2025-26 Premier League Season Preview
Season preview time is definitely one of the most exciting periods of the football calendar, so it's a pleasure to be writing another club-by-club guide for 2025-26 ahead of a fresh Premier League Predictor on Superbru Football.
Already the wealthiest football league in the world by quite a margin, it somehow still feels as if the Premier League has gone up a notch or two this summer. Early transfer activity has seen one of the best players in the Bundesliga, perhaps the best 6 in Spain and some of the continent's top goal scorers all arrive in England before we even reached August, so we're set for a pretty exciting title race in my opinion.
The frightening thing for the other 18 teams in the league is that last season's top two, Liverpool and Arsenal, are the ones who look to be strengthening most in the market.
The most expensive Premier League signings at the time of writing - Bejamin Sesko's move to Manchester United is not yet official!
Reading previous season previews is always a fairly humbling experience given the unpredictability of the Premier League, but in my 2024-25 piece I did at least manage to predict that Manchester City, who had won 4 titles in a row, would drop off slightly. Of course, I didn't see them suffering quite as much as they did following Rodri's serious injury, and I thought it would be Arsenal who beat them to the title rather than Liverpool, but how Pep Guardiola's side look to bounce back in this campaign will be one of the most interesting storylines.
I'll refer back to last season's preview at times in this one as a helpful way of gauging who exceeded or fell beneath pre-season expectations in 2024-25, but ultimately this piece is an attempt to set the scene, build some excitement, start some conversation and perhaps help you out with a few of your opening predictions.
There'll be plenty more content available to you throughout the season, particularly if you're a Superbru Premium user, as Premium subscriptions include access to a unique match preview for each of the 380 fixtures.
Here are my thoughts on each club ahead of kick-off. Let me know how you feel in the comments!
Arsenal finished 2nd for the third consecutive season in last year's campaign, but the reality is that there was quite a drop-off rather than continued improvement. Mikel Arteta's team picked up 15 fewer points than they did in 2023-24, and though an impressive Champions League run included a memorable victory over Real Madrid, they were ultimately left empty handed yet again in terms of trophies.
In response, the Gunners have shown real intent in the transfer market this summer as they prepare for a season where it feels as if a trophy really has become a must. Martin Zubimendi, who has arrived from Real Sociedad, is a genuinely elite defensive midfield player who is excellent at receiving the ball from defenders on the half turn and playing progressive passes, while Arsenal fans will hope that Viktor Gyokeres is the goal scoring centre forward that they have so clearly needed for several seasons.
At times, it has felt as if Arteta's refusal to sign a genuine number 9 was almost ego-driven with an insistence that the more unorthodox signing of Kai Havertz was enough, and though Arsenal have again failed to resist signing another Chelsea player for a chunky fee that the Blues didn't try too hard to hang on to anyway in Noni Madueke, the Gyokeres deal is indicative of a switch in approach to a more cut-throat, win now mentality.
Personally, I really like the signings Arsenal have made in this window, and I'm intrigued to see how they lineup. The fee they have paid for Madueke makes me wonder if Arteta may look to convert him into a left winger rather than just having him as a backup for star man Bukayo Saka, while Kai Havertz' place in the team is suddenly harder to picture. Havertz seems an Arteta favourite and is definitely key to the Gunners dominating possession, but with Gyokeres coming in, is it one or the other and they'll rotate throughout the busy calendar? In the big games, Zubimendi, Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard all have to play in my opinion, so I'm not sure how often Havertz will drop back into an attacking midfield role.
Other signings have included Kepa Arrizabalaga, Christian Norgaard and Cristhian Mosquera who each help to ensure that Arsenal have excellent strength in depth this year and I think they'll have a better league campaign than they did last year. Much will depend on how effective Gyokeres is in his debut season for the Gunners, because without 20+ goals from him I still think it will be tricky for Arsenal to match Liverpool and quite possibly Manchester City.
The way in which Aston Villa's season ended in 2024-25 will have stung and left a feeling of disappointment, but it's impossible to ignore the overall progress that has been made under Unai Emery who has steered them to a top 7 finish in each of the 2.5 seasons he's been in charge for.
Villa really ought to have beaten Manchester United in their final league game of the 2024-25 season which would have secured them Champions League football for the second season in a row, but that Round 38 defeat still only saw them miss out on European football on goal difference and they were just 2 points shy of their total when they secured 4th the season before. With that in mind, we can expect continued consistency in this campaign.
There haven't been too many new signings just yet, though Nice striker Evann Guessand has just arrived which looks a good move, and Emery often takes his time to fully embed new players into his team which means it might be this season that we start seeing much more impact form players signed in the last 12 months such as Donyell Malen and Ian Maatsen.
A home fixture with Newcastle will be an interesting start to what looks like a fairly favourable opening run of fixtures for Villa so they have a good opportunity to rack up some points before their calendar becomes more complicated by the Europa League league phase.
Last season was a very successful one for Bournemouth under Andoni Iraola, as the Cherries continued the upward trajectory that they have enjoyed since returning to the top flight 3 seasons ago. Their 9th-place finish equalled their best ever Premier League rank which was first achieved under Eddie Howe back in 2016-17.
As you might expect, bigger clubs have been circling to poach some of the best players that helped Bournemouth into the top half last season, but moves have been made to try and replace said players similarly quickly, at least in some cases.
Milos Kerkez was sold to Liverpool but Adrien Truffert has arrived from Rennes as a new left back, while goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga returned to Chelsea following his loan (and then went to Arsenal) but has been replaced by another Chelsea goalkeeper in Djordje Petrovic, this time on a permanent. Petrovic is a very good signing in my opinion, as he's had half a season's worth of experience in the Premier League for Chelsea and was then excellent on loan at Strasbourg throughout last season in Ligue 1.
Where Bournemouth may well have a problem is in central defence. We saw centre backs thrive in Iraola's system last season, but Dean Huijsen was quickly snapped up by Real Madrid and there remains heavy links between Illia Zabarnyi and PSG. Marcos Senesi should be fully fit again after injuries last season, but Bournemouth are likely to need to sign at least a couple of centre backs before the window is shut if they're to match last season let alone improve.
The toughest possible start - an away fixture at Liverpool on the opening night - means this might be a season Bournemouth grow into rather than flying out of the blocks but the positive signs we've seen from the Cherries in terms of recruitment in recent seasons and Iraola's tactical nous suggest they'll be competing for a top half finish again in 2025-26.
Any Brentford fans reading that last section on Bournemouth must have laughed when I said they'd had a few of their best players poached. This summer has been an absolutely brutal one for the Bees and so the remainder of this window and indeed the season that follows will be the toughest test yet for the Brentford board which has rightly received huge praise for the success that has been had since reaching the Premier League in 2021.
Thomas Frank frequently credited those above him for the excellent results Brentford had during his fantastic 8-season spell in charge, but 2025-26 really will be a test of how true that is now that Frank has departed for Tottenham.
When you then consider that the Bees have also lost their captain Christian Norgaard to Arsenal, best player Bryan Mbeumo to Manchester United and quite possibly still Yoane Wissa who is receiving major interest from various clubs, it's hard to see how the outgoings could have been worse for Brentford. The attacking void left by Ivan Toney's departure in 2024 which Mbeumo and Wissa covered so effectively may now finally be felt hard unless replacements are found or Thiago Rodrigues steps up and manages an injury-free season.
So what have Brentford done in response so far? I'd argue they've upgraded their goalkeeper by signing Caoimhin Kelleher from Liverpool following the sale of Mark Flekken, while Jordan Henderson's arrival in central midfield replaces the experience and reliability of Norgaard.
Where Brentford have taken a huge, huge gamble is with Thomas Frank's replacement. Rather than appointing a new recognised head coach, the Bees have promoted from within by handing set-piece coach Keith Andrews the top job. Andrews has never previously managed a side, with his main previous experience being as an assistant to Stephen Kenny with the Republic or Ireland, so it's going to be very interesting to see how things will go.
Brentford were very good at set pieces last year in fairness, but is that really enough to earn Andrews the manager role? It's hard to see Brentford finishing in the top half again all things considered, but the pattern we've seen in recent years of newly promoted clubs going straight back down makes it hard for me to suggest Brentford will be caught in that regard. Let's just say they're definitely now a team that the clubs who have just come up from the Championship will be targeting, though.
