Who has the easiest run-in out of Aston Villa, Liverpool, Man Utd & Chelsea?
We’re approaching the business end of the 2025-26 season, and it’s shaping up to be a knife-edge battle for Champions League qualification between Aston Villa, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool.
Given the exceptional record of Premier League clubs in Europe this season, it’s looking almost certain that fifth place – just like last season – will be enough for Champions League qualification, thanks to a strong coefficient.
There are just three points separating Manchester United in third and Liverpool in sixth, with Aston Villa and Chelsea in between.
Aston Villa have been talked up as surprise title contenders, but they’ve fallen completely out of the race in recent weeks.
Unai Emery has stressed that Villa’s challenge this season is for Champions League qualification, and that has proven to be the case.
Their excellent winning run in the autumn made them look shoo-ins for a top-five finish at one point, but they’ve recently fallen behind Manchester United and could soon be leapfrogged by Chelsea – who just beat them 4-1 at Villa Park – and Liverpool.
Manchester United are the league’s form side, but they have just suffered the setback of a first league defeat – away to ten-man Newcastle – since Michael Carrick was appointed interim manager.
Their current trajectory, and their lack of cup distractions – particularly in Europe – could well give them the edge over their competitors for the top four.
They do still have to play the other teams that feature here, though, and those six-pointers could well prove decisive come the final table. Very few of the Red Devils’ remaining fixtures look straightforward on paper.
Chelsea won their first four league outings under Liam Rosenior, but their progress has been stunted by dropped points at home to relegation-battlers Leeds United and Burnley.
The Blues did get their campaign to qualify for the Champions League back on track, though, with a statement-making comeback 4-1 victory over Aston Villa – a result that takes them within three points of Unai Emery’s side.
Reigning champions Liverpool are currently sixth and the unthinkable prospect of failing to qualify for the Champions League looks increasingly possible.
They finished 14 places above rivals Manchester United last season, with literally double their points tally, but they now find themselves three points behind and in considerably worse form.
Arne Slot’s Reds do at least have a favourable-ish run of fixtures coming up against midtable and lower-half opposition, which gives them the opportunity of putting themselves in a commanding position when it comes to the end-of-season crunch matches against top-five rivals United, Chelsea and Villa.
We’ve broken down the remaining fixtures for all five teams, including the position of their opponents at the time of writing.
Manchester United
Aston Villa (H) — 4th
Leeds (H) — 15th
Chelsea (A) — 5th
Brentford (H) — 7th
Liverpool (H) — 6th
Sunderland (A) — 11th
Nottingham Forest (H) — 17th
Brighton (A) — 13th
Aston Villa
Manchester United (A) — 3rd
West Ham (H) — 18th
Nottingham Forest (A) — 17th
Sunderland (H) — 11th
Fulham (A) — 10th
Tottenham (H) — 16th
Burnley (A) — 19th
Liverpool (H) — 6th
Manchester City (A) — 2nd
Chelsea
Newcastle (H) — 12th
Everton (A) — 8th
Manchester City (H) — 2nd
Manchester United (H) — 3rd
Brighton (A) — 13th
Nottingham Forest (H) — 17th
Liverpool (A) — 6th
Tottenham (H) — 16th
Sunderland (A) — 11th
Liverpool
Tottenham (H) — 16th
Brighton (A) — 13th
Fulham (H) — 10th
Everton (A) — 8th
Crystal Palace (H) — 14th
Manchester United (A) — 3rd
Chelsea (H) — 5th
Aston Villa (A) — 4th
Brentford (H) — 7th
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