Premier League 2026-27 preview: Arsenal's title defense, new faces in new places, and what to expect this season

The World Cup is in the rearview mirror, and it's time to welcome back European domestic soccer on a weekly basis. The Premier League will enter its 35th season with the start of the 2026-27 campaign. The first match week will begin on August 21 and end on May 30. Arsenal enters the season as reigning champions for the first time since 2004. We say goodbye to relegated Burnley, West Ham and Wolves and welcome back promoted Coventry City, Hull City and Ipswich Town to the top flight. As we get set for another year, let's take a look at what to expect during the 2026-27 Premier League season. New managers in new places The end of a season always means changes among the managers. The carousel spun for another offseason with Pep Guardiola saying goodbye to Manchester City after a decade; Arne Slot getting sacked after two seasons in charge in Liverpool; and Andoni Iraola moving from Bournemouth to Anfield to replace Slot . Xabi Alonso, fresh off his 34 games in charge of Real Madrid last season, will lead Chelsea after the Blues went through three managers during the 2025-26 season. Alonso's replacement, Álvaro Arbeloa, takes over at Fulham . Other new bosses this season include Marco Rose (Bournemouth), Pierre Sage (Crystal Palace), Gary O'Neil (Ipswich Town) and Oliver Glasner (Nottingham Forest). Coventry City's captain Matt Grimes and his team mates lift the Sky Bet Championship trophy. (Photo by Jacob King/PA Images via Getty Images) Jacob King - PA Images via Getty Images The new kids Coventry City, one of the founding members of the Premier League, are back after a 25-year absence. Relegated following the 2000-01 season, the Sky Blues dropped as low as League Two before climbing back up the pyramid and winning the Championship in 2025-26. They are managed by Chelsea and England legend Frank Lampard and have spent since the transfer window opened in order to avoid a relegation fight, with Loum Tchaouna and Aurèle Amenda brought in as record transfer signings. USMNT striker Haji Wright features and has scored 45 times over the last three seasons. Hull City were gone from the Premier League for a decade and spent most of the past nine seasons in the Championship. They were promoted via the playoffs in May and are looking to stay more than two seasons in the top flight after their previous three times in the Premier League. Sergej Jakirović, who was a finalist for Championship Manager of the Year last season, is in his second year with the club. If there is no further strengthening of the roster, the 49-year-old Bosnian may not be long for the job. Matt Targett and Hidemasa Morita were signed as free transfers and former England international goalkeeper Jack Butland joined from Rangers. Ipswich Town, another Premier League founding member, didn't last long in the Championship following their relegation after the 2024-25 season. The Tractor Boys earned automatic promotion last season after finishing second and are back for their fourth stint in the top division. Also making a return to the top flight is manager Gary O'Neil, who managed Bournemouth and Wolves before replacing Liam Rosenior at Ligue 1's Strasbourg following Rosenior's departure for Chelsea in January. O'Neil replaces Kieran McKenna, who stepped down following the season. Emersonn, Abdul Fatawu, Daizen Maeda were each brought in to strengthen the front line, while Issa Diop, who started five games for Morocco at the World Cup, will reinforce the defense. Chelsea FC unveil new signing Morgan Rogers at Stamford Bridge. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images) Darren Walsh via Getty Images Biggest additions As they typically do, Manchester City and Chelsea were among the clubs spending piles of cash in the transfer market. Morgan Rogers and Elliot Anderson, both members of England's World Cup squad, each drew over £100 million in transfer fees. Rogers went from Aston Villa to Chelsea for £117 million , while Nottingham Forest sold high on Anderson, netting £116 million from Manchester City. After nearly falling victim to relegation last season, the Spurs are spending what they can to avoid being in that situation again. Sandro Tonali (£92.5m), Mateus Fernandes (£85m), Jan Paul van Hecke (£52m) and Andy Robertson (free) have joined the North London side. One of the breakout young stars from the World Cup, Switzerland's Johan Manzambi, joined Aston Villa from Freiburg for £52 million. Manchester United added 22-year-old Brazilian midfielder Andrey Santos from Chelsea for £48 million. The Reds also splashed £35 million to bring Youri Tielemans in from Villa. The World Cup also helped drive other moves, including Ecuador's Piero Hincapié finalizing a deal to remain at Arsenal from Bayer Leverkusen (£34.5m) and Bosnia's Tarik Muharemović going from Sassuolo to Leeds United (£34.1m). Marc Cucurella of Spain looks at the World Cup trophy after the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final match between Spain and Argentina. