It is that time of the year again; with the Premier League set to kick off tomorrow evening when Bournemouth travel to Anfield to face reigning champions Liverpool, it’s time for Premier League table predictions. While it is very likely that it blows up in my face come the end of the season in one way or another, here is my predicted Premier League table in descending order.
Who will be next? pic.twitter.com/w2upYPsu72
— Premier League (@premierleague) August 13, 2025
1st: Manchester City
I am, of course, somewhat biased in this decision. But I also believe with every fibre of my being that storming back to the top of the table is well within Manchester City’s grasp this season. The additions of Reijnders, Cherki and Aït-Nouri on top of those from the January window show a desire to refresh the team with young, attack-minded players. And if City can manage to avoid the injury problems of last season, they will be well poised to challenge yet again. A very notable statistic from last season shows that even then, City were not necessarily as far off as it might have seemed; in the final 20 games of last season’s league (over half), City picked up more points than any other club, 4 points ahead of champions Liverpool during that period. Even in their weakened, confidence-shot state, City were matching the league’s best in terms of points. Write off City and Guardiola at your own peril; people have done it before, and it has never gone well for them.
2nd: Arsenal
Arsenal fans will be very hopeful that this is incorrect, and that they will not suffer the unwanted achievement of four 2nd-place finished in a row. Marquee signing Viktor Gyökeres will be absolutely key for the Gunners, whose main flaw according to many pundits the last few seasons has been their lack of a top class striker. In many ways, Mikel Arteta’s entire project comes down to this signing; if Gyökeres fails to fire Arsenal to silverware, it would not be shocking to see the club ponder a new direction heading into the 26/27 season. Arsenal fans can take solace in still having probably the best defence in the league, and if Gabriel and Saliba can maintain their form of recent years, Arsenal will be in the race for the title right until the very end, even if I believe they will just fall short once more.
Gyökeres. The Arsenal. It’s official. pic.twitter.com/H11yMVU3gf
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) July 26, 2025
3rd: Liverpool
I have laid out my problems with the current make-up of Liverpool’s team more extensively in another article. Since the publishing of that piece, they have signed 18-year old defender Giovanni Leoni from Parma. But unless he absolutely hits the ground running and becomes a starter alongside Van Dijk, this does not change what I perceive as the critical flaws of the reigning champions. Their attack, bolstered by Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike, is the best in the league, but their midfield doesn’t seem capable of accommodating all of their forwards, nor does their defence strike me as good enough to deal with a weak midfield. My suspicion is that games like their Community Shield loss, where the attack links up beautifully but they concede a significant number of chances, will be very common. Unless they can consistently score 3-4 goals despite lacking control behind their front line, retaining their title is going to be very challenging for the Reds
4th: Chelsea
I have less to say about Chelsea because it kind of feels the same as the Chelsea of the last few seasons. I think there has been too much upheaval for the club to break into the same bracket as the top 3. Their incomings, including João Pedro and Jamie Gittens, seem fairly solid. But a key part of pushing up the table is consistency, and I fail to see how a transfer policy as haphazard as Chelsea employ breeds any consistency whatsoever. Until they slow down and allow what they already have to properly take shape, they will be capped as a very strong contender for the Champions League places.
5th: Aston Villa
Unai Emery’s Aston Villa suffered a disappointing end to last season, slipping to the Europa League due to a surprise final day loss against Manchester United. Dropping out of the Champions League may help them in the league this year by allowing them more freedom to rotate. They will presumably be hopeful of competing well in the Europa League, a competition that Emery made his name in at Sevilla, and one that Villa will feel they are one of the favourites in following their Champions League quarterfinal run last year. They have not been very busy in the market, and I think the clubs above them are simply too good for them to meet, but landing in the potential-fifth Champions League spot will be a nice sign of stability for the club.
6th: Tottenham
Tottenham are perhaps the biggest wild card of the league this season. Following from such a confusing year, 17th but still qualifying for the Champions League by winning their first trophy in many years, it feels like they could finish almost anywhere. Not helping this is their UEFA Super Cup performance, which showed both that they can hang with the best team in Europe and that they still have the mental fragility commonly known as ‘Spursy.’ I think Thomas Frank’s more pragmatic approach will do well, helping to find results where Ange Postecoglou could not. Not a return to the top, but a massive improvement for Tottenham who will keep themselves in Europe.
