The most open and unpredictable Premier League season is almost upon us as another season of twists and turns awaits.
Champions Arsenal unofficially kick off the season against FA Cup winners Manchester City in the Community Shield, live on talkSPORT.
The two teams finished first and second in the table last year and are many neutrals’ pick to duke it out for the title again in 2026/27.
However, City are among the nine of the 20 top-flight teams that will begin the new campaign with a different manager.
The World Cup has also wreaked havoc on many clubs’ pre-season plans, with some stars reporting to training late and others carrying varying degrees of injuries.
It’s also important not to hold too much stock in friendly results: Liverpool lost three such matches in the summer of 2019 ahead of winning 26 of their first 27 league games en route to lifting the title.
Arsenal, meanwhile, have just lost back-to-back fixtures this month – but remain the bookies’ favourite to defend their crown come May.
With that in mind, here is where all 20 sides rank in talkSPORT’s predicted Premier League standings (insert apology for your respective team’s position here).
Arsenal
The Gunners held off a spirited challenge from Man City to win the club’s first Premier League title in 22 years last season.
Mikel Arteta may have missed out on a few key targets since then, most notably Vinicius Junior extending his stay at Real Madrid.
But, Arsenal have signed one of the best Premier League midfielders in Newcastle skipper Bruno Guimaraes.
And, with the exception of Leandro Trossard, they have also kept the core of the squad widely regarded as the deepest in the division.
With the added experience from both manager and players in how to get over the line, Arsenal remain the favourites to defend their title.
talkSPORT Prediction: 1st
9
Aston Villa
Unai Emery has worked miracles at Villa Park since his arrival and again overperformed last season to finish fourth.
The Spaniard has since seen stars plucked from his ranks once more, with Morgan Rogers completing a £117million move to Chelsea, while Manchester United snapped up Youri Tielemans for £35m.
Set-piece coach Austin MacPhee has also departed the club, with Ezri Konsa the latest to be linked with the exit door.
The arrival of Alejandro Garnacho has done little to inspire fans, and considering Villa slipped to sixth the last time they were in the Champions League, it looks an uphill battle for Emery once again.
talkSPORT Prediction: 7th
9
Bournemouth
The Cherries will play in Europe this season for the first time in their history after going on an epic 18-game unbeaten run in manager Andoni Iraola’s final few months.
The Spaniard has since taken the reins at Liverpool, with Marco Rose tasked with juggling Europa League commitments this campaign.
In Bournemouth’s defence, they have still not even lost a Premier League game since January and have resisted the mass exodus of their stars this summer that has plagued the club in recent years.
But Eli Junior Kroupi will be missing for months after undergoing surgery, and the extra fixtures coupled with a manager new to English football suggest the south-coast outfit could struggle.
talkSPORT Prediction: 14th
Brentford
Keith Andrews surprised all the critics who tipped the Bees for relegation last season by masterminding a European push.
Brentford ultimately fell short of a historic campaign by finishing ninth, and it could prove to be a massive case of what if for the club – with Jordan Henderson also ripping up his contract to join Chelsea.
Their alarming dip in form at the end of last season can’t be ignored either – with their only win in their final 10 Premier League games from the start of March coming against relegated West Ham.
Igor Thiago also scored over 40 per cent of the Bees’ 55 goals, the highest per cent any individual contributed to one term in 2025/26.
Brentford have never had a player score over 20 Premier League goals in multiple seasons, and a drop in his output could prove hugely damaging for Andrews’ side – with back-up Callum Wilson only managing seven in the top-flight last year.
talkSPORT Prediction: 17th
9
Brighton
The Seagulls boasted the seventh best home record in the Premier League last season en route to qualifying for Europe in eighth.
Yet Brighton proved their issues coping on two fronts in 2023/24, when their Europa League adventures saw them finish 11th.
And it might prove to be a similar story for Fabian Hurzeler’s men this season, despite the coup signing of Luka Vuskovic from Tottenham, replacing Jan Paul van Hecke, who moved to Spurs in a separate deal.
But Brighton have lost Danny Welbeck after the best goalscoring return of his career, with long-time servants Adam Webster and Solly March exiting on free transfers and James Milner retiring.
talkSPORT Prediction: 11th
Chelsea
The Blues will have ambitions of being the league’s dark horses despite finishing out of Europe for the second time in six years.
Antonio Conte won the title in 2016/17 with no European football, with Mauricio Pochettino also improving the team by six places and 19 points from 12th in 2022/23 in similar circumstances.
Xabi Alonso has been backed heavily, with a transfer record for a British player spent on Rogers alongside £52m for Maxence Lacroix.
Crucially, Chelsea now also have several experienced heads in the dressing room in English pair Henderson and Welbeck, similar to how Alonso utilised Granit Xhaka and Robert Andrich in his dominant Bayer Leverkusen side.
However, World Cup winner Marc Cucurella officially departed Stamford Bridge in June, and it seems a tall ask for a developing team to instantly challenge for the top honours – securing Champions League football should be the main aim.
talkSPORT Prediction: 4th
9
Coventry City
Frank Lampard will always have credit in the bank with the Sky Blue faithful after ending their 25-year wait to regain top-flight status.
