Two leagues in Europe this season will be rewarded with an extra place in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League based on the record of their clubs in all of UEFA’s competitions this campaign.
That means in the case of the Premier League, as well as the top four-placed teams, the club finishing fifth could also go straight into the Champions League.
On top of that, the winners of this season's Champions League and the winners of the UEFA Europa League will each be given a place in the 2025/26 Champions League, if they have not already qualified for the competition through their league position.
It means the Premier League could potentially have as many as SEVEN clubs in next season's Champions League - the top five teams in the league, plus the Champions League winners and the Europa League winners if they finish outside the top five.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
28 | +40 | 67 |
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
27 | +28 | 54 |
| 3 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
27 | +11 | 48 |
| 4 |
Man City
MCI
|
27 | +16 | 47 |
| 5 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
27 | +16 | 46 |
| 6 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
27 | +8 | 44 |
| 7 |
Bournemouth
BOU
|
27 | +13 | 43 |
| 8 |
Brighton
BHA
|
27 | +5 | 43 |
| 9 |
Fulham
FUL
|
27 | +4 | 42 |
| 10 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
28 | -5 | 42 |
How could the fifth-placed team qualify?
UEFA calculates which two leagues will be rewarded with an extra Champions League place by adding up coefficient points based on the performances of clubs from each league across the Champions League, Europa League and UEFA Conference League.
It means the various leagues are competing with each other in a ranking called the "association club coefficient".
Every win for a club in any of UEFA's club competitions this season earns each league two points, while a draw gets one point, and there are no points for defeat.
On top of that, bonus points are awarded according to where each club finish in their European league table. These are weighted according to the competition. For example, finishing top of the table in the Champions League gets you 12 bonus points, while finishing top of the Europa League gets you six, and the top team in the Conference League get four.
Additional bonus points are awarded for reaching each round from the last 16 onwards. These are also weighted according to the competition.
Bonus points added per round
| Competition | Bonus points |
|---|---|
| Champions League | 1.5 |
| Europa League | 1.0 |
| Conference League | 0.5 |
The points of all participating clubs from each league are totalled and then divided by the number of clubs who started the season in UEFA competitions, to calculate the association club coefficient average.
What are the standings?
England (the Premier League) currently lead the way at the top of the table.
Manchester City's Champions League exit at the hands of Real Madrid in the playoff round was a blow for the Premier League and a boost for second-placed Spain.
But even more significantly, THREE Italian clubs were knocked out at the same stage, with Juventus, AC Milan and Atalanta all crashing out.
With Italy lying third in the table, the elimination of their clubs will hamper their chances of challenging the top two nations.
Here is the coefficients rank as of 11:00 GMT on 20 February.
UEFA coefficient rankings*
| Association | Pts | No. of clubs | Ave. pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 146.250 | 7 | 20.892 |
| Spain | 129.750 | 7 | 18.535 |
| Italy | 142.500 | 8 | 17.812 |
| Portugal | 80.250 | 5 | 16.050 |
| Germany | 128.375 | 8 | 16.046 |
*Source: UEFA; as of 20 Feb
