Premier League Predictions: 1-20 preview as Man Utd backed for big improvement

At Betfred Insights, we have been building our Premier League club-by-club previews, predicting where each will finish at the end of the 2025/26 season.

Below, I have collated them into a 1-20 table, so without further ado, here are our Premier League Predictions for the upcoming campaign...

Football Odds

20th: Burnley

Finished 19th with 24 points under Vincent Kompany in 2023/24. Scott Parker took over last summer and presided over a 100-point campaign that saw the Clarets only miss out on the EFL Championship title on goal difference. A couple of their defensive stars, goalkeeper James Trafford and CJ Egan-Riley, have since left Turf Moor, while it's difficult to see where the goals will come from. Nailed-on for relegation, and destined for 20th.

19th: Leeds

Pipped Burnley to the title last season to end their two-year stay in the second tier. Scored goals for fun in the Championship, but can Joel Piroe (19) and Dan James (12) net even half their amounts in the Premier League? Some decent signings - Anton Stach and Jaka Bijol, particularly - but like with the Clarets, goals are likely to be an issue for the Whites, and the rumoured addition of injury-prone striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin doesn't fill me with confidence.

18th: Sunderland

Sunderland seem to be getting a lot of love, and I do like several of their new signings, including Granit Xhaka, Habib Diarra and Simon Adingra; they certainly needed to strengthen, in the same way Nottingham Forest needed to when they were promoted as play-off winners in 2023. But it's a lot of change, and bridging the gap between the second and first tier is so difficult, as even the worst Premier League clubs from last season boast some real top-level players. A brave fight from the Black Cats, but for the second year running, I fear all three promoted sides will return at the first time of asking.

17th: Brentford

The Bees have already been stung multiple times this summer, with head coach Thomas Frank followed out of the exit door by captain Christian Norgaard, goalkeeper Mark Flekken and 20-goal forward Bryan Mbeumo, while 19-goal marksman Yoane Wissa is expected to join the quartet by departing the Gtech Stadium. Set-piece coach Keith Andrews has big shoes to fill as Frank's successor, and I can understand why many people have Brentford to go; however, they're such a well-run club, that I don't think the exits will affect them quite as much as people think, while Brazilian forward Igor Thiago, after overcoming an injury-riddle debut campaign, can help fill the void up top.

16th: Wolves

Like Brentford, Wolves have sold a couple of their best players, with Rayan Ait-Nouri and Matheus Cunha both moving up to Manchester, the former to City and the latter to United. The Old Gold definitely need to add a few more players before the end of the transfer window, but I love the signing of Jhon Arias, who joins the Portuguese-speaking cohort at Molineux, which includes influential midfielders Andre and Joao Gomes. Head coach Vitor Pereira easily kept Wolves up last season, and under his stewardship, they should have more than enough again, although there could be some difficult moments during the season.

15th: Fulham

Settled, or standing still? At the time of writing, Fulham are yet to make any major signings, only bringing in a back-up goalkeeper. We can get hung up on new additions when continuity can be key, and the Cottagers haven't seen any of their best players leave. But you can bet boss Marco Silva will be impatient at the lack of signings, and I worry whether his frustration could boil over at some point; there will surely be clubs queuing up for his services. Still, while they may drop off slightly, I can't see relegation on the horizon at this stage, but my view could change by the end of the summer.

14th: West Ham

After taking over mid-season from a beleaguered Julen Lopetegui, Graham Potter didn't exactly set the world alight at the London Stadium, and once again, Hammers start the new campaign with more than a few complaints. Mohammed Kudus has been sold to London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, and the only attacking addition so far has been free agent Callum Wilson, who has struggled with injuries during the last few years. Once again, a lot of pressure will be placed on the shoulders of captain and top scorer Jarrod Bowen; any sort of injury to the England international could see the Irons dragged into a relegation fight.

13th: Crystal Palace

Reigning FA Cup winners Crystal Palace have endured a difficult summer, as they have been denied a place in the Uefa Europa League, and instead must navigate through the qualifiers of the Uefa Conference League. The Eagles haven't been overly active in the market, either, while captain Marc Guehi and talismanic playmaker Eberechi Eze continue to be linked with moves away from Selhurst Park. Should the duo depart, I trust Oliver Glasner to use the money received wisely, but the squad is small at the moment, and European football could take its toll on their league form.

12th: Everton

David Moyes was reappointed as Everton boss in January and easily led the Toffees to safety. The Scot is a safe pair of hands, and that's worth its weight in gold as the club transitions from Goodison Park to their new Hill Dickinson Stadium on the Bramley-Moore Dock. The Toffees will miss the magic of Goodison Park, but they were hardly producing win after win there, so I don't think this move will have too catastrophic an impact, while it looks like they are able to splash the cash a bit more now. A solid mid-table finish, for me.

