Arsenal Favored, United's Chance, and Predictions for Chaos

The new season hasn’t even kicked off and the knives – and the highlighters – are already out. A panel of writers has laid down their predictions, ready to be ridiculed from now until May.

The consensus at the top is loud. The noise elsewhere is pure chaos.

Title race: Arsenal crowned, one voice for United

Ask ten writers who wins the league and nine say the same thing.

Arsenal.

Sarah Winterburn dismisses anyone backing another club as “unhinged”, convinced that a summer of stability and the signing of Bruno Guimaraes has turned the champions into a machine. She doesn’t see anyone finishing within 10 points of Mikel Arteta’s side.

Matt Stead calls it “Phase five” of the project. Dave Tickner goes from tentative belief last year to full conviction now, arguing Arsenal have timed their rise perfectly as everyone else wrestles with early-stage rebuilds. Ian Watson, Jason Soutar, Lewis Oldham, Michael Lee and Nestor Watach all land in the same place: Arsenal look settled, strengthened and sane while the rest of the elite feel like experiments.

Samuel Bannister edges towards caution, but still makes Arsenal favourites. He draws a parallel with PSG finally cracking the Champions League and then backing it up, and sees Guimaraes as the sort of title-retaining signing that stops a champion standing still.

Only John Nicholson breaks the Gunners’ grip. He goes for Manchester United, pointing to their form under Michael Carrick and insisting the numbers back up his claim that they were the best team in the league over that spell.

Top four: Chelsea revival, City doubt, Liverpool lurking

Predicting the rest of the top four is where confidence evaporates.

Winterburn sticks Chelsea in second “a long way behind” Arsenal, then Liverpool and Manchester City, with Manchester United down in fifth as a bonus pick. Stead has “Cobham Current Gen” – Chelsea – as runners-up, followed by City and Liverpool.

Nicholson’s four is Chelsea, City, Aston Villa. Watach also sees a correction to the financial mean: City, Liverpool, United, and Chelsea in fifth, which should still be enough for the Champions League.

Tickner is openly baffled. He lands on Chelsea, Liverpool, City but admits almost no confidence. Watson goes City, Chelsea, Tottenham while warning his answer could change inside 10 minutes. Soutar also backs Chelsea and City with Spurs completing his four.

Oldham thinks City miss the title by a margin similar to last season and slide into second, with Chelsea third and Liverpool edging United for fourth. Lee shares the Chelsea–City–Liverpool order and can see Spurs sneaking in with a fair wind. Bannister flips the order again: Liverpool, City, Chelsea, with Alexander Isak under Andoni Iraola and Florian Wirtz key to a better Liverpool, and a Europe-free Chelsea expected to take advantage of a clear calendar.

Nobody agrees. Nobody sounds sure.

Relegation scrap: promoted trio in peril, Fulham and Palace on watch

At the bottom, the promoted clubs are in serious trouble.

Winterburn tips all three – Ipswich, Coventry and Hull City – to go straight back down, while admitting Fulham and Crystal Palace are intriguing but not quite bad enough. Watson matches her: Ipswich, Hull, Coventry.

Tickner is blunt: “The promoted teams.” He doesn’t see a Sunderland or Leeds-style survivor among them and likens the trio to “just Burnleys”.

Matt Stead is slightly kinder. He has Hull gone without ceremony, Coventry putting up a huge fight before also dropping, but Ipswich surviving by going big and tall in the transfer market. He thinks Sunderland will be sunk by the numbers rather than the table – “xG’d”.

Nicholson goes for Hull, then throws in Newcastle and Palace as victims of new-manager collapses. Soutar has no such nuance: Fulham, Ipswich and Hull, the latter described as “proper rubbish”.

Oldham is adamant Hull and Ipswich are certainties, but sees Coventry’s momentum under Frank Lampard keeping them up and Fulham sliding into 18th. Michael Lee sends Sunderland, Coventry and Hull down, arguing Ipswich have recruited smartly and warning Sunderland will be distracted by Europe after last season’s overachievement.

Watach and Bannister both revert to the trend: Coventry, Ipswich and Hull all to fall. Bannister expects Coventry to give it the best shot of the three, and tips Palace as the existing Premier League club most likely to flirt with real danger.

Surprise packages: Leeds hype, Newcastle redemption, Chelsea intrigue

Leeds United sit at the centre of a lot of optimism.

Winterburn thinks they’ve bought well enough to reach the top eight. Nicholson goes even further, tipping them to finish sixth after adding a new goalkeeper, centre-back, midfielder and striker. Oldham believes they can sneak into the top ten. Watson expects them to be “surprising if not pleasant”. Watach points to their strong second half of last season and a squad that looks significantly improved under Daniel Farke, with a push for the Conference League not out of the question.

