Which Premier League teams can still qualify for the Champions League?

EXPLAINERAs the Premier League season enters its final games, several teams still dream of entry into Europe’s top football competition.Manchester United’s 3-2 victory over Liverpool on Sunday confirmed that they are headed back to the UEFA Champions League (UCL) after a two-year absence.With Arsenal and Manchester City also already guaranteed to be playing in European football’s elite club competition next season, that leaves at least two more spots still to be filled.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Arsenal host Atletico Madrid for nicely poised Champions League showdownlist 2 of 4Hardie the hero as Babar Azam’s Peshawar Zalmi win PSL 2026list 3 of 4North Korean women’s club to play rare football match in the Southlist 4 of 4Tennis stars Sinner, Sabalenka and Gauff criticise Roland Garros prize moneyend of listWhile the teams that finish in the top five automatically secure qualification for the Champions League, there is also a scenario in which a sixth team could also take part in next season’s competition.How could six Premier League teams qualify for the Champions League?England’s Premier League has been allocated a fifth Champions League place called the European Performance Spot (EPS), which is awarded to the two leagues with the strongest performances across the three main European club competitions.If Aston Villa win the Europa League (which in itself normally secures entry to the Champions League) and finish fifth in the league, then the team that finishes sixth would take the EPS spot to play in the UCL.If Villa were to finish fourth and win the Europa League, then the EPS spot would not be passed down, and the fifth-placed side would get the final Champions League berth, with the sixth-placed team qualifying for the Europa League.Villa currently trail Nottingham Forest 1-0 after their Europa League semifinal last week. The second leg will be at Villa Park on Thursday.Meanwhile, if 16th-placed Forest were to win the Europa League, they would become the sixth English team to qualify for the Champions League.The table as of the evening of May 3, 2026Liverpool’s route to qualificationThe defeat to United leaves Liverpool in fourth place with 58 points from 35 games, with three games left to play – six points ahead of sixth-placed Bournemouth.