2025-26
Pre-Season Overview
A new season is upon us with all the high hopes and enthusiasm that are always felt at the beginning of each campaign. I have given my predictions for each team below and they are a general overview. At the top end of the Table we have the usual suspects: Liverpool and Manchester City and some people may even say Arsenal (but not me).
Liverpool have been strengthening their team after winning the League at a canter last year. The tragic demise of Diego Jota ( I’m not going to go into the details here, look it up if you must) was a shock but some high-profile signings have given them an excellent chance of repeating last year’s performance. Their chances will increase dramatically if they can reach an agreement on Alexander Isak from Newcastle.
Manchester City’s mid-season slump destroyed any hopes they had for a meaningful challenge for the Title but they also have been shoring up their squad. Losing Kevin De Bruyne and others would put most teams back but Pep Gaurdiola, in what may well be his last season in Manchester, should finish his tenure with a bang. Arsenal will finally have a bona-fide #9 but I don’t think that will be enough to seriously challenge the other two contenders. So for me Liverpool should repeat, City could give them a run for their money but finish second and Arsenal in 3rd or 4th place.
At the other end of the pack the obvious candidates to go down are the three newcomers, Sunderland, Burnley and Leeds. Sunderland have spent a small fortune grabbing players left and right. Burnley’s defense is almost impenetrable, but they just lost their goalkeeper and Leeds were the top goal scorers by far, 95 goals, in last year’s Championship League. The thing is if any of these three manage to climb the Table someone has to take the fall. There are quite a few teams that fit that category. Wolverhampton have sold most of their best players, not that they had much to sell in the first place. Everton show no real new acquisitions of note and exhibit all the signs of their yearly dance with relegation. If Crystal Palace lose their two best players, Eze, Guehi, they could be in trouble and Brentford have decimated their team. First losing the Manager, Thomas Frank to Tottenham, then top scorer Bryan Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa, Christain Norgaard etc, etc. An honorable mention should also go to West Ham who if they don’t get their act together pretty quickly could be looking at a long, hard and disappointing season.
In the middle of the pack we have the likes of Manchester United and Tottenham. They both had a season they would rather forget but both of them have been very active in the market to ensure that that doesn’t happen twice. Tottenham have a new manager who they seem to change as often as most people change their socks and if all else fails United have historic traditions that might save them (not sure how that works to be honest). Newcastle, Aston Villa and Brighton will challenge the top dogs along with Chelsea who seem to be just on the cusp of greatness but ultimately falling short. That just leaves the filler teams Nottingham, Bournemouth and Fulham. Nottingham have had their moment in the sun and will fall a few spots to finish in the middle of the Table where they will be in the company of the other two teams.
Well, that’s it for me. I don’t expect to get everything right, there are always surprises, but that’s the way I see this next season shapin.