Chelsea are running out of time to salvage anything from this nightmare season, but Aston Villa may be about to offer the Blues one last chance for some form of salvation.

Chelsea’s run of one win in 10 Premier League matches did an efficient job of ensuring their Champions League aspirations were ripped away from them. It feels like every result has gone against Chelsea in 2026, but the reality is one team has been quietly doing their best to help. Aston Villa were third as recently as February but their own run of just five league victories so far this calendar year, including handing out Chelsea’s only league victory in the last three months, has seen them tumble to fifth.

This season, fifth will be enough to qualify for the Champions League thanks to the strong performance of English teams in Europe seeing the Premier League top UEFA’s coefficient rankings, but everything could change if that spot goes to Aston Villa. If Emery’s side win the Europa League—only Freiburg stand between them and the trophy—they will earn their own spot in the Champions League as a reward. That fifth spot given to English teams for the coefficient score would then be handed to the team that finishes sixth in the Premier League.

Getting up to fifth is numerically impossible for Chelsea, who sit 10 points behind Villa with three games left to play. Sixth, however, remains in play. Bournemouth head into the final three games of the season with their fingers crossed hardest, but there is set to be an almighty scramble for sixth place. The Cherries are one point ahead of Brentford, themselves only one point above Brighton & Hove Albion. Just four points separates Bournemouth in sixth and Fulham in 11th.

Chelsea are at the bottom of that chasing pack, the full four points behind and in the top half of the table only due to their positive goal difference. There is still plenty of work to do, but four points from nine games is by no means impossible. The Europa League final is slated for May 20, four days before the final round of Premier League fixtures.

The second half of the 2025-26 season has already produced a steady stream of kit reveals and leaks for 2026-27. Across the division, manufacturers and clubs are leaning on retro references, subtle details and new commercial partners.

Arsenal’s reported home shirt appears traditional at first glance but carries small refinements. The design reportedly includes a burgundy collar with a zig-zag pattern and multiple shades of red. There is also discussion that golden Premier League badges could be applied to the home attire for the campaign.

Aston Villa’s leaked home kit takes a clear step back in time. The design is said to draw on the club’s 1969 attire and will feature a sky blue collar on a polo-style shirt. The choice is notable given Villa’s position around the bottom end of the Second Division in that era and their relegation to the third tier in 1970.

Bournemouth have agreed a new multi-year partnership with Hummel, described as a club-record kit deal. The Cherries have moved away from Umbro and the new supplier will coincide with a fresh front-of-shirt partner for the 2026-27 season.

Brentford will replace Hollywood Bets with Indeed as principal sponsor. Teasers show the club retaining its classic red and white stripes while a subtle wave motif has been worked into the fabric.

Chelsea’s expected home shirt uses sharp yellow accents known as Midwest Gold to cut through royal blue. The club’s lion badge may be layered across the centre and could gain prominence if a permanent front-of-shirt sponsor is not secured. IFS, signed in February, is due to expire at the end of the season, a commercial gap that has had financial consequences for the club.

Leeds United are set to wear horizontal stripes at home for the first time in the club’s history. Designers appear to have taken some inspiration from the 2005-06 Admiral shirt, which featured vertical blue and yellow pinstripes.

Liverpool’s leaks point to a darker take on the Candy-sponsored shirt of 1989-91. That vintage coincided with the club�s last long spell of domestic dominance, capped by the 1989-90 title, a 10th crown in 15 seasons before a 30-year wait for the next.

Manchester City’s home shirt looks largely traditional with a fade from sky blue to white at the hem, which could encourage some fans to pair it with white shorts. Manchester United mock-ups featuring Bruno Fernandes attracted attention after the Red Devils’ feel-good derby victory that marked Michael Carrick’s debut of his second spell. The leaked United shirt shows a clean collar and white accents.

Newcastle’s proposed design keeps stripes as the defining element but experiments with varying bar widths and narrowing black stripes that bleed out from each large section, a pattern some observers liken to a Doppler effect visual.

Four Premier League fixtures remain and the battle for Champions League qualification is reaching its final phase. Manchester United sit closest following Monday night’s victory over Brentford, which saw them move 11 points clear of sixth place. The points totals heading into the run-in read: Man Utd 61, Liverpool 58, Aston Villa 58 and Chelsea 48.

Man Utd
Liverpool (H)
Sunderland (A)
Nott’m Forest (H)
Brighton (A)

Liverpool
Man Utd (A)
Chelsea (H)
Aston Villa (A)
Brentford (H)

Aston Villa
Tottenham (H)
Burnley (A)
Liverpool (H)
Man City (A)

Chelsea
Nott’m Forest (H)
Liverpool (A)
Tottenham (H)
Sunderland (A)

Chelsea have a significant deficit to overturn. In fact, given they’re 10 points behind fifth-placed Villa, Opta’s fabled supercomputer offers them just a 0.58% chance of qualifying for the Champions League. “Even victory in all their remaining matches is unlikely to be enough.” On paper the Blues have winnable fixtures, including a trip to Anfield and home matches against Nottingham Forest and Tottenham, but the numbers leave them dependent on others. “They would need Villa to come fifth in the Premier League and win the Europa League, while also finishing sixth themselves.”

Liverpool should be comfortable but their schedule is testing: trips to Manchester United and Aston Villa sandwich a home meeting with Chelsea, and they finish at home to Brentford. The Reds are eight points clear of sixth currently. “The Reds need a maximum of five more points to ensure their qualification.”

Aston Villa sit level on points with Liverpool but behind on goal difference and will aim to clinch qualification quickly, mindful of the Europa League semifinal first leg with Nottingham Forest on Thursday. Their next two fixtures, at home to Tottenham and away at Burnley, are opportunities to move closer to safety in the top five before tougher tests follow.