The 2026-27 Premier League season takes flight this weekend, and the complexion of the division has changed quite a bit with a new champion and new bosses at almost half of the clubs (if you count first full seasons).
MORE — PST predicts the 2026-27 Premier League table
Arsenal are defending champions and stacking themselves up to defend the title and go for other trophies, too, while Man City, Liverpool, Spurs, Manchester United, and Chelsea have plenty of talent but three of the five have brand new bosses and the other two were hired during last season.
MORE — Current Premier League managers list
Throw in some non-traditional continental competitors set to test their depth against Europe as well as the Premier League gauntlet, and you've got the recipe for a wild season.
Our staff of Joe Prince-Wright, Andy Edwards, and Nick Mendola have their predictions in the form of answers to 13 pressing PL questions.
Who will be the Premier League Player of the Season?Joe Prince-Wright: Declan Rice, Arsenal - He will take his game to a new level and Arsenal will win the league again.
Andy Edwards: Alexander Isak, Liverpool - He is going to have to carry a heavy load for Liverpool's attack this season, and while that's not exactly conducive to winning lots of games, it is great for individual production.
Nicholas Mendola: Joao Pedro, Chelsea - One player is going to get a lot of the love when Xabi Alonso pulls Chelsea up the table with only the Premier League and a couple of domestic cups on his fixture list. While Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez are interesting shouts, Reece James a dark horse, and Cole Palmer set for a lot of love... it's the guy scoring the goals and just hitting his prime at 24 who will reap the rewards.
Who will win the Premier League Golden Boot? Who will be runner-up?Joe Prince-Wright: Erling Haaland (32 goals), Joao Pedro (27 goals)
Andy Edwards: You'd be a fool to pick anybody but Erling Haaland for as long as he remains at Manchester City. Joao Pedro probably pushes him the most for the Golden Boot, but he'll be more of a consistent source of goals rather than a constant explosion of them. Haaland 24, Pedro 19.
Nicholas Mendola: Haaland's going to near 30 goals as he's also City's main penalty taker. Joao Pedro, Alexander Isak, and maybe even Benjamin Sesko will compete for second. Isak at 21.
Who will win the Premier League Golden Glove for most clean sheets?Joe Prince-Wright: David Raya, Arsenal
Andy Edwards: David Raya, Arsenal
Nicholas Mendola: Gianluigi Donnarumma, Manchester City
Who will be the Premier League Manager of the Year?Joe Prince-Wright: Xabi Alonso, Chelsea - I expect Chelsea to be right up there in the title race for most of the season and play some brilliant football under Alonso. No European action is a huge bonus, of course, but Alonso is a fine young coach and this is the perfect project for him.
Andy Edwards: Roberto De Zerbi, Tottenham Hotspur — From 17th and narrowly avoiding relegation on the final day last season, to being anywhere near the Champions League chase. Between the extra time on the training ground and RDZ's physically demanding style of play, Spurs will undoubtedly benefit from no European football this season.
Nicholas Mendola: Xabi Alonso, Chelsea — New managers often require time but Alonso knows how to work a midfield and has two of the very best in Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo. They'll keep Chelsea firmly in the top four picture and maybe the title race as the Blues focus solely on the Premier League and a couple of cups.
Who will be the Premier League’s 2026-27 Best XI?Joe Prince-Wright: David Raya; Pedro Porro, Lisandro Martinez, Gabriel Magalhaes, Piero Hincapie; Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Morgan Rogers, Antoine Semenyo; Erling Haaland, Joao Pedro
Andy Edwards: David Raya, Jurrien Timber, Jan Paul van Hecke, Gabriel Magalhaes, Nico O'Reilly, Declan Rice, Dominik Szoboszlai, Bruno Fernandes, Erling Haaland, Alexander Isak, Joao Pedro
Nicholas Mendola: Gianluigi Donnarumma; Maxence Lacroix, Micky van de Ven, Josko Gvardiol; Bruno Guimaraes, Declan Rice, Bruno Fernandes, Dominik Szoboszlai; Joao Pedro, Erling Haaland, Bukayo Saka
Who will be the Premier League Breakout Player of the Season?(Criteria: Young player award + no previous honors)
Joe Prince-Wright: Rio Ngumoha, Liverpool
Andy Edwards: Estevao had the look of "future best winger in the world" a good few times last season, and that was in a completely chaotic, totally lost season for Chelsea. What might he do with a little more structure around him, after reaching the ripe, old age of 19?
Nicholas Mendola: Brian Madjo, Aston Villa — I'll acknowledge that the Super Cup recency bias is real, but the 17-year-old is big, strong, and looked unfazed by starting against PSG. Unai Emery will need his depth and the kid's age will help things along in the hype machine.
