You don’t even have to be a football fan to have heard about the English Premier League. One of the most watched sport events of the season, Premier League is not just a professional association football league, but also the highest tier of the English football league system.
The modern format of the Premier League was established on 20 February 1992, when the top English clubs who previously played in the First Division, decided to form their own league outside of the English Football League.
Nowadays, a new Premier League season starts mid-August and lasts until late May. The 2025/26 season will start on Friday, 15 August 2025 and continue until Sunday, 24 May 2026.
The season is coming in strong with some exciting news and interesting developments. First of all, three teams have been promoted from the EFL to take part in the competition for the title. These are: Leeds United, Burnley, and Sunderland. Having Sunderland among the contending clubs opens up a new thrilling opportunity for the fans. It is for the first time since the 2015/2016 season that the Premier League will feature Tyne–Wear derby, with Sunderland and Newcastle United both on the field.
Two major managerial changes have taken place so far since the end of the 2024/2025 season. The head coach of Tottenham Hotspur, Ange Postecoglou, was fired from the team on 6 June 2025. The club then signed Thomas Frank a week later, on 12 June 2025. Following Frank’s departure from Brentford, the club he had previously managed, Keith Andrews was appointed as their new head coach on 27 June 2025.
When it comes to the title contenders, it is never too early to make predictions. Currently, three teams are being named as the most likely winners. Of course, the defending champion Liverpool is in the top three, but interestingly, they were not initially considered to be the most likely club out of the three to take the title. However after some fresh blood was added to Arne Slot’s squad, Liverpool regained its position as the bookmakers’ favourite in most Premier League betting markets.
Two other clubs with most favourable odds are Arsenal ranking second, and Manchester City ranking third (though some bookmakers place them above Liverpool). And if we are talking about the top five, two additional clubs who are seen as likely contenders for the title are Newcastle United and Chelsea in that order.
Of course, it remains to be seen if the predictions turn out to be correct.
Premier League Format
The Premier League includes 20 clubs. At the end of the season three clubs at the bottom of the league table are relegated to the English Football League, while three teams from EFL are promoted to the Premier League either through direct promotion or as a play-off winner.
There are no promotions from the Premier League, however top performing clubs can reserve a spot in various UEFA competitions for the next season, including Conference League, Europa League, and Champions League.
Premier League competition is held in a double round-robin system, meaning that each club has to meet all other clubs twice: once on their home turf and once at their opponent’s base stadium. With 20 teams on the list, this amounts to a total of 38 rounds played during the season. Most games are played at the weekend, with an occasional mid-week match.
Every win brings the club 3 points, while every draw adds 1 point to their total score. Losses don’t add or subtract any points. Teams are ranked based on their total score. If two clubs happen to have the same score, they are assessed by their goal difference, and then by goals scored. If they are still equal, the teams will occupy the same position in the league table.
Ties between championship winners, candidates for relegation or qualification to take part in other competitions are not acceptable. If a tie does take place, the tied teams will be assessed based on their head-to-head record: first by points scored in the matches against each other, and if necessary by away goals in those matches. If this still doesn’t solve the issue, a play-off will be scheduled on a neutral ground.
The full list of the clubs participating in the 2025/2026 Premier League season in alphabetical order is the following:
- Arsenal
- Aston Villa
- Bournemouth
- Brentford
- Brighton & Hove Albion
- Burnley
- Chelsea
- Crystal Palace
- Everton
- Fulham
- Leeds United
- Liverpool
- Manchester City
- Manchester United
- Newcastle United
- Nottingham Forest
- Sunderland
- Tottenham Hotspur
- West Ham United
- Wolverhampton Wanderers
European Qualification Explained
The way clubs that finish the season in the top lines of the league table qualify for various European competitions may seem straightforward and slightly confusing at the same time. Sure, the champions qualify for the UEFA Champions League league phase, but what about the others?
Actually, it is not just the champions but the top four clubs that get their ticket to the Champions League. The previous winners of the Champions League and UEFA Europa League may also qualify for the Champions League league phase. For example, Tottenham Hotspurs will be present at the 2025/2026 Champions League despite finishing the previous Premier League season in the 17th position, just one step shy of relegation to the EFL. The reason behind that is that the Spurs became the winners of the 2024/2025 Europa League.
Two best ranking associations get additional berths, so the total number of clubs they can send to the Champions League may amount up to seven. Currently, England ranks first among the associations, and will be sending their top five clubs to the next season of the Champions League.
Two teams to qualify for the Europa League are the FA Cup winner and the one occupying fifth position in the previous seasons’ Premier League league table (this season it will be number six, as the first five teams qualify for the Champions League). If the FA Cup winners also happen to finish in the top five, or both these clubs qualify for Europa League through other major competitions, this right is transferred to the next in line.
And finally, the winner of the EFL Cup will be granted a place in the UEFA Conference League, but if they also qualify for a different UEFA competition, their ticket is handed over to number six in the Premier League league table, or to number seven if number six already qualified for Europa League.
Title Contenders
As we mentioned before, three clubs seen as the main contenders for the championship in the upcoming season are Manchester City, Arsenal, and Liverpool, though of course, a lot can change within the first couple of months. For now, here is a short overview of each team at the start of the 2025/2026 season.
Liverpool F.C.
Coming in strong are the current championship holders. The club is still mourning the tragic death of Diogo Jota but had to move on with the changes in the squad in preparation for the season. By the end of July, Liverpool had 13 players transfer out, with one of the most significant ones being Trent Alexander-Arnold departing for Real Madrid and Luis Díaz moving to Bayern Munich.
Out of the eight transfers in the Reds made in the summertime, Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen was the most expensive transfer not only for the club but so far also in the British transfer record. Other important transfers in include Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, and Hugo Ekitike.
If at the end of the 2024/2025 season many experts were concerned with Liverpool relying too much on their veteran power, the moves the Reds have made on the market show that they are more than ready to develop new talent.
Arsenal F.C.
What everybody seems to agree upon when it comes to Arsenal is that it is high time the club acquired a forward it clearly needs. The Gunners do have the reputation of being the Premier League runners up, as the past season was the third in a row for them to finish in the second position of the league table.
The club has clearly done its homework over the summer, with names like Martín Zubimendi, Noni Madueke, and Viktor Gyökeres joining the squad. There have been a total of six transfers in made until now.
Manchester City F.C.
It may have been a disappointing season for Manchester City in 2024/2025. The club broke its spell of winning the Premier League championship that lasted for four seasons in a row. The new season will be the first since 2015/2016 with Kevin De Bruyne not playing for the Citizens. After his contract expired, the Belgian attacking midfielder chose to move on and joined Italian club Napoli.
Naturally, Manchester didn’t remain idle during the summer transfer window and acquired some outstanding names to join the squad. The most interesting of the seven transfers in would be Rayan Ait-Nouri, Rayan Cherki, and Tijjani Reijnders. Though head coach Pep Guardiola is famous for creating a system where newcomers take time to assimilate, Manchester City is still seen as a very likely contender for the title.
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