Manchester City Wobble, Arsenal Roar: Predictions for the Season

The first trophy of the English season has barely been lifted, and already the odds boards are twitching.

Manchester City, champions in six of the last nine Premier League campaigns, were dismantled 3-0 by Arsenal in the Community Shield in Cardiff. It wasn’t just a bad day at the office; it felt like a jolt to the established order. Add in confirmation that World Cup 2026 star Rodri is off to Barcelona, and new City boss Enzo Maresca suddenly looks like the man tasked with steering a supertanker through a storm.

Bookmakers reacted quickly. Arsenal’s price tightened from 6-4 to 5-4 after that commanding performance. City, double domestic cup winners last season but runners-up in the league, drifted from 11-2 to 7-2. Liverpool sit at 6-1, Chelsea and Manchester United at 8-1, Tottenham at 28-1, and Aston Villa at 66-1.

Two years ago, almost nobody dared bet against City making it five titles on the spin. A year ago, Liverpool were the irresistible story: Arne Slot’s surprise title, a lavish spending spree, the sense of a new dynasty forming. They finished fifth. Slot was gone by the end of his second season at Anfield. That memory hangs over Arsenal’s current status; there’s admiration, but not a stampede.

Still, there’s bragging to be done. Christine, a Liverpool diehard, earns top marks for at least suggesting her club might not retain the title in 2026, hedging between first and fourth. None of the four Manchester United fans in last year’s panel even put their club in the top four. Niall, typically contrary, pushed them for an uninvited fifth – a call that looks smarter now we’ve moved to a top-five prediction format.

Some of us fared less well. I had United second, behind my own Liverpool, and boldly stuck Aston Villa in third. Only John also saw Villa as a top-four side. This year, we’ve even recruited a proper Villa fan, Dave, to keep us honest.

My wild swing at Nottingham Forest for fourth never landed, but it helped fuel the move to a broader top-five system. There’s also a new, unofficial “Big Six” for the rest of the league to navigate: Arsenal, City, Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea, Villa and Spurs. The bookmakers’ prices echo that hierarchy.

Two seasons back, Scott and a couple of others nailed the four Champions League teams, if not in the right order. Nobody managed it last year, largely because Chelsea featured in almost every prediction and then slumped to 10th.

This time, I’m expecting a London surge, inspired by Arsenal’s title and Chelsea’s potential resurgence. My five:

• Chelsea
• Arsenal
• Liverpool
• Tottenham
• Brentford

And, in a reminder that football is never the most important thing, our boxing columnist Jay has missed this round of predictions while dealing with a serious family situation in Zambia. He sends his apologies.

Leeds, Everton and the old-school feel of the top flight

Leeds United stayed up. In this era, that alone is an achievement. With Coventry joining Leeds and Sunderland in the Premier League, there’s a distinctly old-school flavor to the division.

Paul sees Leeds as ready to move from survivors to settlers: solid mid-table, maybe even sniffing Europe if they can add another goal scorer. James Trafford, Tarik Muharemović and Harry Wilson have arrived as first-team reinforcements, but the squad still looks a little light.

His top five? He keeps it classic:

• Chelsea
• Arsenal
• City
• United
• “Pool” – in that order.

He did enjoy the World Cup, praised the refereeing, especially in the final, and still wishes FIFA would, in his words, “go up in flames.”

James Rogers, New York Evertonians

On Merseyside’s other bank, Everton enter their second season at the gleaming Hill Dickinson Stadium with a familiar mix of hope and anxiety. David Moyes must wake a side that sleepwalked through the end of last season, taking just three points from their final seven games and watching European hopes burn away.

New faces bring fresh optimism: Christian Norgaard, Hayden Hackney and Brennan Johnson, who arrives in a swap that sends Dwight McNeil to Crystal Palace. But the fanbase is fixated on one thing – a right-back. The search has become an obsession.

