Mustapha SheiduFollowing the opening 11 gameweeks, the Supercomputer has updated its prediction for the final 2025-26 Premier League table. Last term, everyone had expected Manchester City to rule the roost again, but it was Liverpool – under new manager Arne Slot – who would end up winning their 20th English league crown at a canter, reclaiming their perch as the country’s most successful club.
There were no bonus points handed to those who guessed that Arsenal would finish second – having now achieved that feat three successive seasons on the spin now – while Pep Guardiola’s side’s end-of-season form saw them just about claim third. Other narratives drawn up were that of Nottingham Forest’s surprise run to European qualification, while Tottenham and Manchester United slipped to their worst-ever league campaigns since the 1992 rebranding.
All of the above is still fresh in the memory, but football never sleeps, and predictions for the new season have already been drawn up. The forecasts below are compiled by a Supercomputer, with the help of Opta, which has simulated the league season based on the released fixture list and what we learned from the opening 1q weekends. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the predicted winners and losers of the 2025-26 Premier League season.
Relegation Zone
A worrying trend at the foot of the table is tipped to finally come to an end this season. In both 2023/24 and 2024/25, all three promoted sides went straight back down. But if the Supercomputer’s latest projections are correct, Sunderland and Leeds United will survive this time around. This does still mean, however Burnley are tipped to have their gloom turn into inevitable doom under Scott Parker. The newly-promotedside have been predicted to finish 19th with 36 points.
West Ham are projected to continue to suffer after Graham Potter’s sacking, which has called upon the services of Nuno Espirito Santo, and they are expected to get relegated. This would mark a dramatic fall from grace for a team still enduring a hangover from their successful days under David Moyes.
The Supercomputer also believes Wolves – the only side still looking for their first victory after 11 attempts – will be unable to reverse early damage, as they are tipped to remain the cellar dwellers until May. There’s no surprise there, but right now, supporters at Molineux will be hoping that whoever takes up their vacant managerial position has the ability to work miracles.
Remarkably, the Supercomputer predicts that Nottingham Forest would finish in 14th, setting up a relegation battle that could stretch the full 12 rounds and still be decided in the dying minutes of the final day. The Tricky Trees have only fairly recently announced the appointment of their third different manager of the season through Sean Dyche, but results are expected to improve that drastically.
The East Midlands side now seem set to face the consequences of parting ways with Nuno Espirito Santo. Under Ange Postecoglou’s erratic management, the team failed to win any of their eight games, which included a 3-2 loss to Championship side Swansea City in the League Cup after leading 2-0. When it rains, it pours, and a 14th-place finish would be unacceptable, especially for an owner as trigger-happy as Evangelos Marinakis.
Fulham’s projected 15th-place finish would see them finish two positions lower than in the 2024/25 season. The Cottagers continue to struggle to break through the glass ceiling and fully realise their potential, unlike other clubs around them that have managed to kick on and evolve, with only West Ham of their London rivals being beneath them.
| Position | Club | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 15. | Fulham | 43 |
| 16. | Brentford | 38 |
| 17. | Leeds | 37 |
| 18. | West Ham | 36 |
| 19. | Burnley | 36 |
| 20. | Wolves | 26 |
Bottom Half
Everton were tipped by many fans as potential dark horses for the 2025/26 campaign. With fresh American ownership, a new stadium, and exciting attacking reinforcements like Jack Grealish arriving over the summer, manager David Moyes seemed well-equipped to start building something special at Bramley-Moore Docks.
If the Supercomputer’s prediction of a 13th-place finish proves accurate, it surely wouldn’t sit well at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. Losses to Liverpool, Leeds, Man City, Wolves, and most recently Tottenham Hotspur, are among their shortcomings so far this campaign, and even then, it was felt most of those results were undeserved after having also ended Crystal Palace’s 19-game unbeaten run.
After a summer of drama, it appears that European football and signings being unable to get going will cost Newcastle United, as they are predicted to finish 12th in the league. A costly fall from a previous finish of fifth, the loss of Isak and the unreliability of Yoane Wissa and Anthony Elanga could cost the Magpies, who have been unlucky with last-minute defeats in the 2025/26 season, but were shown up in their most recent outing where they lost 3-1 to Brentford.
Speaking of Brentford, they will be delighted if they can manage an 16th-placed finish after a summer of wholesale changes saw them lose Bryan Mbuemo to the aforementioned Red Devils, the aformentioned Wissa to Newcastle, and perhaps most detrimentally, Thomas Frank to Tottenham. This, alongside losing key names in previous summers, set Keith Andrews up for a rescue mission like no other – but, so far, he’s delivered some important results as the Bees have maintained their steady progression.
| Position | Club | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | Brighton Hove Albion | 53 |
| 12. | Newcastle United | 53 |
| 13. | Everton | 48 |
| 14. | Nottingham Forest | 46 |
Top Half
Finishing in the top half by just a point, with Frank only just about bettering his former side, Tottenham are tipped for a place in 10th. For any club that finished one place above the dreaded dotted line only 12 months ago, that would usually be welcomed with open arms. However, a recent breakdown between players, fans, and management has put Thomas Frank under pressure, exacerbated by a run of three home defeats in the league.
