The Premier League is already guaranteed five places in next season’s UEFA Champions League.
But an unusual set of circumstances means even sixth place could yet break into Europe’s top competition, a report posted on the EPL website on Tuesday stated.
At the centre of it all is UEFA’s new “European Performance Spot” (EPS), awarded to leagues whose clubs perform best across European competitions.
England has secured one of those slots this season, ensuring that the top five teams will qualify for the Champions League.
A check by Punch Online on Tuesday night on the latest updates of the UCL website dated April 20, 2026, also confirmed this.
“What are the European Performance Spots?
“England have now confirmed their place in the top two of the 2025/26 association club coefficients and have earned one of the European Performance Spots.
“Spain, Germany and Portugal have the next highest coefficients and one of them will take the second European Performance Spot.
“As has happened in the previous two years under the new format of the European club competitions, the 2026/27 European Performance Spots will go to the two associations with the best collective performance by their clubs in the 2025/26 UEFA men’s club competitions (i.e. the best association club coefficient of the previous season, based on the total number of club coefficient points obtained by each club from an association, divided by the number of clubs from that association, in accordance with Annex D of the competition regulations),” it read.
As of the time of this report and the last update on the UCL website, here are the current club coefficients from the best league across Europe.
2025/26 association club coefficients
1. England 239.125 points / 9 clubs = 26.569 average
2. Spain 171.250 points / 8 clubs = 21.406 average
3. Germany 148.500 points / 7 clubs = 21.214 average
4. Portugal 100.500 points / 5 clubs = 20.100 average
But the story doesn’t end there.
The scenario that opens the door.
How a sixth spot can be claimed?
For sixth place to qualify, one key condition must be met: Aston Villa must win the UEFA Europa League and finish fifth in the league.
Europa League winners automatically qualify for the Champions League.
If Villa were to also finish fifth—already a Champions League position thanks to the EPS—their league-based place would effectively be redundant.
That unused spot would then cascade down the table, handing sixth place an unexpected route into the Champions League.
What’s the catch?
There is a trade-off. England would lose one of its Europa League places allocated via league position, with that slot instead going to another country.
So while the Champions League gains an extra English team, the Europa League loses one.
Why it matters now
The implications are immediate.
Matches like Brighton & Hove Albion v Chelsea carry added weight, with sixth place no longer just a secondary prize.
Punch Online reports that the ongoing game on Tuesday night at the Amex Stadium leaves the London visitors trailing by a lone goal at half time.
And the race is unusually congested. Just six points separate sixth-placed Chelsea F.C. from 14th-placed Newcastle United F.C., turning a mid-table battle into one with potentially elite rewards.
The bigger picture
In most seasons, sixth place offers a pathway to the Europa League at best. This time, it could mean a seat at Europe’s top table.
All it takes is one club—Villa—to deliver in Europe and land in exactly the right position at home.
And suddenly, the race for sixth becomes one of the most consequential battles in the Premier League run-in.
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