Premier League 2026/27 Preview: The Premier League kicks off on August 22, and for the next 10 months an insane amount of twists and turns await us. Right now, fans of many teams are excited, while some are looking ahead with scepticism.
Last year, Arsenal ended their long wait for a league title, and based on early evidence, they could be hard to stop this season. Pep Guardiola bid goodbye after a trophy-laden spell at Manchester City, and Arne Slot also left Liverpool, having led them to the title a year ago.
The usual chaos continued at Chelsea, while Sunderland left everyone’s pre-season predictions in the trash bin. Tottenham were close to getting relegated until Roberto De Zerbi pulled them out of trouble through sheer will.
With new managers in place at some top clubs, nine Premier League teams in Europe, the 2026/27 season could once again throw up many surprises. It also means some fascinating storylines could develop over the course of the season. As such, Curva Global takes you through the five storylines to watch out for in the new Premier League season.
Enzo Maresca’s big challenge at Manchester City
Enzo Maresca and Manchester City face a challenge not seen at a club since Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down as coach of Manchester United 13 years ago. Pep Guardiola, the most successful manager in City’s history, decided to call time on his 10-year tenure at Etihad this summer.
The club was swift to appoint Maresca as his replacement. On paper, the decision makes sense. His coaching philosophy and playing style are similar to Pep’s, having served as the Spaniard’s assistant during the historic Treble-winning 2022/23 season. The Italian coach then forged his own path, leading Leicester City to the EFL Championship title the next year before taking up the head coach role at Chelsea.
He won the FIFA Club World Cup and the Conference League in his first season with The Blues. But in January 2025, he stepped down from the role after friction with the club’s owners. Still, Maresca does come with a decent reputation. But is decent good enough for a club whose fans have grown accustomed to challenging for the top honours and winning them most of the time?
Stepping into Pep’s shoes was not going to be easy no matter who it was. Manchester City have appointed Maresca to continue the ideals instilled by Pep, but if the former Chelsea manager is to succeed, he needs to try a different approach. As much success as Guardiola found with his methods, the team struggled last season to turn draws into wins, and were too pedestrian at times.
They had possession, but lacked incisiveness. Maresca needs to stamp his own authority and perhaps bring a different approach. The team cannot expect to succeed with the same style of play that hindered them last season. Given the talent at their disposal, they will have to be direct, and Maresca will do well to identify this.
The impending departure of Rodri could leave a big gap, but City still boast one of the most talented squads in the league. Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku, and Antoine Semenyo offer plenty of attacking threat, while the addition of Elliot Anderson could bring stability to the midfield. The Cityzens won’t accept less than a title challenge, but it could be a season of transition.
Maresca has some big calls to make tactically if he is the man to take City into the new era successfully and build on the foundation laid by his decorated predecessor. The Manchester City board will also have to understand that trying to copy the methodology of Guardiola won’t work, whether it’s the current coach or anybody else. Football is evolving again tactically, and a possession-based game won’t be successful in the long term.
Can Xabi Alonso survive the season at Chelsea?
This might seem a strange question given Xabi Alonso’s incredible success at Bayer Leverkusen and the fact I’ve tipped The Blues to be in the top four. But the chaos and uncertainty with which TheBluesCo ownership operates means there is no guarantee of anything. After taking over in 2022, the owners sacked Champions League-winning coach Thomas Tuchel.
He was replaced by Graham Potter, with an eye to building a long-term model of success. But in the four years since, six different coaches have taken charge of the Stamford Bridge outfit, with four of them being permanent appointments.
The likes of Mauricio Pochettino, Enzo Maresca, and Liam Rosenior were all put in charge with plans to lead a team that can compete for top honours in a few years’ time. But all of them were let go way before those projects could take the next step. Now, Alonso finds himself in the same hot seat.
The one thing different about his appointment is that he has been designated as a manager rather than a head coach, a title given to his predecessors. This means he is going to have a greater say in the transfers at the club and perhaps be tasked with transforming the overall culture.
The former Liverpool midfielder arrives in the Premier League after a stint with Real Madrid that ended abruptly after his move from Bayer Leverkusen. Off-field issues plagued his time at the club as the team struggled to sustain a challenge in the league, and he was sacked just seven months into the job. But his reputation remained high given his success in Germany.
Alonso likes his teams to control the game and press the opposition up the field. Playing from the back, short passes to create spaces and forcing the opposition into mistakes is his style of play, if you will. This will excite Chelsea fans, who have seen their team struggle with an identity in recent years. If given time to implement his ideas on and off the pitch, Alonso will have the team competing for honours again. But that is the big question: will he be given the time?
