Who has the easiest run-in out of Aston Villa, Liverpool, Man Utd & Chelsea? | OneFootball

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.

Aston Villa have been talked up as surprise title contenders, but they’ve fallen nine points behind league leaders Arsenal after dropping points in five of their last six outings.

Unai Emery has stressed that Villa’s challenge this season is for Champions League qualification, and that looks like it’ll be the case.

Their excellent winning run in the autumn made them look shoo-ins for a top-five finish at one point, but the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea are in excellent form and closing the gap. It’s not unthinkable that they drop down to sixth.

Manchester United are the league’s form side, with Michael Carrick enjoying a 100% winning record since he was parachuted in as caretaker manager last month.

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.

Chelsea have also won their last four in a row since bringing in Liam Rosenior, but a pair of defeats to Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semi-finals and some unconvincing displays leave question marks.

The Blues do have two relegation-battlers coming up, but after that Rosenior’s mettle will really be put to the test in a tough run.

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 five points behind (albeit with a game in hand).

Arne Slot’s Reds have a tough task of trying to close the gap by beating title-chasing Manchester City, but after that they’ve got a favourable run of fixtures right up until their trip to Old Trafford in April. That’s already looking like a date to circle on your calendar.

We’ve broken down the remaining fixtures for all five teams, including the position of their opponents at the time of writing.

Manchester United

Chelsea

Liverpool

Sunderland (A) — 9th Nottingham Forest (A) — 17th West Ham (H) — 18th Wolves (A) — 20th Tottenham (H) — 15th Brighton (A) — 14th Fulham (H) — 10th Everton (A) — 8th Crystal Palace (H) — 13th Manchester United (A) — 4th Chelsea (H) — 5th Aston Villa (A) — 3rd Brentford (H) — 7th