Share 
It didn’t come home for England, but the Three Lions’ third-place finish in the World Cup was an incredible run … and it gave multiple Premier League players a showcase, highlighting a super summer for players now returning to the world’s biggest league.
Of course, it’s not just English players in the Premier League, as the league has been truly global in its scope and where it draws its talent. Arsenal’s Mikel Merino and Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martínez found themselves as opposite sides of the tournament’s epic extended final, while Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, Manchester United’s Matheus Cunha, and Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo all wrote themselves into the tournament narrative as Norway, Brazil, and Netherlands found their way into the knockout rounds while falling short.
For this year’s campaign, 19 teams will look to unseat title holders Arsenal, who weathered injuries and the weight of past seasons fallen just short to win the league for the first time in more than two decades. Arsenal comes back with most of its squad intact and is actively trying to replace its biggest departure, while Manchester City enters its post-Pep era, Liverpool looks to break back into the top four after a fifth-place finish last season, and Europa League champions Aston Villa look to retain its top-four status.
With an exciting season in store, here’s how we think it will shake out.
2026-27 Premier League Winner Odds
Arsenal returns with most of its title-winning squad intact, and although Leandro Trossard has left, new Gunners Bruno Guimarães and Christos Tzolis will contribute, though Tzolis is something of a consolation prize given the front office aimed for both Morgan Rogers and Vinícius Júnior — with the latter move having the potential to make Arsenal Champions League favorites as well as Premier League favorites. While there might be one big move left to bolster the club at winger — both Arsenal and Liverpool are reportedly pursuing French speedster Bradley Barcola from a loaded PSG team — they look like the team to beat.
Meanwhile, Manchester City returns Haaland, Jérémy Doku, and Nico O’Reilly to highlight a typically stacked squad that’s had its share of ins and outs this window. One talismanic midfielder, Bernardo Silva, has left, and another, World Cup Golden Ball winner Rodri, could be headed to Barcelona in a transfer saga that could shift the balance of power in Champions League, La Liga, and the Premier League. But the biggest exit of all is arguably head coach Pep Guardiola, with Enzo Maresca stepping into Pep’s spot.
Other realistic title challengers include Liverpool, Manchester United, and a somewhat surprising Aston Villa looking good enough to retain its spot among the five best teams in the league. As the transfer market shuffle continues, keep an eye on whether Bradley Barcola ends up at Liverpool — if he does, that could be enough to make the title race between the Reds and the Gunners.
Though Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur likely won’t be in the championship chase, look for them to bounce back from disastrous campaigns last season to secure Europa League places. That would be especially relieving for Spurs fans, who saw their team come perilously close to relegation last season. (That made last season all the more magical for Arsenal fans.) Newcastle, Brighton, and Bournemouth look most likely to round out the top half.
Bet: Arsenal
2026-27 La Liga To Be Relegated Odds
Look for two of the three teams that were promoted to go right back down.
Hull City found themselves incredibly fortunate to qualify for the promotion playoffs last year, and then scored in stoppage time in the match that elevated them back into the Premier League. They’ve invested considerable money into shoring up a leaky back line, which included young Australian center back Lucas Harrington from MLS’ Colorado Rapids and young Senegalese center back Nobel Mendy from Rayo Vallecano. But it is traditionally challenging for newly promoted teams to stay up in the Premier League, and Hull’s entry into the league is perhaps the most fraught with doubt of any in recent memory.
For Ipswich, the big story heading into the season is the transition from manager Kieran McKenna — who perplexingly stepped away from soccer after leading the Tractor Boys to two straight promotions from League One to the Prem — to Gary O’Neil, a relegation battle specialist who could impose a more cautious style on the team. Incoming talent includes Issa Diop, who raised his profile with Morocco’s second straight deep World Cup run (again stopped by France), young Brazilian striker Emersonn, and midfielder Saša Lukić, who migrated from Fulham. But Ipswich, like Hull, only had a summer to stock up to face the likes of Arsenal and City.
Coventry City, managed by Frank Lampard and featuring American striker Haji Wright, could be the one team to survive the first season back in the Prem. It won’t be easy to start — as the Sky Blues start their season away at Arsenal, before getting a brief respite hosting Hull, and then away at City — but if they can weather those early storms, they could do enough to stay ahead of either Sunderland (despite Brian Brobbey and Granit Xhaka coming off solid World Cup performances, but with little reinforcement happening in the transfer window) or Fulham (with new manager Álvaro Arbeloa replacing the reliable Marco Silva).
Bet: Ipswich
2026-27 La Liga Top Goalscorer Odds
We’ll make this easy. Erling Haaland.
Haaland won the Golden Boot last year with 27 goals, five ahead of Brentford’s Ivan Thiago, and there’s (almost) no reason to doubt he’ll repeat. City might be reshuffling its midfield, but as long as balls find their way to the big Norwegian striker, he’ll finish them.
Arsenal doesn’t have one set goalscorer in the way that City does with Haaland; Viktor Gyökeres is the closest thing the reigning champions have to a target striker, but Arsenal’s more likely to score off a set piece or with Bukayo Saka romping down the right wing.
