The biggest league in the world is back this week as the English Premier League season kicks off on Saturday morning. After breaking a long drought last season, Arsenal will be looking to go back to back - can anyone stop them? Jack Tobin has you sorted with his season preview and best outright betting tips below!
EPL 2026-27: Season Preview & Betting Tips
Premier League Winner
Arsenal
The Gunners ended a 22 year drought by winning the Premier League title last season, in convincing fashion. Despite Manchester City making a late push, Arsenal essentially held top spot from the 4th of October to the final day of the season. Mikel Arteta’s side was the number one ranked defence, conceding only 27 goals, while they also scored the second most goals in the league with 71. Although they missed out on signing Vinicius Junior, they did make a big splash in the transfer window, signing Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle for $101 million. They’ve got a settled squad and continuity with the manager that most other sides don’t have, they’re going to be hard to stop from going back to back.
Manchester City
It’s a new era for Manchester City as Enzo Maresca takes the reins after Pep Guardiola stepped away. City will view last season as a missed opportunity, dropping crucial points to teams in the bottom half of the table that cost them the title. There’s been plenty of turnover in the squad as well, with Bernado Silva (Real Madrid) and John Stones (Inter Milan) gone, while it looks certain Rodri will eventually find his way to Barcelona. City did spend $154 million on Elliot Anderson, however the squad overall looks weaker than previous seasons. Manchester City were the highest scoring team in the league last season (77 goals scored) and had the league’s golden boot winner in Erling Haaland, who scored 27 goals. The Norwegian is coming off a stunning World Cup campaign where he scored 7 goals to lead Norway to the Quarter Finals. Although there’s plenty of talent, the change in manager and the loss of key players is going to make this season a challenging campaign.
Manchester United
2025/26 was a wild season for Manchester United, Ruben Amorim was sacked in January after an 8-6-6 record, then interim manager Michael Carrick came in and turned their season around. The Red Devils recorded 12 wins, 3 draws and only two losses after Carrick took over, to end up finishing in third place and Carrick doing enough to secure the permanent manager position. United had the best record in the league after Carrick took over, so there should be plenty of optimism coming into this season. They haven’t made the big splashes in the transfer window like other sides, but they’ve made some excellent value signings, getting Andrey Santos ($64 million) and Youri Tielemens ($46 million). The Red Devils midfield looks excellent, but the big question will be if their attacking players in Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko can produce their form from the second half of the season, across the full 38 games.
Liverpool
Liverpool’s title defence couldn’t have gone any worse. The Reds started the season with five consecutive wins and built a comfortable lead at the top of the table, however from that point on it all came crashing down. They would lose six of their next seven games, and failed to win their last four games as they finished fifth on the table. Arne Slot was sacked, Mo Salah left, leaving two very big holes in a club that had won the title in 2024/25. Andoni Iraola has a massive challenge trying to turn things around and given the Reds haven’t done much in the transfer window, it looks like it’s going to be an uphill battle for Liverpool to challenge for the title.
EPL Title Winner Best Bet
For the majority of the teams at the top of the table, there’s been plenty of change. Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool all have different managers from the opening day of last season. Aston Villa have lost three of their best players in Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans and Lucas Digne. Bournemouth and Sunderland will be competing in Europe, so it’s likely their domestic form takes a hit after surprising performances last season.
Arsenal have the best continuity, Mikel Arteta is the longest serving manager currently in the Premier League and they haven’t lost any key players during the transfer window. The defending champions won the league by seven points, they were the best defensive side and the second best attacking side. The Gunners were a dominant outfit last season and they’ve got everything going their way to repeat as champions.
Arsenal League Winner
$2.50
EPL Title Winner Value Bet
If you’re looking for some better value in the title market, Manchester United is a side that looks capable of challenging Arsenal. In the 17 games post Michael Carrick taking over, the Red Devils recorded a league best 39 points, 3 points more than Arsenal. United’s attacking game improved significantly under Carrick, scoring a league high 33 goals post Carrick taking over. Manchester United’s defensive game also improved massively under Carrick, in the first 21 games of the season the Red Devils conceded 32 goals. In the final 17 games of the season, United only conceded 18 goals, ranked sixth in the league across that timespan. Michael Carrick’s side have made some quality signings in Tielemans and Santos, as all signs point towards improvement this season. If you’re looking for a league winner outside of the favourites, Manchester United are definitely worth a look.
Manchester United League Winner
$10
Golden Boot Winner
The Golden Boot market is a difficult market given Erling Haaland is at such short odds ($1.67 with Ladbrokes) - and rightfully so. Haaland scored 5 more goals than Igor Thiago who finished second, and it’s difficult to have full confidence that Brentford can improve on last season to give Thiago enough chances to score. Antoine Semenyo, who finished third, scored the majority of his goals at Bournemouth before transferring to City, while Ollie Watkins (4th), Joao Pedro (5th) and Morgan Gibbs-White (6th) are all playing in sides that are more likely to finish outside of the top four.
So where to go if you’re looking for some value? Viktor Gyokeres is the answer. The Swedish forward had a slow start to his first season in North London, but finished the campaign with 14 goals - the seventh most in the Premier League. Traditionally strikers tend to perform better in their second season at a club and given the continuity the Gunners have built, there should be plenty of optimism that Gyokeres will be more potent this season. Given Arsenal will be contending for the title, Gyokeres should have plenty of opportunities in front of goal and if he can finish better this season, he’ll be right amongst the top scorers in the league.
Viktor Gyokeres Top Goalscorer
$21
