Nine Premier League teams are still alive for European football heading into the final day, with four places across the three Uefa competitions still to be decided. Liverpool sit fifth on 59 points and remain favourites to take the last Champions League spot, but they are not yet mathematically assured of joining Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and Aston Villa in the 2026-27 competition.
The chase is crowded enough that Bournemouth, Brighton, Brentford, Sunderland, Chelsea, Newcastle, Everton and mathematically Fulham can still end up with some kind of European football. That leaves the race for the uefa conference league and the remaining European places stretched across the table, with one round of matches still able to shift the picture again.
The weekend results added more pressure and more clarity in equal measure. Brighton lost 1-0 at Leeds United after Dominic Calvert-Lewin struck a late winner, Brentford drew 2-2 with Crystal Palace and stayed eighth, Sunderland beat Everton 3-1 to move above them into ninth, and Newcastle beat West Ham 3-1 to draw level on points with Chelsea. Fulham drew 1-1 with Wolves and remain 13th, but still have a mathematical path to eighth if the results and a huge goal difference swing break their way.
That is where the tension now sits. Chelsea are 10th and face Tottenham on Tuesday, which gives them one more match before the final Premier League fixtures on 24 May decide the European places. Newcastle are level with them on points, Sunderland have climbed past Everton, and Brentford are holding eighth for now. Every one of those positions matters because the league’s European allocation can still shuffle between the Champions League, Europa League and uefa conference league slots before the season closes.
The broader backdrop is simple enough. The Premier League has already secured a fifth Champions League spot through Uefa’s European Performance Spots, which is why fifth place now carries Champions League football. That has changed the stakes at the top while leaving a knot of clubs fighting for the remaining tickets below it. For Fulham, the road is technically still open, but with the goal difference gap so large, the final-day mathematics look more like a formality than a realistic route.
What happens next is all about Tuesday and then 24 May. Chelsea’s meeting with Tottenham could reshape the order again, and the last round of league matches will settle who gets Europe, who falls short and who gets to keep planning for next season with continental football on the calendar.
