My 2026/27 Premier League Season Predictions
- Linus O'Howell
- 2 days ago
- 13 min read
It’s the opening week of the brand-new Premier League season, so it’s the perfect time for me to release My 2026/27 Season Predictions! Last year, I only got one prediction right (Everton), so I wouldn’t worry if I put your team lower than you’d hope for!
20th: Ipswich
Ipswich Town may be back in the Premier League, but I don’t see them sticking around for long! Ipswich did exactly what they intended to last year, going straight back up after Relegation the season prior! However, my big concern over Ipswich heading into the new season is that, since that Promotion, manager Kieran McKenna has left, and replacing him with Gary O’Neil is hardly inspiring! Now, The Tractor Boys have spent over £100 million to bring in 10 players in an attempt to avoid the drop, with Premier League experience in the form of Issa Diop and Sasa Lukic being a good contrast to youngsters Abdul Fatawu and Emersonn! It’s also worth mentioning that Ipswich have a ton of players from their previous Premier League campaign, which was sort of the entire point of that season (even though they did get Relegated)! Ultimately, though, I don’t rate Ipswich Town’s chances of survival; losing McKenna was huge!
19th: Hull
Whilst not impossible, it’s going to be very difficult for Hull City to survive the drop! Hull survived Playoff chaos to achieve the ultimate goal at Wembley, a feat that cannot be understated given the fact that they only stayed up on the final day of the season 12 months prior! However, my big concern over Hull heading into the new season is that their squad doesn’t look that strong! So far, The Tigers have spent around £82 million to bring in 12 new players, and that worked for Sunderland last year, but I’d also argue that their signings don’t stand out as much as 2025’s Championship Playoff Champions! There’s also very limited Premier League experience in this squad, so that’s another thing to take into consideration! Ultimately, I don’t see a world in which Hull City stay up, but having said that, I don’t think they’ll finish bottom!
18th: Crystal Palace
This will definitely surprise some people, but I firmly believe that Crystal Palace could be in trouble! Whilst Crystal Palace have tasted plenty of success over the past couple of years, including winning the UEFA Conference League back in March, they did only finish 15th in the Premier League! My big concern over Crystal Palace heading into the new season is they don’t have Oliver Glasner anymore, and I think that’s a much bigger deal than what people are talking about! The Eagles’ squad also feels weaker this year, with the loss of Maxence Lacroix and Daichi Kamada, and we have to take into account that Palace are still going to be playing European Football (and against a higher level of opposition this time around)! Glasner’s replacement, Pierre Sage, arrives after a very strong year in charge of Lens, but that doesn’t always correlate to success in the Premier League! Ultimately, I’m taking a bit of a risk here (as it would’ve been so easy to have all three Promoted teams go straight back down), but I’m going to say that Crystal Palace end the season relegated!
17th: Coventry
Out of the three newly-promoted teams, in theory, Coventry City are the most equipped to stay up! Coventry breezed through the Championship last year, winning the Title with a strong 95 points to return to the English top-flight for the first time in 25 years! Honestly, the main reason why I have Coventry staying up is because I don’t rate the teams below them, but The Sky Blues have bolstered their squad in a positive way! On top of this, none of Coventry’s main players from their Championship-winning campaign have left, so the squad harmony should be at an-all time high, whilst I’ve rated Frank Lampard as a manager since his early days at Derby! Ultimately, it’s going to be difficult for Coventry City, but I’d like to think that last year was a sign that we’ve moved past all of the promoted sides going straight back down, even if the last three Championship Champions have failed to avoid the drop!
16th: Newcastle
I’ve lost complete faith in the Newcastle United project over the past year! Newcastle flopped massively last season, finishing all the way down in 12th in a season which saw them lose 17 league games! Eddie Howe has also chosen to leave The Magpies, which tells you a lot, whilst Matthias Jaissle takes charge of the dugout after three years in Saudi Arabia! Whilst spending £136 million to bring in 5 players is a good thing, particularly Czech Goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek, Anthony Gordon, Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali, and Kieran Trippier have all left the club, and that’s only going to cause a negative effect! Ultimately, success this season for Newcastle United may rely heavily on whether they can get the best out of Anthony Elanga and Yoane Wissa or not, as their stars of recent seasons have all but gone!
