2025/26 Premier League Season Preview
- Linus O'Howell
- 3 days ago
- 17 min read
Updated: 14 hours ago
After a proper offseason for nearly all of the teams, it’s only a matter of time before we gear up for the start of yet another Premier League season! Liverpool enter as reigning Champions, trying to go back-to-back, whilst Manchester City are looking to recapture their crown! Arsenal will be hoping that they’re finally able to go one place higher after three consecutive second-place finishes, and Chelsea enter with a lot of confidence after becoming World Champions! Newcastle and Aston Villa will also hope they’re able to continue to grow, Nottingham Forest will be aiming to show that last year wasn’t just a one off, whilst Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur will have an awful lot of pressure on them after shambolic campaigns the year prior! Add in Everton’s new Stadium, and the return of Leeds, Burnley, and Sunderland, and we should be all set for a very competitive 380 games!
Arsenal
Arsenal enter yet another season where they have to win the Premier League! Arsenal had a weaker season last year in terms of points, not even averaging 2 points a game, but they still managed to finish second yet again! The big question surrounding Arsenal heading into the new season is simple: are they good enough to win the league?! When it comes to improving their team, The Gunners have spent big, paying £50 million for Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi (Defensive Midfielder) and £46m for Chelsea’s Noni Madueke (Winger)! Arsenal have also spent £10 million to sign Christian Norgaard from Brentford (which is a great bit of business), and they’ve splashed £63.5m on Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres! In terms of people who have left, Kieran Tierney and Thomas Partey are the two biggest names to note! When it comes to their squad, Arsenal are a great team, David Raya is a great Goalkeeper, William Saliba and Gabriel is a mighty defense with Declan Rice in front of them, Martin Odegaard is still fantastic whilst Bukayo Saka is good enough to play for anyone! At the end of the day, Arsenal are always going to be up there, but second is simply not good enough anymore, it wasn’t at the end of the 2023/24 Season, let alone now!
Aston Villa
After another positive season, Aston Villa are looking to return back to the Champions League places! Aston Villa did well last year, they earnt 66 points to finish 6th, but they will still be disappointed over the fact that they missed out on staying in the Champions League for another year! The big question surrounding Aston Villa heading into the new season is whether or not they can beat some of the other strong teams around them to qualify for next season’s Champions League? When it comes to improving their team, Villa haven’t exactly spent big, with them spending £7 million on defender Yasin Ozcan and bringing in Striker Zepiqueno Redmond from Feyenoord on a free, but they have recently signed Evann Guessand from Nice for a fee of £30m! In terms of people who have left, no one of note has departed as of right now! When it comes to their squad, Aston Villa are strong, Emiliano Martinez is a terrific Goalkeeper, Ian Maatsen is great, Youri Tielemans and Amadou Onana control the midfield, and Ollie Watkins leads the line fantastically! At the end of the day, Aston Villa are already a good team, but I’m surprised they haven’t improved the team much!
Bournemouth
AFC Bournemouth are looking to build off their greatest-ever Premier League Season! Bournemouth were great last year, they did an amazing job to finish 9th with their highest-ever points total in the top-flight, but they will still be slightly gutted over missing out on a European spot! The big question surrounding Bournemouth heading into the new season is whether or not they can continue to remain a Top 10 side? When it comes to improving their team, The Cherries have signed Adrien Truffert (left-back) from Rennes for around £15 million whilst they’ve also spent £25m to sign Chelsea Keeper Dorde Petrovic! In terms of people who have left, Dean Huijsen moved to Real Madrid for £50 million whilst Milos Kerkez has also moved to Liverpool for £40m! They’re big losses for the club! When it comes to their squad, Alex Scott, Justin Kluivert, Marcus Tavernier, and Evanilson are their strongest players! At the end of the day, there’s a lot to like about AFC Bournemouth, particularly going forward, but they have lost out big time defensively, and they need to try and sort that out!
