Premier League matches joint-record with nine clubs in Europe after Crystal Palace win

Abdullateef Fowewe

Crystal Palace’s triumph in the UEFA Conference League has ensured the Premier League will send a joint-record nine clubs into European competition next season.

Oliver Glasner’s side beat LaLiga’s Rayo Vallecano 1-0 in the final at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig to become the ninth English club confirmed for Europe in 2026/27.

Palace’s victory — the third English triumph in the five-year history of the Conference League after West Ham (2023) and Chelsea (2025) — secures them automatic qualification for the Europa League league phase next season.

Palace finished 15th in the domestic table, well outside the top eight, but the cup success gives the Eagles an immediate return to continental action.

Their Europa League place does not displace any other Premier League clubs; instead Palace join AFC Bournemouth and Sunderland as England’s three representatives in the Europa League.

Bournemouth and Sunderland earned their spots via sixth- and seventh-place finishes in the Premier League respectively.

Eighth-placed Brighton & Hove Albion will contest the Conference League.

The Premier League’s Champions League contingent is led by the top four — Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and Aston Villa — and is joined by Liverpool, who qualified through Aston Villa’s European Performance Spot after finishing fifth.

With Palace added, the nine English entrants for 2026/27 match the Premier League’s previous high of nine clubs in UEFA competitions, set in 2025/26. Four clubs have been replaced from last season’s cohort: Bournemouth, Brighton, Manchester United and Sunderland take the places of Chelsea, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur.

Premier League clubs headed to Europe for 2026/27
• Arsenal — UEFA Champions League (via Premier League)
• Manchester City — UEFA Champions League (via Premier League)
• Manchester United — UEFA Champions League (via Premier League)
• Aston Villa — UEFA Champions League (via European Performance Spot)
• Liverpool — UEFA Champions League ⁠(via Premier League)
• Bournemouth — UEFA Europa League (via Premier League)
• Sunderland — UEFA Europa League (via Premier League)
• Brighton & Hove Albion — UEFA Conference League (via Premier League)
• Crystal Palace — UEFA Europa League (via Conference League winners)

The league said the nine qualifiers reflect the Premier League’s depth and the sustained strength of English clubs in European competitions.

Fans’ reactions online mixed celebration for the qualifying clubs with notable surprise and banter over Chelsea’s absence from the continental list despite heavy investment in recent seasons.