15th: Fulham
There are a number of different ways that this season could go for Fulham! Fulham lost more games than they won last season, with a lack of positive consistency resulting in them finishing outside of the Top 10 again, despite finishing 2 points off a European place! Marco Silva has also left the club, which is definitely a loss, but the decision to bring in Alvaro Arbeloa could prove to be a masterstroke given his knowledge of how to win! The Cottagers have also invested in big youth prospects from both Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, but my concern about that is it’s going to take a bit of time before we see the best of them! Then there’s losing key players in the form of Harry Wilson and Raul Jimenez, which is bad enough as it is, let alone the fact that they both left for a combined total of nothing! Ultimately, I’m not saying that Alvaro Arbeloa is going to be bad, but success at Craven Cottage is going to take time (which is 100% a backwards step)!
14th: Nottingham Forest
I find Nottingham Forest an interesting team to predict heading into the new Premier League season! After a wonderful 2024/25 campaign, Nottingham Forest fell back to being one of the worst teams in the entire league, finishing 16th in a season that contained 4 different managers! Speaking of different managers, Oliver Glasner is now in charge, and given his success at Crystal Palace, there are reasons to be optimistic if you’re a fan of Nottingham Forest! Now, Forest haven’t necessarily made too many big signings this summer, with their most notable transfer being the departure of Elliot Anderson to Manchester City for an insane £116 million, but I do rate Côte d’Ivoire centre-back Ousmane Diomande! Ultimately, Nottingham Forest could get relegated this year; I’m being serious, but as long as they keep Morgan Gibbs-White, Glasner can keep them up!
13th: Everton
Considering predicting Everton to finish 13th has proven to be correct the past 2 seasons, let’s stick with it again! 13th for Everton last year was actually a bit of a disappointment, with a 7-game winless run to end the season costing them a chance at playing European Football! I’d argue that The Toffees’ squad is ever so slightly better, with the signings of midfielders Hayden Hackney and Christian Norgaard, but a swap deal between Dwight McNeil and Brennan Johnson doesn’t feel particularly smart, at least right now, anyway! Idrissa Gana Gueye has also left, whilst almost all of their key players are English! Ultimately, I’ve not put Everton 13th as a joke, but genuinely because I think they’re basically in the same spot that they were before the summer!
12th: Sunderland
Whilst I can’t see them reaching the heights of the season prior, I don’t agree with Sunderland AFC being a Relegation candidate! Sunderland have had a fairytale couple of seasons, getting promoted at Wembley before not just staying in the Premier League, but qualifying for Europe (and the Europa League at that)! Whilst the surprise factor will be gone, The Black Cats are clearly happy with their current squad, with Thomas Meunier being the only new face entering the Stadium of Light as we enter the new season! Now, playing in Europe will hurt them; that’s a pretty simple fact and observation to have, but that’s why I have them dropping to 12th, because I truly believe that Sunderland are on a roll right now! Ultimately, a 12th-place finish and a European run would be enough successful season for Sunderland AFC!
11th: Brighton
Despite my usual high beliefs in Brighton and Hove Albion, I think they’ll struggle to finish in the Top 8 for a third-straight season! Ironically, Brighton were worse last season than they were the season prior, and yet this time, 8th place was enough for them to qualify for Europe! I think the signing of Luka Vuskovic can prove to be great, although we can’t really say that The Seagulls’ defence has gotten better given the fact that Jan Paul van Hecke has left! Joel Veltman has also left, but I guess he’s been replaced by Pascal Struijk, whilst losing Danny Welbeck is a loss given the fact that he’s been this team’s top scorer the past two seasons! I also want to point out the fact that in the last 5 seasons, the only year in which Brighton didn’t finish in the Top 10 was the year when they were also playing in Europe (where they finished 11th)! Ultimately, I can see that happening again, but I also wouldn’t count out Brighton and Hove Albion from another European push, or at the very least a Conference League Champion!