Transfer chatter swirls around Iliman Ndiaye and the possibility of Jack Grealish returning in royal blue. Ndiaye lit up the World Cup with a stunning cameo against Iraq. Grealish had been superb for Everton before injury wrecked his season and his World Cup dream.

James Garner, unlucky to miss out on the tournament, will be key in midfield, alongside Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and England No. 1 Jordan Pickford, fresh from his heroics in the U.S. and Mexico.

Evertonians, now settled into their waterfront home, want tangible progress. James’s top five:

• Man City
• Arsenal
• Man Utd
• Liverpool
• Chelsea

Liverpool: Slot out, Iraola in, and a club in flux

Christine and her family boycotted attending World Cup games despite their proximity, protesting what she calls the “overt corruption” at the top of the sport. Instead, they watched Liverpool face Wrexham at Yankee Stadium and caught the tournament largely on TV, staying up for 2 a.m. kick-offs while in Ireland. Their teams, Scotland and Cabo Verde, departed early.

Her prediction of France lifting the trophy was wrong. She was relieved it wasn’t Argentina, even with Messi and Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister involved. Spain, she says, were worthy champions. Their squad included Víctor Muñoz, who has since joined Liverpool. Nine other Liverpool players went to the World Cup, three with the Netherlands.

Now the focus is back on Anfield. The Arne Slot era, she says, was short and not always sweet. Big-money signings never quite knitted together. When games collapsed, Slot had few answers. His successor, Andoni Iraola, must restore cohesion and confidence.

Already, there’s a return to more direct football. High pressing, forced turnovers, zonal counter-pressing – echoes of Klopp, with Iraola’s tweaks. Some of that was visible in Slot’s first year, but he drifted into what Christine calls “unproductive caution” in his second. Pre-season has shown both promise and flaws. Work remains.

There’s been another late rush of transfers: Jeremy Jacquet, Victor Munoz and Ronald Araujo among the arrivals. Christine expects a bumpy season, but believes Iraola’s Premier League experience can help the new-look back line settle faster than last year’s intake.

Two icons are gone. Mo Salah’s magic and Andy Robertson’s resilience will be deeply missed. Both embodied Liverpool’s spirit. The involvement of Jeff Bezos in the club, by contrast, she finds “disappointing and unwelcome.”

With changes in players, coach and ownership, she warns that Liverpool’s return to their peak will likely be delayed. Yet she sees reasons for optimism, not least the “Kop-Factor” and a more purposeful style of play.

Her call: Liverpool to finish third.

Michael saw little of the World Cup but rooted for Argentina because of Messi – and because the forward was driven to win for his dying father. He wants FIFA to change the rules so goals in the third-place play-off don’t count towards the Golden Boot.

He felt Messi had more impact on the tournament than Rodri. At Liverpool level, he points to Mac Allister’s strong World Cup and hopes that form carries into the season after a slow start last year. Isak’s brilliant goal for Sweden has raised expectations too.

But he is blunt: Liverpool are in transition and have failed to strengthen in key positions. Ekiteke, Bradley and Leoni remain long-term absentees. He welcomed the managerial change – he felt the previous style held the team back – but says Iraola needs time and reinforcements.

Michael expects Spurs, his boyhood club in the Jimmy Greaves era, to do well. He believes United will struggle to match last season’s league finish while juggling Champions League commitments. He wonders when the investigation into Manchester City’s practices will finally conclude. Villa, he argues, could soar if they avoid last year’s slow start. And he thinks teams will better handle Arsenal’s deadly corners this time.

His reluctant top five:

• Man City
• Arsenal
• Aston Villa
• Liverpool
• Tottenham

Stephen never bought into Slot’s revolution. To him, Slot won with Klopp’s team and Klopp’s style, then tried to impose his own and lost the plot. The signings didn’t deliver, injuries piled up – Isak among the casualties – and Florian Wirtz never truly found his place. Salah, he says, was a “shell of himself.” It was, in his view, a poor season.

