The 2026/27 Premier League season has all the ingredients to be one of the best for years as Arsenal look to fend off a glut of challengers for the trophy they lifted in May.
Manchester City and Liverpool are under new management as they seek to overhaul the Gunners, while there is a real mood of optimism at Manchester United and Chelsea as well.
We could be poised for a Premier League title race to remember while Sunderland's astonishing European qualification shows promoted clubs Coventry City, Ipswich Town and Hull City that dreams can become a reality.
Premier League Tips and Predictions
Outright Prediction: Arsenal to Win Outright (6/4)
Alternative Tip: Chelsea to Finish in Top Four (10/11)
Dark Horse Tip: Everton to Finish In Top Six (6/1)
Premier League Outright Prediction
Arsenal to Win Outright (6/4)
Arsenal needed to show real courage to fend off Manchester City to win the title by seven points in May, and that self-belief could prove to be a critical ingredient going into their defence.
The Gunners had barely put a foot wrong until back-to-back defeats by Bournemouth and Manchester City saw Pep Guardiola's champions become favourites.
But Mikel Arteta's men rolled up their sleeves and duly won their next five games to leave City in their wake.
Arteta has stayed and that stability could be critical giving them possibly another edge over City, now minus Guardiola. It is also all change at Liverpool and Chelsea - and who knows if that is for the better.
Arsenal took plenty of unwarranted flak last season, all of it undeserved, which made the triumph taste all the sweeter.
The squad will surely be strengthened after their 63-game slog last term and look well equipped to go again.
Alternative Tip
Chelsea to Finish in Top Four (10/11)
Chelsea went through two different managers during a dismal 2025/26, a season that was supposed to return them to the map having won the Club World Cup last summer.
They were disjointed in so many ways - on and off the pitch - so the signing of ex-Leverkusen and Real Madrid boss Xabi Alonso looks like a real coup.
He, in turn, has made some eye-catching signings - notably England's Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa - and he could be the man who can spark some life out of Cole Palmer.
It's a big squad and it needs managing properly, but if it clicks they can make a mockery of their top-four odds. And no European distractions could be a real blessing.
Data-Led Premier League Predictions & Analytics
When diving deeper into potential outcomes, advanced metrics like xGF (expected goals for) and clean sheet percentage give a more predictive edge than headline form.
Here’s what the data tells us about the leading contenders:
Arsenal scored a league-high 29 goals from set-plays last season and conceded a league-low eight from set-pieces, giving them a crucial edge - but will the rest be ready for them in '26/27?
Man City had an xGA (expected goals against) of 49.2 yet conceded just 35 goals, surely confirmation that a world-class keeper - Gianluigi Donnarumma - can be transformational
Liverpool scored only five first-half away goals in 2025/26, leading only twice at half-time on their travels, a record that has to be improved under Iraola
Man United had a clean sheet percentage of just 21% last term - only three teams had lower - so they surely need to improve defensively to be a title factor
Dark Horses to Watch
It's 20/1 bar the front five and hard to make a case for any of Tottenham, Villa, Newcastle and beyond, certainly in the outright market.
If the last few seasons have told us anything, however, it is that top-six betting has become hugely interesting with Brighton and Bournemouth both going in recently and plenty of other clubs giving their backers a run.
Everton have had five seasons camped in the bottom half and look like the type to give the likes of Spurs and Newcastle a run for sixth.
David Moyes had Everton dreaming of Europe when they drubbed Chelsea 3-0 at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in March only for their season to tail off.
Now, more comfortable at their new home and still an awkward team to play against, they can keep tabs on the top six from the start.
Premier League Favourites
Arsenal, having ended a 22-year wait to lift the Premier League trophy, are 6/4 to be doing it again next May and become the fourth different club to go back-to-back.
The challengers are the usual suspects with Manchester City, now with Enzo Maresca at the helm following Pep Guardiola's resignation, priced at 11/4 followed by Andoni Iraola's Liverpool at 5/1.
Manchester United are 6/1 after they impressed last term under Michael Carrick, while Chelsea are available at 9/1.
Top Goalscorer Favourites
Erling Haaland scored 27 league goals last season to win his third Golden Boot in four years and the Manchester City frontman is 4/6 to make that four in five seasons.
Haaland is back from an impressive World Cup where he scored seven goals for Norway - three more than any other Premier League player - and the odds suggest he is going to be hard to catch.
Liverpool's Alexander Isak is 9/1 and needs an injury-free season while Igor Thiago at Brentford, second behind Haaland last season on 22 goals, is 10/1.
Thiago's Brazilian compatriot Joao Pedro of Chelsea is 16/1 with England and Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins between the pair of them at 14/1.
Read more football betting tips and predictions on site.
Who Wins the Premier League?
The transfer window has yet to reveal too many coups but they are coming and could easily alter the look of the title race.
As it stands, it's hard to see Manchester City with Erling Haaland leading the line being far away and Manchester United were improvers last term.
The market says Liverpool can put aside a relatively weak campaign under Arne Slot and mark life without Mohamed Salah by mounting a challenge with Chelsea surely improving on last term's terrible 10th place.
But Arsenal are the team to catch with Greek striker Christos Tzolis the first new arrival into a group brimming with talent and confidence.
Opening Weekend Fixtures
Date | Fixture |
|---|---|
Friday 21st August | Arsenal v Coventry |
Saturday 22nd August | Hull City v Manchester United |
Saturday 22nd August | Everton v Crystal Palace |
Saturday 22nd August | Ipswich v Sunderland |
Saturday 22nd August | Nottingham Forest v Leeds |
Saturday 22nd August | Brentford v Tottenham |
Sunday 23rd August | Brighton v Aston Villa |
Sunday 23rd August | Manchester City v Bournemouth |
Sunday 23rd August | Newcastle v Liverpool |
Monday 24th August | Fulham v Chelsea |
Frank Lampard's prize for guiding Coventry City back to the Premier League after a 25-year absence is an opening night trip to the champions.
Arsenal and Coventry kick off a fascinating four-day fixture card when they meet at The Emirates on Friday 21st August.
The other newly-promoted sides - Hull City and Ipswich Town - take centre stage on the following day. Hull welcome Manchester United to the MKM Stadium live on TV before Ipswich entertain Sunderland.
Newcastle versus Liverpool tops the bill on Sunday with a West London derby between Fulham and Chelsea bringing the first round of fixtures to a close on Monday 24th August.
This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
