England on course for six Champions League teams next season | OneFootball

There could be six Premier League teams in next season’s Champions League after Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur took control of their Europa League semi-finals on Thursday.

Manchester United produced an impressive performance to beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 away from home, while Spurs also secured a sizeable advantage with a 3-1 win over Bodo/Glimt in North London.

Should both teams progress to the final, it would guarantee six English teams in next season’s Champions League. No nation has previously ever had six teams in a single edition of the competition.

Why would there be six English teams in the Champions League?

The Premier League is allocated four places in the Champions League through league placing in England’s top tier.

Liverpool have already booked their place in the competition after winning the Premier League, with Arsenal, Newcastle United and Manchester City currently in the remaining top four positions after 34 games.

This season, the fifth-placed team in the Premier League (currently Chelsea) will also qualify for next season’s Champions League. In the new format introduced for the 2024/25 season, UEFA allocate two additional places to the two league’s with the highest co-efficient.

The ‘European Performance Spots’ are based on the collective performance of a nation’s sides in the previous season’s UEFA club competitions. England are guaranteed one of these places for the 2025/26 season.

Manchester United and Spurs have now opened up the prospect of six English teams competing in the Champions League. The Europa League winners are allocated a place in the following season’s competition.

Given neither Manchester United or Spurs can finish in the Premier League’s top five, it could mean six teams gain entry if either win the tournament. After both took commanding leads in their semi-final first legs, an all-English final could represent a shootout for silverware and Champions League qualification.

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