EPL 2025/26: Top 3 clubs to watch in the upcoming campaign

The Premier League might seem predictable for some people, but there are always some pleasant surprises every year. For the 2025/26 season, which underdogs could impress the best football analysts and have the established top six clubs left scratching their heads by the season’s end?

Almost every corner of England is home to a passionate football powerhouse, each with a rich history and a devoted fan base. Forget the usual suspects. While the spotlight remains fixed on the big names chasing the Premier League crown, a new wave of clubs is quietly building momentum and poised to shake up the status quo.

These aren't your typical title contenders, but they have the firepower, flair, and fearless attitude to turn heads and ruin a few scripts. If you're looking for surprise packages, breakout stars, and pure football chaos, these are the three clubs you’ll want on your radar this season for the best bets.

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What makes a club good in the Premier League?

It can be difficult to stand out in the Premier League as there is already an established hierarchy, with six clubs usually tapped as the top clubs in the country. These are Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Tottenham Hotspur. Each club has a strong history, and they are under pressure to impress during the Premier League season.

A club is good if it lives up to expectations and performs to the highest standards. Even if they are not part of the ‘Big Six’, some teams play exciting football, which is enough to warrant attention from the rest of the country and fans around the world. Here are the standards that make a good club:

• Strong squad depth - A high-level club must do well at both recruiting and maximising the players already in the squad. With a good rotation of players, they can keep up with the other top clubs.

• Good attacking and defensive tactics - It all boils down to the football being played, and they should have a manager who can lead the team and improve on their attack and defence.

• Consistent results - In previous seasons, the club should have had a steady rate of positive results, as it could improve more when the upcoming season begins.

• Financially stable - Football is also a sport where financial stability matters, and if the well-run club does well while remaining stable, that shows a solid long-term success.

• Solid fan support - When passionate groups of fans show up for every match at the stadium and in away matches, it is a sign that the club has good characteristics.

Ahead of the 2025/26 Premier League season, it is important to highlight clubs that could make some noise outside the traditional top six. With a good look at the 20 Premier League sides, three stand out.

Aston Villa

The 2024/25 season was a relative success for Aston Villa, as they finished sixth in the Premier League table. At the same time, they were also a standout in the UEFA Champions League, as they reached the quarter-finals only to lose to the eventual winners, Paris Saint-Germain.

While they had a disappointing sixth-place finish after the top four finish in the previous campaign, Aston Villa had a promising 2024/25 season. Morgan Rogers emerged as one of the players they want to build around, and the rest of the team has followed suit with big-time performances.

Ollie Watkins continues to lead the line as the star striker for this club. Despite rumours of him going to Arsenal back in January 2025, Watkins is still with Villa, and he will be their star man alongside Rogers.

Unai Emery is a top-tier manager

Every top-tier club needs a leader who can steer the ship, and Unai Emery is the right man for the job at Villa. He has been with the club since 2022 and has helped them reach great heights. They have the potential to surprise more people if Emery continues to grow as a manager.

With a squad that fully believes in their manager, Villa could surprise people. They are a club to watch in the 2025/26 season, since they will not be playing the mid-week Champions League games like the previous campaign.

The Europa League will be the primary mid-week affair, which will not require the same commitment from the squad as the previous campaign. However, Emery will rotate his squad and prove that Villa could still keep up with all the top dogs in the Premier League.

Villa have a motivated group of players

Rogers and Watkins are the most prominent players in the squad, but they also have a fantastic midfield trio of Amadou Onana, Boubacar Kamara, and Youri Tielemans. This squad is stacked with high-level talent, and they are motivated to play better in the Premier League this season.

They missed out on two consecutive years of Champions League football, but they are ready to keep fighting. This Villa side wants to keep moving forward, making them a threat to any team. With Emery at the helm and a good squad around him, the Villa fans should be confident in their team.