Despite fairly constant change in squad personnel and management, Brighton have consistently maintained their position in and around the top half of the Premier League over the last four seasons, with Fabian Hurzeler's debut season in charge resulting in a very respectable 8th place.
As is the norm, there have been a few outgoings this summer, including Pervis Estupinan (to Milan), Evan Ferguson (loan to Roma), Simon Adingra (to Sunderland), and most notably Joao Pedro (to Chelsea), but several very exciting young players have come in, at least a couple of which will no doubt be sold to Chelsea for huge profit within a year or two.
Central defender Diego Coppola and left back Maxim De Cuyper are definitely worth keeping an eye on as young players arriving from Hellas Verona and Club Brugge respectively, while 27-year old Olivier Boscagli looks like a very shrewd pick-up on a free after several very good seasons at the heart of PSV's defence.
With the standout new signings all being defenders (or at least the most likely immediate starters are in my opinion), Hurzeler will be looking to the wide range of attacking players he already has to step up now that Joao Pedro has departed, and I think Georginio Rutter is an important player to watch in that regard. Given the #10 shirt for this season, Rutter looks well placed to fill that Pedro role, while Kaoru Mitoma and Yankuba Minteh will both provide goals from the wings.
Brighton look like they have a very good squad to me, and with more than sufficient depth in most areas for a team that will only be playing once a week unlike the likes of Palace, Villa and Forest, the Seagulls should be pushing for Europe again this year.
It's easy to look at Burnley and assume they'll just go straight back down to the Championship as they did in 2023-24, and while that is more likely than not due to their resources, it's important to note that this is a very different team than the one we saw under Vincent Kompany a couple of years ago.
Under Scott Parker in last season's Championship, Burnley were record-breakingly good defensively. They conceded just 16 goals all season and kept 30 clean sheets, meaning they became the first team in the history of English league football to go an entire season without conceding more than 1 goal in a game. Now, they're obviously unlikely to repeat that feat against quality opposition in 2025-26, particularly now that goalkeeper James Trafford has been bought back by Manchester City, but their approach under Parker would suggest they will put up much of a fight this year than they did in their last Premier League season.
A likely difficult trip to Tottenham is first up for Burnley, but that's followed by a must-win game over Sunderland at Turf Moor which is a golden chance to continue their incredible home form. Last season, Burnley became the first team since 2009/10 to go unbeaten at home for an entire Championship campaign, and if they can restore the reputation of Turf Moor being a 'tough place to go' even for Premier League sides as we saw for years under Sean Dyche, then they'll have half a chance of staying up.
Personally, I'm not sure about Burnley's recruitment in this summer window, though. Obviously the Clarets don't have as much money to throw around as most Premier League clubs, but I'm not convinced by the players they are opting to spend on. Martin Dubravka isn't a bad replacement for Trafford in difficult circumstances, but Kyle Walker's decline from the elite level he sustained for so many seasons has been well documented so that's something of a gamble, while the reported £45m+ Burnley have given Chelsea for Lesley Ugochukwu and Armando Broja appears steep to me although both are young enough to develop and prove me wrong. Relegation is likely, but there's reason to believe Burnley will make life difficult for their opposition and could well contribute with some surprise results over the course of the season.
Looking back at last year's preview, I wasn't overly optimistic about Chelsea's chances of making the Champions League qualification spots, but the Blues had a great first half of the season and then finished extremely well after a worrying patch in between those two periods. Concerns over the transfer strategy under the Clearlake Capital ownership probably persist, but Enzo Maresca has done a fantastic job of winning Chelsea supporters over by delivering in the games that mattered between May and July. Chelsea held their nerve to secure 4th place fairly comfortably in the end, won the UEFA Europa Conference League as they were expected to, and then stunned European champions PSG to win the FIFA Club World Cup during the summer.
With Chelsea getting back to being a side that wins trophies, confidence should be high going into this campaign and amid the constant buying and selling of young players, there is a fairly strong core group in the first team now in the likes of Reece James, Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo and of course Cole Palmer. With Maresca's postion more secure and those young players now fairly experienced in English football, Chelsea should comfortably make the top four again, though it's hard to gauge what the impact of a lack of a proper pre-season will be due to that Club World Cup participation.
A crucial part of Chelsea's recent successes to lift those trophies has been Maresca's openness to playing more pragmatically than he did in his first few months in charge, but it still feels as if they'll fall short of challenging Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City for the title. I think I probably feel that way because of their reluctance to sign even a couple of more experienced players who have won league titles before.
Squad rotation will be more challenging this season as well since the top players will want to play both Premier League and Champions League games throughout, contrasting last season where Maresca was effectively able to field a B team up until the final of the Conference League. Chelsea certainly aren't going to have a problem in terms of squad numbers, but the real quality players like Palmer will be playing a lot more games than they did last year and without a pre-season.
You don't need a particuarly powerful crystal ball to forecast where Palace are likely to finish this season - they've finished between 10th and 15th for 12 seasons in a row - but what was surprising last season is that they finally managed to get their hands on a trophy; the FA Cup.
That remarkable achievement means they'll be playing European football this season, and the added toll that will have on the squad perhaps means they're more likely to finish closer to 15th than 10th in this Premier League campaign, but due to issues that have become typical in modern football, we somehow don't yet know whether they'll be playing in the Europa League or the Europa Conference League.
Now, this preview is going to be long enough without delving into the multi-club ownership debate that is behind UEFA's problem with Crystal Palace so I'll let you read about that on other sites or apps, but from a Premier League point of view the impact of participation in either of those tournaments is likely to be similar. Palace will be competitive either way and playing on a lot of Thursday nights regardless, so the challenge against squad fatigue with plenty of Sunday fixtures in the PL will be interesting.
They have enough quality players and undoubtedly a good enough manager to cope relatively well, but I'm not expecting Palace to suddenly make a charge for the European places this season as at the business end of the campaign they should absolutely be focusing on the European matches that they have, whichever tournament they end up in.
This is a big season for Everton that has the potential to be very exciting. This will be the Toffees' first season at their new home ground, the Hill Dickinson Stadium, and they go into it with a bit of momentum thanks to the return of David Moyes midway though 2024-25.
Returning to the club he spent 11 years with between 2002-2013, Moyes lost just 4 of his 19 Premier League games in charge last season, lifting Everton to their highest league finish since 2020-21 under Carlo Ancelotti. With a couple of good signings through the door and rumours of more to come, there's plenty of reason for optimism among Everton fans.
Thierno Barry is set to be Everton's first choice striker this season after a breakthrough year at Villarreal in 2024-25, Carlos Alcaraz is now a permanent deal following his loan last season, and midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has arrived from Chelsea. With reports suggesting Everton also have interest in Jack Grealish and Tyler Dibling, it's clear that Moyes is searching for some final third quality that could level up the Toffees' attack.
Everton have a good start fixtures wise and there'll obviously be a very fresh feel around the place at their new stadium, so I'm predicting an improved year where for once they might be able to get excited about building on a solid opening couple of months rather than being dragged in to a relegation battle and then just about rescued.
A bit like Palace, Fulham are almost certainly going to finish in mid-table again this season, though Marco Silva deserves a lot of credit for that as it certainly wasn't the case during the Premier League/Championship yoyo seasons that Fulham endured between 2016 and 2022.
In fairness, last season could have been better than mid-table for Fulham as they were very strong for large parts of the campaign with a lengthy unbeaten run across the festive period headlined by a 1-2 win away at local rivals Chelsea, but a disappointing 0-3 defeat to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup quarter-finals triggered a poor end to the season with 6 defeats in 9 games.
It's been a very, very quiet summer for Fulham so there's not lots to say to bring you up to date. Though there haven't been any key players lost, Fulham's only signing so far in this entire window has been a new back-up goalkeeper in Benjamin Lecomte.
All while Silva remains in charge, expect the solid mid-table form to continue, though like Fulham fans he is likely disappointed by the lack of transfer activity up to now and when other Premier League clubs have been so active this summer, Fulham are arguably falling a little behind rather than standing still.
Winning the Championship ahead of Burnley last season on goal difference, Leeds scored 95 goals in their 46 league games last season and they were quite well spread across the squad with 9 players scoring 5 goals or more.
