How many English teams will play in next season’s Champions League after Aston Villa’s Europa League triumph?

FootballSports
21 May 2026 • 4:58 AM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

How many English teams will play in next season’s Champions League after Aston Villa’s Europa League triumph?

  • The Premier League is guaranteed to have five teams in next season’s Champions League due to being one of the top two European leagues with the highest Uefa coefficient.
  • However, there could now be six English teams in next season’s competition following Aston Villa’s win over Freiburg in the Europa League final.
  • If Aston Villa finish fifth in the Premier League, this will mean that sixth place also qualifies for the Champions League.
  • Bournemouth currently occupy sixth place in the table, and they are three points clear of Brighton, albeit with an inferior goal difference.
  • However, if Aston Villa finish fourth, only the top five will qualify for the Champions League, with sixth and seventh settling for Europa League and eighth place going into the Conference League.