Premier League fans of six clubs – including Europa League winners Tottenham – can look forward to the Champions League 2025/26.
The top five instead of four teams in the Premier League qualified for the Champions League because the performance of England in the UEFA competitions this season increased its coefficiëtranglist and earned an extra place.
Premier League winners Liverpool and second place Arsenal were accompanied by Manchester City, Chelsea and Newcastle on the last day.
Tottenham achieved 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 competition phase – with 36 teams – runs from September 2025 to January 2026. The final will take place in the Puskas Arena in Hungary, Budapest on 30 May 2026.
Champions League 25/26 qualification and play-offs
Twenty-nine teams are directly eligible for the competition phase, with the last seven places that come through qualification, which is concluded with two-legged play-off tires.
The best UEFA coefficiërlistlijst in England means that all six Premier League parties will come in in the competition phase, but the current 14th placed ranking of Scotland means that there is no automatic competition phase spot for champions Celtic, which will be in the play-off stage.
The side of Brendan Rodgers will teach their opponents when the play-off trek is made on August 4.
First qualifying round: 8/9 and 15/16 2025second qualification round: 22/23 July and 29/30 2025third qualifying round: 5/6 August and 12 2025Play-offs: 19/20 and 26/27 2025
Who qualified for the League phase of the Champions League 25/26?
Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich belong to the heavyweights from all over Europe that have direct access to the competition phase insured through their final positions in respective competitions, just like Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain, who meet in the 2025 Champions League-League-final.
Just like England, Spain also received an extra 'European performance place', in which Villarreal took 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
The Netherlands: PSV, Ajax
Portugal: Sporting CP
Belgium: Union Saint-Gilloise
Turkey: Galatasaray
Czech Republic: Slavia Prague
Greece: Olympiacos (due to club coefficient)
Qualification rounds – Champions Path: TBC X5
Qualification rounds – League Path: TB X2
Champions League League -Passe -Faicat
The new format, which started in the 2024/25 season, sees teams play eight games in the competition phase that the group phase has replaced.
Teams now play matches at 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 arranged in four Seeding -Potten.
The top eight parties in the competition are automatically eligible for the round of 16, while teams ending 25th or lower are eliminated and do not fall into the Europa League.
The teams finish in ninth to 24th place in a two-legged knockout phase play-off. Teams that end between the ninth and 16th are sown, which means that they are confronted with the return bone at home opposite a team on 17th-24th.
The eight clubs that win their knock-out-phase play-off each meet one of the placed top-night finishers in the competition table for a place in the quarterfinals.
Champions League League Phase Match dates and schedule
MatchDay 1: 16-18 September 2025MatchDay 2: September 30, October 1 October 1 2025MatchDay 3: 21/22 2025MatchDay 4: 4/5 November 2025CatchDay 5: 25/26 2025CatchDay 6: 9/10 2025CatchDay 7: 20/21 2026 GatchDay 86
Champions League Knock -Out Phase competition dates and schedule
The draw for the two-legged knock-out phase play-offs takes place on January 30, 2026.
A draw for the round of 16, quarterfinals and semi -final takes place on 27 February 2026.
Knockout-phase Play-offs: 17/18 and 24/25 February 2026 Round from 16: 10/11 and 17/18 March 2026 Quarter-finals: 7/8 and 14/15 April 2026Semi-Finals: 28/29 and 5/6 2026Final: 30 May 2026 (Budapest)