Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville give their 2026/27 Premier League predictions as the opening weekend comes to an end.
The two pundits, along with presenter David Jones, gave their thoughts, following Chelsea’s 3-2 win against Fulham on Monday night.
Timestamps:
00:00 Champions
01:02 Top four
04:20 5th & 6th
09:00 European contenders
11:35 Relegation
14:53 Top scorer
15:12 Impact signing
18:29 Player and manager to watch
CHAMPIONS
Jamie: “Yeah, I mean, a few weeks ago, I thought City might have a chance maybe because I thought Arsenal might be thinking a lot about the Champions League and City would be desperate to get that trophy back, but it was all around Rodri. I think if Rodri stayed, I’d maybe make a case for them, but without Rodri, I just can’t see it.
Gary: 100% Arsenal. I know when we say this, Arsenal fans think that we’re somehow sort of applying pressure to them, but they’re way out in front. They really are right now. And the squad that they’ve sort of assembled the signings of Konsa, Guimaraes and Tzolis and maybe one more coming in the next week. What squad they are.
David Jones: If they didn’t get that one more, would you be hedging your bets a little bit?
Gary: No, I think they’re fine. I mean, they’ve got still loads of options in forward areas. I know that Jamie makes a good point on Friday night about they haven’t got the one with the stardust, but if they get the one with the stardust, then they’re just going to be further ahead. But I think with what they’ve got already now in defence and in midfield with the sort of good good attackers that they’ve got of a really good standard then they’re fine.
TOP FOUR:
David: All right. So who’s finishing second, third, and fourth. Who’s getting closest to Arsenal? We’ve got a little bit of variation. So Jamie’s gone City to be second with Chelsea and Liverpool. Gary’s gone Chelsea second with City and guess who… United. So first of all Gary, you think Chelsea are next best. Why?
Gary: Just purely because of the fact that they’ve got no no European football, and I think that if look, it’s a bit if they keep Enzo and they can keep Enzo and Caicedo in midfield with that front three and they’re only playing 45 games and they can play in the Carabao Cup the rest of their squad players, they’re going to amass an enormous amount of points based upon the fact that they’re going to have a more free weeks, not going to have the injury pressures, they’re not going to have the the traveling that that comes with European football and the sort of mental fatigue that comes with that. And I just think they’ll just edge past Manchester City.
David: I felt that you were tinkering between City and Chelsea as next base.
Jamie: I was, I wasn’t quite, listen, Man City are better than Chelsea, but as Gary said, the European factor can play a huge part. We saw Manchester United last season. You go back maybe 10, 15, I don’t know how long it is now where Brendon Rogers’s Liverpool almost won the league title. A lot of that was on the back of not having European football. So, it is it gives them a big big lift. Chelsea, I’m like that. And just I think probably at the last moment having watched them tonight even though they’ve won I mean the goalkeeper and some of the issues they had at the back as well I’d say. Yeah. I’d just pip, go for Man City.
David: Why do Manchester United have the advantage over Liverpool?
Gary: Look. Do you want me to be honest? Yes. I can’t separate United and Liverpool in fourth place. I genuinely have no idea.
Jamie: A birdie tells me you’ve changed it four times over the weekend. So after United played, he changed it to Liverpool.
Gary: A couple of weeks ago I had United in third. I didn’t have Chelsea where they were, but as as it just you sort of get nearer to the season, you start to look at the squad and you start to think about it. You think about Chelsea and the fact they’ve got no European football. That’ll give them a big edge. I think City are in a better position than United. Look, at the moment, I’m not convinced by United or Liverpool really, but I do think they’ll finish fourth and fifth. I’ve just gone United fourth just purely because I’m a United fan.
David: Would that be success, do you think?
Gary: I would take fourth place now and a and a cup bit.
David: Do you think do you think the the the chiefs would?
Gary: I think they would. Yeah. Because I mean to to cope with European football the big question at the end of last season was can Manchester United can Michael Carrick do this when they’ve got European football. So to finish fourth with European football and maybe do well in a cup. That would be a fantastic season I think. And that’s not being defeated. That’s just where we’re at right now.
David: You had lots more questions about Liverpool after your analysis earlier on Jamie, would fourth be reasonable for and don’t eat your Iraola first time round?
Jamie: I think these want more, but I think just looking at sort of this the Chelsea situation, Liverpool where they are right now, the transfer window’s got a week to go. Who knows what’s going to happen in the next week? He could maybe change a tune and maybe say could they sneak into the the top three, but I don’t see any way they’d be in the top two and I don’t see any way they can mount a title challenge. So, a little bit of what Gary’s just said there. If you said to me now as a Liverpool fan, you’ll have Champions League football or, you know, you’ve been in the top four or five and you could win a cup, I’d shake on that right now.
5TH AND 6TH
David: How far have you got Liverpool ahead of Manchester United then?
Jamie: One place.
Gary: He’s not that confident. He’s not that confident.
David: One place. There we go.
