Well, that was a heck of a season, wasn’t it? In the end, the 2025-26 Premier League story was one of long-overdue success (Arsenal winning a first title since 2003-04), dramatic near-misses (Tottenham avoiding relegation), underwhelming big clubs (Chelsea and Liverpool) and a stunning revival (Michael Carrick taking Manchester United into Europe). Plus, we said goodbye to a legend as Pep Guardiola stepped down after 10 incredible seasons in charge of Manchester City.
Now that the confetti has been settled and all the prizes handed out, let’s look ahead to next season — which kicks off Aug. 22, just over a month after the 2026 FIFA World Cup final — and make some bold predictions about what to expect. ESPN writers looked into their tarot cards and pulled out what they think will be next year’s big storylines before they happen.
With title pressure off their shoulders, Arsenal will be entertainers again
The end justified the means for Arsenal in the 2025-26 season. Any criticism of their style of play — prioritizing functionality over flair and relying on set pieces — could be repelled by the weight of history they were looking to overcome. After 22 years without a title, any way would do, but now that the Gunners have won the Premier League, the conversation changes. There will be more of an expectation that Arsenal entertain next season, unburdened by the pressure of past failures and emboldened by the golden crests on their shirtsleeves.
– Darke: Best, most disappointing PL XIs, 2025-26
– Olley: Inside Arsenal’s five-point plan to win the league
– Dawson: Premier League, Man City won’t be same after Pep
With Pep Guardiola gone from Manchester City, Arne Slot under huge pressure at Liverpool, Michael Carrick with a significant distance to make up at Manchester United and Xabi Alonso starting from scratch at Chelsea, Mikel Arteta is in pole position to assume City’s mantle and try to dominate the sport. To do so, they surely have to play in a more expansive, commanding style rather than relying on defensive resilience and one or two moments in the final third.
The weekly nerves at Emirates Stadium have been understandable given the long wait for the big prize, but teams that create dynasties rarely play that way for years on end. They become more authoritative and more commanding. That is the challenge ahead of Arsenal now. — James Olley
Liverpool will change their manager … eventually
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Moreno: Pep Guardiola has influenced the Premier League
Alejandro Moreno reflects on the impact of Pep Guardiola, highlighting how his style of play has influenced teams across the Premier League.
You probably don’t need a crystal ball to predict that Arne Slot will begin next season feeling the pressure at Liverpool. After winning the Premier League title at a canter in 2024-25, the Reds’ defense of their crown was hugely underwhelming, although their UEFA Champions League qualification was ultimately secured on the final day.
There have been plenty of mitigating factors behind Liverpool’s drop-off, and that is why the club hierarchy have remained behind Slot, who has suggested a lot of his team’s problems can be remedied in the transfer market. Certainly, there is lots of work needed on the squad this summer, and buying the right profile of player could even have Liverpool challenging for the title next term … but I’m not sure Slot will still be in charge by the end of the campaign.
The Dutchman deserves enormous credit for what he achieved last season, but he has lost support among so much of the fanbase that it is almost impossible to see him turning things around. There have been boos at Anfield on a number of occasions this past season, and when that happens, it feels like the end of the road for whoever is in the dugout.
If Liverpool start slowly, things could quickly get toxic. With no obvious successor available, the club’s decision-makers will certainly hope that is not the case. — Beth Lindop
Manchester City will reclaim their position atop the Premier League
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Nicol: Liverpool cannot succeed if players stop backing Slot
The ESPN FC panel debate whether Liverpool can remain successful under Arne Slot, suggesting that the club will not be able to move forward unless the squad back him.
Everyone is expecting a drop-off now that Guardiola has called it quits, but he’s leaving behind a very strong squad that doesn’t need a lot of work over the summer. Bernardo Silva needs to be replaced with a top-class midfielder, and they could target another right back; other than that, the pieces are there to challenge for the title.
There will be a lot of focus on Enzo Maresca because it didn’t go well for the managers who succeeded Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and Arsene Wenger at Arsenal. But Maresca knows the environment he’s stepping into at the Etihad Stadium, he has Premier League experience with Chelsea and crucially, he already has relationships with most of the City squad after working as Guardiola’s assistant in the past.
Other clubs will be looking at Guardiola’s departure as an opportunity. City, however, believe they have done everything they can to make the handover as smooth as possible, and that the relentless success of the Guardiola era can and will continue under Maresca. — Rob Dawson
Chelsea will challenge for the title, too
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Leboeuf: Chelsea need to ‘wake up’ ahead of Xabi Alonso’s arrival
Frank Leboeuf hopes Xabi Alonso can turn things around at Chelsea next season after finishing 10th in the Premier League.
