One of the most exciting elements of the last three Premier League seasons has been that each year saw a new challenger for European qualification upset the traditional ‘Big 6.’ Newcastle broke through in 2023, finishing 4th to qualify for the Champions League, a feat they repeated last season. Aston Villa followed them up in 2024, also finishing 4th. And last season, Nottingham Forest spent much of the season in the top 5 and only narrowly missed out, instead qualifying for the Europa League as a result of Crystal Palace’s expulsion to the Conference League. What team might upset the status quo in the race for Europe this season?
Crystal Palace
As a team that have qualified for Europe, albeit via the FA Cup, Crystal Palace will be hoping that their success last season can propel them on to greater heights despite being demoted out of the Europa League, as confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Monday. Oliver Glasner’s men started the season last Sunday, winning yet more silverware as they turned over Premier League holders Liverpool on penalties in the Community Shield. Despite this, a lack of incomings means that Palace will need to show that their form in the latter half of last season was their level under Glasner, and not a peak fuelled by the possibility of winning a trophy. They will also have to hold on to key players like Eberechi Eze, and weather the storm of losing a key player in Marc Guéhi, who is all but confirmed to be leaving this summer ahead of his contract expiring next season. It could be a challenging season, but success could potentially see Palace push themselves further up the table than they have been in a long time.
Brighton
Also pushing for the European places will be Palace’s bitter rivals Brighton, who will be hoping to go a few places higher than their 8th place finish under young manager Fabian Hürzeler. Brighton qualified for Europe in 2023 under Roberto De Zerbi, but have not made a return to the continent since. They have lost Pervis Estupiñán and João Pedro this window, but they are a team accustomed to losing players and relative to previous years, they probably have less work to do to maintain their position. Signings like Maxim De Cuyper from Club Brugge and 18 year old Greek forward Charalampos Kostoulas display their continued attempts to find talent where other Premier League clubs are not looking. If their signings work as they often do for the Seagulls, and if Hürzeler can improve now that he is more adjusted to the demands of the Premier League, Brighton could easily find themselves pushing up the table and back into Europe.
Bournemouth
Despite only finishing 9th last season, Bournemouth’s players have been wanted by Europe’s elite this summer. Dean Huijsen made the switch to Real Madrid, Illia Zabarnyi is heading to Paris, and Milos Kerkez was brought in by champions Liverpool. Andoni Iraola will be hoping to develop on what was a very promising season last year, where Bournemouth found numerous big results such as their incredible double over Arsenal in the league and their early season victory against then reigning champions Manchester City. What the Cherries will need to do is find a balance against teams lower down the table; last season they dropped points against struggling Manchester United and Spurs sides, as well as losing to relegated Ipswich and Leicester. If Bournemouth can find a way to win the games they are expected to consistently, there is a very high ceiling for a team that has already shown they can match with the league's best.
Some business 💰👏
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) August 12, 2025
Bournemouth have made over £90m profit from their sales of Milos Kerkez, Dean Huijsen and Illia Zabarnyi this summer. pic.twitter.com/N7PFTYYcKu
Conclusion
It is always hard to predict the European battle heading into the season, as teams that qualified the previous year will struggle with fixture congestion and teams that didn’t will be able to focus most of their efforts on the league. But I, like most Premier League fans, hope that this will be yet another year where a surprise package will upset the apple cart towards the top of the table and show that they are serious projects.