Jamie: I mean, watching Liverpool on Sunday, I was worried watching it.
David: But would you be more worried watching Manchester United at Hull?
Gary: If we’re being honest, the teams that are below Arsenal right now are of a standard that has been as low as we’ve seen probably in the last probably six, seven years. Let’s be if we’re being honest that…
David: But do you think any of these teams are actually ready? I mean post World Cup with the transfer window still open…?
Gary: We’ve had some of the best managers in the world in the last seven or eight, nine years in the Premier League managing these clubs. We’ve got a lot of young managers. Arteta has gone from being the apprentice in the last few years. lots of questions about him and doubts. Now he’s the master and obviously then there’s old managers that are behind him in terms of sort of trying to prove themselves. So we’re in a position of transition with the managers that are in these clubs with the squads that these clubs have had. And that not at the standard that we’ve seen in the last few years. But it makes it interesting. It makes it intriguing. They’re all going to get beat. They’re all going to beat each other. They’re all going to lose points and drop points. And that’s what we want in the Premier League. We don’t want it to be perfect.
Jamie: I think a good point to make is the best players in the world unfortunately still don’t come to the Premier League. We’ve had some great players and we’ve lost two absolute superstars in the last couple of years in Salah and Kevin De Bruyne. But in the main we always know they go to Barcelona and Real Madrid. The the worry is some of the top players now at Bayern Munich. They’re at PSG. I go back to the World Cup semi-finals. And if you think of all of those four teams, and they are the four top teams in the world. If you think of the attacking players for all of those teams, so Argentina, England, Spain, and France, there was only Morgan Rogers from the Premier League who started the semi-final. I thought that was a bit of a worry, but as Gary said in the past… we haven’t got those managers right now. And this is almost like going back to about 2015 16 when we had an influx of new managers. But those managers were Pep, Conte, Klopp, Poch, was around at that time. Yeah, so a lot of teams have got new managers, but they’re not at the level of those yet. They might go on to do that, but they’re not they’re not big beasts. They’re not sort of Champions League winners. We haven’t got that.
David: Who knows what Xabi Alonso, for example, is going to grow into. But do you think that the best attacking players perhaps, as you’re saying, don’t come here because it the physicality that this league has got right now?
Jamie: Well, I did a newspaper article about Florian Wirtz. I know we’ve analysed him tonight, but my point was at the weekend was that Liverpool obviously desperate for him to succeed, but in some ways the Premier League needs him to succeed. You know, we need those flare players, we need those attacking players. We don’t want this league to be seen as probably it was a little bit last season of like power, set pieces, players like that can sort of come to fruition in the Premier… Listen, he’s got to do that himself. But I think when you look at some of those players around Europe who are playing for Bayern Munich, who are playing for PSG, are playing for Real Madrid and Barcelona, it’s probably a lot easier than playing in the Premier League, every probably lot less competitive and they’re probably getting better numbers.
David: Right, so where we got to? We’ve got to six. Remember what Spurs fans were saying? They they are pretty confident they are finishing six. Jamie agrees. Gary doesn’t. Go on, Gary.
Gary: Yeah, I think this was a late change.
David: Did you have Spurs there originally then?
Gary: No, I had Brighton six. I had Brighton’s European Been a long weekend, Dave.
Jamie: Even though they’re in Europe,
Gary: have you ever got 7:00 train from Newcastle to London?
David: You’re do very well. Let me ask you, let me make it easy for you then. Why don’t you think Spurs will finish top six?
Gary: I don’t trust them yet. I don’t think that there sometimes you look at that Spurs and you think oh they’ve spent a lot of money and I was over the summer thinking quite exciting for Spurs fans they finally splashing the cast but then I look at the team and I think where’s it all gone and you know maybe they have to sign the players this week and I think that’ll happen and that’ll strengthen them Savinho and Marmoush and that’ll make them a lot better but I just don’t know whether they’ll pull it together and that’s the question. So I know Brighton are a good unit. They’re reliable. They’re consistent and I think Brentford and Brighton and I could have put Bretnford in there as well. By the way, I think those two teams this season may just get in there because they’re consistent and they know what they’re doing and they’ve well drilled and a well organised well- drilled team I think will beat a team of talented players who, to be fair, are still trying to find their way.
EUROPEAN CONTENDERS
David: Yeah, they could force their way into the Conference League. They’re not quite there yet. Brighton, one to keep an eye on. European contenders. Gary has put Spurs in that category. Brentford who missed out on goal difference last season. Jamie and I guess what this tells us is that you think they’re here to stay effectively.
Jamie: Yeah, I’ve been really impressed with with what Keith Andrews has done at Brentford last season. A lot of people say and there may be something in it that when when you’re managing a club like Brentford which is so well run behind the scenes and the hierarchy, it makes it easier for the manager. Of course it does. probably does make it easier. But, you know, watching them this weekend, watching them last season, all the talk this summer feels like Spurs have almost been, you know, the the big name in town basically all summer and to beat them the way they did. And of course, when you talk about other teams like a Brighton, they have got European football this season. Brentford haven’t. So, I think that will be a big plus point for and that’s why Spurs in sixth because it’s not just not playing the games. Surely it means you’re going to have a lot less injuries as well when you haven’t got European football. So you know you can normally keep your your team together solid week after week and yeah I really like love watching them play and for me that was the best performance of the weekend Brentford.
