Premier League could get SIX Champions League places for next season as West Ham hold key

As many as six Premier League clubs could take part in the 2024-25 Champions League, depending on what happens between now and the end of the season.

The 2024-25 season will be the first to feature the Champions League’s new ‘Swiss-style’ opening stage, with 36 teams involved rather than the 32 in this season’s competition. The expansion means two leagues will see five teams qualify from their league position.

England is one of the leagues in contention for that fifth spot, which goes to the national league with the best UEFA coefficient performance. As of late February, Germany and Italy were in pole position, but five of the six English clubs in the last 16 of their European competitions made it through to the quarter-finals while Italy saw all three of its remaining Champions League teams eliminated.

There could yet be a sixth English team, though. The Europa League winners receive a spot in the following season’s Champions League, and West Ham – who currently sit outside the Premier League’s top five – remain alive in the competition.

As reported by The Mail, the team finishing sixth in the Premier League would be rewarded with Champions League football if West Ham finish fifth but win the Europa League. However, if one of the top four teams wins the Champions League or Europa League, the extra spot would not drop down.

There is a long way to go until any of that becomes a serious consideration, of course. Seventh-place West Ham are currently nine points adrift of fifth-place Tottenham, though they have a chance to close the gap when the teams meet at the London Stadium on April 2.

A Europa League triumph for West Ham is also anything but a guarantee. Quarter-final opponents Bayer Leverkusen have yet to taste defeat in any competition this season, while the Hammers’ Premier League rivals Liverpool – victorious against them in the Premier League and Carabao Cup this term – could also prove an obstacle.