It ends in defeat in Udine. pic.twitter.com/vIXY8xGJt7
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 13, 2025
7th: Bournemouth
Bournemouth seem to be the darlings of the world’s elite, with three key departures to Real Madrid, PSG and Liverpool in Dean Huijsen, Illia Zabarnyi and Milos Kerkez. Despite this, I expect Andoni Iraola’s side to show that their 9th place finish last season was a product of a quality manager and system more than one of individual talent. If the Cherries can continue to claim scalps against the league’s top teams, and can find more consistency against the bottom-half, sneaking into Europe is very possible for the club.
8th: Brighton
Brighton are a club accustomed to having to reshuffle every season as big clubs swoop in to take their best players. In comparison to previous years, this season will seem much more stable, with only João Pedro and Pervis Estupiñán acting as notable exits. While I don’t think this necessarily means they will progress beyond their success last year, I think maintaining their 8th place finish is a reasonable expectation for the club.
9th: Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest suffered a disappointing end to last year, falling out of the Champions League spot that they had occupied for a considerable length of time. They have managed to ward off interest in most of their key players, with Anthony Elanga the only big money exit. But without bringing in major reinforcements, there will be concern that the way they ended last season was more of a revert to type than it was a dip below their normal level. If that is the case, and they now also have to manage a Europa League campaign, I cannot foresee a return to the European qualification spots next season.
10th: Newcastle United
Newcastle have had, by all accounts, an absolutely miserable transfer window. They have routinely seen their major targets snatched up by other clubs, including Hugo Ekitike by Liverpool, who are also targeting the Magpies’s star striker Alexander Isak. This interest from the champions has lead to the Swedish international downing tools, and the club now face a stand-off where they may have no winning moves. Their inability to improve the team is going to make their upcoming Champions League campaign very difficult to manage, and given they limped over the finish line last season to earn that campaign in the first place, I think this season could see the end of Eddie Howe’s time at Newcastle as they seek to make more progress with their project.
David Ornstein claims that even if the transfer window closes without him leaving, Alexander Isak views his Newcastle career as over and has no wish to reintegrate 🚨 pic.twitter.com/YNNgeWzMu0
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 12, 2025
11th: Manchester United
Manchester United are largely expected to improve on their historically bad season last year, which saw them finish 15th and lose in the Europa League final against Spurs. I think they will improve, but not as much as some think. Their incomings seem good, but the logic of bringing in all of Šeško, Mbeumo and Cunha at once seems flawed. They have improved their front line but haven’t added much creativity. With the exiling of Garnacho and Rashford among others, as well as the aging of star midfielder Bruno Fernandes, it seems like they have forgotten that there are two parts to scoring goals; creating and then finishing. So they will improve, but unless Amorim has some kind of tactical plan in mind to find creativity in the team, I struggle to see them even breaking into the top half.
12th: Fulham
Fulham have had a very quiet transfer window, and are generally just a very steady mid-table club. They aren’t aspiring particularly high, but they will continue their trajectory since they rejoined the league under Marco Silva in 2022. A very comfortable but uneventful 12th place finish for the Cottagers.
13th: Everton
Everton found new life under David Moyes, who steered the club to 13th last season after he took over from Sean Dyche. They have made decent signings in the transfer window, including a loan move for Jack Grealish and the purchase of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall from Chelsea. Nothing remarkable from the Toffees, and I think they will need to find stability before they can think about pushing up the table, but they are more than good enough to steer well clear of the relegation battle.
Our new No.18. 🔵 pic.twitter.com/2u0yyx2tSp
— Everton (@Everton) August 12, 2025
14th: Leeds
At long last, a promoted side not being relegated straight back to the Championship. Leeds have spent two seasons preparing for this, and I think that will show as they just about avoid being in many relegation battle conversations. It won’t be a dream return to the league, but sensible additions like Anton Stach and Sean Longstaff will help improve the spine of a team that already has a number of Premier League experienced attackers. There will have been fears that Daniel Farke will repeat his form at Norwich that saw the Canaries slip to 20th in both of his top flight seasons with them, but I think Leeds will show much better than that. Elland Road will be crucial to this, with the club needing to make the most of their home crowd to hopefully begin building for a longer stint in the Premier League than their last.