However, there are now big question marks over whether or not Leeds and Daniel Farke are capable of making the step up to the top flight. When last in the Premier League, Leeds were up for 3 seasons and had a great first term under Marcelo Bielsa, but their relegation season was a bit of a farce, ending with just 31 points and Sam Allardyce in charge for 4 winless matches.
Obviously, the squad has changed a fair amount across Daniel Farke's two seasons in charge in the Championship which have seen Leeds accumulate 190 points in total, but Farke himself has a huge amount to prove at this level having struggled badly in both of the Premier League seasons he had in the Premier League with Norwich.
On paper, Leeds look well short of the necessary quality to stay up in my opinion. It's understandable to have a Championship level squad when you've just been playing in that division, but Leeds are going to need at least a couple of difference makers before the window shuts to stand much of a chance, unless someone like Joel Piroe proves to be capable of continuing his goalscoring form in his maiden Premier League campaign.
New signings Anton Stach and Sean Longstaff should add a bit of power to midfield but they're going to be up against such strong opposition almost every week. I'm looking at Leeds' first seven fixtures and can't see too many points for them so a lot will depend on how they set the tone in that opening Monday night fixture at home to Everton at the end of Round 1.
Well, Liverpool have certainly made sure everyone knows that they aren't satisfied with just one league title under Arne Slot. After a fantastic title-winning campaign in 2024-25 in which Mohamed Salah produced some of the greatest attacking numbers the Premier League has ever seen, Liverpool have decided to bring in over €200 million worth of Bundesliga attacking talent just to crank up that fire power even further.
Of course, there have also been some outgoings and Liverpool have had to deal with the truly devastating passing of Diogo Jota, but the addition of Florian Wirtz in particular sends a clear message to the rest of the league that it's going to be very difficult to take the crown away from Liverpool now that they have it. To hammer home that point even further, the Reds are actively pursuing a deal for Newcastle striker Alexander Isak despite already landing Hugo Ekitike.
There's also finally been a changing of the guard in the full-back areas at Anfield as well, following Trent Alexander-Arnold's controversial decision to leave for Real Madrid, and Andy Robertson's fade towards a deputy role. Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez have come in, though both are very attacking players (in Frimpong's case it's debatable if he's even a full back) which means if there is a concern about Liverpool this season it's their defence.
Only Joe Gomez, who is currently injured, can provide centre back cover for Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate so we can expect another central defender to arrive before September. Even if not, Liverpool look able to outgun almost everyone this season, and you'd be brave to bet against them going all the way. I think they'll probably do it, particularly if they land Isak as well, but I'm a little surprised that people don't seem to be talking too much about the next team on this alphabetical list as well...
Everyone is obviously aware of how good Manchester City can be and are, but I feel as if there's a lot more focus on Liverpool and Arsenal among title race discussions heading into this season than there is on the team that have won 6 of the last 8 titles?
Pep Guardiola is probably quite happy with that, and it's perhaps due to City doing most of their transfer business in January and earlier in the summer prior to the Club World Cup, but this is a team who lost their best player early on last season, then played terribly for a few months, and yet still finished only 3 points behind Arsenal. With Rodri now back and joined in midfield by Tijjani Reijnders, a great attacking left-back arriving in Rayan Ait-Nouri, and an absolute plethora of incredible chance creators available to line up behind arguably still the current greatest goalscorer in the game, I reckon City will be challenging.
I predicted a slight drop last season due to City easing up after winning an unprecedented four Premier League titles in a row, but the 2024-25 campaign will have hurt and now I can only see them bouncing back. Phil Foden will surely have a much better campaign, but even if he doesn't, you've got Omar Marmoush who has looked great since arriving in January, new signing Rayan Cherki who is among the most talented dribblers and creators around even at the age of 21, Oscar Bobb who was being tipped for big things last season before he suffered a long-term injury, and then two excellent wingers in Savinho and Jeremy Doku.
Like Liverpool, if there is a weakness it's properly in defence, but even there they have more experienced operators to call upon than the Reds. The scars of last season in comparison to the wave of momentum Liverpool are riding is why I think Arne Slot's side probably have their noses in front in terms of the favourites tag, but assuming Rodri is at least 80% as good as he was in 2023-24, I can only see City finishing inside the top two.
It still feels wild to be writing that Manchester United finished 15th in the Premier League last season with 42 points. 42. Prior to that their lowest points total in a season in this post Sir Alex Ferguson era was 58 when they came 6th in 2021-22, so last season was pretty much as bad as it can get without being relegated.
Despite all of that, United had a great chance of still playing Champions League football this season as all they needed to do was win the Europa League final against a Tottenham side that had been as bad as them throughout 2024-25. It goes without saying that they'd have rather won that game, but as far as this season goes, I think the cliche of that defeat being a 'blessing in disguise' actually rings true in this instance as they're showing in this transfer window that it hasn't affected their ability to rebuild and strengthen.
With just one game a week throughout this upcoming campaign due to their lack of European football, I think United will be much improved in 2025-26 because they're having an excellent window. Having struggled for goals throughout last season, Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and (soon) Benjamin Sesko have all come in and they have each shown that they are capable of 20+ league goals in a campaign. I'm not sure any of them will quite manage that this season, but as a trio they dramatically improve United's attack and the Premier League experience that Cunha and Mbeumo already have is vital.
There's rightly going to be pressure on Ruben Amorim after such a dismal start to his reign in 2024-25, particularly now that he's been backed well this summer in terms of recruitment, because I think United should be in the hunt for a top five finish. I'm not sure they'll be able to bridge the gap to last season's top four, but finishing above the likes of Newcastle, Aston Villa, Tottenham and Nottingham Forest shouldn't be unrealistic when they'll be playing far fewer matches than those teams and have the attacking quality I just mentioned along with Bruno Fernandes.
There's never been a clearer example of how much the summer transfer window affects the fans' mood and the feeling of a momentum around a club than the contrast between Manchester United who I have just mentioned, and Newcastle United.
Newcastle had a fantastic 2024-25 season, lifting the League Cup as well as securing a top 5 finish (just) to return to the Champions League, but fast forward a few weeks and you've got star striker Alexander Isak training on his own in San Sebastian because he wants out of the club and transfer targets being missed left, right and centre. Anthony Elanga has been brought in as a decent upgrade on the right wing, but as it stands Newcastle have three very good wingers in him, Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes, but a big hole in the centre of their attack.
It's not as if Newcastle will suddenly be a terrible team, as they have a very good manager, one of the most exciting full-back pairings in the league, quality in midfield and that range of wide players that I just mentioned, but it doesn't feel exaggerative to say that how the Isak situation is resolved in these next couple of weeks will be season-defining. At present, it's hard to see a way back for him with the Magpies since Eddie Howe has had him training alone due to the lack of respect shown for the club, but equally he's not going to be sold to Liverpool until a replacement is found; Benjamin Sesko has just opted to join Manchester United instead.
With two very difficult games to start the season against Aston Villa (A) and Liverpool (H), it's not hard to picture a couple of early defeats for Newcastle which obviously wouldn't help morale. A really important period is already upon the directors at the club, who definitely won't want Isak playing for Liverpool in the Magpies' opening home match.
If I had to make a prediction now in terms of their final position amid all of this uncertainty, I'd say similar to the 2023-24 season where they were also playing Champions League football and finished 7th in the PL.
To give you an idea of how much Nuno Espirito Santo and Nottingham Forest raised expectations with their results and performances last season, after staying up by the skin of their teeth in 2023-24, there was a genuine feeling of disappointment that they 'only' managed 7th and a place in the Europa Conference League in May. They may yet be promoted to the Europa League for this season instead depending on the outcome of Crystal Palace's case that I mentioned earlier.
The feeling of disappointment was down to the fact that Forest spent a lot of last season inside the top four. Nuno has built an incredibly well balanced side that thrived due to centre backs Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic exceeding expectations, some excellent midfield performances from Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson, and veteran New Zealand international Chris Wood banging in 20 goals.
