Premier League fans of six clubs – including Europa League winners Tottenham – can look forward to the 2025/26 Champions League.
The top five rather than four teams in the Premier League qualified for the Champions League because England’s performance in UEFA competitions this season boosted its coefficient ranking and earned an extra spot.
Premier League winners Liverpool and second-placed Arsenal were joined on the final day by Manchester City, Chelsea and Newcastle.
Tottenham’s reward for winning the Europa League is a place in the 20525/26 Champions League league phase
Tottenham secured a record sixth Premier League spot in Europe’s top club competition after beating Manchester United in Bilbao.
After qualifying rounds in June and July and then play-offs in August, the league phase – featuring 36 teams – runs from September 2025 to January 2026. The final will take place at the Puskas Arena in Hungary, Budapest on May 30 2026.
Champions League 25/26 qualifying and play-offs
Celtic won the Scottish Premiership but Scotland’s UEFA coefficient ranking means they must go through the qualifying play-offs
Twenty-nine teams qualify directly for the league phase, with the final seven spots coming through qualifying, which concludes with two-legged play-off ties.
England’s top UEFA coefficient ranking means all six Premier League sides will enter at the league phase, but Scotland’s current 14th-placed ranking means there is no longer an automatic league phase spot for champions Celtic, who will enter at the play-off stage.
Brendan Rodgers’ side will learn their opponents when the play-off draw is made on August 4.
First qualifying round: July 8/9 and 15/16 2025
Second qualifying round: July 22/23 and 29/30 2025
Third qualifying round: August 5/6 and 12 2025
Play-offs: August 19/20 and 26/27 2025
Who has qualified for the Champions League 25/26 league phase?
Harry Kane is a Bundesliga winner and will be back in the 2025/26 Champions League with Bayern Munich
Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are among the heavyweights from around Europe who have secured direct entry to the league phase via their final positions in respective leagues, as have Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain, who meet in the 2025 Champions League final on May 31.
Like England, Spain also received an extra ‘European performance spot,’ with Villarreal taking a fifth place.
2024/25 Champions League winners: TBC
2024/25 Europa League winners: Tottenham
England: Liverpool, Arsenal, Man City, Chelsea, Newcastle
Italy: Napoli, Inter Milan, Atalanta, Juventus
Spain: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Athletic Club, Villarreal
Germany: Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, Eintracht Frankfurt, Borussia Dortmund
France: PSG, Marseille, Monaco
Netherlands: PSV, Ajax
Portugal: Sporting CP
Belgium: Union Saint-Gilloise
Turkey: Galatasaray
Czechia: Slavia Prague
Greece: Olympiacos (due to club coefficient)
Qualifying rounds – champions path: TBC x5
Qualifying rounds – league path: TBC x2
Champions League league phase format
The new format, which began in the 2024/25 season, sees teams play eight matches in the league phase that has replaced the group stage.
Teams now play fixtures against eight different sides, with half at home and half away.
The draw for the 2025/26 league phase will take place on August 28 2025, with teams ranked in four seeding pots.
The top eight sides in the league will qualify automatically for the round of 16, while teams finishing 25th or lower are eliminated and do not drop into the Europa League.
The teams finishing in ninth to 24th place compete in a two-legged knockout phase play-off. Teams finishing between ninth and 16th are seeded, meaning they will face a team in 17th-24th with the return leg at home.
The eight clubs who win their knockout-phase play-off each meet one of the seeded top-eight finishers in the league phase table for a place in the quarter-finals.
Champions League league phase match dates and schedule
Matchday 1: September 16-18 2025
Matchday 2: September 30-October 1 2025
Matchday 3: October 21/22 2025
Matchday 4: November 4/5 2025
Matchday 5: November 25/26 2025
Matchday 6: December 9/10 2025
Matchday 7: January 20/21 2026
Matchday 8: January 28 2026
Champions League knockout phase match dates and schedule
The draw for the two-legged knockout-phase play-offs takes place on January 30 2026.
A draw for the round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals takes place on February 27 2026.
Knockout phase play-offs: 17/18 and 24/25 February 2026
Round of 16: 10/11 and 17/18 March 2026
Quarter-finals: 7/8 and 14/15 April 2026
Semi-finals: April 28/29 and May 5/6 2026
Final: May 30 2026 (Budapest)