The Premier League season is alarmingly close to launch and bold predictions are already being thrown about ahead of the 2025–26 campaign.
While last season offers an indication of how the upcoming term will pan out, the beauty of the Premier League is in the unexpected. There are three new sides in the division hoping to upset the odds, as well as an array of high profile, big money signing looking to make an impact. It’s nigh on impossible to predict how the final table will look.
But Opta’s magical supercomputer has attempted to do exactly that, forecasting where each of the top-flight’s 20 clubs will finish. For some, it offers hope and encouragement. For others, simply heartbreak and woe.
Supercomputer Predicts 2025–26 Premier League Final Table
First thing first, who will be crowned champions in 2025–26?
Well, the supercomputer has backed Liverpool to defend their crown and secure repeat titles, giving them a 28.5% chance of seeing off the competition for another year. Arne Slot and his star studded squad will be hoping to justify the supercomputer’s faith.
That means it would be a fourth successive second place finish for Arsenal, who will be desperately keen to prove Opta wrong. The Gunners are aiming to take the final leap towards domestic glory after several agonising attempts under Mikel Arteta, and they are given a 24.3% chance of ending their trophy drought.
Manchester City will be keen to return to their former heights after a season in the cold, but they are something of an unknown force heading into 2025–26 given their underwhelming displays last term. They finished strong, as did Chelsea, and both are expected to make up the remainder of the top four—although the Cityzens have a much stronger chance of winning the title than the newly crowned club world champions (18.8% compared to 8.4%).
Aston Villa and Newcastle United will be knocking on the door for Champions League qualification, the latter having pipped the west midlands side to the post on the final day of last season. Crystal Palace, Brighton & Hove Albion, Bournemouth and Brentford are among those expected to compete for Europa League and Conference League berths.
The supercomputer has predicted a fall from grace for Nottingham Forest, who struggled down the stretch last term and have underwhelmed in pre-season. They finished seventh last season but are tipped to fall into the bottom half with an 11th place finish. Fulham, West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers are also expected to drop down the standings, but Everton have been positioned in 13th—exactly where they finished last term.
2024–25 was a season of unquestionable misery for Manchester United and Opta are not expecting their fortunes to change significantly. While they are predicted to improve upon their previous Premier League finish, they have still been placed in the bottom half of the table in 12th. Such a finish would likely cost Ruben Amorim his job and plunge the Red Devils even further into mediocrity.
Tottenham Hotspur are also expected to improve upon last season’s shock 17th place, although Europa League glory eased domestic pain. Thomas Frank is expected to finish well below his former side Brentford during his debut season at the helm, with a 14th slated for the Lilywhites.
Unfortunately for the newly promoted trio of Leeds United, Burnley and Sunderland, the supercomputer predicts an immediate return to the Championship. Should it come to pass, it will be the third successive term in which all three promoted sides are swiftly demoted, with the gap between the second tier and the top flight seemingly widening.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Supercomputer Predicts 2025-26 Premier League Table.