Brentford
It’s a new-look Brentford heading into the 2025/26 Season as they embark on life after Thomas Frank! Whilst Brentford lacked consistency last year, they were still good enough to finish 10th with the help of an incredibly potent attack! The big question surrounding Brentford heading into the new season is how they’re going to fare with Keith Andrews now in charge? When it comes to improving their team, The Bees have spent £46 million to bring in Goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher (from Liverpool), right-back Michael Kayode (from Fiorentina), and attacking midfielder Antoni Milambo (from Feyenoord)! Brentford have also brought in veteran experience in the form of Jordan Henderson, so that should be interesting! In terms of people who have left, Bryan Mbeumo leaving to go to Manchester United for £65 million is a huge loss, but they’ve also lost Club Captain Christian Norgaard (to Arsenal) and star Goalkeeper Mark Flekken (to Bayer Leverkusen)! When it comes to their squad, Mikkel Damsgaard and Yoane Wissa are their standout players, but it’s not even clear if Wissa is going to stay put either! At the end of the day, there’s definitely less confidence around Brentford after the summer they’ve had, but that doesn’t mean they can’t perform well, as long as their new signings turn out to be good acquisitions!
Brighton
After a positive first year under Fabian Hurzeler, Brighton and Hove Albion are pushing for Europe! Brighton did really well last year in the sense that they earnt 61 points and finished 8th, but in my opinion, better consistency would’ve resulted in them qualifying for the Champions League, they literally finished 5 points off 5th! The big question surrounding Brighton heading into the new season is whether they can take advantage of not playing midweek to get themselves back into Europe! When it comes to improving their team, The Seagulls have spent nearly £70 million on six players including Tom Watson (Winger), Diego Coppola (Defender), Maxim De Cuyper (Full-Back), and Greek Forward Charalampos Kostoulas (from Olympiacos)! In terms of people who have left, Joao Pedro leaving for Chelsea is their biggest loss, but they have also sold both Simon Adingra (to Sunderland) and Pervis Estupinan (to AC Milan)! When it comes to their squad, Bart Verbruggen, Jan Paul van Hecke, Carlos Baleba, and Kaoru Mitoma are the players that I rate the highest! At the end of the day, Brighton and Hove Albion have a way of going about things, and it tends to work! If it does again this year, expect Brighton to be challenging for European Football once again!
Burnley
After a terrible Premier League campaign two years ago, Burnley are looking to keep themselves up after earning Promotion back straight away! Burnley were great last year, they finished 2nd with 100 points, but the most impressive thing was they only conceded 16 goals in 46 league games! That’s insane! The big question surrounding Burnley heading into the new season is whether they can stay defensively solid in a harder league but also score goals?! When it comes to improving their team, The Clarets have brought in 11 new players so far, with Axel Tuanzebe, Jacob Bruun Larsen, Loum Tchaouna, Kyle Walker, and Lesley Ugochukwu just some of the names! In terms of people who have left, Josh Brownhill left at the end of his contract whilst Goalkeeper James Trafford has returned to Manchester City for £31 million! When it comes to their squad, Zian Flemming and Jaidon Anthony are arguably their best attacking players whilst Maxime Esteve was last seasons’ Player of the Season! At the end of the day, this is the second time that Burnley have come into the Premier League after a 100-point+ season, albeit this time is very different! Ultimately, Burnley will hope for a different result, as otherwise, they’re going to have a pretty torrid time!
Chelsea
Chelsea enter the new season with all the confidence in the world after being crowned Champions of the World! Chelsea had a very positive first year under Enzo Maresca, they finished 4th, they won the UEFA Conference League, and they come out of the summer having won the Club World Cup! The big question surrounding Chelsea heading into the new season is can they build on their success and challenge for the Premier League Title? When it comes to improving their team, The Blues have spent over £260 million on 9 players this summer, with Joao Pedro and Liam Delap being signed as new strikers whilst they’ve also spent £48 million on winger Jamie Gittens (from Borussia Dortmund)! In terms of people who have left, Noni Madueke has moved to Arsenal for £48.5m whilst both Lesley Ugochukwu and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall have moved on for a total of £48.2 million! When it comes to their squad, Robert Sanchez, Reece James, Moises Caicedo, Christopher Nkunku, and Cole Palmer are just some examples of how strong their squad is! At the end of the day, Chelsea are really strong, really strong, and they should be pushing for the Title this year!
