The start of the 2025/26 Premier League season is right around the corner as the first game is set to take place on August 21st, when the defending champions Arsenal will take on newly promoted Coventry City. Before the season starts, let’s take a look at the power rankings I have made ahead of the upcoming campaign. Odds to win the Premier League are available on DraftKings Sportsbook.
1. Arsenal
Michael Carrick has been at Man United for less than a year. Roberto De Zerbi has been at Tottenham for less than a year. Enzo Maresca just started at Man City this summer, as well as Xabi Alonso at Chelsea and Andoni Iraola at Liverpool. The rest of the big six are trying to figure out who they are under their new managers, while things are stable at Arsenal. Mikel Arteta has been there since 2019. They are the defending champions and have finished either first or second in four straight seasons. This is largely the same group from a season ago, and they added Bruno Guimarães to bolster the midfield. Arsenal are the team to beat heading into the season.
2. Man City
Despite some key losses over the summer, Man City are still the second-best team in England for me. They still have Erling Haaland up top and creative players all over the pitch. It will be interesting to see how Enzo Maresca sets this team up this season, but I will bet that it will be similar to what Pep Guardiola has done in the past. Maresca has big shoes to fill; let’s see how the Citizens fare in 2026/27.
3. Liverpool
The Reds are coming off a season to forget. Their defense of the Premier League did not go as planned, finishing fifth and that resulted in manager Arne Slot leaving the club. In comes Andoni Iraola after doing a fantastic job at Bournemouth. I think the Reds will be better than last season, but I’m not sure they have enough firepower up top to compete for the title. CB Jérémy Jacquet and LW Víctor Muñoz are the two big additions they have made this summer, but both were bought based on potential instead of output. It will largely be the same team that had a tough season a year ago, minus Mo Salah.
4. Man United
I was tempted to put them in third ahead of Liverpool, but I still am not convinced by the Red Devils. Michael Carrick did an incredible job last season to stabilize the club and get them into third place and ultimately back in the Champions League. The problem they will have this season is many more games. United exited both cup competitions early last season and were not in Europe. They essentially had one game a week for the majority of the season. Now their schedule will be much more hectic, which will force Carrick to use his squad depth more. I think this will be an adjustment for United, but I still have them in the top four teams at the moment.
5. Chelsea
The Blues are fifth in my power rankings. They have the opposite problem of Man United this season, as Chelsea will not be in Europe and can solely focus on domestic games. Xabi Alonso comes in as the new manager and I honestly have no idea what to expect. The carousel of transfers coming in and out of the club in recent years makes Chelsea a tough team to predict. There is certainly a ton of talent in this group, but not a ton of proven Premier League players who are guaranteed to produce outside of Moises Caicedo, Cole Palmer and João Pedro. Enzo Fernandez could be included in that group but it remains to be seen if he will stay at the club in this transfer window.
6. Aston Villa
Unai Emery continues to prove himself as one of the best managers in Europe. He secured fourth place for the Villans a year ago, along with a Europa League trophy. Aston Villa looked good in the Super Cup final against PSG, despite losing 2-1. That gives me hope that they will be competitive once again in 2026/27. They lost Morgan Rogers to Chelsea but Villa continue to do well in the transfer market, finding good value players who produce right away. They also brought in Alejandro Garnacho on loan, which could either be a genius move or a disaster. If there’s one coach you want to manage someone like Garnacho, it’s Emery.
7. Tottenham
This might be high for a team who finished 17th last season, but Roberto De Zerbi seemed to have settled things down at the end of last season and hopefully will continue to do that in the upcoming campaign. The pressure is essentially off for him, as the bar is low after barely escaping relegation. I would expect Tottenham to be in the hunt for a UCL or Europa League place this season, but let’s see what happens. They have made some quality additions with Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes and Jan Paul van Hecke all costing at least 60 million euros a piece.
8. Brentford
Keith Andrews did a terrific job with the Bees in his first season in charge, narrowly missing out on European football on goal difference. I think they will take another step forward in 2026 and have all the tools to secure a European spot this time around. Their style of play is incredibly hard to play against, with long balls and set pieces being the forefront of their plan of attack.
9. Brighton
Similar to Brentford, Brighton are a team slightly above mid-table that are stable and you know what you’re going to get from them. I fancy Fabian Hürzeler as one of the best coaches in the game, someone who is always able to get more out of his team than what’s available. The big question for the Seagulls will be replacing Danny Welbeck, who went to Chelsea. Other than that, this is largely the same team as a year ago and I expect them to be there or thereabouts in the race for European football.
10. Bournemouth
The Cherries finished sixth a season ago, but the problem for them is they lost their manager to Liverpool. Still, this is a team filled with talent across the board. I expect them to have a slight drop off this season, but in my opinion they are still a top 10 team in England.
Rankings 11-20
11. Newcastle
12. Fulham
13. Everton
14. Sunderland
15. Leeds
17. Crystal Palace
18. Coventry City
19. Ipswich Town
20. Hull City