He enjoyed the expanded World Cup more than expected, despite fearing 48 teams would dilute quality. He disliked Argentina’s approach and the Messi-centric coverage, and believes they got favorable calls.

From a Liverpool perspective, he’s almost glad most of their players weren’t tied up deep into the tournament. He expects more cohesion and sees upside if last season’s injured core returns fit.

His verdict on a tight title race:

• Arsenal
• Liverpool
• Man City
• Man United
• Chelsea

Spurs: from horror flick to cautious hope

Dom describes last season at Spurs as a horror film: a malevolent force dragging everyone towards oblivion until an unlikely hero appears in the final act.

He’d been cautiously optimistic about Thomas Frank replacing Ange Postecoglou’s gung-ho chaos, but by October it was clear things were unravelling. Dom even warned his dad that relegation danger was real. The board, slow to act, only sacked Frank when the club was already in serious trouble. The brief Igor Tudor interlude is, in his words, best whitewashed from memory.

The hero was Roberto De Zerbi. Dom is adamant: without him, Tottenham would now be preparing for trips to Preston North End and Lincoln City, not another crack at the Premier League.

The new board, stepping in after Daniel Levy’s reign ended, took heavy criticism last season. But Dom sees signs of learning. The famously rigid wage structure has been overhauled, allowing Spurs to compete for higher-calibre signings. Recruitment – in and out – looks sharper. Losing players like Cristian Romero and Djed Spence would once have triggered meltdown; this time, the quality of arrivals has calmed the mood.

They are, he insists, still two or three attacking signings short of a genuine top-four push. Yet for the first time in years, there’s a coherent plan off the pitch and real belief on it.

His top five, with a caveat:

• Arsenal
• Chelsea
• Manchester City
• Aston Villa
• Tottenham – if they add those extra forwards. If not, he slots in Manchester United.

Arsenal: champions with an appetite for more

Scott is unapologetic: he’s backing Arsenal to retain their title. He calls it “lonely at the top” but sees no reason they can’t do it again. Many of their players shone at the World Cup – “not you Havertz,” he quips – but he’s glad to get back to domestic football.

Gabriel Martinelli may be on his way out for £38m, but Scott expects new names to land in north London. Bukayo Saka is fit, Declan Rice is “one of the best midfielders in Europe,” and with Eberechi Eze, Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard around him, the squad looks stacked.

He didn’t watch much of the World Cup beyond the USA games, but caught the semi-finals and final and admits there was no arguing with Spain’s triumph.

His Premier League top five:

• Arsenal
• Man City
• Liverpool
• Man Utd
• Chelsea

Manchester United: Carrick, belief and a divided fanbase

Joe believes Manchester United can challenge for the title – if Michael Carrick stays. That’s the hinge. Carrick walked away from the club’s coaching staff in 2021 after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s dismissal, exhausted after three and a half years as a coach and 12 as a player. Four years on, he returned as head coach and then manager last season. The impact was immediate.

United surged to third, securing Champions League football. Kobbie Mainoo and Benjamin Sesko were restored to the side and, in Joe’s words, “played out of their skins,” as did the rest of the squad.

He argues United produced the best football in the Premier League under Carrick – their best since Sir Alex Ferguson.

His top five:

• Arsenal
• Manchester United
• Manchester City
• Aston Villa
• Liverpool

World Cup 2026? Joe loved Spain’s possession-heavy style and their ultimate triumph. He thought there were too many games overall, but the final eight justified the slog. Lisandro Martinez was the only United player to reach the final; the other 12 had mixed tournaments, some barely featuring.

Ray charts United’s journey from frustration to expectation. A leap from mid-table to top four would satisfy most clubs. United demand more. Carrick, he says, fully earned the right to keep the job after calmly steering the side through the post-Ruben Amorim turbulence.

