Alan Smith’s Premier League Predictions 25/26: Winner, Top 5 & Relegation

I’ve got to go Arsenal, haven’t I? Given that they get the right centre-forward, and hopefully they will. You make these predictions before the end of the transfer window, so it’s always a tricky one, but hopefully that would be the final piece in the jigsaw for the Gunners, whether it’s Sesko or Gyokeres.

I’m hoping that will do the trick, so I’ll go with Arsenal to win the Premier League.

So, in second place, it’s a toss-up between Liverpool and Man City for me. I’m going to go Man City for second, Liverpool third, and Chelsea fourth, the same as they were last season. And then again, a toss-up between Newcastle and Villa for fifth. Newcastle have got the Champions League, but Villa are a strange one.

Villa have spent a lot of money, their wages to turnover and all the rest of it, so they might have to cut the cloth a little bit, but Newcastle have got some momentum, so I’ll go with them for fifth place.

It’s hard, isn’t it? If one of those promoted teams is going to stay up, I think they’ll have to do it by the skin of their teeth. Sunderland didn’t expect to be up there. Everyone thought Sheffield United would win that playoff, and they’re there. Leeds, I think we all feel, probably got the best chance, but even so, you think, which of the Premier League clubs is going to finish below them?

The likes of Wolves – they’ve lost Matheus Cunha, but have got a lot of know-how in there. They’ve been able to build in those seasons they’ve been in the Premier League. Everton, though, they haven’t got many players at all currently. They’ve got the new stadium, so they’ve got the energy, the enthusiasm from that.

So I’ve got to go with Leeds, Burnley and Sunderland going back down again, unfortunately. It’s not a great trend for the Premier League, but that’s the way I see it.

The kind of thing last season with Nottingham Forest doesn’t happen often, does it, these days? That’s why it was such a shock, and such a nice surprise, that Forest were competing at the top. I don’t see that happening again, not with Forest or with any other sides, really, in terms of challenging for those top places. At one point, we were thinking, oh, could they do a Leicester?

But given how they played and finished last season, for the biggest improvements, I’m going to go Spurs. Losing all those games under Postecoglou – obviously, they won the Europa League, but I think where they finished this year to where they’ll finish next year, I think that’ll be the biggest jump of any of the clubs in the Premier League, so I’ll go with Tottenham.

I think West Ham fans will certainly be expecting better things, but I don’t know if it’s gonna happen under Potter. So I think that might be a difficult season for them. He was getting his feet under the table last year, now he’s had a pre-season, and he’ll be making signings. So they might be the one that disappoints.

If they don’t get some early points on the board, their fans will be on them, and it makes it a difficult place to play football. There’ll be big question marks set against Potter. So I think it might be a difficult season for them.

Well, if Arsenal win the league, you automatically look at a player from there. So I’ll go for Declan Rice. He’s been brilliant for them since arriving, and in a title-winning season, I think he’d score a good few goals, some important ones as well. He’s got the capacity to do that, and he’s turned into a brilliant leader for the team. A talisman, really, for them.

So I’ll go with Declan Rice.

Going back to Spurs, I think maybe Thomas Frank. He’ll be able to lift them. It’s new territory for him – he’s got Champions League football, which he’s never had before, he’s in charge of a big club that he’s never had before, so we don’t know exactly how he’ll handle it, but I think he’s got the intelligence to do well there.

He’s got his backroom team with him, so I think he’ll make a big difference there, and I think he’ll be a big favourite of the Spurs fans. They’ll be hoping for the top half of the table, at least. So as a manager, I think he’ll be the one who’ll have the biggest impact at his club.

I’ve heard a lot of really good things about Rayan Cherki, the boy at Man City, who signed from Lyon. 21 years old, they just say he’s a brilliant dribbler, he’s two-footed, carries the ball so well and he’s quick. So I think he’ll maybe burst onto the scene with City.

I think they’re going to have a much better year this coming season, and he’s not young-young, and he’s got that little bit of experience behind him, so I think he’s ready for this. Plus, Premier League fans don’t know too much about him, so I think they’ll really enjoy watching him play. I think he’s set for a good campaign.

Alan will be back sharing his predictions at the start of next season. Keep an eye out for his next installment, exclusively on Best Betting Sites, for more football insights.