Talented winger Anthony Elanga has departed for Newcastle but Dan Ndoye is a good replacement in my opinion, while Morgan Gibbs-White has ended up signing a new contract just days after a move to Tottenham was supposedly done which is huge for Forest's ability to maintain their success this year. On paper, Forest have a team that is strong enough to compete well again in the Premier League and against Europa League level opposition, with striker Igor Jesus another exciting addition having impressed at the Club World Cup for Botafogo, but depth is perhaps the question mark now that there will be so many more fixtures.
Similar to what I wrote about Crystal Palace, I think Forest should be going all out for success in which ever UEFA competition they end up playing in, but that is likely to lower their Premier League position in comparison to the outstanding 2024-25 season. If it's the Europa Conference League that they end up playing, they'll be one of the strongest clubs in the tournament so rotation will be easier to manage, and pre-season results suggest they're going to be pretty solid defensively again this year. 4 of their 6 pre-season friendlies so far have finished goalless.
I'll be honest and say that when Sunderland went 6 games on the bounce without a win at the end of the Championship season but then squeezed past Coventry City and Sheffield United to win the play-offs, I was thinking it's another Premier League spot that will largely be wasted by a team that isn't able to compete, but they now have me *very* intrigued with some very fun transfer business.
Jobe Bellingham has been lost to Borussia Dortmund but aside from that it's all about the incomings at the Stadium of the Light as Sunderland's directors are clearly fully aware that numerous recruits were required if they're to stand a chance of staying in the big time. When you look at the Sunderland team that won the play-offs, Enzo Le Fee stands out as being Premier League quality, and Dan Ballard's performances were incredible throughout that 3-game stretch (the scenes after his late goal against Coventry will be remembered for a long time), but otherwise upgrades were required. They've done that.
Granit Xhaka is frankly a ridiculous signing for a newly promoted club after how well he's played for Bayer Leverkusen in the last couple of years, but he's far from the only good addition that Sunderland have made. The midfield trio he will now complete alongside Le Fee and the powerful Habib Diarra who has joined from Strasbourg is one that I love the look of, and then you've got some really exciting young players in striker Marc Guiu, goalkeeper Robin Roefs and wingers Simon Adingra and Chemsdine Talbi, the latter three being permanent deals. Throw in Reinildo from Atletico Madrid (who I'm not sure is actually that good anymore to be fair) and you definitely have a fun looking team that will be entertaining to follow at the very least.
I'd be more confident in saying that they can stay up if they also land a quality centre back before the window is closed, but I'm excited to see how Sunderland get on in their first Premier League season since 2016-17. It still feels tricky to tip them to finish above any of the 17 established Premier League sides, but that midfield trio really is something and they have a favourable opening run of fixtures...
Tottenham are probably the team I'm most unsure about this season. The departure of manager Ange Postecoglou was a controversial one but I think it was probably the best decision for all parties. Postecoglou can point to being the man that finally delivered Spurs a major trophy, but their Premier League matches just looked like a kick-about for about half a season and a 17th-place finish is unforgivable. If there weren't three Championship level sides in the league last year, Spurs would have gone down. They didn't even hit the 'magic' 40 points!
I think Thomas Frank is a good appointment and he undoubtedly deserves the opportunity after such an impressive spell at Brentford, but it's tricky to know if his success in that one environment can translate to a fresh club. I'm not going to pretend to know too much about his time at Brondby before joining the Bees. One thing is for sure, Spurs will be much more pragmatic and a lot more difficult to beat this season, but with a Champions League calendar coming up after their Europa League win, I'm not sure I can see them achieving a top four or five Premier League finish.
Transfers wise, I think Tottenham are going OK. Club legend Heung-min Son has probably departed at the right time given the strong options Spurs have in wide areas, particularly now that Mohammed Kudus has arrived from West Ham, while I think the addition of Joao Palhinha is a very good move as he's exactly the type of player required to bring an element of control into midfield that Spurs essentially just did without under Postecoglou.
Palhinha made much more sense to me than the Morgan Gibbs-White deal that was supposedly very close a few weeks ago, though that's perhaps a little bit less true now that James Maddison has unfortunately suffered an ACL injury in pre-season. That news means Spurs need an extra creative midfielder before the window is done, particularly since Dejan Kulusevski has been struggling with injuries for a while too. At this stage I'd expect Spurs to finish somewhere between 6th and 10th, and I think they'll have a few very tough experiences in the Champions League against elite opposition (as they did in a 4-0 loss against Bayern in a friendly this week despite fielding a strong XI).
West Ham's pre-season results have been reasonable, with wins over both Everton and Bournemouth in the USA, but you can never read too much into pre-season form and the general mood among Hammers supporters appears to be of slight concern rather than optimism. Part of that will be down to 5 winless home games at the end of last season, while the club's relatively uninspiring transfer activity also won't have boosted the mood.
That said, Malick Diouf looks like a reasonable pick-up from Slavia Prague to occupy a left wing-back role, while Kyle Walker-Peters has come in as an option for a similar role on the other flank, but the decision to sign Callum Wilson is a puzzling one even on a contract that is heavily based upon appearances.
Jarrod Bowen is quality and West Ham will be hopeful that Lucas Paqueta can have a big season now that allegations of his involvement in an illegal betting scandal are behind him, but there weren't quite as many signs of improvement under Graham Potter than fans will have hoped after he came in to replace Julen Lopetegui in January. Pre-season would suggest Potter is looking at a 3-5-2 system, though I'm not fully convinced many in the current squad are best suited to that. Nayef Aguerd, for example, has just returned after a very good season on loan at Real Sociedad but was playing in a back four.
As is often the case with West Ham, it feels as if things could unravel quite quickly in terms of fans voicing their frustration if early results aren't good. The opening game away at Sunderland is therefore a massive one as a defeat to a newly promoted club in Round 1 won't go down well.
Finally, we have Wolves who most people have pegged as a team that one of Burnley, Leeds or Sunderland could perhaps jump ahead of if they can get things right. Since being promoted to the top flight in 2018, Wolves have seen a gradual decline from the impressive 7th place they managed in that 2018-19 season, finishing just two places above the relegation zone in May.
Within that general decline, it's worth noting that Vitor Pereira did a great job of overseeing a big improvement and keeping Wolves up last season, however. Pereira won 10 of his 22 league matches in charge, and though top scorer Matheus Cunha has now departed for Manchester United, there was a lengthy spell when the Brazilian was suspended for several games where Wolves had an excellent run of results regardless.
Transfer incomings are headlined by Colombian Jhon Arias who looks like Cunha's replacement. The 27-year old arrives having played more than 200 games for Fluminense, during which time he scored 47 goals, and Arias stood out in the recent Club World Cup for the Brazilian side. Young Spanish attacking midfielder Fer Lopez has also arrived from Celta Vigo, though it may be a bit of time before he's considered ready to start Premier League games.
It's tricky to be too confident in a prediction for Wolves as Pereira really surprised me with the results he managed after taking over last season, but the 3-4-2-1 formation he favoured in order to do so was reliant on strong wing-back performances as well as Cunha so Rayan Ait-Nouri's departure to Manchester City will also sting. The Brazilian midfield duo of Andre and Joao Gomes will be absolutely key if Wolves are to fight their way to enough points, but this could be a tough season.
Most importantly, make sure you've joined our Predictor game and you've got all of your leagues created in time for kick-off next Friday.
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I hope you all enjoy the upcoming season and that this Superbru Football app can provide some extra fun throughout. Good luck in the Predictor!
Already the wealthiest football league in the world by quite a margin, it somehow still feels as if the Premier League has gone up a notch or two this summer. Early transfer activity has seen one of the best players in the Bundesliga, perhaps the best 6 in Spain and some of the continent's top goal scorers all arrive in England before we even reached August, so we're set for a pretty exciting title race in my opinion.
The frightening thing for the other 18 teams in the league is that last season's top two, Liverpool and Arsenal, are the ones who look to be strengthening most in the market.
The most expensive Premier League signings at the time of writing - Bejamin Sesko's move to Manchester United is not yet official!Reading previous season previews is always a fairly humbling experience given the unpredictability of the Premier League, but in my 2024-25 piece I did at least manage to predict that Manchester City, who had won 4 titles in a row, would drop off slightly. Of course, I didn't see them suffering quite as much as they did following Rodri's serious injury, and I thought it would be Arsenal who beat them to the title rather than Liverpool, but how Pep Guardiola's side look to bounce back in this campaign will be one of the most interesting storylines.