Club captain Matt Grimes even told talkSPORT that the Chelsea legend is one of the world’s best coaches.
However, the omens are far from ideal – only in four of the Premier League’s 31 seasons have the three relegation spots not been occupied by a promoted club.
And Lampard’s recent record as a Premier League manager doesn’t read pretty – a win percentage of just 27.27 per cent at Everton, while he won only one of his 11 games during his second Chelsea stint.
Coventry have also had a relatively quiet window, while it remains to be seen whether the trio of Haji Wright, Brandon Thomas-Asante and Ellis Simms can replicate their Championship goal-scoring feats at the top level.
talkSPORT Prediction: 19th
Crystal Palace
The Eagles have had the best two seasons in their history with FA Cup, Community Shield and Conference League glory.
But Palace may find themselves going backwards this year, with star defender Lacroix following manager Oliver Glasner out the door.
Splashing what was briefly a club record £35m on Brennan Johnson in January only to swap him for Dwight McNeil half a year later doesn’t evoke a heap of confidence from the Palace hierarchy.
With the added demand of Europa League football this term, new head coach Pierre Sage has had to contend with free transfers to shape his squad in Oscar Mingueza and Takehiro Tomiyasu.
Sage was sacked by Lyon halfway into his only managerial season juggling European football, and with Palace fans expecting another positive showing on the continent after last year, it could come at the cost of improving on their 15th-placed Premier League finish.
talkSPORT Prediction: 15th
Everton
Toffees fan and UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has boldly predicted his beloved team to finish seventh.
Yet it’s hard to forget Everton’s dismal end to last season, which had them in the relegation zone from April 11th to their final game – as one of only three teams without a Premier League win in that spell alongside relegated Wolves and Burnley.
David Moyes has put a lot of trust in youngsters Tyrique George and Hayden Hackney to take to regular Premier League football quickly.
Iliman Ndiaye is in talks to join Al Hilal, while the bulk of the goalscoring burden will fall again to Beto and Thierno Barry – who have both never reached double figures in the Premier League.
talkSPORT Prediction: 13th
9
Fulham
Alvaro Arbeloa has already been tipped to be the first Premier League manager sacked this season before his first official game.
The Cottagers have even been tipped for relegation by talkSPORT’s Gabby Agbonlahor, such is the risk they’ve taken in appointing the Spaniard as Marco Silva’s successor.
Arbeloa has just five months of senior managerial experience to his name and has spent the bulk of the club’s transfer kitty on two youthful Real Madrid starlets in Gonzalo Garcia and Cesar Palacios.
Meanwhile, Fulham have lost their two leading scorers from last season with Harry Wilson and Raul Jimenez departing as free agents; Alex Iwobi, in third, only managed four Premier League goals.
talkSPORT Prediction: 16th
Hull City
The Championship Play-Off final winners have so far only spent money on goalkeepers Jack Butland and Konstantinos Tzolakis.
Hull owner Acun Ilicali was bullish on talkSPORT about his side’s chances of staying up, but a mixture of inexperience and the overall squad’s quality make them heavy favourites to go back down.
The Tigers haven’t played in the Premier League since 2017, and manager Sergej Jakirovic has never led a team at this level.
Sunderland, in similar circumstances this time last summer, became the fourth-highest-spending promoted club ever – which means Hull will need something pretty spectacular to give themselves a chance.
talkSPORT Prediction: 20th
Ipswich Town
talkSPORT.com is sadly predicting a return to the successive 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons that saw all three promoted clubs relegated.
That latter campaign involved Ipswich, who returned to the Championship in 19th, and that recent experience might just be enough to stand the club in a better stead than Coventry and Hull.
The Tractor Boys have a new boss in Gary O’Neil following the departure of promotion-winning manager Kieran McKenna.
Abdul Fatawu, Daizen Maeda, and Issa Diop are all eye-catching signings to make a stab at survival, but the overall quality of the squad will likely still see them finish in the bottom three come May.
talkSPORT Prediction: 18th
9
Leeds United
Daniel Farke’s side have plenty of reasons to believe that the possibility of replicating Leeds’ ninth-placed finish in 2021 is in reach.
Having consolidated their place in the Premier League last season in 14th, the club then beat out plenty of competition to pick up Wilson.
The Welsh international scored 10 goals and assisted seven more last term, with Leeds also showing their intent by landing Tarik Muharemovic after his impressive showings in Serie A and breaking their transfer record to make James Trafford their new No.1.
All this points to the fact that simply avoiding relegation again is no longer the goal for the Whites: a top-half finish is more than possible.
talkSPORT Prediction: 9th
Liverpool
The Reds had a dismal season last year after finishing in fifth spot in the table – 25 points behind champions Arsenal – despite a record-breaking £446million splurge.
Arne Slot was sacked, and Andoni Iraola is the man tasked with bridging the gap and will need plenty of help in the market to do so – namely in a potential double transfer raid on Paris Saint-Germain for wingers Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye.
