Sports Boyle 2025-26 Premier League predictions
Photo Credit: Sky Sports
The 2025-26 Premier League season kicks off this weekend! With 38 games to be played from now till May, it’s shaping up to be a competitive season with a handful of teams that can win it all. Before Liverpool hosts Bournemouth on Friday, August 15, in the season opener, we give you the Sports Boyle Premier League predictions, going from dead last to the champions.
20. Burnley
It’s tough to envision a team that finished on 100 points and only allowed 16 goals in 46 EFL Championship games last season finishing dead last in the Premier League, but that’s the nature of England’s top flight. While they’ve made a good amount of signings, the only Premier League-proven addition is 35-year-old defender Kyle Walker, who is well past his prime. Losing starting goalkeeper James Trafford to Manchester City won’t do them any favors. While manager Scott Parker has a strong record managing in the Championship, he has been relegated twice and sacked once during his time in the Premier League.
19. Wolverhampton
Wolves will enter the 2025-26 season without two of their top three scorers from last season. Versatile attacker Matheus Cunha (15 goals) departed for Manchester United, while attacking defender Rayan Ait Nouri (four goals) followed his former teammate to Manchester, joining Manchester City. Wolves did well to retain the services of striker Jorgen Strand Larsen (14 goals), who was on loan from Celta Vigo. Outside of Strand Larsen, Wolves only made three other signings to bolster their squad. Wolves struggled for much of last season and finished in 16th, the club’s worst finish since being promoted in 2018.
18. Brentford
Brentford are another team that will struggle to find goals without their two top scorers from last season. Just like Cunha, Brentford attacker Bryan Mbeumo (20 goals) has moved to Manchester United. Attacker Yoane Wissa (19 goals) is also expected to leave before the summer transfer window closes, with a move to Newcastle or Saudi Arabia looking most likely. Having scored 66 goals last season, Brentford will need to find a way to replace more than half of that total without both those players. They strengthened defensively and structurally with the signings of former Premier League champions goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher and midfielder Jordan Henderson, but have done nothing to replenish their attack. Losing manager Thomas Frank to Tottenham won’t help either.
17. Leeds United
All three teams to get promoted from the Championship to the Premier League have gone straight back down in back-to-back seasons. The trend needs to stop, and it does here with Leeds United, who will just have enough to stay up. The club brought in eight new players, with most being midfielders and defenders. They also replaced mistake-prone keeper Illan Meslier with Lucas Perri from Lyon, who had 10 clean sheets in 33 games in Ligue 1 last season. There are a lot of question marks around the Leeds attack, but all three top scorers from the Championship return to a side that scored a league-best 95 goals last season.
16. Sunderland
Sunderland return to the Premier League for the first time since 2016-17. Sunderland were dominant in the first half of the Championship last season, but faded away in the second half. Two late goals in the Championship Playoff Final saw them secure promotion back to England’s top flight. Once again, another team breaks the recent curse of newly promoted teams going straight back down. Sunderland mean business in their fight to stay up, having signed 11 players so far, including four with Premier League experience. Unlike the other two promoted teams, Sunderland has added to and improved at all positions on the field.
15. Fulham
A surprise position for Fulham, who finished 11th last season, two points out of the top half. However, to consistently compete in the Premier League, whether it’s for trophies or just to stay up, you need to improve your team. Fulham have made one signing this summer, a backup goalkeeper for a fee of less than $1 million. They have enough quality in their squad to avoid relegation, with the likes of top goal scorers Raul Jimenez and Rodrigo Muniz returning. Manager Marco Silva has done a great job with Fulham since taking over in 2021. He will be able to get the most out of his players, but it won’t be enough to equal or better last season’s finish, unless more talent is brought in.
14. West Ham
West Ham have had a mixed bag of results in recent seasons, finishing 14th twice, ninth, and seventh in their last four seasons. There is clearly quality in the West Ham team, but can manager Graham Potter unlock it? Through the summer, West Ham have strengthened their defense, an area that needed significant improvement after finishing with the worst goal differential (-16) amongst non-relegated teams. The signing of goalkeeper Mads Hermansen from Leicester City will give West Ham stability in net, but they haven’t exactly replaced attacker Mohammed Kudus, who left for Tottenham after tallying 22 goal contributions in two Premier League seasons with West Ham.
