In this article, I will give my prediction for the final standings of the 2025/26 Premier League season. This is being written five days before the start of the season, and thus the transfer window is still open. Some teams could move up/down a couple of places, should they make big squad changes.

(1) Liverpool.

Having just won the Premier League, they have probably won the transfer window as well. With the loss of Jota, Luis Diaz, and Darwin Nunez, they have brought in the striking power of Ekitike, and are even looking to snatch Isak from Newcastle. They also bought the Premier League’s best left back, Kerkez to provide competition for the aging Robertson, while replacing Trent Alexander-Arnold with the Bundesliga’s best full back, Frimpong. Who can forget, they also broke the Premier League transfer record on Florian Wirtz. It is safe to say they’ll retain the title.

(2) Arsenal.

This one speaks for itself really. Arsenal under Arteta have been so good, but just not good enough! I think it will be the same story this season. They have actually had an amazing transfer window, and the signing of Zubimendi has seriously gone under the radar, as he will revolutionise their midfield. When trying to win titles though, I think a massive part of it is about having winners in your squad. Arsenal didn’t have any winners, and they haven’t added any, and as such, I don’t see them pipping Liverpool to silverware this season.

(3) Manchester City.

Their era of dominating the league is over, even with Guardiola still in charge.  They’ve had quite an impressive window, but their squad is aging. More importantly, I think their team is exhausted. Since 2017, just 1 year after Guardiola came to Manchester City, the Citizens have been competing for silverware. Win a trophy, go again next season, win a trophy, go again next season. Consistent dominance is hard to come by, and although Manchester City still maintain so much quality, I think it is time to start fresh. They’ve clearly made the first steps towards doing so as well, with De Bruyne, Kyle Walker and Ederson (potentially) moving on. I think their replacements in; Cherki, Reijnders, Trafford, and Ait-Nouri are adequate, but it’s going to take them a couple seasons/transfer windows to be back at the top of the Premier League.

(4) Chelsea.

The Blues have bolstered their attack massively, replacing the likely outgoing Nicolas Jackson, with Liam Delap and Joao Pedro. Out wide they have replaced Mudryk and Madueke, with Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, and are looking to bring in Garnacho and Xavi Simons. Now these may all be seen as upgrades, and they are to me, but I just don’t think this formula works in football. The revolving door that is Chelsea Football Club just doesn’t appeal to player morale. If fringe players are constantly worried that they’re gone in the next window, I don’t see how that is a stable platform to perform. They can still pickup trophies in offseason cups, as they just did in the Club World Cup, as those don’t require much squad rotation. In the regular season though, you need rotation, and you are going to be bringing in players who lack confidence. For that reason, I don’t see Chelsea moving any higher than 4th.

(5) Manchester United.

I honestly think Manchester United could potentially press up for the third position if they get Baleba in, but as this is being written, that is not the case. It is assumed though, that Manchester United will at least bring in a midfielder, whether that is Baleba or not. If they fail to sign a ball progressing midfielder, I would drop them all the way down to 8th.

(6) Aston Villa.

This is with the assumption that they keep one of the best goalkeepers in the world, Emiliano Martinez. Unai Emery has been absolutely cooking with the Villians, and they haven’t lost anyone major this transfer window. They are also looking to bring Marco Asensio back, which I think would be a great signing. I don’t think they have enough to get any higher, while the teams below aren’t capable of challenging them for 6th.

(7) Newcastle United.

I see them falling down a few places with the potential loss of Isak. They also haven’t made too much of a mark on this transfer window, with half of the footballing world rejecting them. I think Elanga will be a good signing, but he isn’t particularly a needle mover. The potential signing of Wissa excites me a lot though. Eddie Howe always seems to get a lot out of his strikers, and I can see Wissa being another player added to that list. I think it would’ve been massive for them if they could’ve kept Callum Wilson, as experienced Premier League strikers are hard to come by. 

(8) Brighton.

They’re just a club that’s always going to be good, because of how well they are run. They seem to have world class midfielders coming out of their ears. They’ve signed an 18 year old Greek striker who for any other club would be a massive risk. For Brighton though, you can just see it going well, due to their history with up and coming young stars.

(9) Crystal Palace.

A team that really hit their stride last season, and one that hasn’t lost any of their key players. I think that was the main thing for them this window, maintaining their stars, and they’ve done so. I think there is such a feel good factor about the club at the moment, which can’t be underestimated in the way it equates to victories. Having good team morale is always massive, and it’s at an all time high. As I’m writing this they just won the community shield, and they looked fantastic, so I can genuinely see them finishing in the top half of the Premier League this season.

(10) Everton.

Probably my boldest call so far, but I really do rate David Moyes as a manager. That, along with the fact that he’s actually been backed in this window, gives me high hopes for Everton. Dewsbury-Hall was amazing in the Championship for Leicester, and I think he can kick on at Everton with guaranteed game time.

