Two Premier League teams remain in the Champions League this season but a total of 11 could find themselves in Europe next term
As many as 11 Premier League clubs could end up competing in Europe next season, which could provide a dilemma for scheduling in 2026/27. Several English teams still have hopes of achieving success on the continent this season, with plenty still to be decided.
Arsenal and Liverpool are the only Premier League teams remaining in the Champions League, with Chelsea, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United all being knocked out in the last-16 stage.
Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest are both in the Europa League quarter-finals, while Crystal Palace have a Conference League tie to prepare for next month.
This, combined with the race for Champions League qualification being as uncertain as ever at this stage of the season, means that a host of clubs have a realistic chance of competing in Europe next season.
There is the possibility that 11 teams could be competing in Europe next term, but a lot of scenarios would need to happen to make that a reality.
For starters, Liverpool (Champions League) and either Aston Villa or Nottingham Forest (Europa League) would need to win their respective competitions this season.
Liverpool will face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League quarter-final, while Villa will take on Bologna in the Europa League and Forest will go up against Porto.
JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! Latest news, analysis and much more on Mirror Football's Facebook page
Not only this, but both clubs would also need to finish outside the Champions League qualification spots, which would need to be the top five in the English top flight.
England are considered extremely likely to be handed one of the two European Performance Spots handed by UEFA to teams that finish in the top two leagues with the highest coefficient.
If Liverpool and Villa were to win both their European competitions and finish outside the top five at the same time, then that would mean seven English teams would qualify for the Champions League for next season. This would be the top five clubs in the Premier League, plus Liverpool and either Forest or Villa.
Palace also have a hand in this reality, as they would need to also win the Conference League this season and finish outside the top six in the Premier League.
This would mean that Palace and two more Premier League teams would earn a spot in the Europa League. That leaves the final English team to qualify for next season’s Conference League, which would then take the total number of teams up to 11 that are competing in Europe next term.
This could, as a result, cause a schedule dilemma for the Premier League going forward next season. A total of 11 teams competing in Europe would mean that several top-flight matches would need to be rearranged with league phase/group stage and potentially knockout fixtures in mind.