13. Bournemouth
Bournemouth have paid the price this summer for being a small, overachieving club in the Premier League. After finishing with one of the better defensive records in the league last season, their backline has been gutted by big-name teams. Center backs Dean Huijsen ($62 million) and Illia Zabarnyi ($66 million) were sold to Real Madrid and PSG, while left back Milos Kerkez moved to Liverpool on a $32 million transfer fee. The team have purchased a new starting center back and goalie, but still have a lot of money to play with after selling three starters for well over $100 million. Bournemouth retained all their attackers, but the losses on defense will prove costly and see Bournemouth fall back to the bottom half of the table.
12. Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace are fresh off their first two major trophies in club history, winning the FA Cup last May and the FA Community Shield in early August. Manager Oliver Glasner has his team playing at a high level going into the new campaign, but they will have to deal with balancing the Premier League and European football for the first time in club history. With Palace’s historic FA Cup win, they will be playing in the UEFA Europa Conference League, after being demoted from the Europa League following a rules breach. When playing in two high-stakes competitions at the same time, more squad depth is needed. Palace have only bought two players this summer, one being a backup goalie, and could soon be without their two best players, midfielder Eberechi Eze and Marc Guehi, who are both linked with big moves away from the club.
11. Everton
A two-place improvement for Everton from last season, as the club continues to move away from the relegation zone and back to competing for a top-half spot. For the first time since 1892, Everton’s men’s team will be playing home matches somewhere other than Goodison Park. They will debut their new ground, Hill Dickinson Stadium, which sits on the banks of the River Mersey in Liverpool. To go along with their new stadium, Everton have spent close to $100 million to improve their team in all areas, while not losing many key players. The loan signing of three-time Premier League champion and Champions League-winning attacker Jack Grealish should add more skill to the squad, as long as the 29-year-old can return to his Aston Villa form.
10. Nottingham Forest
Forest shocked the Premier League last season, spending most of the season in a Champions League place before ending the year in seventh. This came after back-to-back seasons of relegation battles. Just like Crystal Palace, Forest will have to juggle midweek European games and weekend Premier League fixtures. Forest have more depth than Palace, but likely won’t be able to replicate the success they had last year. A top-half finish and a run in the Europa League would represent a strong season for a club playing in a European competition for the first time in almost 30 years. They did lose two key starters in midfielder Danilo and winger Anthony Elanga. Many fans and analysts wonder if 33-year-old striker Chris Wood can replicate his goalscoring output (20 goals) from last season.
9. Brighton
No matter who they lose and who they bring in, well-known or not, Brighton always seem to finish in the top half of the Premier League. Brighton have only failed to finish inside the top ten once since coming in 16th-place in 2020-21. Brighton are led by 32-year-old Fabian Hurzeler, the youngest manager in Premier League history. Hurzeler brought in nine new players after losing two of his best attackers, Joao Pedro (Chelsea) and Simon Adingra (Sunderland), and starting left back Pervis Estupinan (AC Milan). While many of Brighton’s incoming players are young and unproven, that formula has worked wonders for the club in recent years.
8. Manchester United
The current state of one of England’s most successful clubs is eerily similar to the early days of Arsenal under Mikel Arteta. The team has a manager who was hired midway through the previous season, they are finishing well below expectations, and there is a lot of deadwood on the roster, but they are making strides with incremental improvements to the roster and the product on the pitch. United finished in a woeful 15th place last season and lost the Europa League Final. Ruben Amorim is heading into his first full season managing United and has already strengthened his attack with the signings of Cunha, Mbeumo, and RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko. However, only one minor addition has been made to a backline that conceded 54 goals last year. Not having European football to worry about should help United climb higher up the table this year.
7. Tottenham
After winning the Europa League last year, Tottenham come into the season with a new manager and new faces to the squad. Captain Heung-Min Son, who had been at the club since 2015, recently left for LAFC in Major League Soccer. That move and other aging players leaving the club open the door for new signings to make an impact. Spurs added Kudus from West Ham to bolster their attack and signed Joao Palhinha on loan from Bayern Munich to strengthen the midfield. Center back Kevin Danso and winger Mathys Tel had their loan moves made permanent this summer. With a new coach and a younger team, it may take time for Tottenham to gel, especially with Champions League football and the long-term knee injury to attacking midfielder and England international James Maddison.