Brian Madjo of Aston Villa FC in action during the UEFA Super Cup Final match between Paris Saint-Germain FC and Aston Villa FC at Salzburg Stadium on August 12, 2026 in Salzburg, Austria (Photo by Giuseppe Maffia/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
NurPhoto via Getty Images
What has been the most impactful summer transfer?Joe Prince-Wright: Morgan Rogers closely followed by Youri Tielemans and Bruno Guimaraes.
Andy Edwards: Youri Tielemans is the best example of an experienced, prime-age talent filling a glaring, and sometimes crippling, need for his new club. Imagine the smile on Bruno Fernandes' face when he found out Manchester United were signing another midfielder that can pass the ball.
Nicholas Mendola: Bruno Guimaraes is a special, special player and will propel Arsenal up the table. His advanced metrics rivaled Declan Rice last season despite an inferior cast playing out a mediocre script at Newcastle.
Which USMNT player will have the best season?(Tyler Adams, Antonee Robinson, Chris Richards, Brenden Aaronson, Haji Wright)
Joe Prince-Wright: Brenden Aaronson, Leeds United
Andy Edwards: New Crystal Palace manager Pierre Sage sounds quite similar to former manager Oliver Glasner in terms of tactics, which means Chris Richards will be busy on both sides of the ball once again.
Nicholas Mendola: Tough, as all five teams could struggle but Chris Richards will get loads of playing time with Palace in Europe.
How many legitimate contenders are there to win the title and who will win the 2026-27 Premier League?Joe Prince-Wright: Four legitimate contenders with Arsenal, Man City, Chelsea and Man United in the hunt. Arsenal to win the league.
Andy Edwards: Let's be real here, and it pains me to say this: It's Arsenal in a runaway if they can stay even close to healthy this season. Now, there are some concerns about that given the number and intensity of games they have played the last few years, the longest World Cup ever this summer, and the recent injury history of a few key players. But no other side has the depth, the continuity, the confidence or the squad stability that Arsenal do heading into this season.
Nicholas Mendola: Three, tops. Arsenal are favorites. Man City and Chelsea have the strength and depth to rival the Gunners but new systems will cause hiccups. Man United don't have the depth and Spurs don't yet have the difference makers for an elite, title-running attack.
How many managers will be sacked and who will be first?Joe Prince-Wright: Seven. 7. First manager to go will be Matthias Jaissle at Newcastle.
Andy Edwards: "Whoever's currently in charge of Nottingham Forest" is always a smart choice.
Nicholas Mendola: Six. Gary O'Neil, Ipswich Town will be first, sadly.
Matthias Jaissle, Manager of Newcastle United, is pictured during the Pre-season Friendly match between Newcastle United and RC Strasbourg Alsace at St, on August 16, 2026. James’s Park in Newcastle, United Kingdom, on August 16, 2026. (Photo by Michael Driver/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
NurPhoto via Getty Images
Who will be the biggest surprise stories -- positive and negative?Joe Prince-Wright: Chelsea will be the biggest surprise story in a positive way, with Morgan Rogers leading the charge. Spurs will also have a very good season under Roberto De Zerbi. Fulham, Crystal Palace, and Bournemouth will all struggle massively and just stay up.
Andy Edwards: Positive: Putting my biased lilywhite hat back on, Spurs are going to be practically unrecognizable this season (in a good way). There are plenty of parallels and familiar vibes to the start of the Pochettino era, and the race for Champions League qualification is as wide open as can be. Negative: Newcastle might be in for a tough time. Alexander Isak, Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon are the four players that, more or less, made the Magpies a contender for top-four and trophies every years. And they're all gone now, within 12 months of each other. Whatever your feelings about Eddie Howe, that's an incredible amount of turnover in a short time.
Nicholas Mendola: Everton can hang around the top-four picture and will be one of the stories of the season if they can add a little depth and avoid major injuries (or a ton of them). Manchester United will not reach their expected heights as Michael Carrick learns a bit about managing a club while in Europe, Aston Villa will hang out mid-table after a number of big sales, and Newcastle are too green to take advantage of a slimmed-down fixture list.
Who will be relegated from the Premier League?Joe Prince-Wright: Hull City, Coventry City, Ipswich Town
Andy Edwards: Is it too easy and obvious to say the three promoted teams look miles off the pace of what they're about to come up against? Perhaps Forest or Fulham, maybe even Leeds, could struggle and find themselves in the mix, but they've all been through it before (and survived).
Nicholas Mendola: Ipswich, Coventry, Hull — It's difficult to see someone falling far enough off the pace to dip into the bottom three. All of the new boys have taken some transfer swings and could catch lightning in a bottle but finding the team who falls off to slip into a relegation fight is the bigger problem.
Who will be promoted to the Premier League?Joe Prince-Wright: West Ham, Southampton, Wolves
Andy Edwards: Wolves, Middlesborough, West Ham
Nicholas Mendola: West Ham (champions), Southampton (-4) and Wrexham (playoff/TV magic).
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