Pre-season brought three wins, a draw and a loss. One victory, on penalties after a 1-1 draw with Leeds at Croke Park, drew a record 82,000 crowd for a soccer match in Ireland. The defeat, 4-2 to AC Milan, came against Amorim’s new side. Ray argues that losses like that can be more instructive than wins.

Carrick wants more signings, potentially one marquee addition to go with four summer arrivals, including midfielder Andrey Santos from Chelsea. The academy, as ever, lurks as a source of future stars.

Targets? The Premier League, of course. Ray knows Arsenal won’t give up the title easily. He sees top four as a minimum and finishing above Manchester City as a daily prayer for United fans. Expectation and hope, he says, will sit side by side on the bench from the first whistle against newly promoted Hull City.

His top five:

• Arsenal
• Manchester United
• Liverpool
• Aston Villa
• Everton

Anthony’s focus is United through a World Cup lens. Bruno Fernandes, he says, still struggles to shine for Portugal while Cristiano Ronaldo remains on the pitch. Diogo Dalot barely featured. Uruguay and Manuel Ugarte disappointed. Casemiro has left United, Matheus Cunha is talented but inconsistent, and Brazil flattered only against a dreadful Scotland. Tyler Fletcher may not have seen the field.

He praises Morocco and Noussair Mazraoui, who looked more authoritative than in a United shirt. For England, Marcus Rashford battled Anthony Gordon for minutes but impressed, even if he still coughs up possession at key moments. Rashford, Anthony insists, is better shooting than dribbling.

Kobbie Mainoo, he argues, is United’s best player alongside Bruno and is badly underused. Lisandro Martinez remained his usual steady self for Argentina, who he felt behaved like “petulant kids” in the final. Amad Diallo, meanwhile, shone for Ivory Coast, scoring against Ecuador and Norway to become their youngest ever scorer.

Back at Old Trafford, Anthony admits he has no clear read on United. They’ve been unpredictable for years and were, in his view, fortunate to finish third as rivals ran out of steam. New signings Santos, Orozco and Youri Tielemans could help, and he dreams of a Tielemans-Mainoo axis for stability. Goalkeeper Lemmens veers between brilliant and woeful.

His forecast: top five in the league, an early European exit, maybe an FA Cup win. Top three? Arsenal, City and Liverpool – unless Rodri’s departure really destabilises City, in which case he sees them stumbling. That, now confirmed, is the great unknown of this title race.

Niall loved the World Cup but never wants to hear the phrase “hydration break” again. United’s limited impact on the tournament, he argues, is a blessing. They’re rested, ready – and about to win the league.

He sees this as United’s moment. Arsenal are unlikely, in his mind, to retain the title. Every other major contender bar United has a new manager and needs time to embed a style and bed in signings. Carrick, appointed on January 13 – his father’s birthday – gives United a head start.

He’s already pencilled in this as their 14th Premier League title. His pick for player of the season? The new No. 14, Marcus Rashford. The children have been fed, the detour to the Ramblas is over, and Niall is convinced this will be Rashford’s “second coming.”

His top five:

• Manchester United
• Manchester City
• Arsenal
• Liverpool
• Chelsea

Anthony C. Murphy and Ray O’Hanlon’s views may lean towards cautious optimism. Niall’s are nothing of the sort.

Newcastle and Villa: eras ending, eras beginning

For John, the World Cup in the U.S. turned watching football into a full-time job. While everyone was glued to their screens, Newcastle were quietly dismantled. Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and, most recently, Bruno Guimarães – all gone. Barcelona, Spurs and Arsenal reap the rewards.

Three weeks before the opening game against Liverpool at St James’ Park, Eddie Howe walked away. In comes German coach Matthias Jaissle, handpicked by the Saudi owners, bringing his own staff and his own ideas.

The squad is a hybrid. The defensive core – Tino Livramento, Lewis Hall, Dan Burn, Lewis Miley, Malick Thiaw – has experience now. They must guide a wave of youngsters: 20-year-old, 6ft 7in goalkeeper Ivan Jaouen from Reims, midfielders Bamba (Monaco) and Steur (Ajax), and Park Seung, the Korean midfielder who blossomed last season. All are 20 or under.

