Chelsea, Newcastle United and Manchester City are among the five teams fighting for Champions League qualification today.
Premier League champions Liverpool and second-placed Arsenal – who are almost certain to finish as runners-up – have already booked their respective spots in European football’s elite club competition next term.
The same is true for Tottenham – although that has nothing to do with their embarrassingly low position in the top-flight – it’s because they defeated Manchester United in the Europa League final on Wednesday.
There are still three more spots up for grabs with the teams who finish third, fourth and fifth in the 2024-25 Premier League set to join Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs in the 2025-26 Champions League.
It is usually the case that only the Premier League top four qualify for the following season’s Champions League but that isn’t true for the current campaign, with UEFA handing English teams a one-off extra spot due to their strong performances in European competitions.
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Chelsea, Newcastle, City, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest are the five clubs fighting it out for the last three Champions League spots ahead of the final round of Premier League fixtures today. Here’s what every club needs and everything you need to know about all the permutations…
How does the Premier League table look heading into the final round of games?
All the Premier League teams below seventh can no longer qualify for the Champions League. So for now we’ll focus on how the top seven currently looks with every team having just one game left…
Premier League table before final day fixtures
- Liverpool (83 points) – Champions League spot secured
- Arsenal (71 points) – Champions League spot secured
- Manchester City (68 points)
- Newcastle United (66 points)*
- Chelsea (66 points)* – behind Newcastle on goal difference
- Aston Villa (66 points)* – behind Chelsea on goal difference
- Nottingham Forest (65 points)
* Newcastle have the best goal difference of +22 of the three teams locked on 66 points. Chelsea’s goal difference is +20 and Villa’s goal difference is significantly lower at +9.
What do Man City need to qualify for the Champions League?
Pep Guardiola’s side realistically only need a draw from their trip to Fulham to secure a top-five spot, while victory would confirm a third-placed finish.
It’s still mathematically possible for City to finish as Premier League runners-up but it would require Arsenal to lose at Southampton, Guardiola’s team to beat Fulham plus a significant eight-goal swing.
The only way a draw would not be enough for City is if Villa win their match against Ruben Amorim’s United by at least 17 goals, which is almost certain not to happen.
The lowest City can possibly finish is sixth, which would quality them for the Europa League instead.
What do Newcastle need to qualify for the Champions League?
Newcastle host Everton today and a win would confirm their Champions League spot – unless Villa pull off an unprecedented goal swing as mentioned above.
If Newcastle draw, they’d require Villa not to win at United or Chelsea to draw with Forest to secure their top-five finish.
Defeat for Newcastle would see them need Villa to lose, as they would drop behind either Chelsea or Forest.
What do Chelsea need to qualify for the Champions League?
Chelsea face a showdown against Forest at the City Ground today with Champions League qualification firmly on the line.
A win for Chelsea would almost certainly guarantee a top-five finish if we ignore Villa’s unprecedented goal swing.
If Chelsea draw, they’d either need Villa to not win or Newcastle to lose.
Should Chelsea suffer defeat, it would deny them Champions League qualification unless Newcastle lose by three more goals than them.
What do Aston Villa need to qualify for the Champions League?
If Villa lose at Old Trafford, they will not qualify for the Champions League.
Should Villa draw against United, they’d require Newcastle to lose at home to Everton to finish inside the top five.
Meanwhile, a victory over Amorim’s men will be enough for Villa if either Newcastle or Chelsea drop points.
What do Nottingham Forest need to qualify for the Champions League?
Forest have to beat Chelsea to have any real chance of Champions League qualification, if we again ignore any unrealistic goal swings.
Even then, it might not be enough, as they’d also still require at least one of Newcastle or Villa to not win.
Who gets Europa League?
The team that finishes sixth in the Premier League and the winners of the FA Cup – Crystal Palace this season – will qualify for the Europa League.
Who gets Conference League?
As things stand, Newcastle have the Conference League spot, having won this season’s Carabao Cup.
But it could end up moving down to the team that finishes in eighth place – which will be either Brentford or Brighton.
For that to happen, Chelsea would need to win the Conference League final on Wednesday against Real Betis and finish seventh in the top-flight.
It would also pass down to the eighth-placed club if Chelsea finish sixth and Newcastle finish seventh, coupled with the Blues landing the Conference League trophy.