In fact, it’s more likely that Gyökeres’ Swedish teammate, Liverpool’s Alexander Isak, is Haaland’s biggest challenger for the trophy. Isak showed during the World Cup that he’d recovered from the fibula fracture that cut short his debut season with Liverpool. The stars could be aligning for him to return to the 23-goal form of his ‘24-’25 season with Newcastle that made him so enticing to the Reds.
The one thing you might worry about with Haaland — where will the service come from? Man City has capable players around Haaland who certainly can get him the ball, but this past Sunday’s Community Shield loss to Arsenal highlighted the Rodri-sized hole that’s suddenly developed in the middle of the park for the Citizens. The s
If you’re looking for additional dark horse candidates, Chelsea’s João Pedro and Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins could challenge the aforementioned players. But with Haaland capable of putting up 30 goals this season, and being durable enough to avoid serious injury (playing at least 31 of 38 Premier League matches the prior four seasons), the odds reflect what’s likely to happen.
Bet: Haaland
2026-27 Premier League Final Table Prediction
- Arsenal (28-5-5) 89
- Man City (26-7-5) 85
- Liverpool (24-7-7) 79
- Man United (24-6-8) 78
- Aston Villa (23-7-8) 76
- Chelsea (20-10-8) 70
- Tottenham (17-14-7) 65
- Newcastle (16-8-14) 56
- Brighton (14-8-16) 50
- Bournemouth (12-13-13) 49
- Nottingham Forest (12-10-16) 46
- Everton (11-10-17) 43
- Crystal Palace (10-10-18) 40
- Brentford (10-10-18) 40
- Leeds (10-9-19) 39
- Fulham (10-8-20) 38
- Coventry City (8-12-18) 36
- Sunderland (8-9-21) 33
- Ipswich (5-7-26) 22
- Hull City (3-8-27) 17
After looking decisive in beating Man City in the Community Shield match this past weekend, Arsenal starts the season hosting newly-promoted Coventry, then hosting Aston Villa in an enticing matchup on Aug. 31, hosting Chelsea Sept. 6, then go to Sunderland and Brighton before hosting Leeds. It’s not the easiest start to the season, but there are enough favorable matchups to point the Gunners in the right direction.
Though a late-season loss to City wasn’t enough to derail Arsenal’s title chances, it did unsettle them quite a bit. If you’re looking for those marquee matchups, those happen on Nov. 28 (with Arsenal hosting) and on Jan. 30. 2027 (with City hosting) — without the power to transform the race late in the season.
After the May 1 match hosting Spurs, the last four Arsenal play are against projected mid-table teams. City, meanwhile, hosts Liverpool on May 8 for a match that could have title ramifications, though City also hosts Ipswich and is away at Sunderland as part of its final three, so there’s potential for the Citizens to deal two relegation death blows.
Speaking of relegation, Hull City have a few late-season matches that could be relegation six-pointers (hosting Coventry City on April 17, the same day Fulham hosts Sunderland, and hosting Fulham on May 15), while Ipswich face Sunderland away on April 10 and travel to Fulham on May 8.
Liverpool will figure into the title race, and its match at City on May 8 could be one of the more decisive end-of-season matches. Liverpool also has an eventful November that includes hosting Arsenal on Nov. 1, hosting Manchester United on Nov. 21, and traveling to rivals Everton on Nov. 28.
Top Options For EPL Trading
Sign Up & Unlock Your Offer at FanDuel Predicts
Make Predictions on Real World Events Right in Your Phone
Trade on Sports to Culture, Financials, Crypto and More
Sign Up & Unlock Your Offer at FanDuel Predicts
Make Predictions on Real World Events Right in Your Phone
Trade on Sports to Culture, Financials, Crypto and More
Deposit $10, Get a $20 Trading Bonus
Live Trade with the Biggest Payouts at the Largest Prediction Market in the World
Use Bonus Code: LINEUPS
Deposit $10, Get a $20 Trading Bonus
Live Trade with the Biggest Payouts at the Largest Prediction Market in the World
Use Bonus Code: LINEUPS
America's #1 Sports Prediction Market
Same Sports Moments, Bigger Payouts
Choose from Straights, Player Props, Parlays & More
Use Exclusive Code: LINEUPS
America's #1 Sports Prediction Market
Same Sports Moments, Bigger Payouts
Choose from Straights, Player Props, Parlays & More
Use Exclusive Code: LINEUPS
Huge Range of CFTC-Approved Markets (Sports, Tech, and More)
Compete with Others & Climb the Leaderboards
No User Limiting on Trades
Huge Range of CFTC-Approved Markets (Sports, Tech, and More)
Compete with Others & Climb the Leaderboards
No User Limiting on Trades
Complete a Task in the Crypto.com App to Unlock up to 1 Bitcoin Worth of CRO Rewards
America’s All-In-One Trading Platform
Manage Your Crypto, Stocks, Predictions & Card Spend Seamlessly
Complete a Task in the Crypto.com App to Unlock up to 1 Bitcoin Worth of CRO Rewards
America’s All-In-One Trading Platform
Manage Your Crypto, Stocks, Predictions & Card Spend Seamlessly
Get $150 in Bonuses Paid Over 14 Days
DraftKings is Now Available Nationwide
Browse Markets like Sports, Crypto, Tech & More
Get $150 in Bonuses Paid Over 14 Days
DraftKings is Now Available Nationwide
Browse Markets like Sports, Crypto, Tech & More
Photo Credit: REUTERS