Despite the promise shown by previous coaches, TheBluesCo have shown little patience for some reason. Only they know what goes on in their minds when they make such decisions, and it is something that fans of the club are getting accustomed to. If Alonso delivers the results and gets the fans on his side, the owners might finally have to be patient and see their “vision” work out.
Sunderland wary of second season syndrome
Régis Le Bris stunned everyone last season in their first campaign back in the top flight. Marked as relegation certainties by experts and bookmakers, the Black Cats jumped as high as seventh at the end of the season and secured European football as a result.
They did so on the back of some impressive results and played an exciting brand of football as well. Now, the task is to establish themselves in the Premier League. They returned to the top-tier after an eight-season absence and will now eye a sustained stay.
But now, they will have to do it by juggling the Europa League with their domestic season. It has long been believed that a newly promoted team that does well to survive in the first season usually struggles in their next campaign, with some of them being relegated.
In fact, four of the previous 20 promoted sides that finished in the top half in their first season suffered relegation in their second. With the added workload of Europe, the challenge becomes more daunting than ever.
Despite securing continental football, the club has done little business in the summer, with only Thomas Meunier arriving on a free transfer. This is in stark contrast to the heavy spending they did ahead of last season. Perhaps the idea is to build on what they have and be consistent with the bunch of players in their squad. For their fans, it is remarkable that the club has held on to some of its exceptional talent.
They will face the challenge of their opponents being more aware of them. Last time out, many teams were caught by surprise by their style of play under Le Bris. Pre-season allows teams to dissect their opponents better and come up with strategies to counter theirs. Sunderland will be wary that they have to evolve as well.
There is scope for improvement in certain areas, with the team having the third-lowest expected goals (xG) ratio in the league last time. It means their results didn’t reflect some of their performances. And it takes only a few bad results, poor luck and an injury to change the complexion of a promising season.
They will rely on a strong core of players to guide them this season, with others ready to step up when needed. Omar Alderte and Dan Ballard will be the key in defence once again. Granit Xhaka’s workload will have to be managed, but he will still shepherd the midfield alongside the likes of Noah Sadiki, Enzo Le Fee, and Habib Diarra.
Up front, they will once again rely on Wilson Isidor and Brian Brobbey for goals while the likes of Chris Rigg and Simon Adingra will offer creative options. Stadium of Light will also be a key to their fortunes this season.
Last season, the North East club registered nine wins at home and lost only four times. Compared to this, their away record needs improvement, having won just five games on the road all season. Le Bris will have to ensure that his side remains competitive and forge a close-knit unit mentality.
He will point to how Wolves, who qualified for the Europa League after being promoted in 2019, handled the expectations and workload on both ends. Nuno Espírito Santo’s side reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League and finished seventh in the Premier League. If Sunderland can come close to emulating that, they will have once again defied the odds.
Newcastle United’s new era
Newcastle United are entering a new era after Eddie Howe departed the club following nearly five years in charge. He steps down as the most successful manager in the Tyneside club’s modern history.
Appointed in November 2021, he represented the ambition of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). He led the club to League Cup success in 2025 and made them Champions League regulars. His exit coincides with the departure of big names such as Sandro Tonali, Anthony Gordon and most recently Bruno Guimarães.
This represents a significant shift for the Magpies and has the clear markings of a new era beginning at the club. Howe has been replaced by German coach Matthias Jaissle, who recently led Al-Ahly to back-to-back AFC Champions League titles.
His energetic and passionate personality on the touchline is a far cry from the calm demeanour of Eddie Howe that Newcastle fans grew accustomed to in recent years. Some might believe that this is a left-field appointment, but Jaissle comes with a winning pedigree and fits with the club’s model.
Still, questions remain over how this massive club will navigate this season and beyond. They have made a few astute signings, with the arrival of winger Bazoumana Toure bound to excite fans. But it is the long-term future as an ambitious club that is under scrutiny. Following the PIF takeover, fans began dreaming of competing regularly at the top end of the league and picking up silverware elsewhere as well.
It was expected that they would follow in the footsteps of Manchester City and become regular challengers for the Premier League title. Apart from a few hiccups, they have been able to sustain themselves as a team that is competitive on the pitch, but PIF’s initial aim of being a top club by 2030 has been slowed down.
The financial regulations have changed drastically in the last few years with the PSR (profit and sustainability rules) and now SCR (squad-cost ratio), allegedly preserving the status quo. It means that despite the wealth of their owners, the club cannot spend as freely as City did or Chelsea did back in the day.