Tickner, wrestling with the idea of “pleasant” in the modern era, lands on Crystal Palace as a side that could quietly mirror Brentford’s calm competence from last season. He also believes Chelsea will be genuine title contenders for an extended spell, but refuses to label that “pleasant”.

Soutar agrees Chelsea will shock people with a top-two finish, while Michael Lee also sees second place as within reach, even if it stretches the idea of a nice surprise. Bannister turns to Newcastle, convinced they can’t be as flat as last term and that their young recruits will drag them back into the top half.

Elsewhere, Stead sees Bournemouth and Palace both in the top half. Lee tips Forest to get back into Europe. Soutar also gives Coventry a nod, with a 15th-place finish painted as a far more wholesome story.

Golden Boot: Haaland versus the field (again)

There is almost no debate here.

Erling Haaland is the overwhelming pick to win the Golden Boot again. Winterburn, Stead, Nicholson, Watson, Soutar, Oldham, Lee, Watach and Bannister all side with the “Goalbot 3000”.

Tickner expects him to have the race wrapped up early, with another explosive start and a total pushing 30. He notes the lack of a genuine rival in the league and the short odds that make him a dull betting proposition, and instead toys with outsiders like Matheus Cunha and Cody Gakpo for each-way value.

Oldham and Winterburn both mention Alexander Isak as the man most likely to get closest. Nicholson throws in Benjamin Sesko as his runner-up. Lee adds a twist: he thinks Haaland will win it, but expects questions to grow about whether City might actually function better without him.

Best new signing: Trafford, Guimaraes and the Leeds rebuild

Ask who will make the biggest positive impact and the answers drift towards two clubs in particular: Arsenal and Leeds.

Watson believes Bruno Guimaraes will be outstanding for Arsenal, transforming their midfield balance, while also tipping James Trafford to make a “huge difference” to Leeds simply by being calm and reliable. Stead calls Trafford the standout “by definition”, given how badly Leeds needed a goalkeeper upgrade.

Jason Soutar doesn’t split hairs. He names Leeds’ trio of early signings – Trafford, Harry Wilson and Tarik Muharemovic – as a collective force. Oldham doubles down on Trafford as a “colossal upgrade” who could end the season as England’s No.1. Watach raves about Muharemovic’s pre-season, seeing the Bosnia international as capable of taking Leeds up a level and attracting Champions League suitors within a year.

At the top end, Winterburn highlights Mamadou Sangare as a huge upgrade on Jordan Henderson at Brentford, and tips Sandro Tonali to drag Tottenham from 17th to seventh. Nicholson thinks Morgan Rogers is exactly the profile Chelsea need. Tickner, still under the spell of the Community Shield, plumps for Christos Tzolis. Michael Lee, meanwhile, suspects United will regret not paying up for Mateus Fernandes.

Biggest flop: Anderson under the microscope, big fees under fire

For a player to be a true flop, the fee has to sting. That’s the common thread.

Elliot Anderson is the name that keeps coming back. Winterburn calls Manchester City’s outlay on him “frankly ridiculous” and doubts work rate alone will be enough at that level. Tickner brands him the worst of several “eye-watering overspends” in midfield. Lee labels £116m “extortionate” and fears he has arrived at City at the wrong time. Bannister expects the price tag to weigh heavily from day one and doesn’t see him convincing enough to justify it.

Nicholson sticks with tradition and predicts a Tottenham signing will suffer, picking Sandro Tonali as the big-money buy who fits their historic pattern. Watson also worries for Morgan Rogers under the weight of his fee and throws Alejandro Garnacho into the mix.

Soutar takes aim at Ronald Araujo and Victor Munoz, both at Liverpool, calling the former “bobbins”. Oldham thinks £50m on Andrey Santos is simply too much. Stead nominates Gonzalo Garcia at Fulham, arguing their record when spending beyond £20m is poor.

Biggest bargain: Tielemans, Wilson and value in a mad market

In a bloated market, genuine bargains stand out.

Youri Tielemans at £35m is Winterburn’s idea of a steal. Bannister agrees the fee is shrewd for that level of quality, even if Manchester United might not get much resale value from him.

Leeds again dominate the value chat. Stead predicts Harry Wilson will continue the club’s tradition of free-transfer forwards hitting double figures, and also tips Sean Steur to spark a nine-figure move down the line. Nicholson calls Wilson on a free “great business” and a perfect fit. Tickner admits free transfers feel like cheating in this category, but still can’t ignore Wilson after Leeds chased him for a fee last year and now get him for nothing. Watson names Wilson and Xaver Schlager as the standout freebies. Soutar also picks Wilson, with honourable mentions for Tzolis and Marcos Senesi.

