Despite a disappointing Champions League campaign for several English sides this season, a realistic pathway exists for up to seven Premier League clubs to compete in the 2026/27 Champions League.
The scenario relies on a specific sequence of results. If Liverpool win this season’s Champions League and also finish inside the Premier League’s top five, their place as holders would free up the league position they earned — provided the Premier League keeps five qualifying league spots next season — and that place would pass down to sixth.
If Aston Villa finish sixth and lift the Europa League trophy (they are among the favourites, according to Opta), they would qualify automatically as Europa League winners. That would then allow the team in seventh place — currently Brentford — to take the league slot. That chain of events would produce seven English entrants in next season’s Champions League.
There is also a wider European impact. Even with seven Champions League teams, England would still receive two Europa League places and one Conference League place, spots that can be allocated as far down the table as 10th. If Crystal Palace win the Conference League (they are also fancied) and thereby secure a Europa League place, and then finish outside the top 10 domestically, England could field as many as 11 clubs across the three European competitions next season.
How likely is all this? The Premier League currently leads the UEFA coefficient race that influences whether a league gains an extra Champions League berth. The biggest hurdle is England’s reduced presence deep in this season’s Champions League — that competition awards the most coefficient points per result and per round progressed — so fewer remaining teams there makes it harder to add points. On the flip side, many of England’s nearest rivals in the rankings have only one club left in Europe’s top tournament, which helps protect England’s position.
Which teams could be involved? Assuming the league keeps five automatic Champions League places, several English clubs still have realistic chances of qualifying, and that number would expand if the league gains more spots. Even Newcastle United, currently 12th, sit only seven points shy of fifth with games left to play. The final standings will hinge on each club’s form and schedule in the run-in — particularly those inside the top five and the closest challengers such as Chelsea and Brentford.
In short, while the sequence needed is narrow, the combination of continental cup winners and league finishers could produce an unusually large English contingent in Europe next season if results fall the right way.