10th: Bournemouth
This might seem harsh, but I’d argue that you could easily put AFC Bournemouth lower than this! Bournemouth were excellent last year, achieving a club-highest finish of 6th in the Premier League, earning them their first-ever European journey! The problem for Bournemouth is not only playing on a Thursday, but losing Andoni Iraola is a huge deal! Yes, Marco Rose has achieved success at both RB Salzburg and RB Leipzig, but Iraola created such a wonderful dynamic that it’s going to be hard for The Cherries to match last year’s success! Antonio Silva is a good signing, but losing Marcos Senesi for free is less than ideal! Ultimately, another Top 10 finish would not be a bad result for AFC Bournemouth; it’s going to take the players (and fans) a bit of time to click with Rose’s vision!
9th: Tottenham
Whilst I do have them doing better than the last two years, I still can’t see Tottenham Hotspur qualifying for Europe! Tottenham were absolutely horrendous last year, with them destined to get relegated had it not been for Roberto De Zerbi’s appointment! Now, unlike with Thomas Frank 12 months ago, there is proof that De Zerbi can work as the Tottenham manager, which is just one of the reasons why I’ve got them to do an awful lot better this season! There’s also the transfer window aspect, with Spurs paying over £230 million to bring in a ton of players, including Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes, Jan Paul van Hecke, and Marcos Senesi! All players who have proven to be more than good enough to play at this level! Tottenham will also benefit from the full returns of James Maddison, Mohammed Kudus, and Dejan Kulusevski (who all missed a ton of games last season), so they should fix a lot of their issues! Ultimately, though, I still don’t think Tottenham Hotspur are going to qualify for Europe; it’s going to take them longer to return to being a Top 6 club!
8th: Leeds
I’m firmly on the Leeds United hype train heading into the new season! Last year can only be seen as a success, with Leeds comfortably avoiding Relegation with a 14th-place finish! The Whites have also pulled off a strong transfer window so far, with the signings of James Trafford and Tarik Muharemovic looking good on the defensive side, whilst signing Harry Wilson on a free has the potential to be the signing of the entire season! Whilst Leeds' squad isn’t the strongest in the league, far from it, we’ve seen from other overperforming teams that it’s not always about that, and you also have to take into account just how well Daniel Farke has done with this team since taking over in the summer of 2023! Ultimately, I can see Leeds United qualifying for Europe; I’m dead serious!
7th: Brentford
Speaking of Europe, I think this is going to finally be the year where Brentford qualify for European Football! 12 months ago, it wouldn’t have been a ridiculous shout to have Brentford in the Relegation Zone given all the key players and staff that they lost, and yet Keith Andrews masterminded a brilliant run to 9th place, only missing out on Europe on goal difference! Building from last year, The Bees have done a record deal to bring in Lens Midfielder Mamadou Sangare (for a fee of £41 million), whilst other reinforcements have also been signed (including Salzburg Defender Jannik Schuster)! It’s also worth mentioning that other than Jordan Henderson, no one of note has left the club, which is a stark contrast to how it was this time last year! Ultimately, as long as Keith Andrews continues to perform well, not playing European Football (in comparison to their closest rivals) may just be what gives Brentford the edge to finally get over the line!
6th: Aston Villa
On another day, I could’ve easily put Aston Villa to remain a Champions League side for another season! Aston Villa made sure that they weren’t going to stay in the Europa League for more than a season; winning the trophy whilst also finishing 4th in the league! The reason why I have Aston Villa dropping a couple of places in the table this season, though, is because not only do I expect improvement from certain other teams this season, but I also sort of feel like the reigning Europa League Champions have gotten worse! Whilst I do really like the signing of Switzerland World Cup star Johan Manzambi, losing both Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers is a massive blow, whilst it’s also currently being speculated that Emi Martinez may also be out the door! Ultimately, all of this, plus the fact that they’ve gotten fewer points in each of their last 2 seasons, is why I have Aston Villa dropping to 6th! However, that’s still very much a decent season!
