Aston Villa secure Champions League qualification as Premier League claims Elite Performance Spot
UEFA awards top five Premier League sides entry due to strong European results, while Shakhtar Donetsk take title holder’s berth
Aston Villa have secured their place in the 2026-27 UEFA Champions League league phase, becoming the fourth English club to qualify for the competition. The qualification was confirmed on Friday following a 4-2 victory over Liverpool at Villa Park, ensuring the Midlands side will finish no lower than fifth in the Premier League this season.
Villa joins Arsenal, Manchester City, and Manchester United in having already secured their spots. The Premier League has been awarded an Elite Performance Spot (EPS) due to the strong performances of English clubs in European competitions. This additional place allows the top five clubs from the English top flight to enter the tournament, a deviation from the traditional allocation of four spots.
The 2026-27 edition of the Champions League will feature a 36-team league phase. A total of 29 spots are determined before the end of the current domestic season, with the remaining seven decided through qualification rounds in the early months of the campaign. Alongside the English qualifiers, Inter Milan and Napoli have secured top-four finishes in Serie A, while Real Betis have claimed the EPS for Spain’s La Liga, joining Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, and Villarreal.
League winners from across Europe have also confirmed their participation. Bayern Munich, PSV Eindhoven, Porto, Slavia Prague, and Galatasaray have secured their places by winning the titles in Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, the Czech Republic, and Turkey respectively. In the Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, and Stuttgart qualified via top-four finishes, while Lens and Lille secured spots by finishing second and third in Ligue 1.
Shakhtar Donetsk have been awarded the spot reserved for the Champions League winner. As the finalists, Arsenal or Paris St-Germain, have already qualified domestically through their league performances, UEFA required a replacement title holder. Shakhtar Donetsk were designated the highest-ranked domestic champion from outside the top 10 associations that had not yet confirmed qualification for the league phase.
