Owen’s 2026/27 Premier League forecast: Arsenal to rule, City to wobble

Michael Owen has stuck his neck out again with a full 1–20 call for the 2026/27 Premier League season, and it’s a set of predictions that will raise eyebrows from the Etihad to the Cottage. Arsenal to retain, Chelsea resurgent, Liverpool lively, Manchester United steady, Tottenham rocketing up the table… and Manchester City outside the Champions League places. Strap in.

We kick off on Friday, 20 August, with champions Arsenal welcoming Championship winners Coventry to the Emirates, the transfer window still ajar until 3 September. Squads are largely settled, managers are making their final tweaks, and Owen’s looked at the lot before calling his shot on where everyone lands come May.

Relegation battle: Tigers tamed, Tractor Boys stalled, Cottagers cut adrift

Owen doesn’t fancy the newcomers’ chances. He’s got Hull City propping up the table in 20th, Ipswich Town 19th, and—this is the spicy one—Fulham in 18th. Hull arrive via the play-offs and, in Owen’s view, lack the top-flight nous to live with the pace under Sergej Jakirovic. Ipswich, back for another crack with Gary O’Neil at the helm, get credit for resilience but not enough points on the board.

And Fulham? Appointing Alvaro Arbeloa after Marco Silva’s exit is a big swing. Owen suspects the pieces won’t click quickly enough, and the Cottagers could pay the price. Harsh? Maybe. But there’s logic: a demanding league, an untested boss, and a division that rarely forgives slow starters.

The mid-table muddle: survival scrappers and steady risers

Sunderland, fresh from last season’s European qualification, are forecast to feel the Thursday–Sunday squeeze. Owen parks them in 17th—survival, but with fingernails chewed to the quick for Regis Le Bris. Coventry, meanwhile, are tipped to be this season’s surprise package in 16th. Frank Lampard’s men have splashed north of £100m, including Gustavo Hamer and Carl Rushworth, and there’s enough quality there to keep their heads above water.

Crystal Palace repeat last season’s 15th without Oliver Glasner; safe but unspectacular. Brentford in 14th steady the ship. Leeds up to 13th—one place better than last term—suggests genuine progress. Bournemouth, having swapped Andoni Iraola for Marco Rose, tumble from sixth to 12th. Nottingham Forest look comfortable in 11th, while Brighton are mid-pack at 10th—neat, tidy, but short of their peak.

As for Newcastle United, Owen likes the response after a summer of departures. Even with Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon gone, he’s got the Magpies up to ninth—proof, he reckons, that the project still has legs on Tyneside.

Europe beckons: Merseyside revival and a Manchester shock

Here’s where he really goes against the grain. Everton, under David Moyes and with a quieter summer than most, are fancied for eighth—and a crack at the Conference League if England get five Champions League berths again. It would be a throwback achievement and a proper shot in the arm for Goodison’s mood music.

Aston Villa slide to seventh, into the Europa League. Owen argues they’ve punched above their weight and could feel the exits of Morgan Rogers and Youri Tielemans. New faces Yohan Manzambi and Joao Gomes help, but the looming sale of Ezri Konsa to Arsenal could sting at the worst possible time.

Then the bombshell: Manchester City in sixth. Under Enzo Maresca, the post-Pep bedding-in looks bumpy, the Community Shield offered little comfort, and a season outside the Champions League would be seismic for a club used to collecting medals by the handful. It’s a bold read, but you can see the angle—change at the top can wobble even the slickest machines.

Title race and Champions League: Gunners primed, Blues reborn, Reds recharged

Into the top five and the headlines keep coming. Tottenham Hotspur, who only just kept their heads above water on the final day last season, shoot up to fifth under Roberto De Zerbi. After a £237m rebuild, including a £100m club-record deal for Sandro Tonali, Owen sees Spurs back among the big boys with a proper identity and bite.

Manchester United slide one to fourth in Michael Carrick’s first full campaign—efficient rather than electric. Liverpool, with Andoni Iraola’s pressing blueprint and a belief that Alexander Isak rediscovers top gear, climb to third. It’s not vintage Reds yet, but a clear step forward.

Chelsea, under Xabi Alonso, rocket to second. Experience has been the watchword: Maxence Lacroix, Jordan Henderson, and Danny Welbeck join £117m club-record arrival Morgan Rogers. The Blues feel grown-up again—less scattergun, more structure.

And at the summit, it’s Arsenal to go again. Mikel Arteta’s lot looked the part in the Community Shield, and the addition of Bruno Guimaraes further gilds an already star-studded midfield. There’s even chatter of a marquee forward before the window shuts, with links to Galatasaray’s Victor Osimhen. Back-to-back titles? Owen says yes.

The pundit’s verdict

Do I agree with every call? Not quite. City in sixth is a sledgehammer take, and Fulham fans will howl at 18th. But predictions are about conviction, not comfort. Owen’s mapped out a league of fine margins and heavy consequences: Spurs reborn, Everton revived, Arsenal relentless.

If you’re weighing up a flutter ahead of the curtain-raiser, it pays to shop around the best betting sites for prices that match your hunches. The only certainty? By May, a few of these will look inspired—and a few will be clipped up for the blooper reel. That’s the Premier League for you.