The Premier League has guaranteed itself a fifth Champions League slot for next season.
English sides have been rewarded for their place in the UEFA Coefficient Table by being handed a European Performance Slot for a second year running.
Kai Havertz scoots past Sporting goalkeeper Rui Silva to score gthe Arsenal goal during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Quarter-Final First Leg match between Sporting Clube de Portugal and Arsenal
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Kai Havertz scored a late winner against Sporting Lisbon last night to secure an extra Champions League position for the Premier LeagueCredit: Getty
It was confirmed on Tuesday night following Arsenal's 1-0 quarter-final first-leg victory over Sporting Lisbon.
England mathematically ensured they will finish in the top two of the coefficient table, dominating the standings with all nine representatives reaching the round of 16 in their respective UEFA competitions.
Despite only five clubs remaining in the quarter-final hunt across the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League, the points collected through the league phase made England the runaway leaders.
Additionally, this extra position could see six - or even seven - teams qualify for the Champions League depending on European trophy success.
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How can the Premier League gain more Champions League spots?
If Aston Villa, who currently sit fourth, finish outside of the top four but win the Europa League, it would mean the Premier League would have six teams in the Champions League.
The same scenario applies to Liverpool in the Champions League.
If either win a European trophy and finish fifth in the EPS qualifying position, the Champions League place would drop down to the team in sixth.
However, in a specific circumstance, if both Liverpool and Aston Villa win their respective European campaigns and finish fifth and sixth, the extra place would put seventh into the Champions League.
Nottingham Forest are also in the quarter-finals of the Europa League and if they win the competition they could qualify for the Champions League despite not yet securing their top flight status for next season.
Tottenham finished 18th and qualified for the Champions League last season by winning the Europa League.
Europa League
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Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest remain the Europa League, while Crystal Palace are in the Conference League
Ahead of Thursday's trip to Porto in their Europa League quarter-final first-leg, Forest's Igor Jesus said: "Getting to the final and winning the Europa League would be a dream come true, especially as the top scorer.
"Porto have a great team, they’ve got a lot of quality but we’ve also got quality.
"We know it won’t be an easy game, in fact it’ll be really tough. However, we’re willing to fight."
In this scenario, it would also create a sixth team in the top European competition from England, the same way Tottenham qualified last season.
Spain remain the second favourites to claim an EPS spot, ahead of Germany and Portugal.
However, the Bundesliga could still mount a late charge after Bayern Munich's 2-1 win at Real Madrid.
Premier League table
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Chelsea are in danger of dropping further down the table
If the current standings hold, it will be the same top two - England and Spain - as last season.
The race to fifth
The battle for the final golden ticket is wide open, with Liverpool holding the advantage on 49 points.
However, only seven points separate the Reds from 13th placed Bournemouth, leaving the door open for a host of clubs including Chelsea, Brentford and Everton.
After his side beat European contenders Chelsea, David Moyes said: "It's seven games to go to see if we can cling onto a position in Europe.
"I'd say if we can get a position in the top 10 we'd see it as a really good season, not near the bottom of the table fighting relegation.
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"But I think we're here now, I don't want to step away because you don't get many chances.
"So I think every game we have to see if we can get points and see if we can give ourselves a chance of getting into one of the European competitions."