15th: Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace could be in for a difficult season as they look to balance a first Conference League campaign, a competition they feel they should be above, having been demoted to it from the Europa League. Adding to this disappointment is the clubs inability to bring any major signings in, leaving them potentially short as they battle on multiple fronts. Despite this, there will be optimism at the club being able to keep hold of Marc Guéhi, whose proposed move to Liverpool is reportedly off. While they will not be happy at the prospect of losing the player on a free next summer, it may be a price worth paying if it helps them manage their workload. There is still doubt over the future of Eberechi Eze however, with Spurs circling around the player, and Crystal Palace could potentially find themselves as outside bets in a relegation battle should things go awry for the Eagles.
Marc Guehi is likely to stay at Crystal Palace and leave on a free transfer next summer 🚨
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 13, 2025
Liverpool have held talks about signing Guehi but at the moment there is a gap in valuation 💰 pic.twitter.com/gnMHj2QX4S
16th: Sunderland
And another promoted team (hopefully) survives the drop. The Black Cats will be excited for their Premier League return, marking their first season in the division since 2016/17. The Stadium of Light will be a challenging place to go for any Premier League team this year, and Sunderland have tried to ensure that that is not just because of their fanbase, being one of the most active teams in the transfer market. They have brought in a number of quality, experienced players, including former Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka, who was named club captain today, and club record signing Habib Diarra. Life will not be easy for the club, as previous promoted teams have discovered over the past two seasons, but I think they will have enough not only to avoid relegation, but perhaps even to do so with a game or two to spare.
17th: West Ham
West Ham have not had a brilliant time since they won the Conference League under David Moyes, and unfortunately I don’t see much improvement for the club on the horizon. The loss of Mohamed Kudus will perhaps not sting as much as it might have, with the player coming off the back of an underwhelming campaign, but it feels to me that the Hammers are sleepwalking somewhat. The signings of Jean-Clair Todibo and El Hadji Malick Diouf are decent, but I don’t see them raising the teams level massively. Adding this to the fact that Spurs and Man United will improve, and the higher level of the promoted teams this season than the previous two, and West Ham are in real danger of a relegation fight that could see them fighting until the last.
18th: Brentford
At once a surprising and yet wholly unoriginal take, Brentford have seen a very difficult window where they lost many key figures, including long-term manager Thomas Frank and star forward Bryan Mbeumo. The Bees seem to be coming to the end of a cycle, and unless set piece coach-turned manager Keith Andrews shows an immediate ability to step up to the plate and fill the shoes of Frank, it will be a very difficult season indeed.
19th: Wolves
Wolves are another team like West Ham and Brentford that seem to just be sleepwalking down the table, with the difference being that Wolves already found themselves near the bottom of the table last season, finishing 16th. The losses of Rayan Aït-Nouri and Matheus Cunha, two star players for the club, will be almost impossible to compensate for, and the new manager bounce brought by Vitor Pereira will not be able to endure the entirety of a season. 40 points is the traditional marker for a team to ensure their survival, and Wolves hit 42 last year. I can only envisage a significant drop off from that, and so I cannot look past them as relegation candidates.
You really shouldn't have but in case you missed it...
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) June 22, 2025
Watch our first interview with Matheus Cunha now ⤵️#MUFC
20th: Burnley
The fun of the promoted teams had to end somewhere, and unfortunately I think Burnley will not have enough yet again. Coming straight back up from a relegation can often be a poisoned apple, with the club setting into a pattern of being a ‘yo-yo club.’ And unfortunately for Burnley, yo-yos are more likely to snap heading downwards than upwards. The loss of keeper James Trafford will be a massive blow, and as someone who watched as Kyle Walker imploded last season I do not see him being of much help to the club in his current state. They have taken a few players from Chelsea, as well as Marcus Edwards from Sporting, but I just cannot see how they make any real headway in the league this year. They will be much better than Southampton were last season, but beyond that there will be very little comfort for Burnley fans come May.
Conclusion
Of course, given the format, I am almost guaranteed to be wrong in a number of places. But I have tried to be fair and to consider each clubs situation. I look forward to seeing all my mistakes in May, as the Premier League always provides at least a couple of surprised up and down the table.