6. Aston Villa
Aston Villa have had a quiet summer, bringing in five players, including a backup goalie, and not losing anyone notable. However, that could change as midfielder Jacob Ramsey is on the verge of joining Newcastle for close to $50 million. Villa finished sixth last season and qualified for a Europa League place, a tournament they can win after a strong showing in the Champions League last season. Aston Villa have an older roster, which could hinder them from being as successful as they were last year in the Premier League and Europe.
5. Newcastle
There is one big question that is looming over Newcastle that could decide the fate of their season. Will Alexander Isak stay or go? The Swedish striker has scored 54 goals in 86 Premier League games for Newcastle over the last three seasons. With interest from Liverpool and the player refusing to train or play with the team, it seems he is destined to leave, despite Newcastle’s efforts to convince him to stay. Having qualified for the Champions League, Newcastle strengthened the depth of their squad with Elanga, goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, and center back Malick Thiaw, with the additions of Wissa and Ramsey on the horizon. It will be very difficult for Newcastle to find someone who can replace the production of Isak, but the squad is talented and primed for a good season.
4. Chelsea
The reigning Club World Cup winners have a lot of momentum heading into the season after a successful summer, but will the lack of downtime in the offseason hurt Chelsea’s hopes of competing for the Premier League title? With how deep Chelsea’s squad is, this likely won’t be the case, unless there is a significant drop off in talent. Chelsea were the youngest team in the league last year (23.5), and all seven players they signed this transfer window are 23 years or younger. All seven of those could have major impacts on the squad this season, highlighted by Pedro, winger Jamie Gittens, striker Liam Delap, and defender Jorrel Hato. It will be a tall task for manager Enzo Maresca to keep all 38 of his first-team players happy, with limited playing time available. Chelsea return to the Champions League after winning the Conference League last season.
3. Manchester City
Manchester City have a similar issue to Chelsea. They have a plethora of talented first-team players who will be looking for regular minutes, especially in the midfield. City have purchased 12 players since the start of last season’s January transfer window, already loaning out multiple players due to limited squad space. If any manager can get a bunch of new players to build chemistry quickly, it’s Pep Guardiola. This does feel like a changing of the guard for City, who had the fourth-oldest team in the league last season (27). Along with Walker and Grealish departing, midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, who played 10 seasons with City and will go down as one of the best midfielders in Premier League history, moved to Napoli on a free transfer. They will be competitive as long as Guardiola is in charge and Erling Haaland is scoring goals
2. Liverpool
The defending Premier League winners will fall just short of repeating in what will be a competitive race for the top spot. Liverpool ran away with the title in manager Arne Slot’s first season. There was major turnover to Liverpool’s squad this summer as they had to replace four starters from last season. Defender Trent Alexander-Arnold moved to Real Madrid, while attackers Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez also left the club. Tragically, attacker Diogo Jota was killed in a car accident this summer, which will give his teammates much more motivation to retain the Premier League trophy in his memory. Along with Kerkez, Liverpool added striker Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt ($100 million) and two players from Bayer Leverkusen, attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz ($131 million) and right back Jeremie Frimpong ($55 million). It shouldn’t take much time for Liverpool’s attackers to click, but their defense is another story. Slot noted his concerns with how many goals his side conceded in the preseason. An aging and injury-prone backline was infused with two attacking wingbacks who are easily caught out of position. We know they will score, but can they defend?
1. Arsenal
After back-to-back-to-back seasons finishing in second place, it’s finally time for Arsenal to lift the Premier League trophy for the first time since going undefeated in 2003-04. Arsenal likely would have challenged Liverpool for the title last year if it weren’t for a bad run of significant injuries that left Arteta without a striker for half the season. Arsenal finally have a true striker, having signed Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting CP, who scored 54 goals in all competitions last year. Arsenal added Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad to start alongside Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard in the midfield. Winger Noni Madueke, center back Cristhian Mosquera, and midfielder Christian Norgaard were purchased for much-needed depth. Despite injury issues and players playing out of position, Arsenal had the best defense in the Premier League and made a run to the Champions League semifinals last season. If Gyokeres can replicate 75 percent of his production from his time in Portugal, and key players stay healthy, they will be competing for the title and making another deep run in the Champions League. Adding a starting left winger, whether that be Eze, AC Milan’s Rafael Leao, or Real Madrid’s Rodrygo, will push them over the top.
