Premier League 25/26 Season Handicap market released

Ahead of the new season, the ever-popular Season Handicap market was released for the 2025/26 Premier League.

bet365's Steve Freeth said: "Forget world-class players, wage bills and profit and sustainability, history has shown us that any of the 20 clubs can win the Premier League handicap, which why it’s so popular.

"Forest were the latest side to win with a significant head start following in the footsteps of Aston Villa +32, Brentford +46, West Ham +44 and Sheffield United +52 over the last six years with Liverpool +7 sandwiched in between them in 2022 and Manchester City being the last side to win off scratch in 2018.

"Furthermore, the top three teams in the table last season all had a start of 40 points or more (Brentford +42 & Fulham +42).

"Liverpool start on zero this season with Pep’s side and Arsenal both on +3 before a ball is kicked.

"Last season’s big underachievers Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are +21 & +22 respectively with current holders Forest on +32.

"Leeds are always popular and we anticipate support for them having given them +43, but I’ve got an inkling that Sunderland with 52 points could be the pick of the promoted sides with four each-way places up for grabs.”

For those new to the market, each team is assigned a points total which essentially acts as a head start for the season.

At the end of the campaign, each team’s handicap is added to their actual points total, and whoever finishes with the most points wins.

Keep in mind, the team you back must finish above all other teams after all handicaps have been added. See last season’s final table as an example below:

Team	Handicap	Points	Total
Nottingham Forest	47	65	112
Brentford	42	56	98
Fulham	42	54	96
Bournemouth	39	56	95
Liverpool	9	84	93
Brighton	32	61	93
Aston Villa	24	66	90
Everton	42	48	90
Crystal Palace	34	53	87
Newcastle	19	66	85
Chelsea	16	69	85
Wolves	42	42	84
West Ham	34	43	77
Leicester	51	25	76
Arsenal	2	74	76
Ipswich	50	22	72
Man City	0	71	71
Southampton	50	12	62
Man Utd	18	42	60
Tottenham	20	38	58

Anywhere around the mid-90s would typically be a strong season with 100+ usually required to win, but with a number of teams grossly underperforming three seasons ago, 100 wasn’t even enough for a place.

Previous winners

Season	Winner	Total points
2024/25	Nottingham Forest +47	112
2023/24	Aston Villa +32	100
2022/23	Brentford +46	105
2021/22	Liverpool +7	99
2020/21	West Ham +44	109
2019/20	Sheffield United +52	106
2018/19	Liverpool +6	103

Premier League 25/26 Season Handicap Odds

Team	Handicap	Odds
Liverpool	0	15/1
Manchester City	+3	15/1
Arsenal	+3	15/1
Chelsea	+12	15/1
Newcastle	+15	15/1
Manchester United	+21	15/1
Aston Villa	+22	15/1
Tottenham	+22	15/1
Brighton	+27	15/1
Nottingham Forest	+32	15/1
Bournemouth	+32	15/1
Crystal Palace	+33	15/1
Everton	+33	15/1
Fulham	+33	15/1
West Ham	+35	15/1
Brentford	+38	15/1
Wolves	+39	15/1
Leeds	+43	15/1
Burnley	+51	15/1
Sunderland	+52	15/1

Liverpool +0

Slight favourites for the title, all eyes will be on Arne Slot and his new-look Liverpool heading into the new season. The likes of Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk have been tied down to new contracts, while Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong make up the new full-back pair, and that's before even addressing the signing of superstar Florian Wirtz.

Manchester City +3

Surely they can't be as bad as last season? Although Kevin De Bruyne departs, Rodri returns, and with a host of new arrivals, Pep Guardiola will hope to launch another title charge.

Arsenal +3

It feels like it's now or never for Mikel Arteta. A title there for the taking last season was let slip with the Gunners dropping points far too often. A new controlling midfielder in Martin Zubimendi arrives, as will a new goalscorer, and it feels like this might be Arsenal's best chance of ending their title drought.

Chelsea +12

Despite another gargantuan summer spending spree, Chelsea still don't look like title challengers, but they will at least hope to build on a promising first season under Enzo Maresca. While the Italian won't be able to field two different sides between European and domestic competition this season, they should be stronger for the new additions.

Newcastle +15

The last time Newcastle were in Europe they slid down the Premier League table, failing to qualify for European competition. Eddie Howe will hope to have learned from that experience with a stronger squad capable of competing on two fronts. They look to be keeping hold of their key players and some shrewd additions look to be heading to St James' Park.

