Ranking every Premier League team before the most unpredictable season in years

A new era of the Premier League begins on Friday as defending champions Arsenal kick off what looks to one of the most unpredictable seasons in years.

Pep Guardiola’s departure from Manchester City following a decade of dominance coincides with Arsenal’s return as defending champions for the first time 22 years. Mikel Arteta is now the longest-serving Premier League manager and the relative stability at the Gunners comes in sharp contract to the upheaval across the top-flight.

Nine Premier League clubs have changed managers over the summer, while Michael Carrick and Roberto De Zerbi begin their first full seasons at Manchester United and Tottenham, respectively. There are many unknowns across the Premier League, with Andoni Iraola taking charge of Liverpool and Xabi Alonso arriving at Chelsea.

Coventry City, Ipswich Town and Hull City were promoted from the Championship last season, replacing the relegated West Ham, Burnley and Wolves, and will hope to take inspiration from a Sunderland who qualified for Europe last term in their first season back in the top-flight.

How does it play out this time? This is our predicted table…

Last season: Promoted via play-offs

A very warm welcome back to Hull and apologies in advance for your ranking. But Hull’s return to the Premier League comes after one of the strangest promotion seasons in history. According to Opta, Sergej Jakirovic’s side ranked 23rd in the Championship in expected points, but defied those underlying metrics to not only avoid relegation to League One but reach the play-offs and secure promotion by beating Middlesbrough at Wembley (after Southampton were kicked out, of course). Despite a busy window of comings and goings, Hull are relegation favourites and this could be a long campaign.

Last season: Championship runners-up

Ipswich get an immediate shot back at the Premier League after their rather forgettable relegation in 2024-25. It’s brought a change of approach, too. Deviating from hoovering up the best of the Championship and broadening their net has led to the club-record signing of striker Emersonn from Toulouse and Daizen Maeda from Celtic. But will that be enough? Gary O’Neil, formerly of Bournemouth and Wolves, still has a huge job on his hands after taking over from Kieran McKenna – who confirmed he needed a break from football after three promotions and a relegation in four seasons, while perhaps also sensing the size of the challenge ahead.

Last season: Championship winners

Of the three promoted sides, it feels as if Coventry have the most momentum behind them, due to ending their 25-year absence from the Premier League and the emotion of last season’s unexpected promotion campaign under Frank Lampard. The dark days may be over, but the challenge in bridging the gap to the Premier League is tougher than ever. If Sunderland’s ambitious approach in the transfer market upon their return last season is the blueprint to success, Coventry have responded by twice breaking their transfer record, including the £26m arrival of 20-year-old midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi. But their most important piece of business has to be keeping hold of Lampard, whose earns another shot at the Premier League after sackings at Chelsea and Everton.

Last season: 11th

You fear for Fulham? The departure of Marco Silva after five stellar years has led to some anxiety around Craven Cottage, and the arrival of former Liverpool defender Alvaro Arbeloa after his spiky caretaker spell at Real Madrid is yet to ease those concerns. In striker Gonzalo Garcia and midfielder Cesar Palacios, Arbeloa has brought two young talents with him from Real Madrid and Fulham will be relying on their potential. But there are also big shoes to fill in their player of the season Harry Wilson and Raul Jimenez, who like Silva departed at the end of their contracts. With games against Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United in their opening five fixtures, Arbeloa must start well for Fulham to avoid the sinking feeling.

Last season: 12th

Does the exodus of Tyneside leave Newcastle as relegation contenders? In less than 18 months, the Magpies have gone from winning the Carabao Cup and qualifying for the Champions League to losing Alexander Isak, Anthony Gordon, Bruno Guimaraes, Sando Tonali and, most shockingly of all, Eddie Howe. Far from challenging for the Premier League title in 2030 under their Saudi owners, alarm bells are ringing around St James’ Park and it falls to the relatively unknown Matthias Jaissle, formerly of Red Bull Salzburg and Asian champions Al-Ahli, to pick up the pieces. Their summer business has the club looking towards the future but replacing established stars with youth is a gamble, and it may instead leave Newcastle looking over their shoulders.

Last season: 8th

Brighton’s first European campaign in 2023-24 resulted in the Seagulls slipping back into the bottom half of the table and this season could be a similar story for Fabian Hurzeler’s side as they embark on a year in the Conference League. Given the Premier League’s financial muscle, it’s no surprise that Brighton have been installed as heavy favourites to repeat Crystal Palace’s success and the opportunity to win what would be the club’s first ever major trophy should not be dismissed. How detrimental could that be to their domestic form? Recording signing Luka Vuskovic arrives with an expectation to bolster their defence but with Danny Welbeck leaving for Chelsea means there could be a shortage of goals and heightens the importance of Kaoru Mitoma and Yankuba Minteh. Worryingly, neither is fit to start the season.

Last season: 13th

While the return of David Moyes has been a stabilising success, and Everton are one of the few Premier League sides to bring continuity into the new season, there is also a danger of the Toffees stalling under the Scot. Relegation should not be a concern, but it’s hard to see Everton pushing into the top half: last season, for example, Moyes’s side felt on the cusp of challenging for Europe, only to fall away down the stretch. While Everton should still be solid defensively, a lack of goals amid the travails of Beto and Thierno Barry continues to be a concern. Keeping Iliman Ndiaye, though, would represent an important boost and offer some quality in the final third.

