EPL Champions League Qualification 2025: SuperComputer Predicts Top Five Teams

As the 2024/2025 Premier League season nears its conclusion, a high-stakes race is underway for the coveted Champions League qualification spots. The Opta SuperComputer has forecasted which five English clubs are most likely to secure their places in next season’s elite European competition.

According to Opta’s data-driven projection, five Premier League teams are on track to earn Champions League qualification—a change made possible by UEFA’s revised format. The battle for these spots remains intense, with just four points separating Manchester City in third place from Aston Villa in seventh.

Manchester City bolstered their standing following a dramatic 2-1 victory over Aston Villa on Tuesday night, placing them behind table leaders Liverpool and Arsenal. With the win, Villa’s chances of finishing in the top five diminished, and they now face an uphill task, holding only a 17.3% probability of making the cut.

The updated predictions show:

Manchester City: 95.1% chance of qualification
Nottingham Forest: 80.1% chance
Newcastle United: 77.6% chance
Chelsea: 29.7% chance
Aston Villa: 17.3% chance

City and Villa have both played one more match than their closest competitors, which may influence the final standings. Meanwhile, Chelsea, Newcastle, and Forest each have five games remaining to make their case.

Liverpool have mathematically secured their Champions League berth, and Arsenal, with a strong nine-point cushion above sixth place, are expected to follow suit shortly.

With just a few matches left in the season, the competition between City, Forest, Newcastle, Chelsea, and Villa is heating up, and the coming weeks promise dramatic twists in the battle for Europe’s most prestigious club tournament.

Learn more about past Champions League qualification trends from our sports archive.

For detailed UEFA competition rules and club coefficients, visit UEFA’s official website.