Updated Aug. 21, 2026, 6:50 a.m. ET
The Premier League is back, as the English top flight kicks off the 2026-27 season on Friday, Aug. 21.
For the first time in 22 years, Arsenal enters the season looking to defend its title after the Gunners ended a long drought last season.
Though Arsenal will be favored to retain its title, there are a host of top sides who are aiming to challenge Mikel Arteta’s men this season.
There is also plenty of intrigue at the other end of the table, as well as across the entire division.
Here are five of the biggest questions we have entering the new Premier League season.
Can anybody stop Arsenal?
After three consecutive runner-up finishes, Mikel Arteta’s side finally got over the hump last season, winning the league for the first time in 22 years. Now Arsenal look exceedingly well-placed to repeat.
For one, the Gunners have only strengthened ahead of this season. Bruno Guimarães and Christos Tzolis look like great additions, while only Leandro Trossard can be considered a core player departing.
In addition, all of Arsenal’s title challengers carry huge question marks. Manchester City, the biggest thorn in Arsenal’s side in recent seasons, saw longtime coach Pep Guardiola and star midfielder Rodri depart. Liverpool is under new management again. So too is Chelsea, which barely finished in the top half of the table last season. Manchester United also has question marks at manager. It appears to be Arsenal’s title to lose.
How will Man City fare after Guardiola?
For the first time in 10 years, Manchester City will open a season without Guardiola as manager. The legendary Spaniard departed after last season having won 20 major trophies during his time in charge.
In Guardiola’s place comes his former assistant Enzo Maresca, who inherits a team filled with stars but in the midst of a generational change after also losing foundational players like Rodri, John Stones and Bernardo Silva.
Though Guardiola has to be credited for much of City’s success over the past decade, the club is also one of the richest in the world and has amassed a squad of elite talent. Can Maresca pick up where his predecessor left off?
Can Xabi Alonso stop the rot at Chelsea?
Despite a massive amount of investment, Chelsea has not managed to finish higher than fourth since BlueCo took over as owners in 2022. Last season saw Chelsea sink all the way to 10th in another disappointing campaign.
But the Blues pulled off something of a coup by hiring Xabi Alonso as the club’s fourth manager of 2026. Alonso established himself as one of Europe’s best young managers while winning the Bundesliga at Bayer Leverkusen. A rough half-season at Real Madrid didn’t do much to damage his reputation.
As usual, Chelsea has a massive squad and as usual, it is full of talent. Alonso may be the man to finally get the best out of the Blues.
Can the promoted sides survive?
After all three promoted teams went down in back-to-back campaigns, last season saw some pleasant surprises in the form of Sunderland (seventh place) and Leeds (14th). So how will newcomers Hull City, Coventry City and Ipswich Town fare?
If there is any team that will be lucky to survive, it is Hull City. Somehow the Tigers achieved promotion despite finishing 23rd out of 24 Championship teams by expected goal difference last season. They likely will need that luck again to avoid a swift return to the second tier.
Coventry is back in the Premier League for the first time in 25 years, led by manager Frank Lampard. Unlike Hull, the Sky Blues dominated the Championship last year and fully deserved their promotion, but they’ll need some of their key players from last season to step up while seamlessly blending new signings like Caleb Yirenkyi and Taiwo Awoniyi.
Ipswich bounced straight back after being relegated in 2024-25. But without inspirational manager Kieran McKenna, the Tractor Boys will face a major challenge to stay up.
Will the ‘meat wall’ era end?
It was a common sight across the Premier League last season: Players would crowd together in the six-yard box ahead of a corner kick, pushing and shoving as they jostled for position. The so-called “meat wall” led to set pieces accounting for 25.7% of the league’s goals, the highest across Europe’s top divisions.
Arsenal in particular took advantage of this hack, scoring a league-high 25 goals off set pieces en route to the title. But the Premier League is looking to crack down on the tactic this year, instructing referees to focus on holding tactics that don’t belong on a soccer field. How will teams adjust?
Premier League predictions
- Arsenal
- Manchester City
- Liverpool
- Chelsea
- Manchester United
- Aston Villa
- Brighton
- Tottenham
- Everton
- Nottingham Forest
- Newcastle
- Bournemouth
- Brentford
- Crystal Palace
- Leeds
- Sunderland
- Fulham
- Coventry City
- Ipswich Town
- Hull City
