Premier League Standings

Premier League Standings: How the Table Works

This page explains the live Premier League table shown below — what the current standings mean, how the 20 clubs are ranked, which positions earn European football or face relegation, and the key dates of the 2026/27 season. The table updates automatically after every match, so it always reflects the latest results; the sections underneath explain how to read it. The Premier League is often shortened to the EPL, so “EPL standings” and “Premier League standings” refer to exactly the same table.

How the Premier League table works

The Premier League is the top division of English football, contested by 20 clubs. Each club plays 38 matches in a season — home and away against every other club. A win is worth three points, a draw one point and a defeat none. Clubs are listed by total points, highest first, and the club top of the table after all 38 rounds is crowned champion. There is no end-of-season title play-off: the standings decide it.

Every row in the table shows the same columns: matches played, won, drawn and lost, goals scored and conceded, goal difference and total points. If you are new to league tables, our guide on how to read a standings table walks through each row, and a separate reference explains what the abbreviations like GD and Pts mean.

What each place in the table means

A club’s final position decides whether it plays in Europe, stays up, or is relegated. For the current 2026/27 season the places break down as shown below.

Champions League places (1st to 5th)

The top four clubs always qualify for the UEFA Champions League league phase. For the 2026/27 season England also earned a fifth Champions League place through UEFA’s European Performance Spot — an extra entry given to the two national associations whose clubs performed best across the previous European season — so fifth place qualifies as well this season. That extra place is not permanent: it depends on how English clubs do in Europe each year, so it can disappear in a future season.

Europa League and Conference League places (6th and the cups)

Sixth place qualifies for the UEFA Europa League, alongside the winners of the FA Cup. The winners of the EFL Cup (the League Cup, currently the Carabao Cup) enter the UEFA Conference League play-off round. If a cup winner has already qualified for Europe through its league position, the place passes down to the next-highest club not yet qualified, so seventh place can sometimes earn European football.

Relegation places (18th to 20th)

The bottom three clubs — those finishing 18th, 19th and 20th — are relegated to the Championship, England’s second tier. They are replaced by three promoted clubs: the top two in the Championship plus the winner of the Championship play-offs. For 2026/27 the three promoted clubs are Coventry City, Ipswich Town and Hull City, who came up in place of West Ham United, Burnley and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

How clubs level on points are separated

When two or more clubs finish level on points, the Premier League separates them in a set order. Goal difference is the first and most common separator, so the table order you see already reflects it:

1. Goal difference — goals scored minus goals conceded.
2. Goals scored — the club that has scored more finishes higher.
3. Head-to-head points — points won in the matches between the tied clubs.
4. Away goals — most away goals scored in those head-to-head matches.
5. A play-off — a one-off match at a neutral ground.

A play-off is only arranged if the tie actually decides the title, a European qualification place or relegation; otherwise clubs level on everything simply share the position. For more on scoring and the order ties are broken, see our explainer on how points and tiebreakers work.

Key dates for the current season

The 2026/27 season began on Friday 21 August 2026 and is scheduled to end on Sunday 30 May 2027. It is made up of 33 weekend and five midweek match rounds — 38 in total. On the final day, all ten matches kick off at the same time so that no club benefits from knowing other results before its own game finishes.

How to follow the Premier League in New Zealand

In New Zealand the Premier League is carried by Sky. Every match is available live and on demand through Sky Sport on television and the Sky Sport Now streaming service, which can be used on its own without a Sky box. Because the United Kingdom is between 11 and 13 hours behind New Zealand, matches are shown overnight and early in the morning: most kick off at roughly 12:30am, 3:00am, 5:30am or 8:00am NZ time across Saturday and Sunday, with the exact times shifting slightly when New Zealand and the UK change their clocks. If you also follow local competitions, our overview of New Zealand’s main sports standings explains how rugby, league, netball and football rank their teams.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How many teams are in the Premier League?

Twenty. Each club plays 38 matches in a season — home and away against the other 19 — and the club with the most points after all 38 rounds is the champion.

How many points is a win worth in the EPL standings?

Three points for a win, one point for a draw and none for a defeat. Clubs are then ranked by total points, highest first.

Which positions qualify for the Champions League?

The top four clubs always qualify. For the 2026/27 season fifth place also qualifies, because England earned an extra Champions League place through UEFA’s European Performance Spot. That fifth spot depends on English clubs’ European results and is not guaranteed every year.

How many clubs are relegated from the Premier League?

Three. The clubs finishing 18th, 19th and 20th drop to the Championship and are replaced by three promoted clubs: the Championship’s top two plus the play-off winner.

What happens if two clubs finish level on points?

They are separated by goal difference first, then goals scored, then head-to-head record. A play-off is only used if the tie decides the title, a European place or relegation; otherwise the clubs share the position.