John likens it to a kitchen full of exotic ingredients. The question is whether the German chef can get them cooking.

The club is still processing the death of Kevin Keegan. His legacy on Tyneside is immense. The shrine of scarves, shirts and flowers was a communal act of grief. A further tribute is planned for the opening fixture. It will lend the night a powerful sense of an era ending.

John’s mischievous prediction:

• Man City
• Man Utd
• Arsenal
• Aston Villa
• Sunderland

Dave writes in the glow of Aston Villa’s Super Cup win, driven by 17-year-old striker Brian Madjo’s breakout display against PSG. The English media, he notes, are already going berserk over the wunderkind and Villa’s prospects. He urges caution: it’s still a glorified pre-season friendly.

The anchor is Unai Emery. Dave is unequivocal – Emery matters more than any individual player. He has repeatedly made his teams greater than the sum of their parts. That’s why Villa can realistically aim for another top-four challenge and a run to the Champions League quarter-finals.

Those ambitions survive despite departures. Morgan Rogers has gone to Chelsea, his reputation “inflated by the press just a tad,” and Youri Tielemans – “what a player!” – has joined Manchester United. Defensive rock Ezri Konsa may yet leave before the window closes. Fans are entitled to feel uneasy.

But Emery’s track record demands trust. When he signed Viktor Lindelöf on a free 12 months ago, many baulked at a defender who’d underwhelmed at United. Lindelöf started 27 games, filled in admirably in midfield and made key contributions. Emery saw what others didn’t.

The one nagging doubt is Alejandro Garnacho. The mercurial Argentine has arrived in claret and blue, and even Emery’s most ardent disciples wonder if this “problem child” might be a project too far.

Still, as long as Boubacar Kamara stays fit, John McGinn’s low centre of gravity continues to shield like something from the Marvel universe, and Ollie Watkins shakes off the insult of just 56 minutes at the World Cup, Dave expects Villa to at least match last season.

His top five:

• Chelsea
• Manchester City
• Liverpool
• Aston Villa
• Manchester United

Chelsea: burned once, bullish again

Paul tipped Chelsea for the title last year. They finished 10th. He knows what that says about his predictive powers. He also points to the moment he believes their season truly collapsed: when City fluttered their eyelashes at Enzo Maresca and lured him away.

He felt for Cole Palmer, too. Left out of England’s World Cup squad, the forward never hit last season’s heights. There was one glaring stoppage-time miss at Stamford Bridge against Leeds that could have won the game and, in Paul’s mind, summed up Palmer’s campaign. Injuries and exhaustion didn’t help.

This time, he’s dialing the optimism down a notch – but not much. He’s putting Chelsea second. Why? Because the squad is rich in talent and has finally been balanced with experienced heads like Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck. No European football means a clear run at domestic competitions. And, crucially, Xabi Alonso is not the coach – he is the manager. Paul wants those who “don’t know the game” at Chelsea to stop interfering.

He’s pleased Arsenal finally won a title – if only so he can stop feeling sorry for them, and for Mayo. He believes Arteta’s side now have everything and can repeat, with a real shot at the Champions League too. Liverpool, he thinks, will flourish under Iraola, while Maresca will need time to emerge from Guardiola’s shadow. Villa will be strong again, but he expects United to continue improving. Spurs, he says, will be better, but the field above them is too strong.

His top five:

• Arsenal
• Chelsea
• Liverpool
• Manchester United
• Aston Villa

Across these voices, one thread runs clear: nobody quite trusts the old certainties any more. City wobble, Arsenal swagger, Liverpool reinvent, United dream, Chelsea reload, Spurs regroup, Villa refuse to go away.

The bookmakers have made their move. The fan‑pundits have nailed their colours to the mast.

Now the only question left is the one that will define the season: who actually lives up to their own story?