Which Serie A clubs will qualify for the Champions League in 2025-26? | OneFootball

The race for the top four in Serie A is as tight as ever, with five or six clubs competing for a placement in the Champions League this season.

The race for the Champions League in Italy has been thrilling over the last few years, bringing unexpected results and even big disappointments for fans of the best clubs in the country, such as Milan and Roma.

The Rossoneri failed to qualify for Europe’s elite competition in 2024-25, even finishing outside a European placement, while Roma climbed the table under Claudio Ranieri, but were still unable to overtake Juventus on the final matchday, finishing fifth.

MILAN, ITALY – MARCH 11: The UEFA Champions League trophy is cleaned as it is displayed on a plinth at the side of the pitch prior to the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Round of 16 Second Leg match between FC Internazionale Milano and Feyenoord at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on March 11, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Bologna were among the surprises as the Rossoblu qualified for the Champions League in 2023-24 under Thiago Motta before winning the Coppa Italia with Vincenzo Italiano in charge in the following campaign.

Serie A is one of the most exciting leagues in Europe, but also one of the most difficult to predict, as fans surfing on Admiral Casino are aware of.

So, let’s try to make the impossible possible and predict: who will qualify for the Champions League in 2025-26?

Technically, Inter and Napoli seem the safest teams as both sides are expected to fight for something bigger than a mere top-four finish.

Antonio Conte and Cristian Chivu will likely fight for the Scudetto until the very end of the campaign, and at the moment, Milan are involved in the race as well, sitting second in the table.

The Rossoneri coach, Massimiliano Allegri, has reiterated that Milan’s main objective remains to qualify for the Champions League, rather than winning the league, but in his latest interview, he admitted: “The longer it goes on, the more difficult it will become. Playing against Cagliari will be tough, we need to prepare well. We need everyone because we have a huge month between now and February.

“At the moment, it looks like the Scudetto will be won on somewhere between 82 and 84 points,” he added.

“It could become 86 if a team has a good run, I don’t know. For us, it was important to win today against a frustrating team [Verona] who have a lot of speed. We finally beat a smaller side at home.”

Juventus defender Gleison Bremer and Roma forward Paulo Dybala (@juventusfcen)

Roma and Juventus are currently fighting for the fourth spot, but Bologna and Como are closely following the Bianconeri and the Giallorossi.

Juventus recently beat Roma 1-0 at the Allianz Stadium, but Gian Piero Gasperini’s men reacted with a 3-1 home victory over Genoa in the following round.

Juventus have won seven of their last eight games across all competitions under their new coach, Luciano Spalletti, and are just one point behind the fourth-placed Giallorossi after 17 rounds.

The Bianconeri struggled in the last game of 2025 against Pisa, but eventually secured a 2-0 win.

“Our tempo was slow, the last 6-7 minutes and first 6-7 minutes of the second half were bad, as Pisa caused problems with their intensity and we were fortunate in those situations,” Spalletti told Sky Sport Italia at full time.

“In the second half, we had more quality, were more inventive, Zhegrova and David did well, giving us more quality in the final third. We were able to score, and at that moment of the game, I felt it was deserved, as we were creating spaces in the box. We ought to do better, and we need to do better.”

Roma have the best defence in the league, but the weakest attack in the top 10 in Serie A, so Juventus seem to have something extra in the race for the top four.

At the same time, however, Roma are eager to bring attacking reinforcements in the January transfer window, and the one-point advantage they have on Juventus could prove to be very useful at the end of the campaign.

Last but not least, don’t forget Italy can still have five Champions League spots available in 2025-26, but that will depend on Italian clubs’ results in Champions League, Europa League and Conference League this term.