Last season: 15th

Last season’s truce between the outgoing Oliver Glasner and Crystal Palace led the Eagles to European glory as they lifted the Conference League. Whether reality sinks in this campaign largely depends on the impact of Pierre Sage, who turned Lens into Ligue 1 runners-up and French Cup winners last season. Stylistically, Sage appears a decent fit as he bids to build upon Glasner’s impressive two-and-a-half year spell. Palace have become accustomed to losing star players and it is in defence where there has been the most transition: they have lost both Marc Guehi and Maxence Lacroix over the last year, and Daniel Munoz may be the next to go.

Last season: 7th

Sunderland were last season’s surprise package. Qualifying for Europe on the final day of the campaign capped off a tremendous first season back in the top flight under Regis Le Bris. But while European away days will be savoured by a Sunderland fan base who hold recent memories of life in League One, the added fixtures and rhythm of Thursday-Sunday could be a challenge for Le Bris and his players, especially as the free transfer of veteran right-back Thomas Meunier and the £25.6m signing of left-back Dayann Methalie is currently their only business of the summer. That said, Sunderland overcame the doubters last season, and their second season in the Premier League has already been boosted by captain Granit Xhaka turning down Chelsea to remain with the Black Cats.

Last season: 16th

After the season of the four managers (Nuno, Postecoglou, Dyche, Pereira), Oliver Glasner takes the Premier League’s hottest hot-seat at Nottingham Forest. The Austrian does so after guiding Crystal Palace to two major trophies in his two-and-a-half years at Selhurst Park, and after he was initially linked with Manchester United at the start of the year. It was a bit of a surprise when Forest announced Glasner’s arrival, but it undoubtedly represents a coup. Although they lost Elliot Anderson, Forest will be dangerous with Morgan Gibbs-White still as the heartbeat of the team, as they were when he dragged them away from relegation danger towards the end of last season. Without Europe, a lot could go right for Forest this year, with Glasner also bringing shift to his preferred 3-4-3, but the potential for unexpected drama under Evangelos Marinakis remains hard to ignore.

Last season: 9th

A superb debut season in the dugout Keith Andrews means Brentford start a Premier League campaign having escaped their perennial status as relegation contenders. Brentford outperformed expectations and were a whisker away from qualifying for Europe and unlike so many teams in the Premier League start the new campaign with such a clear idea of who they are and what they want to be. Brentford were also led by the 22-goal return of Igor Thiago last season but the arrival of club record signing Mamadou Sangare from Lens brings a different dimension in midfield and compensates for the departure of Jordan Henderson to Chelsea. Set-pieces will continue to be a focus for a club who specialise in efficiency.

Last season: 14th

Everything changed after the mid-season turnaround under Daniel Farke. Had the season started on 1 December 2025, Leeds would have finished 7th. Such hypotheticals count for nothing, but it does mean Leeds can head into the new season with some optimism. Their transfer business has concentrated on strengthening areas of concern last season – such as bringing in a reliable, first-choice goalkeeper in James Trafford and adding some creativity into midfield with the free signing of Harry Wilson from Fulham, although some further help may be required. With towering centre-back Tarik Muharemovic adding to a solid spine, Leeds can have designs on pushing into the top half if Dominic Calvert-Lewin continues to provide threat following last season’s 14-goal comeback year.

Last season: 17th

Avoiding relegation on the final day of last season had to serve as a huge wake-up call and Tottenham have responded by backing Roberto De Zerbi in the transfer market. Only Chelsea have spent more than the Premier League side who have finished 17th two years in a row, headlined by their £180m midfield makeover and the arrivals of Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes. The defensive recruits of Marcos Senesi, Jan Paul van Hecke and Andy Robertson all look fairly smart, too, while their business is set to continue with options to strengthen attack the priority. De Zerbi has been rewarded with full control after saving Tottenham from the drop and a full season under the Italian – without Europe – will be fascinating. It can’t be worse than last year – right? – but it would also be inadvisable to assume that Spurs can solve all of their issues in one summer. Injuries, for one, are still a major issue and could continue to hold Spurs back.

Last season: 6th

After qualifying for Europe for the first time in their history, the priority for Bournemouth this summer was keeping as much of their squad together as possible. Of course, the departure of manager Andoni Iraola is a blow, but in terms of playing staff, the Cherries limiting their outgoings to Marcos Senesi (who joined Tottenham at the end of his contract) represents a boost to the incoming boss Marco Rose. It was hugely important that the likes of Alex Scott, Rayan and Junior Kroupi (who will miss the start of the season due to a freak foot injury picked up in training) remained and Rose, a Jurgen Klopp acolyte whose high-pressing, high-intensity style is a natural progression from Iraola, has a talented squad at his disposal. The experienced German will help Bournemouth navigate their debut Europa League campaign.

