The race for a place in Europe goes to the final day. Here’s how it stands and what managers said after the penultimate round of 2025/26.
According to BBC Sport, nine teams in the Premier League have hope of securing European qualification, four spots are still available across the three UEFA competitions.
Four teams have guaranteed a top-five finish, Arsenal, Man City, Man Utd and Aston Villa have done so, with Liverpool likely to clinch 5th.
Bournemouth are 6th with 55 points from 36 games played, they sit 4 points behind Liverpool. Bournemouth have a game in hand, against Man City who are battling for the title, with leaders Arsenal playing Burnley on Monday and City playing on the Wednesday.
Even if the Cherries don’t finish 5th, finishing 6th still could be enough for Champions League football, because if Villa win the Europa League and finish 5th, England will have six teams in the Champions League, and for that to happen, Villa would need to lose at Man City on the final day. A Liverpool win at Brentford would see the Reds move above them.
Arsenal can be crowned league champions for the first time since 2004 if they defeat Burnley on Monday and City fail to win at Bournemouth on Tuesday.
Going into the final day, Bournemouth (6th), Brighton (7th), Brentford (8th), Sunderland (9th), Chelsea (10th), Newcastle (11th), Everton (12th) are battling for European spot. Fulham (13th) still can mathematically, but need a huge goal difference and results to go their way.
Brighton missed the chance to claim a place in Europe. They needed to beat Leeds to do so, but ended up losing 1-0 late on.
Brentford could have leapfrogged Brighton, but instead drew 2-2 with Crystal Palace.
Sunderland came from behind to win 3-1 and jump above Everton into 9th.
Newcastle beat West Ham 3-1 to go level on points with 10th-placed Chelsea, who take on Tottenham on Tuesday. The Hammers will be relegated to the Championship if Spurs beat Chelsea on Tuesday. Even a draw would effectively send West Ham down due to the goal difference.
Fulham had their European hopes all but ended following 1-1 draw against the Premier League’s bottom and already relegated side Wolves.
Brighton and Chelsea also have slim outside chances for 6th.
Race for Europe: How it stands and what managers said after penultimate round of 2025/26 / Possible final positions
Should Villa win the Europa League…
..and finish 3rd or 4th: The Premier League’s top five seal place in the Champions League, with 6th and 7th into Europa League, 8th into Conference League.
if Villa finish 5th: The extra Champions League spot moves into 6th and the Premier League give up the Europa League spot for a league position.
It means we could have NINE teams in Europe next season with Crystal Palace qualifying for the Europa League should they win the Conference League in addition to the other league finishes.
Have a read of this for more…
Premier League could have NINE teams playing in European competition for 2026/27 season
Brighton‘s Fabian Hurzeler, per BBC Sport: “We have to go on and prepare for the last game [against Manchester United]. We’ve faced a lot of adversity this season and we will overcome it. We have to stay positive even though it’s a painful loss.
“We have to overcome the disappointment, prepare well and believe we can still do it. We did a lot of things right today.”
Everton‘s David Moyes: “We didn’t look like a European team at times today – that’s for sure. Things didn’t go for us. Players have done an amazing job at times but it wasn’t there today.
“We messed up big time. Opportunity where if we’d won it things would be a lot different. Everton have not had the opportunity to get in the top end of the league table for a while. I’m more disappointed that they have missed that opportunity to keep pushing on. Today showed that we are probably not quite ready.”
Fulham‘s Marco Silva: “It has been an incredible journey and I have to praise [the Fulham fans] every single day. On the pitch we had some very, very good, moments. Myself, I am very ambitious and I want to give more and more for them.
“I wanted to give them a European journey next season, it was not possible and we have to move on. The most important thing is to analyse and be clear with the board what the club really needs to keep moving forward.
“Standing still is not good in the Premier League because at one point you will get a bad surprise, definitely.”
Sunderland‘s Regis le Bris: “It’s on, but it’s not done. The most important thing is to stay focused on our standards. When you start dreaming it can be a disappointment. The opposition [Chelsea] will be strong.
“We have to be at out best, train properly and hope the fans have the power and energy so we can be at our best. The minute it [European football] is on at the end of the [final] game we will have that conversation [on what it means to the club].”
“The group is a unit!”
Regis Le Bris on Sunderland’s huge win over Everton! 👊 pic.twitter.com/aAtRAPFP52
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 17, 2026
The boss gives his verdict on today’s game. pic.twitter.com/CkPg3zJnYa
— Everton (@Everton) May 17, 2026
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