The Premier League title race will be wide open next season. Arsenal are champions, but I don’t see them dominating as others have done, while City, United and Liverpool are all in various stages of transition. The same applies to Chelsea, but I believe they could be the team that emerges as genuine title challengers because the club hierarchy have made a smart decision by hiring Xabi Alonso as manager.
Chelsea were terrible this season in so many ways due to chopping and changing of the coach, with Maresca and Liam Rosenior both being fired. The players also let themselves down with too many erratic and inconsistent performances. However, Chelsea ultimately have some outstanding players. They have a team that can beat any opponent on its day, and with Alonso at the helm, they have the pedigree and experience to make an exceptional group of young players realize its potential.
Alonso will bring decisiveness, leadership and tactical organization to a team lacking all three this season. More than that, he will command the immediate respect of players who were skeptical (that’s a polite description) of Rosenior’s credentials.
Watch out for Chelsea as a surprise title challenger. — Mark Ogden
The Premier League will be back to its vintage best overall
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Dawson: Enzo Maresca would have a ‘golden ticket’ at Manchester City
Rob Dawson assesses Enzo Maresca’s potential arrival at Manchester City to replace Pep Guardiola.
Take nothing away from Arsenal this season, the best team by far in 2025-25, or Liverpool a year ago (they were also miles better than anyone else), but the past two Premier League campaigns were far from vintage across the board. Competitive, sure. Good quality? No. I feel like I should say, as a reminder, that a league can be competitive — we had the fewest points between third and 18th in Premier League history — and not at a very good level at the same time.
Top teams (bar the champions) underperformed, the football wasn’t great, the entertainment moments were too rare; overall, it was average. Next season, though, will be massively different.
Arsenal and Arteta will continue to grow and build; they should be stronger and better. Maresca will be great at Manchester City, who needed a change, and as Oggy says, Xabi Alonso will reboot Chelsea while Roberto De Zerbi will make Tottenham much better than this season’s chaos. I agree with Beth that Slot won’t last long next season (I would have sacked him already if it was down to me), and whoever comes next (please pick Andoni Iraola!) will do great.
I expect interesting things from Michael Carrick at Old Trafford, while Unai Emery will do Unai Emery things to keep Aston Villa competitive at the top. If you want to believe Sam below (and you don’t have to), Newcastle will be better as well. And if you like your Germans, then I reckon Fabian Hurzeler and Brighton will keep improving, and Marco Rose is actually a great replacement on paper for Iraola. Plus there are no reasons why David Moyes with Everton, Keith Andrews with Brentford and Regis Le Bris with Sunderland won’t kick on from very strong campaigns as well.
All of that means that we will finally have our real Premier League back next season, with top games, great tactical battles, excitement and enjoyment on a regular basis! — Julien Laurens
Newcastle will climb back into the top-five mix
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Newcastle played European soccer this season, and as a result struggled to maintain consistency and energy levels. It led to a bottom-half finish despite preseason dreams of really kicking on in 2025-26 in front of a Champions League backdrop.
This is pretty standard for Premier League teams whose identity is built upon intensity and energy, and especially on-brand for Eddie Howe, who has been toppled by this issue before. Playing consistent high-pressing football is extremely difficult when you have midweek commitments, as the calendar saps your energy reserves. If you don’t have any other “mode” of playing, you just sink.
Back in August, Howe was asked about this issue by reporters and insisted that he’d learned valuable lessons from the past, stating that he would tweak his approach to balance the schedule better this season — but whatever he tried, it didn’t work.
While that was bad news for 2025-26, leading to a fairly miserable campaign for long stretches, it probably bodes well for 2026-27: The Magpies were so poor they didn’t qualify for any of the European competitions, so they’ll have a much more shorter fixture list, will be able to attack every game with their trademark aggression and energy, and should prosper as a result. — Sam Tighe
Wrexham to complete their Premier League ascent
As always, it will be an unbelievably competitive Championship next season. There will be Burnley, Wolves and West Ham all looking to bounce back to the Premier League, while Southampton will feel they have a point to prove after Spygate saw them booted from the playoffs. There will always be a surprise package, too, while Birmingham City will surely continue flexing their financial muscles this summer.
All of which leads us to Wrexham, who finished one spot outside the playoffs this term. This summer is likely to be more evolution than the revolution they went through last season, but they already have proven class throughout the first team, and some subtle tweaks here and there should be enough to get them over the line next term, complete with their gleaming new Kop Stand.
As for other predictions: The fallout from Spygate will rumble on, next season is going to be about injury management with players shattered after the World Cup, Aston Villa will make a run in the Champions League, Arsenal will win the Premier League again, two of the promoted sides will stay up, and Kobbie Mainoo’s new midfield partnership with Elliot Anderson will see Manchester United finish second. — Tom Hamilton
