English Premier League Table 2025/2026

Standings Explained

The Premier League table ranks all 20 teams in the top flight based on their performance in every match. Each win counts as 3 points. If the match ends in a draw, both teams receive one point each, and if a team loses, it doesn’t receive any points. The team with the highest points ranks first on the table.

The standings are updated as soon as a match ends. Sometimes standings can undergo rapid changes on days with multiple matches.

Since there are 20 teams, each team plays 38 matches (19 at home, 19 away). These matches go on from August to May. At the end of the season, the team with the highest points on the table wins the Premier League title. The bottom three teams are relegated to the Championship, the second-highest tier in English football.

If two or more teams finish with the same points, tie-breakers come into play to decide their position on the table. First, their goal difference is considered. This is the difference between goals scored and conceded. The team with the biggest difference is placed higher on the Premier League table. However, in case the goal difference is also tied, the total goals scored are considered next. In very rare cases, if the total goals scored are also the same, the teams’ head-to-head results are considered to decide their ranking.

 

European Qualification Spots

Teams finishing at the top of the Premier League table qualify for three different European competitions. These spots are highly sought after as they provide an opportunity to compete against Europe’s best. 

The European competitions are governed by UEFA (Union of European Football Associations.) It oversees and organizes many of the continent’s major competitions. 

UEFA uses a ranking system (country coefficient) to measure the performance of football clubs from each country over a five-year period. It helps decide how many clubs qualify for these three main tournaments:

• Champions League
• Europa League 
• Conference League.

Moreover, the UEFA ranking also decides at what stage the clubs enter (group stage, qualifying rounds, etc.).

Depending on their spot in the Premier League table, this is how Premier League clubs are selected for European tournaments:

 

UEFA Champions League

This is the top competition in Europe, and only the best clubs qualify from their respective domestic tournament. Some countries earn two spots, while others are given three or four spots, depending on their UEFA country coefficient. 

England has four spots in the Champions League. These go to the top four teams on the Premier League table. These teams automatically qualify for the league phase matches and don’t have to go through the qualifying rounds.

Moreover, if a Premier League club wins the Champions League, they retain their spot for next year. This spot remains theirs, regardless of whether they finish in the top four.

 

UEFA Europa League

This is the second-highest European competition, and England gets only one spot in this League. The team that finishes fifth in the Premier League gets a direct entry to the league phase matches of this competition.

However, there is one more way to enter the Europa League. The winner of the FA Cup receives an invitation to join the league phase directly. This spot is locked in, regardless of what happens in the domestic cup. If the FA Cup winner finishes in the top five, the Europa League spot goes to the next-highest team in the league that hasn’t already qualified. For example, if Manchester City wins the FA Cup and finishes fifth, the sixth-placed team gets the Europa League spot.

 

UEFA Conference League

The UEFA Conference League is the third-tier European competition. The Carabao Cup (EFL Cup) winner earns a place in the Conference League play-off round.

But again, there’s a condition. If the Carabao Cup winner has already qualified for the Champions League or Europa League through the league or FA Cup, the spot gets passed down. Then it goes to the next-highest Premier League finisher not already in Europe.

 

Relegation Zone

The Premier League is the top flight in English football. Clubs earn promotions from lower tiers to reach the top. They progress from League Two to League One, then to the Championship, and finally to the Premier League.

Every year, 20 teams play in the top tournament. However, these spots are not permanent. Three teams that finish at the bottom of the table at the end of the tournament are relegated back to the Championship (the second tier of English football). These are the teams that finish in 18th, 19th, and 20th place.

Relegation means these clubs drop out of the Premier League for the following season. It’s a major setback. So, relegation battles often go down to the wire as every team tries to avoid a bottom-three finish. 

Once relegated, the three clubs play next season in the Championship. They can only earn a promotion back if they finish in the top two spots of the Championship table or win the Championship playoffs (played between the third and fourth teams on the table). 

So, what happens to the three empty spots in the Premier League? Two of these are claimed by the current top two teams of the Championship. The third spot goes to the playoff winner.

 

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