Manchester United +21

Ruben Amorim desperately needs to turn things around quickly at Old Trafford. After a dismal debut season, new arrivals have come to allow the Portuguese to better shape his squad, and with no European distraction and a clear-out of deadwood, there will be no excuses for not returning Manchester United to Europe in 12 months' time.

Aston Villa +22

Aston Villa struggled to juggle their European and domestic commitments last season before rallying late in the season to secure a Europa League spot. It appears they might also be able to keep hold of their best players without falling foul of profit and sustainability rules and another top-five charge should be on the cards.

Tottenham +22

Tottenham have made a significant improvement in the dugout in the shape of Thomas Frank, but the club still look short of a few players to feel confident of maintaining a strong Premier League campaign while juggling the UEFA Champions League. Make those additions, however, and Spurs may well return to the UEFA Champions League next season.

Brighton +27

Perhaps the best of the rest, Brighton appear to be keeping their best players out of the hands of the bigger clubs while strengthening elsewhere. After a strong first season under Fabian Hurzeler, the Seagulls should consolidate their progress next term.

Nottingham Forest +32

Last season's handicap winners, Nottingham Forest avoided the expected relegation battle to mount an unlikely charge for the UEFA Champions League. Having to settle for a place in the UEFA Conference League, it will be interesting to see how Nuno Espirito Santo handles their European committments.

Bournemouth +32

They may have lost Milos Kerkez and Dean Huijsen with Ilya Zabarnyi expected to depart, but Bournemouth look well run enough to cope. The rest of the side looks largely in tact, and with Andoni Iraola at the helm, the Cherries can look forward to another fruitful season.

Crystal Palace +33

Progressing nicely under Oliver Glasner, there are a number of unknowns around Crystal Palace heading into the new season. Will Marc Guehi and Ebere Eze still be there? How will they handle European competition? Will this finally be the year Palace crack the Premier League's top half?

Everton +33

The return of David Moyes looks like a long overdue shrewd move on Merseyside, with Everton safely steered away from relegation under his stewardship. The Toffees need a number of reinforcements over the summer to avoid being dragged back into a relegation battle, however.

Fulham +33

One of Fulham's best moves in recent years was the appointment of Marco Silva. Despite losing the likes of Aleksandar Mitrovic, Tosin Adarabioyo and Joao Palhinha, the Portuguese has constantly rebuilt and reshaped his squad, taking punts on players unwanted elsewhere such as Alex Iwobi, Emile Smith Rowe and Andreas Pereira, while developing the likes of Antonee Robinson and Rodrigo Muniz.

West Ham +35

Not short of talent or financial backing, West Ham fans will have been a little concerned at the progress made under Graham Potter. The experiment with the reputable Julen Lopetegui backfired and Potter has yet to kick the side on. The Hammers do have a high ceiling, however, with the likes of Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta and Mohammed Kudus at Potter's disposal.

Brentford +38

It's not unfair to say that most of Brentford's Premier League success came thanks to Thomas Frank. Many thought the Bees would struggle in the absence of Ivan Toney, but he turned Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo into a deadly goalscoring duo. The Cameroonian's departure along with captain Christian Norgaard means new boss Keith Andrews has a sizeable task on his hands.

Wolves +39

The appointment of Vitor Pereira turned Wolves' season around, and while Matheus Cunha is a sizeable loss, Wolves played perfectly well in the Brazilian's absence last season, and there's little reason to think they'll be embroiled in a relegation battle this time around.

Leeds +43

Will Daniel Farke finally get a fair crack of the whip when it comes to trying to keep a team in the Premier League? Norwich showed little ambition but Leeds are certainly making a fist of it, and the Championship winners look best placed of the three newly promoted clubs.

Burnley +51

While his style of football won over few neutrals, perhaps Scott Parker's pragmatism is what will help keep Burnley in the Premier League. The expected departure of James Trafford will be a huge blow, however, and it's tough to make the case for the Clarets surviving.

Sunderland +52

While few expected Sunderland to go up last season, their dramatic play-off heroics earned them a long overdue return to the Premier League. Unfortunately, despite their summer investment, it looks like they'll lack the sufficient quality to stay there.

• Premier League 25/26 Season Handicap Table