There is no Mohamed Salah, who has joined Trabzonspor on a free transfer, but Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz both need and are expected to have far greater second seasons at Anfield.
Isak remains one of the world’s best strikers – with injuries restricting him to just three goals in 14 Premier League outings last term – and an uninterrupted pre-season could see him reignite a squad who are just 14 months removed from winning the title.
Barcelona captain Ronald Araujo has been loaned as an emergency defensive reinforcement, but Iraola is still in dire need of further depth at both ends of the pitch, and failure to act before the window shuts could mean the difference between a title challenge or another fight to secure a European spot.
talkSPORT Prediction: 2nd
9
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola’s 10-year reign at the Etihad is over, and his former assistant Enzo Maresca has incredibly large shoes to fill as new head coach.
Bernardo Silva, John Stones, and Nathan Ake have all left a sizable hole of experience and leadership in the dressing room.
But the biggest miss will undoubtedly be the expected exit of irreplaceable Rodri to either Barcelona or Real Madrid.
The Spaniard, who won the Ballon d’Or in 2024, claimed the Golden Ball at the 2026 World Cup, and £116m man Elliot Anderson will instantly be under massive pressure to shoulder the midfield burden.
Last season’s Golden Boot winner Erling Haaland will be sure to fire City into the title conversation whatever the makeup of Maresca’s side looks like, but it does ultimately feel to be a season of transition.
talkSPORT Prediction: 3rd
Manchester United
Michael Carrick impressed after fixing the mess left behind by Ruben Amorim to guide the Red Devils to a third-place finish.
Yet the 45-year-old has been left very short in a bid to challenge on multiple fronts after qualifying for the Champions League.
United refused to engage in bidding wars for Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali, with the club also beaten by City for Anderson.
Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans are shrewd midfield signings, but that area remains light after Casemiro’s exit, and Manuel Ugarte, who is a long-term absentee through injury, with Mason Mount as well having a suspect fitness record.
Man United jumping from 15th to third in one year shows the value of not playing in Europe – and with that benefit going to two of the club’s biggest rivals for a Champions League place in Chelsea and Spurs, it could be a major cause of concern if further recruitment isn’t made.
talkSPORT Prediction: 5th
9
Newcastle
The Toon Army may have had the summer from hell on paper, but there is plenty for fans to remain optimistic about.
Former club captain Guimaraes has departed to join Arsenal in a £75m deal to follow fellow high-profile players Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon in leaving for pastures new.
But the squad had grown stale under former boss Eddie Howe, and Matthias Jaissle has an opportunity to start the rebuild job at Newcastle in a season where fans won’t be expecting much.
There is hope that Yoanne Wissa can take his World Cup form into his second season at St James’ Park under Jaissle’s favourable system.
The Magpies additionally won’t have the added strain of playing in Europe this year, with a top-half finish and a cup run both reasonable expectations.
talkSPORT Prediction: 10th
Nottingham Forest
Forest are coming off a chaotic campaign that featured four managerial changes, a relegation battle, and a run to the Europa League semi-finals.
The arrival of Oliver Glasner as head coach is not only a major coup, but a chance for the club to enjoy some much-needed stability.
The loss of Anderson is undoubtedly a blow, but the overall squad assembled by Evangelos Marinakis was always more representative of one who finished seventh in 2024/25 than 16th last season.
Spearheaded by Morgan Gibbs-White, who bagged 18 goals in all competitions, Glasner will be itching to prove he can translate his success in cup competitions to the league.
talkSPORT Prediction: 8th
Sunderland
Regis Le Bris’ men bucked all recent trends for Premier League promoted sides by qualifying for the Europa League last season.
But shocking the world for a second time will be an extremely tall order, with the squad looking very much the same as last campaign.
Sunderland did manage to keep signing of the season, Granit Xhaka, out of Chelsea’s clutches, while adding Thomas Meunier’s experience.
The demands of consistent Thursday/Sunday football on the Black Cats will take its toll on any domestic ambitions – with a comfortable finish away from a relegation fight enough for fans to really savour those European trips.
talkSPORT Prediction: 12th
Tottenham
Spurs have endured successive 17th-placed finishes in the Premier League, but there is genuine cause to hope brighter times are ahead.
For one, the Lilywhites have been the biggest spenders so far, splashing out nearly £250m, and they are not done yet.
The north London outfit have also broken their transfer record twice to revamp their midfield in the capture of Fernandes and Tonali.
Roberto De Zerbi won’t have the extra demands of European football in his first full season at the helm, and he’s demonstrated the impact he can make during his short stint in charge of Tottenham.
The issue for Spurs remains the lack of an elite goalscorer, with Richarlison their top scorer in all competitions last year with just 12 goals.
talkSPORT Prediction: 6th
talkSPORT’s Predicted Premier League table
- Arsenal
- Liverpool
- Manchester City
- Chelsea
- Manchester United
- Tottenham
- Aston Villa
- Nottingham Forest
- Leeds
- Newcastle
- Brighton
- Sunderland
- Everton
- Bournemouth
- Crystal Palace
- Fulham
- Brentford
- Ipswich
- Coventry City
- Hull City
