Kolkata : Premier League will have atleast 5 teams in next season of Champions League after Arsenal defeated Sporting 1-0 last night in Leg 1 of UEFA Champions League Quarter Final.
David Raya was Arsenal’s saviour once again, producing a series of phenomenal saves before they stole all three points against Sporting Lisbon with a stoppage-time winner. The result puts Arsenal in pole position in their UEFA Champions League quarter-final and steadies rising nerves after a night in which Sporting dominated for long stretches, losing for the first time at home in 17 games to Kai Havertz’s late goal.
UEFA awards an additional place to the two leagues with the best overall performance across the three European competitions.
Despite 5 clubs making through Quarter final, coefficient points gained throughout the league phase had put England in a very strong position.
Fifth spot in the Premier League this season is now guaranteed to play in the Champions League, after Newcastle United benefited in the 2024-25 campaign.
The race for fifth place in the Premier League, currently held by Liverpool on 49 points, is exceptionally tight.
Just seven points separate Arne Slot’s side from 13th-placed Bournemouth.
Chelsea (48) sit in sixth followed by Brentford (46), Everton (46), Fulham (44), Brighton (43), Sunderland (43), Newcastle (42) and Bournemouth (42).
If Aston Villa, who are fourth on 54 points, win the Europa League and finish outside the top four, the Premier League would have six teams in the Champions League.
The same logic applies to Liverpool, who face Paris St-Germain in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday.
If either win a European trophy and finish fifth, then sixth would qualify for the Champions League via the EPS place.
If both win European trophies and finish fifth and sixth, that would put seventh into the Champions League.
Nottingham Forest are in the quarter-finals of the Europa League. They could emulate Tottenham by winning the competition and finishing in the bottom half of the table.
Just like last season, that would create a sixth team in the Champions League for the Premier League too.
How does coefficient table work?
Each nation is awarded points based on the performance of their clubs in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.
Its points totals are then divided by the number of clubs it has competing in European competition, with nations ranked in the table by their average scores.
Wins are worth two coefficient points, draws are worth one, and defeats are worth none.
Additionally, bonus points are awarded according for finishing positions in the league phase tables, and progress through each knockout round.
The bonus points are far higher in the Champions League compared to the other two competitions.
The team finishing top of the Champions League phase table earns 12 bonus points, compared to six for the team finishing top of the Europa League league phase table, and four for the team finishing top of the Conference League league phase table.
It is the second consecutive year that the Premier League has earned an additional spot, with the Premier League top of the European Performance Standings.
