After serving up one of the most unpredictable seasons in recent history, the English Premier League is back for the 2025-26 campaign, which promises to be full of surprises.
Last season was full of unforeseen storylines. From Liverpool winning a record-equaling 20th title under a new manager, Manchester City finishing trophyless for the first time in eight years, and Manchester United plummeting to new lows.
The 2025-26 season kicks off on Friday with Liverpool opening their title defence against Bournemouth. While the Reds have spent substantially to bulk up the resources, other teams have also spent big ahead of a season, which is likely to witness a wide open title race after almost a decade.
After ending City’s league dominance, Liverpool, in an attempt to cement their status as the new dominant force in the English top-flight, have spent over £250 m. While the massive spending is unusual for the Reds, the importance of constant rebuilding and reinforcing to keep up with league heavyweights, who have spent big, forced the Reds’ hand to splurge the money.
German forward Florian Wirtz became the most expensive signing in Liverpool’s history and of this transfer window when he joined the Reds from Bayer Leverkusen in June in a deal that could rise to a British-record £116m with add-ons. Wirtz is a part of Arnie Slot’s Reds’ revolution, which has seen the club make five high-profile signings, including big moves for Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike.
Liverpool’s record spending and title defense challenges
Despite the big arrivals, Liverpool have their task cut out for them in their title defence in the 2025-26 season. Only Pep Guardiola’s City and Sir Alex Ferguson’s Man United have successfully retained their titles in the last 15 years. The last time Liverpool mounted a successful title defence was way back in 1984.
But Slot’s first season, where he etched his name in history books by winning the title in his first year in the Premier League, following Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Manuel Pellegrini and Antonio Conte, will keep the Reds’ fans optimistic to achieve another difficult milestone.
Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola’s Man City were the early movers, starting their rebuild in January with around £340 million spent since then on squad overhaul after finishing trophyless for the first time in eight years.
Manchester City’s rebuild and pursuit of redemption
Hungry to regain success and a point to prove, City is expected to hit the ground running. The Cityzens’ title defence unravelled dramatically before Christmas, before a loss in the FA Cup final to Crystal Palace compounded City’s misery.
Under Guardiola’s extensive rebuild, City have signed the likes of Omar Marmoush and Rayan Cherki and offloaded their £100m signing, Jack Grealish.
Perennial runner-up Arsenal will hope their signing of a top-class striker in Viktor Gyokeres is the final piece of the puzzle in their bid for a first title since 2004. However, despite making plenty of high-profile deals in the current window, the signing of Spanish midfielder Martin Zubimendi is tipped to be the best of the lot by a host of pundits and experts.
Elsewhere, Chelsea have continued to spend heavily under American owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital. Fresh from being crowned Club World Cup winners, Blues have made some high-profile signings, including the £60m deal to sign Brighton striker Joao Pedro and the £55m capture of Jamie Gittens from Borussia Dortmund.
Manchester United’s resurgence under Amorim
For United fans, hopes of experiencing the joy of glory days look far-fetched but the extensive revamp after a dismal season has brought a sense of optimism at Old Trafford.
United recorded their lowest finish in the Premier League era (15th) last season, the most losses (18) and their lowest points tally (42). Losing the Europa League final to Tottenham proved to be the final nail in the coffin for the 20-time league champions.
But keeping up with the words of head coach Ruben Amorim, who has vowed to bring the good times back, United have signed Premier League-proven forwards in Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, along with in-demand Slovenia striker Benjamin Sesko.
United remain convinced that the two-time Portuguese league winner with Sporting Lisbon is the right man to end more than a decade of decline since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
The Red Devils will be under pressure from the start, taking on Arsenal, City and Chelsea within their first five games. By then, it will largely become clear which direction United is heading towards.
Leeds, Burnley and Sunderland, the promoted clubs, have been tipped to return to the second division straightaway.