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images) Catherine Ivill - AMA via Getty Images Biggest losses Barcelona started their shopping early, spending £69.3 million to bring Anthony Gordon in from Newcastle. Another World Cup star, Marc Cucurella, got a move from Chelsea to Real Madrid (£47.5m) while helping Spain win the tournament . Others saying goodbye to the Premier League include Leandro Trossard (£15.3m - Beşiktaş from Arsenal), Crysencio Summerville (£55m - Al-Hilal from West Ham), Nathan Aké (£7m - Fenerbahçe from Manchester City), Jack Harrison (undisclosed - New England Revolution from Leeds United), Ibrahima Konaté (free - Real Madrid from Liverpool), Bernardo Silva (free - Real Madrid from Manchester City), Casemiro (free - Inter Miami from Manchester United) and Mohamed Salah (free agent - Liverpool) Alejandro Garnacho (Aston Villa from Chelsea) and André Onana (Trabzonspor from Manchester United) were among those notables going out on loan. Who's playing in Europe? The Premier League earned five places in the UEFA Champions League this season. Those spots will be taken by Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Aston Villa and Liverpool. Bournemouth, Sunderland and Crystal Palace will compete in the UEFA Europa League, while Brighton heads to the UEFA Conference League qualifying rounds after finishing ninth. Crystal Palace may have finished 15th in the Premier League, but winning the Conference League last season secured the Eagles a Europa League place. Ecuador's Piero Hincapie covers his mouth, talking to Mexico's Santiago Gimenez, then he is sent off with a red card during the round of 32 match between Mexico and Ecuador. (Photo by Francisco Canedo/Xinhua via Getty Images) Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images New laws of the game The World Cup gave us a preview of new rules changes that will begin in domestic leagues this season. The International Football Association Board approved several new measures. Players who need on-field treatment must leave the pitch for at least one minute before being allowed to return. Referees will begin a five-second countdown for all throw-ins and goal-kicks. Any player taking too long will see the opposing team be awarded a throw-in or, in the case of a goal-kick, a corner kick. Video Assistant Referee will be able to review incorrectly awarded corner kicks, attacking fouls that take place before play is started, incorrectly awarded red cards from second yellow cards, and mistaken identity yellow or red cards for fouls committed by another player. But, wait, there's more! Players substituted out of games will have 10 seconds to leave the field at the nearest point of exit. Should they exceed that time, the player entering the match will have to wait one minute before being allowed on by the referee. Players who cover their mouths during confrontations with an opponent will receive a red card. We saw it during the World Cup with Paraguay's Miguel Almirón and Ecuador's Piero Hincapié . One rule that will be trialed at all levels of the men's and women's professional game in England this season is stopping teams from using goalkeeper injuries for a tactical advantage. Too many goalkeepers last season were feigning being hurt to allow their teams to hold strategy sessions during the pause in play. Now, if a game is stopped due to a goalie injury, managers will have to select one of their own players to leave the match for one minute after the game is restarted. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta applauds during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Burnley at Emirates Stadium. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images) Marc Atkins via Getty Images The reigning champions Arsenal (+145 to win the title) It's tough at the top. Only one club has successfully defended its title since the 2009-10 season, and that was Manchester City when they won the league six times in seven seasons between 2018 and 2024. Winning the Premier League isn't easy, as Arsenal experienced with the 22 years between their titles. Mikel Arteta's side had a treble in their sights, but defeats in the finals of the EFL Cup and Champions League left the Gunners with only one piece of silverware to celebrate. No team did better scoring off set pieces and defending them than Arsenal. The Gunners scored a Premier League-high 29 times, while conceding just eight. It was all part of the title-winning formula. Now, with the pressure turned down after ending the league title drought, Arteta and company can build on the continuity from last season and eye success in Europe. The title hunters Manchester City (+280), Liverpool (+500) Between 2018 and 2025, the Citizens and the Reds won a combined eight league titles. The three managers in charge are all gone, and new leadership has been installed with a mandate to end the season with silverware — preferably the more prestigious kind. Both teams saw other changes besides the manager role. Liverpool welcomed Jérémy Jacquet and Víctor Muñoz for a combined transfer fee of £90 million. The Reds also parted ways with club legend Mohamed Salah and allowed Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konaté to leave on free transfers. They have the cash, so it was no surprise to see Manchester City shelling out £116 million for Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson. Club stalwarts Bernardo Silva, John Stones and Nathan Aké were among those to move on. Bruno Fernandes celebrates scoring his side's third goal during the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Manchester United. (Photo by David Horton - CameraSport via Getty Images) David Horton - CameraSport via Getty Images The European hopefuls