I'll refer back to last season's preview at times in this one as a helpful way of gauging who exceeded or fell beneath pre-season expectations in 2024-25, but ultimately this piece is an attempt to set the scene, build some excitement, start some conversation and perhaps help you out with a few of your opening predictions.
There'll be plenty more content available to you throughout the season, particularly if you're a Superbru Premium user, as Premium subscriptions include access to a unique match preview for each of the 380 fixtures.
Here are my thoughts on each club ahead of kick-off. Let me know how you feel in the comments!
Arsenal
Last season: 2nd (74 points) | Manager: Mikel ArtetaArsenal finished 2nd for the third consecutive season in last year's campaign, but the reality is that there was quite a drop-off rather than continued improvement. Mikel Arteta's team picked up 15 fewer points than they did in 2023-24, and though an impressive Champions League run included a memorable victory over Real Madrid, they were ultimately left empty handed yet again in terms of trophies.
In response, the Gunners have shown real intent in the transfer market this summer as they prepare for a season where it feels as if a trophy really has become a must. Martin Zubimendi, who has arrived from Real Sociedad, is a genuinely elite defensive midfield player who is excellent at receiving the ball from defenders on the half turn and playing progressive passes, while Arsenal fans will hope that Viktor Gyokeres is the goal scoring centre forward that they have so clearly needed for several seasons.
At times, it has felt as if Arteta's refusal to sign a genuine number 9 was almost ego-driven with an insistence that the more unorthodox signing of Kai Havertz was enough, and though Arsenal have again failed to resist signing another Chelsea player for a chunky fee that the Blues didn't try too hard to hang on to anyway in Noni Madueke, the Gyokeres deal is indicative of a switch in approach to a more cut-throat, win now mentality.
Personally, I really like the signings Arsenal have made in this window, and I'm intrigued to see how they lineup. The fee they have paid for Madueke makes me wonder if Arteta may look to convert him into a left winger rather than just having him as a backup for star man Bukayo Saka, while Kai Havertz' place in the team is suddenly harder to picture. Havertz seems an Arteta favourite and is definitely key to the Gunners dominating possession, but with Gyokeres coming in, is it one or the other and they'll rotate throughout the busy calendar? In the big games, Zubimendi, Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard all have to play in my opinion, so I'm not sure how often Havertz will drop back into an attacking midfield role.
Other signings have included Kepa Arrizabalaga, Christian Norgaard and Cristhian Mosquera who each help to ensure that Arsenal have excellent strength in depth this year and I think they'll have a better league campaign than they did last year. Much will depend on how effective Gyokeres is in his debut season for the Gunners, because without 20+ goals from him I still think it will be tricky for Arsenal to match Liverpool and quite possibly Manchester City.
Aston Villa
Last season: 6th (66 points) | Manager: Unai EmeryThe way in which Aston Villa's season ended in 2024-25 will have stung and left a feeling of disappointment, but it's impossible to ignore the overall progress that has been made under Unai Emery who has steered them to a top 7 finish in each of the 2.5 seasons he's been in charge for.
Villa really ought to have beaten Manchester United in their final league game of the 2024-25 season which would have secured them Champions League football for the second season in a row, but that Round 38 defeat still only saw them miss out on European football on goal difference and they were just 2 points shy of their total when they secured 4th the season before. With that in mind, we can expect continued consistency in this campaign.
There haven't been too many new signings just yet, though Nice striker Evann Guessand has just arrived which looks a good move, and Emery often takes his time to fully embed new players into his team which means it might be this season that we start seeing much more impact form players signed in the last 12 months such as Donyell Malen and Ian Maatsen.
A home fixture with Newcastle will be an interesting start to what looks like a fairly favourable opening run of fixtures for Villa so they have a good opportunity to rack up some points before their calendar becomes more complicated by the Europa League league phase.
Bournemouth
Last season: 9th (56 points) | Manager: Andoni IraolaLast season was a very successful one for Bournemouth under Andoni Iraola, as the Cherries continued the upward trajectory that they have enjoyed since returning to the top flight 3 seasons ago. Their 9th-place finish equalled their best ever Premier League rank which was first achieved under Eddie Howe back in 2016-17.
As you might expect, bigger clubs have been circling to poach some of the best players that helped Bournemouth into the top half last season, but moves have been made to try and replace said players similarly quickly, at least in some cases.
Milos Kerkez was sold to Liverpool but Adrien Truffert has arrived from Rennes as a new left back, while goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga returned to Chelsea following his loan (and then went to Arsenal) but has been replaced by another Chelsea goalkeeper in Djordje Petrovic, this time on a permanent. Petrovic is a very good signing in my opinion, as he's had half a season's worth of experience in the Premier League for Chelsea and was then excellent on loan at Strasbourg throughout last season in Ligue 1.
Where Bournemouth may well have a problem is in central defence. We saw centre backs thrive in Iraola's system last season, but Dean Huijsen was quickly snapped up by Real Madrid and there remains heavy links between Illia Zabarnyi and PSG. Marcos Senesi should be fully fit again after injuries last season, but Bournemouth are likely to need to sign at least a couple of centre backs before the window is shut if they're to match last season let alone improve.
The toughest possible start - an away fixture at Liverpool on the opening night - means this might be a season Bournemouth grow into rather than flying out of the blocks but the positive signs we've seen from the Cherries in terms of recruitment in recent seasons and Iraola's tactical nous suggest they'll be competing for a top half finish again in 2025-26.
Brentford
Last season: 10th (56 points) | Manager: Keith AndrewsAny Brentford fans reading that last section on Bournemouth must have laughed when I said they'd had a few of their best players poached. This summer has been an absolutely brutal one for the Bees and so the remainder of this window and indeed the season that follows will be the toughest test yet for the Brentford board which has rightly received huge praise for the success that has been had since reaching the Premier League in 2021.
Thomas Frank frequently credited those above him for the excellent results Brentford had during his fantastic 8-season spell in charge, but 2025-26 really will be a test of how true that is now that Frank has departed for Tottenham.
When you then consider that the Bees have also lost their captain Christian Norgaard to Arsenal, best player Bryan Mbeumo to Manchester United and quite possibly still Yoane Wissa who is receiving major interest from various clubs, it's hard to see how the outgoings could have been worse for Brentford. The attacking void left by Ivan Toney's departure in 2024 which Mbeumo and Wissa covered so effectively may now finally be felt hard unless replacements are found or Thiago Rodrigues steps up and manages an injury-free season.
So what have Brentford done in response so far? I'd argue they've upgraded their goalkeeper by signing Caoimhin Kelleher from Liverpool following the sale of Mark Flekken, while Jordan Henderson's arrival in central midfield replaces the experience and reliability of Norgaard.
Where Brentford have taken a huge, huge gamble is with Thomas Frank's replacement. Rather than appointing a new recognised head coach, the Bees have promoted from within by handing set-piece coach Keith Andrews the top job. Andrews has never previously managed a side, with his main previous experience being as an assistant to Stephen Kenny with the Republic or Ireland, so it's going to be very interesting to see how things will go.
Brentford were very good at set pieces last year in fairness, but is that really enough to earn Andrews the manager role? It's hard to see Brentford finishing in the top half again all things considered, but the pattern we've seen in recent years of newly promoted clubs going straight back down makes it hard for me to suggest Brentford will be caught in that regard. Let's just say they're definitely now a team that the clubs who have just come up from the Championship will be targeting, though.
Brighton
Last season: 8th (61 points) | Manager: Fabian HurzelerDespite fairly constant change in squad personnel and management, Brighton have consistently maintained their position in and around the top half of the Premier League over the last four seasons, with Fabian Hurzeler's debut season in charge resulting in a very respectable 8th place.
As is the norm, there have been a few outgoings this summer, including Pervis Estupinan (to Milan), Evan Ferguson (loan to Roma), Simon Adingra (to Sunderland), and most notably Joao Pedro (to Chelsea), but several very exciting young players have come in, at least a couple of which will no doubt be sold to Chelsea for huge profit within a year or two.
Central defender Diego Coppola and left back Maxim De Cuyper are definitely worth keeping an eye on as young players arriving from Hellas Verona and Club Brugge respectively, while 27-year old Olivier Boscagli looks like a very shrewd pick-up on a free after several very good seasons at the heart of PSV's defence.
