31 Jul, 2025
We gathered 110 football experts to give us their pre-season predictions and collected the results. We asked all 110 experts who will win the Premier League title? Who makes the top 4? Which 3 teams gets relegated? And who wins the Championship, League 1 and League 2! All of that & more!
I asked 110 ‘football experts’ for their pre-season predictions. These aren’t your mates down the pub who still think Manchester United have a chance at the title this year. These are people you actually listen to when they speak. Tactical accounts, Premier League obsessives, reputable football journalists, non-league aficionados – the proper football nerds.
After consulting these experts, I’m buzzing to share my findings! Consider this the definitive prediction for what promises to be an incredibly tasty 25/26 season.
Let’s start at the top. Unsurprisingly, 65.79% of experts think Liverpool will win the title. After cruising to it last year and splashing serious cash this summer, they’re the clear favourites — and the experts agree. Meanwhile, 21.05% have gone for Man City, and 13.16% think Arsenal will lift the trophy. The fact that nobody else even got a single nod tells you everything about the gap that’s opened up. It’s a three-horse race – though I suspect it’ll be a bit closer than Liverpool’s dominance suggests.
Now for the rest of the top four. 34% believe Liverpool will finish 2nd (which, let’s be honest, is mostly from those predicting a City or Arsenal win, so don’t expect them to slip outside the top 2). 31.6% reckon Arsenal will bag 2nd, while 28.95% back Man City. Only 5.26% have Chelsea sneaking into 2nd place.For 3rd place, 42.1% predict Manchester City, 39.5% say Arsenal, and 18.42% think Chelsea will do it. Not a single expert has Liverpool finishing lower than 2nd – a wild show of confidence.As for 4th? It’s almost unanimous. 73.6% say Chelsea will secure 4th spot, 13.15% are backing Arsenal, 7.89% fancy City dropping down there, and 5.26% are absolute mavericks calling it for Spurs.
Now for the doom zone. Burnley are the universal whipping boys – predicted to go down 100% of the time. Wow. Leeds are next with 62.16% forecasting the drop, while 59.46% say Sunderland will join them.Could one of the promoted sides buck the trend? 45.95% reckon Brentford could be in serious danger. 18.9% think Wolves are doomed, 8% say West Ham will slip, and just 2.7% predict either Fulham or Everton will fall. The consensus? The promoted clubs are in trouble, but there’s still a glimmer of hope for one of them.
In the Championship, it’s a two-horse race. 51.35% believe Ipswich will bounce straight back up, while 40.54% are backing the Will Still revolution at Southampton. Outside of that, we have some rogue picks: 2.7% for Leicester (even with the points deduction), 2.7% for Frank Lampard’s Coventry (yes, you read that right), and 2.7% for Sheffield United.
It’s another close battle in League 1. 38.8% expect Luton to power their way back up, while 33.3% are putting their chips on Huddersfield learning from last season’s mistakes and winning the league. 16.6% have fallen for the Stockport County revolution. As for wildcards, 2.7% each went for Bolton, Plymouth, Wycombe, and Cardiff.
In League 2, the experts are pretty united: it’s MK Dons’ title to lose. 53.12% of them predict they’ll smash their way to League 1. 25% think Chesterfield could nick it and the bookies agree, with both sides neck-and-neck in the odds. 18.75% are backing Bristol Rovers, who also look like a solid promotion shout, while 3.25% of brave souls have gone for Fleetwood. Could that be a masterstroke? We’ll see.
So, what do you think? Are there any predictions here that have completely blindsided you? Who’s your pick for the title, the drop, and the wild-card promotions? Let me know in the comments.
