numbers will change between now and the campaignâs conclusion.
Coefficient scores are decided by the performance of a nationâs clubs across UEFA competition over the past five seasons, with individual results and progression to various stages of the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League deciding a countryâs ranking.
English clubs excelled during the league phase to boost the coefficient and have achieved strong results in recent campaigns, but their difficulties during the first leg of their European last 16 ties has negatively affected the Premier Leagueâs chance of securing an additional performance spot in the Champions League.
2025â26 UEFA Coefficient Table
Spain is currently second in the coefficient table. / Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images
| Position | Country | Average Points | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | England | 22.847 | 205.625 |
| 2. | Spain | 18.406 | 147.250 |
| 3. | Germany | 18.142 | 127.000 |
| 4. | Italy | 17.928 | 125.500 |
| 5. | Portugal | 17.000 | 85.000 |
| 6. | France | 15.678 | 109.750 |
| 7. | Poland | 15.250 | 61.000 |
*Last updated March 13, 2026
As mentioned, England currently tops the coefficient standingsâand by some distance. Even with the difficulties endured in this yearâs knockout phase, England should still comfortably finish in one of the top two spots in the table.
There are currently nine Premier League clubs competing across UEFAâs three competitions, although only Aston Villa won the the first leg of their last 16 tie. Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur all suffered three-goal defeats, while Liverpool and Nottingham Forest endured narrow 1â0 losses. Arsenal and Newcastle United had to accept draws.
Spain is currently second in the coefficient table and has six teams still standing on the continent, with the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atlético Madrid and Rayo Vallecano in strong positions to progress beyond the round of 16.
Germany and Italy are not far behind, but the latter has witnessed Inter, Juventus and Napoli exit the Champions League already, with Atalanta all but out of the competition after its 6â1 defeat to Bayern Munich. Germany is certainly more likely to usurp Spain given the impressive form of Vincent Kompanyâs side.
Portugal currently outscores France in coefficient terms, the latter only narrowly ahead of Poland in the standings.
READ THE LATEST CHAMPIONS LEAGUE NEWS, ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT FROM SI FC
feed