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace are entering new territory as they look to juggle both Premier League and European commitments! Crystal Palace had a solid enough league season to finish 12th, but it was ultimately all about them winning the FA Cup, their first major trophy! The big question surrounding Crystal Palace heading into the new season is how they’re going to cope given they have to play a lot more games than usual? When it comes to improving their team, The Eagles have spent just £3 million so far to bring in Goalkeeper Walter Benitez (from PSV) and Full-Back Borna Sosa (from Ajax)! In terms of people who have left, Joel Ward and Rob Holding are the only players of any note! When it comes to their squad, Goalkeeper Dean Henderson, Defenders Maxence Lacroix, Marc Guehi, and Daniel Munoz, Midfielder Adam Wharton, and attackers Jean-Philippe Mateta and Eberechi Eze are all European-worthy players! At the end of the day, Crystal Palace are a good team, they should be around mid-table once again, but the fact they’re playing in Europe for the first time does give me a couple of reservations.
Everton
It’s a brand-new era for Everton Football Club as they leave Goodison Park behind for the Hill Dickinson Stadium! After struggling early on, the decision to bring back David Moyes proved to be a good one as Everton finished well clear of Relegation in 13th! The big question surrounding Everton heading into the new season is how are they going to fare in a brand-new environment? When it comes to improving their team, The Toffees have permanently signed Carlos Alcaraz (from Flamengo) whilst they’ve also spent £8 million on Bayern Munich defender Adam Aznou, £25m on Chelsea midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, and £27m on Villarreal striker Thierno Barry! In terms of people who have left, Mason Holgate, Abdoulaye Doucoure, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin have all left for free! When it comes to their squad, Jordan Pickford, Jarrad Branthwaite, Dwight McNeil, and Iliman Ndiaye are their standout players! At the end of the day, this is a very historic season for Everton, but they still need to be good!
Fulham
Fulham are looking to build on their record Premier League points total! Fulham lacked all sense of consistency last year, but they still managed to finish 11th with their best-ever Premier League points tally (of 54)! The big question surrounding Fulham heading into the new season is whether they can break into the Top 10 this year? When it comes to improving their team, The Cottagers have signed Goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte from Montpellier, and that is it! In terms of people who have left, Willian has left at the end of his contract, but that’s also the only name of note! When it comes to their squad, Bernd Leno, Emile Smith Rowe, Alex Iwobi, and Raul Jimenez are some of the more notable names! At the end of the day, Fulham are very much a mid-table team, and I’d expect that to continue!
Leeds
Championship Champions Leeds United are looking to buck the trend of going straight back down and prove that they deserve to be here! Leeds did a great job to score 100 points last season, enough to win the Championship, but they’ll need to do more in order to make sure they don’t return back next year! The big question surrounding Leeds heading into the new season is whether or not Daniel Farke is good enough to keep them in the league? When it comes to improving their team, The Whites have spent £60 million on the likes of Lucas Perri (from Lyon), Anton Stach (from Hoffenheim), Sean Longstaff (from Newcastle), and Lukas Nmecha (from Wolfsburg)! In terms of people who have left, Rasmus Kristensen has moved to Eintracht Frankfurt whilst Junior Firpo has left on a free! When it comes to their squad, defenders Pascal Struijk and Ethan Ampadu, wingers Brenden Aaronson and Daniel James, and striker Joel Piroe are going to be crucial to the team’s survival chances! At the end of the day, Leeds United will be hoping they’re good enough to stay up this year, but it’s not going to be easy!
Liverpool
After running away with the Title last year, Liverpool are looking to go back-to-back for the first time in the Premier League era! Liverpool were by far the best team in the Premier League last season, they won it by 10 points, and I don’t think anyone expected Arne Slot to “slot in” so well at Anfield! The big question surrounding Liverpool heading into the new season is can they play more like they did in the first half of last season, because their end-of-season form won’t cut it this year?! When it comes to improving their team, The Reds have spent over £265 million to bring in the likes of Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz (from Bayer Leverkusen), Milos Kerkez (from Bournemouth), and Hugo Ekitike (from Eintracht Frankfurt)! In terms of people who have left, Trent Alexander-Arnold is definitely their biggest loss as he’s head to Real Madrid, but they have also lost Luis Diaz (to Bayern Munich) and Jarell Quansah (to Bayer Leverkusen), whilst the world unfortunately lost Diogo Jota. When it comes to their squad, Liverpool are so damn strong, with Alisson, Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, and Mohamed Salah just some of the examples of their world-class quality! At the end of the day, Liverpool might be even stronger this year than last year, and that’s a scary thought for the rest of the opposition!