With the standout new signings all being defenders (or at least the most likely immediate starters are in my opinion), Hurzeler will be looking to the wide range of attacking players he already has to step up now that Joao Pedro has departed, and I think Georginio Rutter is an important player to watch in that regard. Given the #10 shirt for this season, Rutter looks well placed to fill that Pedro role, while Kaoru Mitoma and Yankuba Minteh will both provide goals from the wings.
Brighton look like they have a very good squad to me, and with more than sufficient depth in most areas for a team that will only be playing once a week unlike the likes of Palace, Villa and Forest, the Seagulls should be pushing for Europe again this year.
Burnley
Last season: 2nd in the Championship (100 points) | Manager: Scott ParkerIt's easy to look at Burnley and assume they'll just go straight back down to the Championship as they did in 2023-24, and while that is more likely than not due to their resources, it's important to note that this is a very different team than the one we saw under Vincent Kompany a couple of years ago.
Under Scott Parker in last season's Championship, Burnley were record-breakingly good defensively. They conceded just 16 goals all season and kept 30 clean sheets, meaning they became the first team in the history of English league football to go an entire season without conceding more than 1 goal in a game. Now, they're obviously unlikely to repeat that feat against quality opposition in 2025-26, particularly now that goalkeeper James Trafford has been bought back by Manchester City, but their approach under Parker would suggest they will put up much of a fight this year than they did in their last Premier League season.
A likely difficult trip to Tottenham is first up for Burnley, but that's followed by a must-win game over Sunderland at Turf Moor which is a golden chance to continue their incredible home form. Last season, Burnley became the first team since 2009/10 to go unbeaten at home for an entire Championship campaign, and if they can restore the reputation of Turf Moor being a 'tough place to go' even for Premier League sides as we saw for years under Sean Dyche, then they'll have half a chance of staying up.
Personally, I'm not sure about Burnley's recruitment in this summer window, though. Obviously the Clarets don't have as much money to throw around as most Premier League clubs, but I'm not convinced by the players they are opting to spend on. Martin Dubravka isn't a bad replacement for Trafford in difficult circumstances, but Kyle Walker's decline from the elite level he sustained for so many seasons has been well documented so that's something of a gamble, while the reported £45m+ Burnley have given Chelsea for Lesley Ugochukwu and Armando Broja appears steep to me although both are young enough to develop and prove me wrong. Relegation is likely, but there's reason to believe Burnley will make life difficult for their opposition and could well contribute with some surprise results over the course of the season.
Chelsea
Last season: 4th (69 points) | Manager: Enzo MarescaLooking back at last year's preview, I wasn't overly optimistic about Chelsea's chances of making the Champions League qualification spots, but the Blues had a great first half of the season and then finished extremely well after a worrying patch in between those two periods. Concerns over the transfer strategy under the Clearlake Capital ownership probably persist, but Enzo Maresca has done a fantastic job of winning Chelsea supporters over by delivering in the games that mattered between May and July. Chelsea held their nerve to secure 4th place fairly comfortably in the end, won the UEFA Europa Conference League as they were expected to, and then stunned European champions PSG to win the FIFA Club World Cup during the summer.
With Chelsea getting back to being a side that wins trophies, confidence should be high going into this campaign and amid the constant buying and selling of young players, there is a fairly strong core group in the first team now in the likes of Reece James, Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo and of course Cole Palmer. With Maresca's postion more secure and those young players now fairly experienced in English football, Chelsea should comfortably make the top four again, though it's hard to gauge what the impact of a lack of a proper pre-season will be due to that Club World Cup participation.
A crucial part of Chelsea's recent successes to lift those trophies has been Maresca's openness to playing more pragmatically than he did in his first few months in charge, but it still feels as if they'll fall short of challenging Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City for the title. I think I probably feel that way because of their reluctance to sign even a couple of more experienced players who have won league titles before.
Squad rotation will be more challenging this season as well since the top players will want to play both Premier League and Champions League games throughout, contrasting last season where Maresca was effectively able to field a B team up until the final of the Conference League. Chelsea certainly aren't going to have a problem in terms of squad numbers, but the real quality players like Palmer will be playing a lot more games than they did last year and without a pre-season.
Crystal Palace
Last season: 12th (53 points) | Manager: Oliver GlasnerYou don't need a particuarly powerful crystal ball to forecast where Palace are likely to finish this season - they've finished between 10th and 15th for 12 seasons in a row - but what was surprising last season is that they finally managed to get their hands on a trophy; the FA Cup.
That remarkable achievement means they'll be playing European football this season, and the added toll that will have on the squad perhaps means they're more likely to finish closer to 15th than 10th in this Premier League campaign, but due to issues that have become typical in modern football, we somehow don't yet know whether they'll be playing in the Europa League or the Europa Conference League.
Now, this preview is going to be long enough without delving into the multi-club ownership debate that is behind UEFA's problem with Crystal Palace so I'll let you read about that on other sites or apps, but from a Premier League point of view the impact of participation in either of those tournaments is likely to be similar. Palace will be competitive either way and playing on a lot of Thursday nights regardless, so the challenge against squad fatigue with plenty of Sunday fixtures in the PL will be interesting.
They have enough quality players and undoubtedly a good enough manager to cope relatively well, but I'm not expecting Palace to suddenly make a charge for the European places this season as at the business end of the campaign they should absolutely be focusing on the European matches that they have, whichever tournament they end up in.
Everton
Last season: 13th (48 points) | Manager: David MoyesThis is a big season for Everton that has the potential to be very exciting. This will be the Toffees' first season at their new home ground, the Hill Dickinson Stadium, and they go into it with a bit of momentum thanks to the return of David Moyes midway though 2024-25.
Returning to the club he spent 11 years with between 2002-2013, Moyes lost just 4 of his 19 Premier League games in charge last season, lifting Everton to their highest league finish since 2020-21 under Carlo Ancelotti. With a couple of good signings through the door and rumours of more to come, there's plenty of reason for optimism among Everton fans.
Thierno Barry is set to be Everton's first choice striker this season after a breakthrough year at Villarreal in 2024-25, Carlos Alcaraz is now a permanent deal following his loan last season, and midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has arrived from Chelsea. With reports suggesting Everton also have interest in Jack Grealish and Tyler Dibling, it's clear that Moyes is searching for some final third quality that could level up the Toffees' attack.
Everton have a good start fixtures wise and there'll obviously be a very fresh feel around the place at their new stadium, so I'm predicting an improved year where for once they might be able to get excited about building on a solid opening couple of months rather than being dragged in to a relegation battle and then just about rescued.
Fulham
Last season: 11th (54 points) | Manager: Marco SilvaA bit like Palace, Fulham are almost certainly going to finish in mid-table again this season, though Marco Silva deserves a lot of credit for that as it certainly wasn't the case during the Premier League/Championship yoyo seasons that Fulham endured between 2016 and 2022.
In fairness, last season could have been better than mid-table for Fulham as they were very strong for large parts of the campaign with a lengthy unbeaten run across the festive period headlined by a 1-2 win away at local rivals Chelsea, but a disappointing 0-3 defeat to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup quarter-finals triggered a poor end to the season with 6 defeats in 9 games.
It's been a very, very quiet summer for Fulham so there's not lots to say to bring you up to date. Though there haven't been any key players lost, Fulham's only signing so far in this entire window has been a new back-up goalkeeper in Benjamin Lecomte.
All while Silva remains in charge, expect the solid mid-table form to continue, though like Fulham fans he is likely disappointed by the lack of transfer activity up to now and when other Premier League clubs have been so active this summer, Fulham are arguably falling a little behind rather than standing still.
Leeds
Last season: 1st in the Championship (100 points) | Manager: Daniel FarkeWinning the Championship ahead of Burnley last season on goal difference, Leeds scored 95 goals in their 46 league games last season and they were quite well spread across the squad with 9 players scoring 5 goals or more.
However, there are now big question marks over whether or not Leeds and Daniel Farke are capable of making the step up to the top flight. When last in the Premier League, Leeds were up for 3 seasons and had a great first term under Marcelo Bielsa, but their relegation season was a bit of a farce, ending with just 31 points and Sam Allardyce in charge for 4 winless matches.
