Surprise Teams to Look Out For in the EPL Next Season

Any preview of the upcoming 2025-26 EPL season at this time of year has to come with a number of caveats. The offseason is still relatively young and there are still weeks of transfer rumors and deals to be made before the action kicks in the middle of August. But there has been enough activity already to suggest that the new season will be as enthralling as ever.

If you take the time to look at a list of offshore sportsbooks, you will probably find that the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal, and Manchester City are the favorites to win the EPL next season. But the English top-tier is getting more competitive these days and last season threw up a number of surprise performances.

Aston Villa had already qualified for the Champions League the season before, but 2024-25 saw both Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest qualify for European football as well. Forest had previously struggled to fight off relegation for the past two years, so it just shows that surprises can still happen. Here are a few teams we think you should keep an eye on during the 2025-26 season.

Burnley

For the past two seasons, all three teams promoted from the Championship have made a swift return to the second tier. Leicester, Ipswich, and Southampton found the gulf between the two leagues too much last season and now all eyes will be on the new boys to see if they can cope with the rigors of the EPL.

Leeds will probably be most neutrals’ pick as the team with the best chance of staying up – but it might be Burnley who spring a few more surprises. The Clarets have become something of a yo-yo club in recent times but have made a few moves in the offseason that suggest that they might have a chance of staying up. Scott Parker has brought in some good defenders and signing Marcus Edwards from Sporting could really boost Burnley’s attacking options.

Brighton

The Sussex club is one of the best run in the country and seems to be able to survive – and even prosper – after losing top quality players each summer. This year, the Seagulls have lost Joao Pedro to Chelsea, among a number of other older players, but have recruited wisely. New arrivals on the South Coast usually fall under the banner of players you may not have heard of yet, but are set to stake a claim in the EPL.

The transfer policy at Brighton is one of the best in the business and this summer the club has already brought in Tommy Watson from Sunderland and Diego Coppola from Hellas Verona. The Italian brings some much-needed youth into the Brighton defensive line and the whole team looks likely to push for a European place again this season. We will wait to see if it all clicks – but history tells us that it usually does.

Chelsea

It may seem a little strange for a team that has just been crowned Club World Cup champions to be considered a potential surprise package in the EPL next season. But the West London club has been run in a chaotic manner for a while now, with players coming and going at an alarming rate. It might be that success in FIFA’s new flagship tournament will finally spur Chelsea into a period of normalcy.

We have already mentioned the transfer of Joao Pedro from Brighton – and he joins Liam Delap, who made the jump from relegated Ipswich almost as soon as the previous season ended. Those two might battle for game time but either should bring the goals that Nicolas Jackson struggled with last year. With Cole Palmer now looking like one of the players in the EPL, Chelsea could even return to challenging for the title.

Figure 2 Chelsea could be flying high next season - Source: Pixabay

Spurs

Another London club that could make a splash this year is Tottenham. Last year’s domestic showing was awful but a somewhat unlikely triumph in the Europa League has earned them a place in this season’s Champions League – and the club has been able to attract a different class of player because of that.

The loan signings of Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel were made permanent very early on and Mohammed Kudus’ arrival from West Ham could add some real speed to the Spurs attack under new head coach Thomas Frank. Morgan Gibbs-White may also have been signed from Nottingham Forest by the time this article is published, and he brings an unparalleled creativity to a team bursting with talent. Expect good things in this part of North London this year.

Familiar Faces

Even if one, or all, of these teams do enjoy a transformative year, it is still likely that the familiar team names will be battling it out for supremacy in the EPL. Both Liverpool and Arsenal have brought in some very exciting players of their own this summer – and Manchester City surely cannot have a bad a year as it did in 2024-25.

That all means that the EPL is set to be an exciting, and possibly unpredictable, contest this season. The league continues to attract the best players from all over the world and it seems as though we are in store for another 12 months of high quality action.