Manchester City
For the first time since 2020, Manchester City don’t enter a new season as the reigning Premier League Champions! Last year was an off year for Manchester City, they struggled a lot as they failed to win a single trophy, finishing third in the league with just 71 points! The big question surrounding Manchester City heading into the new season is whether they’re good enough to return to the mountain top! When it comes to improving their team, Man City have spent over £155 million to bring in the likes of Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolves, Rayan Cherki from Lyon, Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan, and James Trafford from Burnley! In terms of people who have left, Kevin De Bruyne is a huge loss, whilst Kyle Walker has permanently moved to Burnley! When it comes to their squad, City are still super strong, with Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias, Rodri, Omar Marmoush, and Erling Haaland all having enough quality to win at key moments! At the end of the day, Manchester City probably have the highest ceiling of any team in the Premier League, but whether they’re capable of reaching that ceiling remains to be seen!
Manchester United
After by far their worst season in Premier League history, Manchester United have it all to do to get themselves back into European contention! Manchester United were horrendous last year, they lost 18 games as they finished 15th, with half of the points of Champions Liverpool! The big question surrounding Manchester United heading into the new season is are they actually good enough to compete anymore? When it comes to improving their team, Man United have spent £150 million to drastically improve their attack, with Bryan Mbeumo arriving from Brentford whilst Matheus Cunha has moved from Wolves! Also, it looks like Benjamin Sesko could also be joining United’s new-look attack from RB Leipzig! In terms of people who have left, Jonny Evans, Victor Lindelof, and Christian Eriksen have all left after their contracts expired! When it comes to their squad, Leny Yoro, Kobbie Mainoo, Amad, and Bruno Fernandes are their only real sources of quality, but United have already changed that during this transfer window! At the end of the day, Manchester United were a complete and utter mess last year, and yet despite that, the new signings that they’ve made should bring a little more confidence to Old Trafford!
Newcastle
Newcastle United are back in the Champions League this season, but their sights are set on breaking into the Premier League’s Top 3! Despite losing their final two games of last season, Newcastle were still able to finish 5th, doing just enough to qualify for Champions League Football whilst they also ended their trophy drought by lifting the FA Cup! The big question surrounding Newcastle heading into the new season is whether they can juggle their league and European duties better than they did two years ago, and whether they’re good enough to pull off a surprise run at the Title? When it comes to improving their team, The Magpies have spent £55 million to bring in winger Anthony Elanga from Nottingham Forest, and they’ve also signed Aaron Ramsdale on loan! In terms of the people who have left, Lloyd Kelly and Sean Longstaff have both been sold for £15m each whilst Callum Wilson has left on a free! When it comes to their squad, Newcastle aren’t short of talent, with Nick Pope, Sven Botman, Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes, and Alexander Isak just a few good examples of that! At the end of the day, Newcastle United should only get better as they go on, and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be expecting Champions League qualification again!
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest defied all of the odds last season to earn their way back into Europe! After being heavily tipped for Relegation before the season began, Nottingham Forest came out of nowhere to finish 7th, earning themselves a spot in Europe, even though they were still slightly disappointed given they’d spent most of the season inside the Top 3! The big question surrounding Nottingham Forest heading into the new season was whether last year was just a one-off, and how they will cope with the added European schedule? When it comes to improving their team, Forest have spent £20 million to bring in Brazilian duo Jair Cunha and Igor Jesus from Botafogo, and they’ve also spent £34.5m on Bologna winger Dan Ndoye! In terms of the people who have left, Anthony Elanga is the big loss having moved to Newcastle for £55 million, but they’ve also sold the likes of Danilo and Ramon Sosa! When it comes to their squad, Matz Sels, Murillo, Nikola Milenkovic, Morgan Gibbs-White, and Chris Wood are some of their key players! At the end of the day, Nottingham Forest did amazingly well last year, but they really should focus on Europe this year, meaning they’ll probably drop down the table!