Obviously, the squad has changed a fair amount across Daniel Farke's two seasons in charge in the Championship which have seen Leeds accumulate 190 points in total, but Farke himself has a huge amount to prove at this level having struggled badly in both of the Premier League seasons he had in the Premier League with Norwich.
On paper, Leeds look well short of the necessary quality to stay up in my opinion. It's understandable to have a Championship level squad when you've just been playing in that division, but Leeds are going to need at least a couple of difference makers before the window shuts to stand much of a chance, unless someone like Joel Piroe proves to be capable of continuing his goalscoring form in his maiden Premier League campaign.
New signings Anton Stach and Sean Longstaff should add a bit of power to midfield but they're going to be up against such strong opposition almost every week. I'm looking at Leeds' first seven fixtures and can't see too many points for them so a lot will depend on how they set the tone in that opening Monday night fixture at home to Everton at the end of Round 1.
Liverpool
Last season: 1st (84 points) | Manager: Arne SlotWell, Liverpool have certainly made sure everyone knows that they aren't satisfied with just one league title under Arne Slot. After a fantastic title-winning campaign in 2024-25 in which Mohamed Salah produced some of the greatest attacking numbers the Premier League has ever seen, Liverpool have decided to bring in over €200 million worth of Bundesliga attacking talent just to crank up that fire power even further.
Of course, there have also been some outgoings and Liverpool have had to deal with the truly devastating passing of Diogo Jota, but the addition of Florian Wirtz in particular sends a clear message to the rest of the league that it's going to be very difficult to take the crown away from Liverpool now that they have it. To hammer home that point even further, the Reds are actively pursuing a deal for Newcastle striker Alexander Isak despite already landing Hugo Ekitike.
There's also finally been a changing of the guard in the full-back areas at Anfield as well, following Trent Alexander-Arnold's controversial decision to leave for Real Madrid, and Andy Robertson's fade towards a deputy role. Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez have come in, though both are very attacking players (in Frimpong's case it's debatable if he's even a full back) which means if there is a concern about Liverpool this season it's their defence.
Only Joe Gomez, who is currently injured, can provide centre back cover for Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate so we can expect another central defender to arrive before September. Even if not, Liverpool look able to outgun almost everyone this season, and you'd be brave to bet against them going all the way. I think they'll probably do it, particularly if they land Isak as well, but I'm a little surprised that people don't seem to be talking too much about the next team on this alphabetical list as well...
Manchester City
Last season: 3rd (71 points) | Manager: Pep GuardiolaEveryone is obviously aware of how good Manchester City can be and are, but I feel as if there's a lot more focus on Liverpool and Arsenal among title race discussions heading into this season than there is on the team that have won 6 of the last 8 titles?
Pep Guardiola is probably quite happy with that, and it's perhaps due to City doing most of their transfer business in January and earlier in the summer prior to the Club World Cup, but this is a team who lost their best player early on last season, then played terribly for a few months, and yet still finished only 3 points behind Arsenal. With Rodri now back and joined in midfield by Tijjani Reijnders, a great attacking left-back arriving in Rayan Ait-Nouri, and an absolute plethora of incredible chance creators available to line up behind arguably still the current greatest goalscorer in the game, I reckon City will be challenging.
I predicted a slight drop last season due to City easing up after winning an unprecedented four Premier League titles in a row, but the 2024-25 campaign will have hurt and now I can only see them bouncing back. Phil Foden will surely have a much better campaign, but even if he doesn't, you've got Omar Marmoush who has looked great since arriving in January, new signing Rayan Cherki who is among the most talented dribblers and creators around even at the age of 21, Oscar Bobb who was being tipped for big things last season before he suffered a long-term injury, and then two excellent wingers in Savinho and Jeremy Doku.
Like Liverpool, if there is a weakness it's properly in defence, but even there they have more experienced operators to call upon than the Reds. The scars of last season in comparison to the wave of momentum Liverpool are riding is why I think Arne Slot's side probably have their noses in front in terms of the favourites tag, but assuming Rodri is at least 80% as good as he was in 2023-24, I can only see City finishing inside the top two.
Manchester United
Last season: 15th (42 points) | Manager: Ruben AmorimIt still feels wild to be writing that Manchester United finished 15th in the Premier League last season with 42 points. 42. Prior to that their lowest points total in a season in this post Sir Alex Ferguson era was 58 when they came 6th in 2021-22, so last season was pretty much as bad as it can get without being relegated.
Despite all of that, United had a great chance of still playing Champions League football this season as all they needed to do was win the Europa League final against a Tottenham side that had been as bad as them throughout 2024-25. It goes without saying that they'd have rather won that game, but as far as this season goes, I think the cliche of that defeat being a 'blessing in disguise' actually rings true in this instance as they're showing in this transfer window that it hasn't affected their ability to rebuild and strengthen.
With just one game a week throughout this upcoming campaign due to their lack of European football, I think United will be much improved in 2025-26 because they're having an excellent window. Having struggled for goals throughout last season, Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and (soon) Benjamin Sesko have all come in and they have each shown that they are capable of 20+ league goals in a campaign. I'm not sure any of them will quite manage that this season, but as a trio they dramatically improve United's attack and the Premier League experience that Cunha and Mbeumo already have is vital.
There's rightly going to be pressure on Ruben Amorim after such a dismal start to his reign in 2024-25, particularly now that he's been backed well this summer in terms of recruitment, because I think United should be in the hunt for a top five finish. I'm not sure they'll be able to bridge the gap to last season's top four, but finishing above the likes of Newcastle, Aston Villa, Tottenham and Nottingham Forest shouldn't be unrealistic when they'll be playing far fewer matches than those teams and have the attacking quality I just mentioned along with Bruno Fernandes.
Newcastle United
Last season: 5th (66 points) | Manager: Eddie HoweThere's never been a clearer example of how much the summer transfer window affects the fans' mood and the feeling of a momentum around a club than the contrast between Manchester United who I have just mentioned, and Newcastle United.
Newcastle had a fantastic 2024-25 season, lifting the League Cup as well as securing a top 5 finish (just) to return to the Champions League, but fast forward a few weeks and you've got star striker Alexander Isak training on his own in San Sebastian because he wants out of the club and transfer targets being missed left, right and centre. Anthony Elanga has been brought in as a decent upgrade on the right wing, but as it stands Newcastle have three very good wingers in him, Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes, but a big hole in the centre of their attack.
It's not as if Newcastle will suddenly be a terrible team, as they have a very good manager, one of the most exciting full-back pairings in the league, quality in midfield and that range of wide players that I just mentioned, but it doesn't feel exaggerative to say that how the Isak situation is resolved in these next couple of weeks will be season-defining. At present, it's hard to see a way back for him with the Magpies since Eddie Howe has had him training alone due to the lack of respect shown for the club, but equally he's not going to be sold to Liverpool until a replacement is found; Benjamin Sesko has just opted to join Manchester United instead.
With two very difficult games to start the season against Aston Villa (A) and Liverpool (H), it's not hard to picture a couple of early defeats for Newcastle which obviously wouldn't help morale. A really important period is already upon the directors at the club, who definitely won't want Isak playing for Liverpool in the Magpies' opening home match.
If I had to make a prediction now in terms of their final position amid all of this uncertainty, I'd say similar to the 2023-24 season where they were also playing Champions League football and finished 7th in the PL.
Nottingham Forest
Last season: 7th (65 points) | Manager: Nuno Espirito SantoTo give you an idea of how much Nuno Espirito Santo and Nottingham Forest raised expectations with their results and performances last season, after staying up by the skin of their teeth in 2023-24, there was a genuine feeling of disappointment that they 'only' managed 7th and a place in the Europa Conference League in May. They may yet be promoted to the Europa League for this season instead depending on the outcome of Crystal Palace's case that I mentioned earlier.
The feeling of disappointment was down to the fact that Forest spent a lot of last season inside the top four. Nuno has built an incredibly well balanced side that thrived due to centre backs Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic exceeding expectations, some excellent midfield performances from Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson, and veteran New Zealand international Chris Wood banging in 20 goals.