Although I know nothing about him besides 10 minutes in a preseason friendly, Thierno Barry really excites me. When he came on against Manchester United in the Summer Series, he was giving Diego Costa vibes, just barging into players, which is crazy for a friendly. Now that obviously doesn’t say anything about his technical ability, but we’re going to assume he’s got some of that, considering they paid £30 million for him. 

(11) Nottingham Forrest.

I still think Nottingham Forrest will have a great season, as they have kept the majority of their great players. They brought in some of Botafogo’s best players as well, who we saw shine at the Club World Cup. The reason I have them finishing lower though, is a couple of reasons. The main one is that they had a lot of players over performing last season, and obviously they have the same manager, so he could get that out of them again, but I just don’t see it. Especially with Chris Wood. He outperformed his usual play to an insane degree last season. I still think, although it’s a fall off from last year, finishing 11th for Nottingham Forrest would be an amazing season.

(12) Tottenham.

I’m sure this is an extremely unpopular opinion, but I have a feeling that Thomas Frank is going to be a similar story to Graham Potter. Where people thought he was an amazing manager, but he actually just managed a club that was run the right way, and actually had a severely underrated squad. We can see it now, with where Brentford’s players are signing/being linked to. I think the acquisition of Kudus is exciting, and Palhinha has proven he’s a great Premier League midfielder, but I think the loss of Maddison is crucial. Thomas Frank is also going to be under a lot of pressure, considering that a lot of Tottenham fans actually wanted to keep Postecoglou, after the Europa League success. I see this transition being an absolute disaster for Tottenham.

(13) Brentford.

Following on from what I said about the great foundation Thomas Frank had, I think Brentford will be fine this season. I know a lot of people have them getting relegated, but I just don’t see it. The main issue is the unproven manager, so that could swing either way, but I think that the way Brentford are run as a club will really help him. There’s no real high expectations except for staying in the Premier League, and I think they’ll comfortably do that.

(14) Fulham.

Fun team to watch, not too bad, not too good. Fulham feels like a classic Barclays team. Fast wingers,  big striker, tricky attacking midfielder. It’s like a team stuck in the 2000s. I think they have enough Premier League quality to stay in the league, accompanied by a great manager, but not enough talent or depth to do anything crazy like a top half finish. 

(15) Bournemouth.

I rate Iraola really highly as a manager, but they have been absolutely ravaged this transfer window. Losing Both their centre backs, their left back, and their goalkeeper is absolutely crucial, and with all those losses there’s absolutely no chance they finish in the top half of the table. If it wasn’t for their incredible manager, I would be backing them to get relegated. I really hope they do stay up, as if they do, they are going to have so much money to spend on players in January/next season. The only issue is attracting quality players to Bournemouth.

(16) Sunderland.

By far the best window of all the teams coming up, I think they’re the only one out of them that will stay up. Granit Xhaka is an amazing signing, who I still can’t believe decided to join them. Accompany that with Adingra, and they have an abundance of Premier League quality. They also brought in, Le Fee and Diarra, who I don’t know much about, but I’ve heard great things. I do hope they stay in the league as well, because the Premier League is better the more derby’s we have, and I think everyone loves the Newcastle, Sunderland rivalry. 

(17) Wolverhampton.

I have Wolves just staying up.  Although they’ve had great form in 2025, I still think their team is barely good enough to be in the Premier League, especially with the loss of their best player, Matheus Cunha. They are going to struggle massively this season.

(18) West Ham.

Can’t wait for this one. I don’t rate Graham Potter as a manager, and West Ham deserve this. They deserve to go down for the way they treated David Moyes. He literally won them a European trophy, with a bang average team, and the fans still wanted him gone, disgraceful. They managed to keep Paqueta, which I think will be big for them in attempting to compete, but I don’t think they’ve got enough. Even with the signing of Callum Wilson, mainly due to his injury record. If they can keep Wilson fit, they might just be able to pip Wolves to the 17th spot, but it’s a big if. 

(19) Leeds.

Daniel Farke has proven in the times he’s been in the Premier League with Norwich, that he isn’t built for managing a relegation battling side. I think his tactics would actually be great if he was managing a team like a Chelsea or a Tottenham, where his team is going to dominate possession with quality players. You just cannot play how attacking he does, when your team has way less quality than your opponent. 

(20) Burnley.

Probably the simplest prediction of the lot. Burnley were the worst team to come up, and they’ve made the least impactful transfers. It’s really that simple. 

When making predictions, many factors are unable to be taken into account, such as; future injuries, and January signings. On the information we currently have though, I believe this to be the most likely outcome of the 2025/2026 Premier League season!