Sunderland
After 9 years away, Sunderland are finally back in the big leagues! Sunderland finished 4th in the Championship last year, but they fought back valiantly to earn promotion through the Playoffs! The big question surrounding Sunderland heading into the new season is are they actually good enough to be here? When it comes to improving their team, The Black Cats have spent over £136 million to bring in the likes of Simon Adingra (from Brighton), Habib Diarra (from RC Strasbourg), Chemsdine Talbi (from Club Brugge), and former Arsenal Captain Granit Xhaka (from Bayer Leverkusen)! In terms of the people who have left, Jobe Bellingham is their biggest loss as he’s headed to Borussia Dortmund for £32 million whilst Tom Watson has moved to Brighton for £11m! When it comes to their squad, Anthony Patterson is a good Goalkeeper, Trai Hume won the team’s Player of the Season award whilst Wilson Isidor was the team’s top scorer (both last season)! At the end of the day, I’m a bit worried about Sunderland given how it’s gone for recently Promoted sides, but The Black Cats being back in the Premier League is very cool for everyone involved with the club!
Tottenham
Despite lifting the Europa League back in May, Ange Postecoglou is out the door as Thomas Frank enters as the new face of Tottenham Hotspur! Last season’s league campaign was diabolical from Tottenham, they finished 17th with just 38 points, losing 22 games, and yet it ultimately didn’t matter much as them ending their trophy drought earnt themselves a place in this year’s UEFA Champions League! The big question surrounding Tottenham heading into the new season is how will Thomas Frank fair with a team that was pretty horrendous last year?! When it comes to improving their team, Spurs have splashed the cash to complete permanent deals for both Mathys Tel and Kevin Danso whilst they’ve also spent £55 million to bring in Mohammed Kudus from West Ham! Tottenham have also signed Joao Palhinha on a loan deal from Bayern Munich (that’s a good signing)! In terms of the people who have left, Club Captain Heung-min Son leaving to go to LAFC is a big loss, whilst Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is also out the door (he’s gone to Marseille)! When it comes to their squad, defenders Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, and Pedro Porro are all really good whilst James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevksi, and Brennan Johnson will provide the attacking threats (along with Dominic Solanke)! At the end of the day, it’s really hard to get a read on what Tottenham Hotspur are capable of achieving this year, Thomas Frank is a terrific coach, he should do well, but so should’ve Ange Postecoglou, so Spurs really could finish anywhere!
West Ham
After an underwhelming 2024/25 campaign, West Ham United will be looking over their shoulders for most of the 2025/26 season! West Ham weren’t very good last year, they won just 11 games as they finished 14th with 43 points! The big question surrounding West Ham heading into the new season is whether Graham Potter is good enough to drag this team up the table, or if they’re going to slip further backwards? When it comes to improving their team, The Hammers have spent £19 million to sign young Senegalese wing-back El Hadji Malick Diouf whilst they’ve also brought in Kyle Walker-Peters, Daniel Cummings, and Callum Wilson all for free! In terms of people who have left, Mohammed Kudus has moved to Tottenham for £55 million whilst Lukasz Fabianski, Aaron Cresswell, Vladimir Coufal, and Kurt Zouma have all departed after their contracts expired! When it comes to their squad, Alphonse Areola, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Tomas Soucek, Lucas Paqueta, and Jarrod Bowen are arguably their best players! At the end of the day, as long as Bowen stays, West Ham United shouldn’t need to worry about being in a Relegation scrap! However, if he gets injured, The Hammers are in trouble!
Wolves
As always with these Previews, last, but certainly not least, Wolverhampton Wanderers! Wolves were pretty disappointing last season, they spent quite a bit of the early parts of the season languishing in the bottom 3, but Vitor Pereira managed to turn things around as Wolves finished 17 points clear of Relegation in 16th! The big question surrounding Wolverhampton Wanderers heading into the new season is how are they going to cope without Matheus Cunha? When it comes to improving their team, Wolves have signed wingers Fer Lopez (from Celta Vigo) and Jhon Arias (from Fluminense), and they’ve also brought in full-back David Moller Wolfe (from AZ Alkmaar)! In terms of the people who have left, Matheus Cunha leaving for Manchester United for £62.5 million is a seismic loss whilst they’ve also seen key contributor Rayan Ait-Nouri head over to Manchester City (for £31m)! When it comes to their squad, Emmanuel Agbadou and Toti Gomes will need to be strong at the back, Andre and Joao Gomes will need to keep their strong midfield partnership going, and Jorgen Strand Larsen will need to score a lot of goals! At the end of the day, there are positives when talking about Wolverhampton Wanderers, they have quality, but whether they have enough to finish much higher than last year is another thing entirely!
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