Results have been steady, but performances have left much to be desired, so it will be interesting to see whether the Lilywhites can maintain their current run or slip down the standings under the growing weight of expectation following a 2-2 draw against Man United.
Brighton and Hove Albion have somewhat flown under the radar so far this term, as other underdogs take on the role of overachievers – a reputation they once wore with pride under Graham Potter and Roberto De Zerbi. Under the current Fabian Hurzeler regime, however, the club now seems to be moving at a steady, expected pace – a natural consequence and sign of progress for the Seagulls as they are projected to finish eleventh with 53 points.
Elsewhere, Bournemouth continue to impress under boss Andoni Iraola. In the previous campaign, the Cherries narrowly missed out on European football with a ninth-place finish. This time around, the Supercomputer has them moving up to eighth, which still wouldn’t be enough for European football, but rather a continuation of last season’s evolution and signs of things to come.
Manchester United have gone on a five-game unbeaten run since their chastening 3-1 defeat at Brentford, and that is enough for the Supercomputer to believe they’ll be back in European competition next season – albeit in the lowest form in the Europa Conference League.
With the way things are currently going, it seems incomprehensible that Sunderland will finish 6th this would be an astonishing achievement by the side. Indeed, that’s a very unbelievable position given that they’ve only just returned to the topflight following a fall through the English pyramid that saw them in League one at one stage, but they currently sit fourth, having lost just twice. Right now, you wouldn’t put it past Regis Le Bris to guide the Black Cats to a top 10 finish after doing more than enough to earn a point against league leaders Arsenal.
Crystal Palace won the FA Cup – their first major honour of any kind – at the end of last season, then proved they are a force here to stay by beating Liverpool twice to kickstart another campaign of promise. They first triumphed in the Community Shield final, and then again to end Arne Slot’s 100 per cent start to the season as the Reds looked to make a quick push toward retaining their 20th league title.
A fifth-placed finish would be enough to secure Europa League football, which would serve both as a statement of intent under Oliver Glasner and as redemption after they were denied the chance to play in UEFA’s second-tier competition this year due to the competition’s complex multi-club ownership rules.
After waving goodbye to a rocky start to the campaign, Aston Villa are projected to finish eighth under Unai Emery. Having failed to score in their opening four games, the Villans have since won eight of their last 10 outings, finally finding form in both Europe and the Premier League.
| Position | Club | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 5. | Crystal Palace | 60 |
| 6. | Sunderland | 59 |
| 7. | Manchester United | 56 |
| 8. | Aston Villa | 56 |
| 9. | Bournemouth | 55 |
| 10. | Tottenham | 54 |
Top Four
Chelsea supporters made up the most optimistic fanbase in the country heading into the new campaign, according to a study. So, the Club World Cup and Europa Conference League winners finishing no higher than fourth – 17 points behind the champions – might not go down too well in west London.
That said, qualifying for the Champions League twice under Enzo Maresca, after previously struggling to do so in the happy-go-lucky Todd Boehly era, shouldn’t be taken for granted, especially if they can win some sort of silverware to bring their total haul under their current manager to three trophies in just 24 months.
Despite their astronomical spending, which saw them break the British transfer fee record twice in one summer by bringing in both Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, while also welcoming Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, Giovanni Leoni, and Hugo Ekitike to Anfield, Liverpool are expected to miss out on retaining their title by a seismic gap of 12 points, with the Supercomptuer predicting them a third-place finish on 68 points.
The beginning of the campaign brought about Arne Slot’s men with numerous last-minute winners. However, with sides realising they struggle against long balls, Liverpool have lost five of their last six Premier League games. Worrying form for the defending champions, but at least they will still get Champions League football.
Meanwhile, Manchester City, who are currently going through a transition period, are tipped to finish second in the league. Although their form was seemingly on a bit of a rise in recent weeks, which has coincided with Erling Haaland’s goalscoring purple patch that has seen him score three goals against ‘Big Six’ clubs over two weeks before then notching three goal involvements during the 5-1 home win over Burnley, another goal in a 1-0 win over Brentford, and a brace against Everton, it won’t be enough to usurp the Gunners.
A fourth successive runners-up medal could prove costly for Mikel Arteta, especially if the Gunners fell short with Sweden sharpshooter Viktor Gyokeres spearheading his attack and Eberechi Eze added to the attacking midfield/ winger department just for good measure. But after conceding just five times in their opening 11 games – albeit the first three goals coming against the run of play – the Gunners are expected to finally end a hoodoo of over two decades, and do so with a seven-point gap from runners-up Man City.
Patience has been a virtue in the Arteta project, and winning the title – as current projections suggest – would remove any lingering doubt about the Spaniard’s ability to get his side over the finishing line. For some teams, all it takes is one triumph to spark a domino effect of silverware. If Arsenal lift the Premier League trophy this season, it could spell bad news for the rest of the country in the years ahead.
| Position | Club | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Arsenal | 80 |
| 2. | Manchester City | 73 |
| 3. | Liverpool | 68 |
| 4. | Chelsea | 63 |
Rabiu Aminu
Mustapha Sheidu