Last season: 4th

A summer of change could yet continue should Emi Martinez, follow Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans and Lucas Digne out of the door. The loss of four senior players, and part of the spine of last season’s Europa League winners, would be a concern but Villa’s strength is really in the influence of Unai Emery. His ability to find solutions, while also beginning to evolve Villa through the signings of Switzerland’s World Cup star Johan Manzambi for a club-record £59.5m and Japan international goalkeeper Zion Suzuki, is also exciting. Ahead of return to the Champions League for the second time in three seasons, Villa do need their new signings, including the on-loan Alejandro Garnacho, to make an immediate impact, but Emery is the star.

Last season: 5th

An optimist may look at Liverpool and view the prospect of a young, exciting coach in Andoni Iraola bringing high-intensity football to Anfield, and the potential of a forward line that includes Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz finally clicking into place after difficult debut seasons. Others may think that Liverpool have not addressed the issues that were painfully apparent during Arne Slot’s final season: a lack of squad depth, particularly in attack and full-back, and a struggling midfield. Jeremy Jacquet, the 21-year-old centre-back Liverpool paid £55m for in January, made an impressive debut against Como on Sunday but, even with the loan signing of Ronald Araujo, the Reds are still overly reliant on the availability of captain Virgil van Dijk, now 35. Liverpool’s expensive pursuit of Bradley Barcola is set to rumble on until the end of the window, with Hugo Ekitike still sidelined for several months. It means Iraola begins life at Liverpool with plenty of uncertainty. Some early form from Isak and Wirtz would be helpful indeed.

Last season: 3rd

After winning 12 of his 18 Premier League matches in charge, no Premier League team picked up more points than Manchester United after Michael Carrick replaced Ruben Amorim in January. The former midfielder has been appointed on a permanent basis after signing a two-year contract but can he continue his magic? This season brings United’s return to the Champions League and a busier schedule is a further challenge. United were third last season but played just 40 matches. This season’s campaign could be closer to 60 games and United’s rivals will have more of a chance to work Carrick’s side out while they themselves have less time on the training ground. Another season of inspiration from talisman Bruno Fernandes could have United dreaming but a lack of depth could cap their ambitions of challenging for the title. Strengthening their depth in midfield was a priority following the departure of Casemiro and United reacted by adding Andrey Santos from Chelsea and Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa but there is a sense that more is required to kick on from the second half of last season.

Last season: 10th

The chaos around Stamford Bridge perhaps hit its peak last season with the sacking of Liam Rosenior after just three months and Chelsea’s worst run of league form since 1912. But football is not a meritocracy and so the pieces have fallen into place for Chelsea to have a successful season. The Blues moved quickly to appoint former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso, still regarded as one of Europe’s top coaches after leading Bayer Leverkusen to the Bundesliga title, even if Real Madrid did not work out. Morgan Rogers is an expensive but quality signing and pairing him next to the fit-again Cole Palmer, who has a point to prove after missing the World Cup, could be devastating. Chelsea do not have European football and so Alonso will have plenty of time on the training ground as he bids to shape his team, giving them an advantage over their nearest rivals. Alonso will be granted more authority that recent Chelsea managers and the surprise change of approach of signing experienced Premier League players, adding Jordan Henderson, 36, and Danny Welbeck, 35, to the squad suggests the owners have learned some lessons from four years of chaos.

Last season: 2nd

The shadow of Pep Guardiola lingers after his 10 years in charge; of all 20 Premier League teams this season, it is Manchester City who have to make the biggest adjustment after the departure of the club’s greatest ever manager. Enzo Maresca will have plenty of plates to spin amid the complete overhaul of City’s midfield; it is the end of an era in another respect with Rodri and Bernardo Silva leaving. Elliot Anderson arrives for £116m following his impressive World Cup with England but City would be left light if the 18-year-old Ayyoub Bouaddi, who was a breakout talent at the World Cup, is their only other replacement for their Ballon d’Or winner Rodri. City may yet return to Chelsea to sign Enzo Fernandez for £120m. Of course, with the goals of Erling Haaland and the improvements City made last season in adding Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi, City will be there or thereabouts. But the stylistic shift they may undergo following a decade of Guardiola contrasts sharply to the stability of last season’s champions Arsenal.

Last season: 1st

The last time Arsenal defended a league title was 1935 but the extent of their squad building under Mikel Arteta feels designed to give the champions as strong a chance as possible of going back-to-back. Even with William Saliba and Jurrien Timber injured and Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice working their way back following the World Cup, Arteta was able to deploy a strong side that impressively defeated Manchester City in Sunday’s Community Shield, with plenty of depth still on the bench. Martin Odegaard could be like a new signing given the captain’s return to form at the World Cup and in pre-season following an injury-disrupted campaign last year. The arrival of Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle lessens the load on Rice and arguably gives Arsenal the best midfield in the league. There is still a chance of a drop-off, given how common it is for Premier League champions to lose their edge the following season. The influential Saliba will be missed, and the physical and emotional efforts of last season may yet take its toll, but Arteta is doing everything he can to ensure Arsenal retain their intensity. Conversely, the release of finally ending their title drought may even result in Arsenal’s football being easier on the eye this year. Above all, though, they have the strength and depth to defend their crown.