David: But Aston Villa of course who are playing the Champions League this season nowhere to be seen in those predictions.
Gary: What a shame. I mean it’s a mystery to me what is going on there. Look to that team yesterday that Unai Emery at field and the substitutes bench and I’ve got a lot of love for Aston Villa on Emery. What’s going on?
David: Well, remember they had a really slow start to last season as well. Scored in the first five.
Gary: No, this is very different Dave. You know when you think about what’s gone what’s left, Tielemans, Rogers
Jamie: Konsa, maybe Ollie Watkins?
Gary: That is a that that squad’s been obliterated of its experience. I talk about Emi Martinez who’s a massive personality by the way. Don’t underestimate the the value that he has. And then how are they going to even think to compare? I look Unai Emery is an unbelievable coach and he gets the best out of teams but I’m really worried for Villa. I don’t know what’s going on.
David: Average age was also 29 for Aston Villa last year. So did it need some surgery at some point?
Jamie: Listen there’s always this talk isn’t there around that you know the PSR with Aston Villa? And I know it frustrates this the supporters and and they get ripped apart and then they look at Spurs finishing 17th two years running and they go and spend 100 million on Tonali. So it must be a frustration for them and whether these rules in in the future will be tweaked or changed or whatever it may be. But it does feel like teams like I think probably even Newcastle in the last couple years and Aston Villa they got to a certain point and you just can’t go any further.
RELEGATION:
David: Do you see any of the promoted sides surviving?
Gary: I hope that one of them or two of them stay up. I’ve not got the faith that I had last season, the last season if you remember the first weekend of the season we did Leeds game didn’t we against Everton it was really positive and then obviously Sunderland we saw them beat West Ham and I just thought there’s no way they’re going down Sunderland, but I just having watched what I’ve seen this weekend I’m going to go for the three promoted teams to go down but I do think having I’m not going to go too early on my relegation risk but watching Fulham tonight that’s a risk, that’s a big risk, young players splitting your centre backs like that being open. We’ll know a little bit more after they go to Sunderland next weekend to see if they adapt. But you’ve gone Sunderland down by the way?! Wow.
David: Yeah. Go on. Have a go at him for that.
Gary: I don’t see that.
Jamie: Well, if you did, you would have done it.
Gary: No, but where’s that come from?
Jamie: Well, the fact that they’ve got European football,
David: That’s a positive, feel good factor
Jamie: Well, they’re going to be doing a lot of Thursday, Sunday and I think it was I think Sunderland last season reminded me a little bit of Sheffield United under Chris Wilder where they came up and they had a really, you know, brilliant season, finished high up the table, but a lot of the games like Sunderland where you win by the odd goal. I’m saying to look, but sometimes you just win by the odd goal. I always think a team then if they start flipping the other way and you maybe lose it by the odd goal and there’s very little in the performance and when you look at their underlying numbers last season, their underlying numbers were pretty not far away from relegation and I just think with the the the European football I think that could be a problem for them.
Gary: Yeah and look it’s unfair to judge Coventry on Friday night because they’re playing against the best team by a mile and that was a horrific start for them in terms of a fixture. So I wouldn’t judge that. And likewise, Hull just a massive experience beating Manchester United. I won’t pay too much attention to that. And the Ipswich win against Sunderland. There’s a long way to go, but I just yeah, I couldn’t get to any of the three teams. I think that Fulham and Palace are the ones that I think I’d be most worried about. I’m not that concerned about Sunderland right now as I sit here.
RELEGATION RISKS:
Gary: And I had for them before this game. I think those two are the ones I would have picked. And to be fair, I was moving between I picked Fulham this morning before this game tonight. That’s not a late change. Yeah, I obviously young manager, young forwards, lost all their goals, all the hallmarks of risk is are there with Fulham
David: Crystal Palace added to that mix.
Jamie: They haven’t had a great pre-season. That hasn’t gone particularly well for them. They lost the first game at Everton, which to be fair, they were actually very unlucky when you actually look at the chances they had. Yeah, they they probably should have got something from the game. They’ve still kept Adam Wharton who’s, you know, probably, you know, the best player. H’s not going to go anywhere. But I go back to the European football again. They’re going to go into the Europa League as well. I know they’ve done Europe last season, but new manager, new in the Premier League. Lost a few players, still in Europe. Yeah, I’ll probably go Crystal Palace will have a scare.
Gary: So, you’re going Crystal Palace?
Jamie: I’m going Crystal Palace. Take Fulham off.
Take a look at the rest of their predictions, including top scorer, impact signing, palyer to watch and manager to watch below…
