Predicting the final Premier League table in 2025/26

Still early days

The new Premier League season may feel far off, but clubs are already busy shaping their squads for the challenges ahead. With transfer activity in full swing and pre-season preparations still some way off, now seems like the perfect moment to take a stab at where each team might finish once all 38 matches have been played.

20th: Sunderland

Sunderland won a dramatic playoff final to make it back into the Premier League for the first time in nearly a decade. Given they finished 24 points behind Leeds and Burnley, and we expect those teams to struggle, this could be a short trip back to England's top flight.

18th: Burnley

Maybe he has improved since his previous stints managing in the Premier League, but we have seen Scott Parker fail with two teams in the top division. Turf Moor is never an easy place to go for a visiting side; we just don't think they'll have enough to survive.

17th: Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolves struggled for much of this past season, and now, having lost Matheus Cunha to Manchester United and Rayan Aït-Nouri to Manchester City, are there many genuinely good players left in that squad?

16th: Everton

Everton have lost a host of players to expiring contracts, so they will need to make some smart signings if they want to improve on their current position near the bottom of the table next year.

15th: West Ham

You could easily imagine a world in which West Ham finish near the bottom of the table once again. It wholly depends on whether Graham Potter is able to implement his system quickly, and well enough, to have the sort of success he had with Brighton.

14th: Brentford

Having lost manager Thomas Frank and replaced him with a relatively unknown figure in Keith Andrews, Brentford are likely to struggle this year. Bryan Mbeumo has one foot out the door, too, having contributed 20 goals last campaign, per Transfermarkt. He won't be easy to replace, either.

13th: Bournemouth

Bournemouth are another team whose star assets are being picked off by bigger clubs, with Dean Huijsen already going to Real Madrid and Milos Kerkez signing for Liverpool. It's the nature of the sport, but it must be incredibly frustrating for these teams to see their best players move on after they start to build something.

12th: Fulham

Do we really think this Fulham squad has more than a mid-table finish in it? In our eyes, no. It's not a bad team, and they'll get some results against the big boys; it's just not an especially good one either.

11th: Crystal Palace

The FA Cup winners face a battle to hold onto their manager and Eberechi Eze this summer. If they do, another solid mid-table finish is to be expected. Without those two, it could be a difficult season for the South Londoners.

10th: Manchester United

As it stands, this Manchester United squad just isn't very good. It has some good players in it, namely Bruno Fernandes, and it also has some who need to be moved on. Ruben Amorim needs to be given a chance to turn things around – it's going to take them more than one transfer window, but the addition of Matheus Cunha (15 goals and six assists last year) should seriously bolster their attacking flair.

8th: Nottingham Forest

After struggling at the tail-end of the season, plus Morgan Gibbs-White and Anthony Elanga appearing on the radar of many of the big clubs, Nottingham Forest will struggle to finish as high as they did this season. Adding European football to an already hectic schedule could also cost them.

7th: Tottenham Hotspur

With Ange Postecoglou moving on and Thomas Frank coming in, you'd fancy Spurs to improve rapidly next season. Champions League football will help them in the transfer market, where they need to spend if they want to compete.

6th: Aston Villa

Aston Villa were, arguably, robbed of Champions League football by one errant whistle in their final game against Manchester United. That could be a huge swing for the club, with rumours now suggesting they will need to sell at least one big-name player to balance the books.

5th: Chelsea

Even with all the money Chelsea has spent over the past couple of years, they still need to splash more cash this summer if they want to improve upon the season just gone. Enzo Maresca and his team snuck into the Champions League on the final day, which should not be good enough for a team with this level of investment.

4th: Newcastle

Newcastle were inconsistent for much of the 24/25 campaign and will be hoping to be more settled next season. Keeping hold of both Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon will be key to their ambitions.

3rd: Arsenal

We all know the signings Arsenal need to make in order to make the leap to winning trophies, and yet they seem to be still investing in all the wrong areas. If they bring in a forward, and they hit the ground running, that could be a game-changer. But that's a big if.

2nd: Manchester City

There's no way that City will be as bad as they were last season. Sure, they need to replace Kevin De Bruyne and hope Rodri returns to somewhere near his best if they want to compete for a Premier League title next year, but they're already spending big. And you can never write off Pep...