11th: Bournemouth

The Cherries achieved their best-ever Premier League points haul (56) and equalled their highest top-flight finish (ninth) in 2024/25, but have lost four-fifths of their defence, so there's a lot more uncertainty surrounding the side. Still, under Andoni Iraola, they should be on for another solid season, with Antoine Semenyo, Evanilson and Justin Kluivert all remaining on the South Coast after each hitting double digits for league goals.

10th: Nottingham Forest

Forest enjoyed a brilliant 2024/25 campaign, even if they fell away at the end and missed out on the top six. They've since been upgraded to the Europa League, following Palace's demotion, but have lost one of last season's stars, Anthony Elanga, to Newcastle United. They kept hold of Morgan Gibbs-White amid strong interest from Spurs, though, and have made some astute signings, including Dan Ndoye and Igor Jesus, while more are set to follow. Like Palace, Forest may struggle to juggle the demands of domestic and European football, but the squad is strong enough for a top-half finish, in my opinion.

9th: Brighton

Brighton ended up eighth last season, and I'm predicting something similar this time around. Top scorer Joao Pedro has departed, but they've made some exciting additions, and should be competitive again in Fabian Hurzeler's second term as Seagulls head coach.

8th: Aston Villa

Villa narrowly missed out on Uefa Champions League football on the final day of last season, finishing behind fifth-placed Newcastle on goal difference after a controversial 2-0 defeat at Manchester United. Instead, Unai Emery's side will be plying their trade in the Europa League, which again, will stretch their squad, which could do with improving. Evann Guessand has been signed to support Ollie Watkins in attack, but their transfer activity has been hampered by PSR demands, with Academy graduate Jacob Ramsey having to be sold to the Magpies to fund further additions. Like Brighton, I think Villa will move down the table, but not dramatically.

7th: Newcastle United

Newcastle are in a similar position to Villa, in that they want to spend big but don't seem to be able to go as large as they want. The signings of Elanga and Malick Thiaw have taken their spending to nearly £100m, but they're likely to recoup that, plus an extra £30-50m, by selling wantaway striker Alexander Isak to Liverpool. Eddie Howe's side need a couple of forwards to replace Isak and Wilson, with Wissa reportedly on his way, but there's too much uncertainty over them at the moment to place them any higher than sixth or seventh.

6th: Manchester United

The only way is up for Man United, who, shockingly, finished 15th last season.

Without European football to contend with, I'm expecting a vast improvement from the Red Devils, whose head coach, Ruben Amorim, is presiding over his first full campaign in charge.

The Portuguese boss has been well-backed in the market this summer, despite suggestions that the club would have to tighten its pursestrings, with Cunha, Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko all brought in to be their new front three.

There are still big question marks over the midfield and defence, but at least they still have Bruno Fernandes, who usually saves their skin.

With Villa and Newcastle restricted in their dealings, and Palace and Forest playing in Europe, the path to the top six is clear for Man United - missing out would be a huge failure.

5th: Tottenham Hotspur

Europa League winners Spurs were even worse than the Red Devils in last season's Premier League, finishing 17th, and head coach Ange Postecoglou paid the price for it.

I like the appointment of Frank as the Australian's successor, with the Dane performing miracles at Brentford over the last few years, while Kudus could prove to be one of the signings of the summer.

With skipper Son Heung-min gone to Los Angeles FC, and James Maddison likely to miss the majority, if not all, of the upcoming campaign, there's still big business to be done in the transfer window, but I'm a big believer in Frank, and I think fifth place is achievable.

4th: Chelsea

Same again for the reigning Conference League and Fifa Club World Cup champions, who pipped Newcastle to fourth on the final day of last season. Enzo Maresca's side have been busy again in the summer, signing several more expensive stars, and they should kick on again this year, but I still don't see them troubling the top three teams.

3rd: Manchester City

The 2024/25 season was poor by Manchester City's lofty standards, having won the last four titles and six of the last seven. Still, they finished third, only three points behind runners-up Arsenal, and will soon welcome back influential midfielder Rodri, who missed much of the previous campaign. I expect City to be back in title contention this season, but understandably, their chances of lifting the trophy next May are rated lower than Liverpool and Arsenal.

2nd: Arsenal

No club is more desperate to win the title than Arsenal, who have finished second in the last three seasons, so motivation shouldn't be a factor in 2025/26. They've also improved their starting XI and squad, notably signing Martin Zubimendi and Viktor Gyokeres. The mental scars, though, could be an issue, and Mikel Arteta's mindset may need to change for the north Londoners to overcome the final hurdle. Too much focus has been placed on the defensive side of their game, and sticking with that formula could prove costly.

1st: Liverpool

Did someone say back-to-back titles? It's certainly looking that way, after an encouraging summer transfer window that has seen the Reds add Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong to a squad already containing the world-class talents of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker. I expect the title race to be a lot closer this season, but Arne Slot's side look well-equipped to do the business again.

Premier League Odds

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