Good news, fans of teams not in a title race or relegation battle! The Premier League is overwhelmingly likely to win an extra Champions League place for next season.
As of now, only one of the seven English clubs participating in European competition this season has been eliminated. And that team is, uh, Manchester City? Spain is the only other country with six teams remaining, and it's guaranteed to lose at least one more this round after the two Madrid clubs drew each other for the round of 16 in the Champions League.
Meanwhile, Germany and Italy, the two countries that earned an extra eighth team for this season, are already down to four. And Germany, too, is guaranteed to lose another after Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich square off in the Champions League's round of 16.
The two extra Champions League spots are awarded based purely on how many wins and draws each country earns across all three European tournaments this season. English clubs have already earned the most points -- and they're in the best position to earn more points from here on out. This is why Opta's Nils Mackay projects there to be a 99.4% chance that the Premier League earns one of the extra Champions League places for 2025-26.
An extra place, then, means extra Premier League teams with realistic dreams of qualifying for next season's European Cup. With the title race looking like Liverpool's to lose, the race for the Champions League is where the real intrigue and excitement lie in the standings.
So, with 12 games remaining for most, let's take a look at the eight clubs that are in contention and break down why they will -- and why they won't -- be playing in the Champions League next season.
They're listed in ascending order, based on where they currently are in the table.