Talented winger Anthony Elanga has departed for Newcastle but Dan Ndoye is a good replacement in my opinion, while Morgan Gibbs-White has ended up signing a new contract just days after a move to Tottenham was supposedly done which is huge for Forest's ability to maintain their success this year. On paper, Forest have a team that is strong enough to compete well again in the Premier League and against Europa League level opposition, with striker Igor Jesus another exciting addition having impressed at the Club World Cup for Botafogo, but depth is perhaps the question mark now that there will be so many more fixtures.
Similar to what I wrote about Crystal Palace, I think Forest should be going all out for success in which ever UEFA competition they end up playing in, but that is likely to lower their Premier League position in comparison to the outstanding 2024-25 season. If it's the Europa Conference League that they end up playing, they'll be one of the strongest clubs in the tournament so rotation will be easier to manage, and pre-season results suggest they're going to be pretty solid defensively again this year. 4 of their 6 pre-season friendlies so far have finished goalless.
Sunderland
Last season: 4th in the Championship (76 points) | Manager: Regis Le BrisI'll be honest and say that when Sunderland went 6 games on the bounce without a win at the end of the Championship season but then squeezed past Coventry City and Sheffield United to win the play-offs, I was thinking it's another Premier League spot that will largely be wasted by a team that isn't able to compete, but they now have me *very* intrigued with some very fun transfer business.
Jobe Bellingham has been lost to Borussia Dortmund but aside from that it's all about the incomings at the Stadium of the Light as Sunderland's directors are clearly fully aware that numerous recruits were required if they're to stand a chance of staying in the big time. When you look at the Sunderland team that won the play-offs, Enzo Le Fee stands out as being Premier League quality, and Dan Ballard's performances were incredible throughout that 3-game stretch (the scenes after his late goal against Coventry will be remembered for a long time), but otherwise upgrades were required. They've done that.
Granit Xhaka is frankly a ridiculous signing for a newly promoted club after how well he's played for Bayer Leverkusen in the last couple of years, but he's far from the only good addition that Sunderland have made. The midfield trio he will now complete alongside Le Fee and the powerful Habib Diarra who has joined from Strasbourg is one that I love the look of, and then you've got some really exciting young players in striker Marc Guiu, goalkeeper Robin Roefs and wingers Simon Adingra and Chemsdine Talbi, the latter three being permanent deals. Throw in Reinildo from Atletico Madrid (who I'm not sure is actually that good anymore to be fair) and you definitely have a fun looking team that will be entertaining to follow at the very least.
I'd be more confident in saying that they can stay up if they also land a quality centre back before the window is closed, but I'm excited to see how Sunderland get on in their first Premier League season since 2016-17. It still feels tricky to tip them to finish above any of the 17 established Premier League sides, but that midfield trio really is something and they have a favourable opening run of fixtures...
Tottenham
Last season: 17th (38 points) | Manager: Thomas FrankTottenham are probably the team I'm most unsure about this season. The departure of manager Ange Postecoglou was a controversial one but I think it was probably the best decision for all parties. Postecoglou can point to being the man that finally delivered Spurs a major trophy, but their Premier League matches just looked like a kick-about for about half a season and a 17th-place finish is unforgivable. If there weren't three Championship level sides in the league last year, Spurs would have gone down. They didn't even hit the 'magic' 40 points!
I think Thomas Frank is a good appointment and he undoubtedly deserves the opportunity after such an impressive spell at Brentford, but it's tricky to know if his success in that one environment can translate to a fresh club. I'm not going to pretend to know too much about his time at Brondby before joining the Bees. One thing is for sure, Spurs will be much more pragmatic and a lot more difficult to beat this season, but with a Champions League calendar coming up after their Europa League win, I'm not sure I can see them achieving a top four or five Premier League finish.
Transfers wise, I think Tottenham are going OK. Club legend Heung-min Son has probably departed at the right time given the strong options Spurs have in wide areas, particularly now that Mohammed Kudus has arrived from West Ham, while I think the addition of Joao Palhinha is a very good move as he's exactly the type of player required to bring an element of control into midfield that Spurs essentially just did without under Postecoglou.
Palhinha made much more sense to me than the Morgan Gibbs-White deal that was supposedly very close a few weeks ago, though that's perhaps a little bit less true now that James Maddison has unfortunately suffered an ACL injury in pre-season. That news means Spurs need an extra creative midfielder before the window is done, particularly since Dejan Kulusevski has been struggling with injuries for a while too. At this stage I'd expect Spurs to finish somewhere between 6th and 10th, and I think they'll have a few very tough experiences in the Champions League against elite opposition (as they did in a 4-0 loss against Bayern in a friendly this week despite fielding a strong XI).
West Ham
Last season: 14th (43 points) | Manager: Graham PotterWest Ham's pre-season results have been reasonable, with wins over both Everton and Bournemouth in the USA, but you can never read too much into pre-season form and the general mood among Hammers supporters appears to be of slight concern rather than optimism. Part of that will be down to 5 winless home games at the end of last season, while the club's relatively uninspiring transfer activity also won't have boosted the mood.
That said, Malick Diouf looks like a reasonable pick-up from Slavia Prague to occupy a left wing-back role, while Kyle Walker-Peters has come in as an option for a similar role on the other flank, but the decision to sign Callum Wilson is a puzzling one even on a contract that is heavily based upon appearances.
Jarrod Bowen is quality and West Ham will be hopeful that Lucas Paqueta can have a big season now that allegations of his involvement in an illegal betting scandal are behind him, but there weren't quite as many signs of improvement under Graham Potter than fans will have hoped after he came in to replace Julen Lopetegui in January. Pre-season would suggest Potter is looking at a 3-5-2 system, though I'm not fully convinced many in the current squad are best suited to that. Nayef Aguerd, for example, has just returned after a very good season on loan at Real Sociedad but was playing in a back four.
As is often the case with West Ham, it feels as if things could unravel quite quickly in terms of fans voicing their frustration if early results aren't good. The opening game away at Sunderland is therefore a massive one as a defeat to a newly promoted club in Round 1 won't go down well.
Wolves
Last season: 16th (42 points) | Manager: Vitor PereiraFinally, we have Wolves who most people have pegged as a team that one of Burnley, Leeds or Sunderland could perhaps jump ahead of if they can get things right. Since being promoted to the top flight in 2018, Wolves have seen a gradual decline from the impressive 7th place they managed in that 2018-19 season, finishing just two places above the relegation zone in May.
Within that general decline, it's worth noting that Vitor Pereira did a great job of overseeing a big improvement and keeping Wolves up last season, however. Pereira won 10 of his 22 league matches in charge, and though top scorer Matheus Cunha has now departed for Manchester United, there was a lengthy spell when the Brazilian was suspended for several games where Wolves had an excellent run of results regardless.
Transfer incomings are headlined by Colombian Jhon Arias who looks like Cunha's replacement. The 27-year old arrives having played more than 200 games for Fluminense, during which time he scored 47 goals, and Arias stood out in the recent Club World Cup for the Brazilian side. Young Spanish attacking midfielder Fer Lopez has also arrived from Celta Vigo, though it may be a bit of time before he's considered ready to start Premier League games.
It's tricky to be too confident in a prediction for Wolves as Pereira really surprised me with the results he managed after taking over last season, but the 3-4-2-1 formation he favoured in order to do so was reliant on strong wing-back performances as well as Cunha so Rayan Ait-Nouri's departure to Manchester City will also sting. The Brazilian midfield duo of Andre and Joao Gomes will be absolutely key if Wolves are to fight their way to enough points, but this could be a tough season.
Join the Predictor
So there we have it, a run-through of all 20 clubs ahead of this new season. If you're keen to give a bit more detail on the clubs that you follow along with some of your own opinions on how they'll get on please by all means feel free to do so in the comments section!Most importantly, make sure you've joined our Predictor game and you've got all of your leagues created in time for kick-off next Friday.
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I hope you all enjoy the upcoming season and that this Superbru Football app can provide some extra fun throughout. Good luck in the Predictor!
Superbru on X
Then again if it weren't for Fernandes & Kulusevski Man U & Spoz would be playing Oxford & Charlton this season. Frank to Tottingham is the most intriguing signing amongst a 'plethora' of surprises, if it doesn't feel 'exaggerative' to say Jack? GREAT PREVIEW as usual!