Nottingham Forest get major Champions League boost after UEFA development

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Despite the 1-0 win over Manchester City, Nottingham Forest fans won’t be assuming anything about their Champions League hopes until the season is over.

Nuno Espirito Santo was dancing in the dressing room in celebrations which suggested the City Ground is starting to let itself believe that the Champions League anthem could well be ringing out next season.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	29	21	7	1	69	27	42	70
2	ArsenalArsenal	28	15	10	3	52	24	28	55
3	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	28	15	6	7	45	33	12	51
4	ChelseaChelsea	28	14	7	7	53	36	17	49
5	Man CityManchester City	28	14	5	9	53	38	15	47

Forest now have breathing room from City in the form of a four-point gap, meaning that qualification for European football’s top table is in the control of Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, who now just need to maintain their levels of performance for the final ten games.

The Forest owner is already at work to prepare for European qualification, with Evangelos Marinakis required to have interest in only one club by UEFA, which has led to a variety of movement within the Reds board in an attempt to distance itself from Marinakis-owned Olympiacos.

Off the pitch, preparation may be complicated for Marinakis, but on the pitch, it is looking more and more comfortable, especially given the latest update from UEFA on their coefficient rankings.

The Premier League is guaranteed a fifth Champions League space

As previously reported, the Premier League could earn a fifth Champions League spot as a result of UEFA’s coefficient rankings, which will award the top two divisions with the best-performing teams in UEFA competitions with an extra place.

Therefore, eagle-eyed Forest fans have been keeping up to date with the latest round in UEFA fixtures, which saw Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham all qualify in the quarter-finals of their respective competitions.

The impact of this was seen on the official UEFA website as the Premier League has now earned an unassailable number of points to guarantee an extra Champions League position, with the five teams left in the competitions still likely to earn even more points for the English league.

Remarkably, though, the Premier League isn’t actually limited to just the five teams, as it has been revealed that certain scenarios could lead to seven teams representing England in the Champions League next season.

Six other Premier League teams could join Nottingham Forest in the Champions League

The Premier League has been close to the fifth Champions League spot for the majority of the season so it is no surprise to see the place guaranteed, but the number of English sides that could be competing in European competitions next season is astounding.

According to the Premier League website, as many as seven could be playing in the Champions League, with even more in the Europa and Conference League, respectively.

The Premier League said: “There could even be as many as SEVEN English clubs in the 2025/26 Champions League. That would be the case if:

• The Premier League’s top five all qualified by virtue of their league position,

• And if a Premier League side won this season’s Champions League but finished outside the top five,

• And if Spurs or Manchester United, currently 13th and 14th in the Premier League respectively and highly unlikely to climb into the top five, won this season’s Europa League.”

Continuing this, the Premier League added: “If the above were to happen, half of the Premier League – 10 teams – could be competing in Europe next season: seven in the Champions League, two in the Europa League (sixth-placed team and FA Cup winners) and one in the Conference League (EFL Cup winners).”

Forest will hopefully have earned their spot in the Champions League long before these hypotheticals came into play, but if not, Espirito Santo and the Forest coaching staff at least have a safety net to fall back on.