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Football writer Tom Hancock assesses the state of play as the race for places in European competition next season intensifies.

As the 2024/25 Premier League campaign reaches its business end, eight clubs – from fourth place to 11th – are now separated by just eight points in the race for European qualification.

Two-time European champions Nottingham Forest sit third and are on course to return to the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 1980, and AFC Bournemouth could qualify for Europe for the very first time.

Brighton & Hove Albion have their sights set on making their debut in the Champions League, while Manchester City have work to do if they’re to avoid missing out after 13 consecutive seasons in UEFA’s top club competition.

How do clubs qualify for Europe?

As usual, the teams who finish first to fourth in the Premier League will all qualify for the league phase of the Champions League, with no need to go through any qualifying rounds.

In addition, the team who finish fifth could join the top four in the 2025/26 Champions League, instead of playing in the Europa League as Tottenham Hotspur – last season’s fifth-placed side – have done in 2024/25.

That is dependent on UEFA granting the Premier League an additional place in the Champions League.

Should that happen, the team who finish sixth will qualify for the league phase of the 2025/26 Europa League, with no need to go through any qualifying rounds.

See: How clubs qualify for Europe

The FA Cup winners will also qualify directly for the league phase of the Europa League.

The EFL Cup winners, Newcastle United, qualify for the playoff round of the 2025/26 Conference League. 

However, the various qualification spots can change for a number of reasons.

For example, if Newcastle also qualify for the Champions League or Europa League, via their Premier League position (top five or six), their Conference League place will pass to the next highest-placed team that has not already qualified for European competition.

How can we get a fifth place in the Champions League?

Since the expansion of the Champions League from 32 to 36 teams, UEFA have granted two leagues an extra qualification spot. These additional berths are awarded to the two leagues from the countries which rank highest in UEFA’s table of coefficients, which are determined by clubs’ performances in UEFA competition.

At present, England and Spain rank first and second respectively, meaning the Premier League and LaLiga would each have five clubs in next season’s Champions League, up from their standard four. In that event, as things stand, Man City would take the fifth qualification spot.