Oldham highlights Christian Norgaard as a smart Everton pickup after a superb season at Brentford. Michael Lee flips the logic and argues that even as a record signing, James Trafford will prove a bargain by saving Leeds so many points. Watach points to Hayden Hackney at an initial £16m as wildly underpriced in this market.

Bannister, still swayed by the Community Shield, also throws in Tzolis at Arsenal, noting that lesser wingers have gone – or will go – for significantly more than £34m.

PFA Player of the Year: Rice, Guimaraes, Raya… or Haaland again?

Last season’s winner, Bruno Fernandes, was hardly a pre-season favourite, and the panel expects another unpredictable race.

Winterburn goes for Bruno Guimaraes, convinced he can unlock even more creativity in the champions’ midfield. Oldham takes the same route, leaning on the idea that the award usually goes to a player from the title-winners and backing Guimaraes to shine after a strong World Cup and a partnership with Declan Rice.

Rice himself is a popular shout. Tickner believes a deeper Arsenal squad will let him pick his moments and increase his overall impact. Watson also tips Rice, on the condition he’s actually had a holiday. Watach sees him as the man most likely to emerge as the headline act in a side full of shared responsibility.

Michael Lee and Jason Soutar both look to David Raya between the posts. Nicholson, sticking to his Anderson theme, predicts the City midfielder for the main award and Brian Madjo for Young Player. Bannister keeps it simple and aligns his pick with his Golden Boot choice: if Haaland scores bucketloads again, he expects the Norwegian to sweep the PFA vote too.

First manager out: Fulham fear, Hull nerves, Sunderland warning

The dugout carousel is always a morbid game, but the names still come.

Alvaro Arbeloa’s position at Fulham draws a cluster of early concern. Winterburn doesn’t think the fit feels right. Watson also fears for him and tips him as the first to go, joking that Arbeloa can thank him when he’s eventually immortalised with a statue at Craven Cottage. Oldham joins in, predicting the former Real Madrid defender will be gone after a poor opening spell.

Hull’s Sergej Jakirovic is another popular casualty-in-waiting. Nicholson names him. Michael Lee does too, and even imagines Hull’s owner becoming a main character in a Greece–Turkey-style feud with Evangelos Marinakis. Watach says Jakirovic has the expendable aura of a horror-movie extra.

Tickner goes back to Marinakis himself and opts for Oliver Glasner at Nottingham Forest, trusting the owner’s ruthless track record more than any form guide. Jason Soutar takes aim at “the bloke from Hull”, declaring him doomed. Matt Stead throws David Moyes into the mix. Bannister worries for Regis Le Bris at Sunderland, warning that second-season syndrome and rising expectations could be a brutal combination.

Watson also flags “Diet Pep” at Manchester City as a potential early target if results dip, but stops short of making him his main pick.

Champions League: Arsenal’s “science”, PSG’s three-peat, Barcelona’s Rodri era

On the continent, the panel splits between three superpowers.

Arsenal’s recent European trajectory – quarter-final, semi-final, runners-up – tempts several to complete the pattern. Tickner does it with a flourish, tipping them for a Premier League–Champions League double and branding anything less a failure. Soutar leans into the same “science”, mapping out their steady climb and landing on a 2027 triumph.

PSG, already back-to-back winners, also attract heavy backing. Nicholson says they’ll be hard to beat again. Oldham thinks they’re simply too strong. Lee agrees they can retain the trophy if Barcelona don’t fix their defence. Bannister sees a club that has finally worked out how to manage itself for the big European nights and believes the three-peat is on.

Barcelona, armed with Rodri, form the third pillar. Winterburn tips them, saying that’s exactly why they bought him. Lee joins her, with the caveat that they sign a proper centre-back to partner Pau Cubarsi. Watach argues Rodri is the missing piece for Barca to control games the way Spain did at the World Cup.

Watson, as ever, goes with Real Madrid. Stead, with typical mischief, calls his answer “pretty simple” without actually naming it, leaving his pick deliberately hanging.

Five-word fever: what excites them most

The final challenge is five words. No more, no less.

Winterburn revels in “So very many new managers.” Stead goes for “An offside penis; not Richarlison.” Nicholson looks away from all of it: “Montrose In Scottish League One.”

Tickner is braced for “Neverending moral panic about corners.” Watson wants “Tottenham Hotspur making Tickers smile.” Soutar can’t wait for “Keys and Gray’s podcast returning.”

Oldham clings to hope: “Rotherham United maybe winning more.” Lee delights in “No VAR in the Championship.” Watach sums up the entire set of predictions in five words that could yet define the season:

“New managers; uncertainty, unpredictability, chaos.”