5th: Liverpool
Liverpool will definitely be aiming for more than this in their first season under Andoni Iraola! After entering last season as Premier League Champions, Liverpool were awful, finishing miles off a second-straight Title, all the way down in 5th! Now, I do believe that the appointment of Iraola is a positive one; he did brilliant work at Bournemouth, but there are still a lot of questions that need to be answered with this team! Firstly, there’s no factual evidence to suggest that Jeremy Jacquet and Victor Munoz are going to adapt to playing in England, whilst Ronald Araujo wasn’t seen as good enough to play all the time at Barcelona! Secondly, Mohamed Salah has left, and even if last year was disappointing, he feels almost irreplaceable! If Iraola can get the best out of Florian Wirtz, and more importantly Alexander Isak, The Reds will be contenders for major trophies come May! Ultimately, however, until that happens, I’m not going to put Liverpool any higher than another 5th-place finish!
4th: Chelsea
You feel like this season has to go well for Xabi Alonso and Chelsea! Chelsea were incredibly disappointing last season; they entered it as Club World Champions, and yet they could only finish 10th! A slight positive, at least for Alonso that is, is that that means that there’s no European commitments to worry about, meaning Xabi can just focus on the league in a similar way to when Antonio Conte first moved to Stamford Bridge (and he went on and won the league in his first season)! Transfer business-wise, signing proven Premier League players in the form of Morgan Rogers, Maxence Lacroix, and Danny Welbeck is smart, whilst they’ve still brought in some exciting youngsters (including Argentine Midfielder Valentin Barco)! Ultimately, I expect Chelsea to be a lot better this year, but can they break into the Top 3 for only the third time in 10 seasons?
3rd: Manchester City
Anything is possible for Manchester City this season! Last year should be seen as a success; Manchester City lifted both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup trophies whilst also finishing second in what felt like the second year of a rebuild! The problem for Man City is that Pep Guardiola has left, meaning Enzo Maresca has to be the one to finish the final pieces! Signing Elliot Anderson looks great on paper, but City’s history of signing English players for big amounts of money is pretty poor (I’m looking at you Jack Grealish and Kalvin Phillips), whilst you also have to remember that Bernardo Silva and Rodri have both left as critical parts of this team! I do want to preface that I wrote these predictions down before the Community Shield, so I’m not taking that result into account (which is potentially both a good and a bad thing)! Ultimately, Erling Haaland should be more than a good enough reason as to why Manchester City will remain a Champions League club, but I can’t see them being close to winning the league given the fact that Pep’s no longer there!
2nd: Manchester United
For the first time in a few years, Manchester United fans should enter the new season with optimism! After issues with the board, Ruben Amorim was dismissed, with Michael Carrick stepping in brilliantly to guide Manchester United back to the Champions League, finishing third! Bringing in Youri Tielemans should only further help Man United’s push towards the top of the league, whilst Andrey Santos is trying to find his best form after a difficult stint at Chelsea! Now, it’s fair to mention that United only played 40 games last season; they never needed to worry about fixture congestion at all, and that obviously played its part in them having a successful season! Ultimately, though, I think Carrick can handle that, which is why I have Manchester United to finish as the best of the rest (behind the Champions)!
1st: Arsenal
Whilst I usually get Champions wrong, I’d be stunned if Arsenal don’t end up as back-to-back Premier League Champions! After years of finishing second (again), Arsenal finally got over the line, winning the Premier League for the first time in 22 years in a season where they also made the Champions League Final! By the looks of it, The Gunners look to have strengthened their squad over the summer, with the signings of both Bruno Guimaraes and Christos Tzolis! We also have to mention the set-piece aspect, as unless the referees are way stricter this season, Arsenal are almost impossible to defend! It’s kind of interesting that I really don’t have a lot to say about Arsenal, simply because they feel like clear favourites to me! Ultimately, unless something crazy happens (like Liverpool last season), the Premier League Title will remain in North London for at least another season!
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