They have also been in breach of UEFA’s financial sustainability regulations, forcing them to enter into a three-year settlement with European football’s governing body. Thus, the sales of Tonali and Gordon became important so that the club could keep the regulators happy and then buy some players.
The key additions this summer are all aged 20 and below, and it could represent a future model for the club to follow. Buy young talented players, develop them into world-class talent and sell them off for a massive profit. Whether this strategy turns them into a powerhouse in England and beyond remains to be seen.
The current team is capable of moving up the table after last season’s disappointing 12th place finish. Jaissle will invoke passion from the players and get them to play for the badge, and Newcastle fans will love him for that. But any talk of being a force in the near future will have to settle down.
The focus will be to go back in Europe and have another go at achieving domestic cup success. Regular Champions League football will be key for Newcastle to keep their best players for a useful amount of time. Patience will be vital. The last thing you want as a club falling short of its ambitions is to hire and fire managers at a drop.
Jaissle will need time to get things right, and if he gets the best out of the current squad, the Magpies could once again be chirping at the end of the season.
Is Andoni Iraola the right man for Liverpool?
Replacing Jurgen Klopp was never going to be easy for Liverpool. But Arne Slot had fans believing that a new era of dominance was underway after leading the team to their 20th top-flight title in his first season in charge. This was followed by a summer of big-name signings, and it was thought that the Reds would be unstoppable.
Instead, fans witnessed their title defence stutter to a halt after a string of poor performances. Liverpool controlled games under Slot, had more possession, but lacked the attacking threat that was expected of them. The heavy-metal football under Klopp had been replaced by pedestrian and painfully slow buildup play.
Despite improvements in certain areas and a fifth-place finish to secure Champions League football, the board acted boldly to sack Slot. Big names were linked to replace him, but the club opted for Andoni Iraola. The Spanish manager had led Bournemouth to the sixth spot, finishing just three points behind his new team.
What would have likely caught the eye of the Anfield club was how Iraola achieved this feat. His footballing style, intense and fast, is a stark contrast to the patient and slow game that Liverpool fans saw under Slot. Iraola is closer to Klopp’s style of play than Slot ever was. The board have the right idea in bringing him to the club.
But that’s just one piece of the puzzle. There is a lot to unpack for the former Rayo Vallecano manager, and it puts things in perspective. With the Cherries, he was used to his team having less possession and relied on counter-attacks and a vertical press. This allowed them to move quickly through transitions, find gaps and eventually put the opposition in trouble.
However, his Liverpool side is expected to see a lot more of the ball, and many teams are likely to sit back against them. This particular problem frustrated Slot a lot last season. Still, Iraola is working a way around it by having his team play short passes in the build-up and playing the ball out wide, as seen during the pre-season games.
The short passes are designed to entice the opposing side into pressing them, hence creating the room for counter-attacking that typifies Iraola’s style. There is a caveat, though. With the attacking focus on creating small 2v2 or 3v3 battles, it does leave the team a little short of options at the back when things don’t work out.
Another challenge for Iraola is whether he has the quality to carry out the high-pressure football that he wants to play. The team’s legs aren’t what they used to be. Following a pre-season defeat to Leeds United on August 2, Iraola said that his team don’t have much more, in terms of the levels required to play like this, after the first 30 minutes when they pressed high up the pitch.
In their pre-season games, the Reds have started with intensity and looked sharper, but the levels dropped after the interval. This is something that cannot be the case once the Premier League season kicks off.
Another concern for the 44-year-old coach is the transfer business. The departure of Mohamed Salah leaves them short of quality on the right wing. With reports of Cody Gakpo leaving for Tottenham, the team will have limited options in attack. Victor Munoz is a signing for the future and will likely compete for game time against Rio Ngumoha.
The club so far have been thwarted in their attempts to sign PSG’s Bradley Barcola and had a bid for Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh rejected. This underlines that they have a lot of work to do before the new season.
The board have shown their ruthless nature with the sacking of Slot, and it means Iraola will have to hit the ground running. He understands this, but will he get the players needed to implement his style? There are also questions about whether the man, who has so far coached clubs relatively modest compared to his new project, can handle the pressure of competing at the top.
In his managerial career, he has only one trophy, the Cypriot Super Cup with AEK Larnaca in 2018. At Anfield, he will be expected to compete for the honours regularly and add to the club’s decorated trophy room. This role is the biggest of his career, and time will tell whether he is up to the task.
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