Premier League 2025/26 preview: can Liverpool establish dynasty at expense of Arsenal & Man City? | OneFootball

The 2025/26 Premier League season gets underway on Friday to kick off what will likely turn into yet another three-way fight for the league title.

Liverpool ended Manchester City’s four-year reign last term as Arne Slot became the seventh Premier League manager to win the trophy in their first season in charge.

After winning an unprecedented four consecutive Premier League titles, Pep Guardiola’s side had to settle for a dismal third place, while Arsenal finished runners-up for a third year on the spin.

Despite halting a 17-year title drought with an impressive Europa League triumph, Tottenham Hotspur slumped to a shocking 17th-place finish, while beaten finalists Manchester United fared slightly better in 15th.

Both teams are desperate for vast improvement in 2025/26 as we preview the upcoming Premier League campaign.

Title Favourites

Liverpool’s league victory last season was nothing short of emphatic. As such, they’re the leading candidates to go back-to-back for the first time in the Premier League era.

A heartbreaking loss of Diogo Jota has left an unfulfilling gap in the hearts of the Reds faithful. However, it will be an added motivation for the Anfield club to rally and push even harder for success this season.

Determined to follow Man City’s example and build a dynasty of their own, Liverpool broke the club’s transfer record by signing Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen for a reported fee of £100 million plus add-ons.

Widely considered among the world’s finest talents, Wirtz will join forces with Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz in attack, making the Reds’ unstoppable frontline even more formidable.

Jeremie Frimpong has arrived as a long-term replacement for Trent Alexander-Arnold, while Milos Kerkez should be the new first-choice left-back in Slot’s new-look line-up.

Despite significant personnel changes, Liverpool are exceptionally well-equipped and will be the team to beat.

Genuine Contenders

Can Mikel Arteta lead Arsenal to their first league title since Arsene Wenger’s ‘Invincibles’ is a million-dollar question.

After three successive second-place finishes, the Gunners have strengthened their squad with the arrivals of Kepa Arrizabalaga, Christian Norgaard, Noni Madueke and Martin Zubimendi.

However, Arteta’s men desperately lack a prolific goalscorer. Unless they sign Victor Gyokeres, they risk another campaign of near-misses and unfulfilled potential.

Unlike Arsenal, no one would dare to question Man City’s title pedigree, even though they’re coming off their first trophyless season since Guardiola’s maiden campaign at the Etihad Stadium.

The Cityzens have one of the best managers of all time and a star-studded squad, and after last season’s sobering experience, they will likely return hungrier than ever to stake their claim top of the Premier League table.

With Erling Braut Haaland leading the line, goals should not be an issue for Man City, while they can rely on newcomers Rayan Cherki and Tijjani Reijnders to shoulder the creative burden.

Top-Four Race

If there’s a side capable of disrupting the ‘natural order’ at the top, it’s Chelsea.

The reigning Europa Conference League holders continued to thrive under Enzo Maresca, as they hoisted the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup this summer.

Joao Pedro has seamlessly slotted into the new team. Cole Palmer’s standout showings in North America renewed the club’s optimism after the youngster’s rough patch in the second half of last season.

Liam Delap and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens will add to Chelsea’s firepower and further establish them as not just genuine top-four contenders but potential title dark horses.

Whether Man Utd and Tottenham can keep pace remains to be seen, especially after last season’s fiasco, but it would be disrespectful and naive to omit them from the list.

Like every year, Man Utd fans hope this could be their season, yet they would be well-advised not to hold their breath.

The Red Devils need an attacking leader, a goalscoring machine to reinvigorate their misfiring frontline, and expectations will be high for Matheus Cunha.

However, it’s hard to expect one man to turn around the team’s fortunes. Ruben Amorim will probably need a collective effort to restore United’s status among England’s elite.

Elsewhere, Ange Postecoglou lost his job despite delivering the first piece of silverware to Spurs since 2008, with ex-Brentford boss Thomas Frank taking over.

Spurs have been relatively quiet during the transfer window, with Mohammed Kudus remaining the only high-profile acquisition.

Whether he will be enough to re-establish Tottenham as top-four contenders remains uncertain.

Relegation Battle

Relegation places were all decided long before the end of the 2024/25 campaign, but that’s been a common theme in recent Premier League memory.

All three newly promoted clubs suffered the drop for the second season in a row, with Southampton barely avoiding the ignominy of recording the lowest point haul in the division’s history.

Burnley, Leeds United and Sunderland will try to change the narrative in 2025/26 and buck this trend. However, history is not on their side, and neither are the odds.

Uncontrolled summer spending may not save the promoted sides, as a third consecutive season in which all three promoted teams return immediately to the second tier could be on the cards.

This alarming pattern raises concerns about the growing gulf between the Premier League and the Championship, and it’s up to the hat-trick of promoted teams to stop the rot.

Golden Boot

Salah dominated all the charts last term. With 29 goals and 18 assists, he was the Premier League’s top scorer and leading provider.

As the Egyptian superstar turned 33 in June, it’s hard to expect another record-smashing campaign. However, it’s impossible to rule the four-time Golden Boot winner out of the race.

Only a handful of players have consistently been at Salah’s level, and Haaland is undoubtedly up there.

The Norwegian finished third last year with 22 goals after winning the awards in his first two Premier League seasons, including a record-breaking 2022/23 campaign.

Alexander Isak stood between the pair in 2024/25, and with Newcastle United setting the highest goals for the upcoming season, he should be in the mix.

It would be exciting to see if anyone can truly challenge these goalscoring giants this season.

Joao Pedro could be a surprise pick if his early life at Stamford Bridge is anything to go by.

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