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Nottingham Forest

For most of the 2024/25 season, Nottingham Forest were in the conversation to be a top-four team. They could have reached the Champions League for the first time since 1980. However, a late-season slide led them down the Premier League table, finishing outside the European spots at seventh.

They had a good group of players, including the standout midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White and striker Chris Wood. Anthony Elanga was also a standout, but he moved on to Newcastle United in the summer transfer window of 2025. They’ll aim not only to replicate but surpass last season’s success in the 2025/26 season.

Forest’s owners have high aspirations

Evangelos Marinakis is investing in his club, which has led to fruitful results in the 2024/25 season. He doubled down and extended Gibbs-White’s contract to see the team win. The midfielder is the team’s star player and centrepiece of this club’s future.

They want to keep building a competitive team enough to keep up with massive clubs in the Big Six. It will be challenging, but Marinakis has enough money to stay within reach and prove that Forest are serious enough to compete at the highest level of the Premier League and Europe.

Forest still has a talented squad

Apart from Gibbs-White, the Forest squad has become overlooked by some people. It is jam-packed with talent in both attacks, with players like Wood and new signing Igor Jesus. Defenders like Murillo and Nikola Milenković lead this team, which is a great defensive core that can keep up with opponents.

Forest’s well-rounded squad plays a fun style of football, which makes them a tough opponent. The manager, Nuno Espírito Santo, leads the way with his attacking brand of football. The future is bright, as long as they stay healthy and ambitious in the 2025/26 season.

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Crystal Palace

After winning the FA Cup in 2025, Crystal Palace are in a good position to do well in the 2025-26 season. They have a solid roster led by players like Jean-Philippe Mateta, Marc Guéhi, and Adam Wharton. Crystal Palace have long been a solid mid-table side, but with European matches mid-week for Palace, they will be motivated to perform better.

While Ebere Eze’s situation is still unclear, whether he is staying or going, Palace are looking to keep improving. They want to build a stronger team, so they will keep diving into the transfer market and getting talent. Building off their FA Cup triumph under Oliver Glasner, Palace are now entering 2025/26 with a winning mentality and tactical clarity.

Glasner will want to maintain the momentum

With Glasner’s style of football, they rarely dominate possession. They are quite efficient with how they move the ball around, as they look to make the right passes into spaces that the attackers can get to. Mateta, Ismaïla Sarr, and the other forwards will keep attacking the space, so they expect pinpoint passes.

Thankfully, Palace have a strong midfield with Wharton leading the way as the conductor. He knows how to place the right weight on the pass, and the rest of the team will follow up. Expect Glasner to lead this team with the right tactics. With their winning pedigree from the 2025 FA Cup win against Manchester City, they have the potential to improve further.

Palace wants to exceed expectations

Crystal Palace want to prove themselves in the 2025/26 season after the FA Cup Win. However, they are not looked at with the highest expectations. They could prove everyone wrong and breach the top half of the table and even compete for the European spots.

Glasner is prepared to help the team compete, but it will be a challenging task. They have all the tools to compete, as they are one of the surprise clubs that could make them the Premier League’s dark horses.

Other outcomes that could happen in the 2025/26 season

Apart from these three clubs potentially standing out in the 2025/26 Premier League season, here are some potential outcomes when you watch and bet on the upcoming campaign:

• A heated Golden Boot race - With Erling Haaland ready and healthy, he will want to regain his Golden Boot after Mohamed Salah took over. They are not alone, as Europe’s top scorer over the past two seasons, Viktor Gyökeres, is now in the Premier League with Arsenal.

• A competitive title race - Manchester City and Arsenal will look to dethrone reigning champions Liverpool, which is likely to be the most competitive title race in a long while. These three clubs are ready, especially with the recruitment they all did in the summer.

• The relegation scrap will be competitive - With the three promoted sides, Burnley, Sunderland, and Leeds United, looking to stand out, they will want to stay in the Prem in their first season back in the top division. It will be tough, but they all have the talent in their squads to compete.

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