Odds to finish top 6: Manchester United (-390), Chelsea (-340), Tottenham (+105), Aston Villa (+125), Newcastle (+380), Brighton (+380), Bournemouth (+650) When Michael Carrick took over from Ruben Amorim and Darren Fletcher in January as manager for the remainder of the season, Manchester United were sitting in seventh place with eight wins. As the talk about whether he should be retained went on, Carrick let his team's play do the talking. The Red Devils won 12 of his 17 games in charge and finished third in the table, earning the boss a contract through the 2027-28 season and the team a place back in the Champions League. Chelsea and Tottenham had very underwhelming seasons, with the Blues set to miss out on European competition for just the second time in the past decade and Spurs flirting with relegation for most of the second half of the season. Will Morgan Rogers end up being an overpayment for Chelsea? How much will they miss Marc Cucurella in the back? Did Tottenham spend their way out of a relegation fight? Can new manager Roberto De Zerbi make it work with Spurs like he did with Brighton? Aston Villa won the Europa League and will be playing Champions League matches for only the second time since the 1980s. Brighton and Bournemouth, who each finished in the top 10, along with Newcastle, who finished 12th, are hoping to follow suit. The middle of the pack Odds to finish top half of table: Everton (+125), Nottingham Forest (+170), Brentford (+170), Leeds United (+240), Crystal Palace (+240), Fulham (+290), Sunderland (+450) Everton and Nottingham Forest each found themselves in the relegation fight last season, but managed to find safety as West Ham, Burnley and Wolves separated themselves from those returning to the Premier League. The Toffees managed one win in their final nine matches, but stayed up 10 points ahead of West Ham. Will a full season of Tyrique George, plus the additions of Hayden Hackney and Merlin Röhl, lead to a less-nervy campaign? David Moyes likely needs more reinforcements. Nottingham Forest manager Evangelos Marinakis couldn't stay happy with his manager for longer than a few months. Four men took charge of the club last season, with Vitor Pereira unable to retain the position, as former Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner is the latest to try and hold a job. For the second time in four seasons, Brentford finished ninth in the table. This time it was under first-year manager Keith Andrews and powered by 22 goals from Igor Thiago, who finished five behind Erling Haaland for the Golden Boot. Thiago was the Bees' only double-digit goal scorer, which begs for more from the squad's depth and also raises concerns if a bigger club comes calling for his services. Just one month until the first round of fixtures for the 2026/27 Premier League season begins 🏟️👀 pic.twitter.com/bEl7NsQ3mG — Premier League (@premierleague) July 21, 2026 Only six teams accumulated more points than Leeds United from Dec. 1 on. A tactical switch from manager Daniel Farke in late November resulted in a run that took them out of the relegation zone and safely into 14th place. Longtime defender Pascal Struijk moved on to Brighton, but Tarik Muharemović was signed from Sassuolo, while Harry Wilson joined as a free agent. The Whites' biggest summer move, signing goalkeeper James Trafford on a club-record £40 million deal from Manchester City, is nearing completion . Oliver Glasner is gone and Pierre Sage takes over Crystal Palace after years in France. The reigning Conference League winners have been quiet in the transfer market, though ex-Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu is getting a look. Fulham just missed out on a top-10 finish last season. They allowed manager Marco Silva to let his contract expire and have brought in former Real Madrid boss Álvaro Arbeloa as a replacement. Issa Diop moved on to Ipswich Town, while 19-year-old Jonah Kusi-Asare was signed for £5.2 million from Bayern Munich. The goals that Raúl Jiménez (Wolves) and Harry Wilson (Leeds United) delivered will be missed as both players left as free agents. USMNT striker Ricardo Pepi looked to be arriving at Craven Cottage, but PSV called the whole thing off again . A seventh-place finish in their first season back in the Premier League was a dream for Sunderland. But will they succumb to the dreaded "second-season syndrome?" It's been a quiet transfer market so far with only Thomas Meunier brought in on a free. Manager Régis Le Bris will be wanting more to build off a strong 2025-26 campaign. The relegation fighters Odds to be relegated: Hull City (-475), Coventry (-180), Ipswich Town (-165) Only three times in Premier League history have all three promoted teams gone right back down. And only four times have all three newcomers survived relegation. Someone's likely going to be back in the Championship next season. But with the spending gap widening between the "haves" and "have-nots," staying up continually becomes harder and harder to achieve each season. Hull City, Coventry and Ipswich Town enjoyed success last season and will also enjoy the estimated £200 million that goes with promotion to the Premier League. But teams have to be smart with their spending as they attempt to stay up. Recklessness in the transfer market could lead to even more pain should they find themselves back down in the second division quicker than anticipated.