2025-26 Premier League winner odds: How the main contenders stack up as Liverpool mount title defense

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Everything feels like forever until it isn’t. Prior to the start of last season, the general consensus was that Manchester City would secure their fifth Premier League title in a row and the era of dominance would stretch to half a decade. Instead, Liverpool comfortably won the league in Arne Slot’s first season at the helm and City ended the season without any major silverware for the first time in nearly a decade.

Now the expectation is that Liverpool might build a dynasty with City’s cycle possibly having come to an end. The champions may have lost in the Community Shield to Crystal Palace on the weekend but they are still favourites to triumph domestically once more. Betfair is offering odds of 15/8. It is easy to see why since they ended up winning the league pretty comfortably last term and they have strengthened over the summer.

And how they have strengthened. Slot and the Liverpool hierarchy have clearly decided now is the time to emulate the great Liverpool teams of yesteryear and dominate at home and abroad. The additions include Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong and, for a British record transfer fee, Florian Wirtz. These are gifted players who would improve any team and Wirtz, in particular, feels like a statement signing for a team that lost just four matches in the league last season.

Arsenal under Mikel Arteta have improved hugely and yet only have the FA Cup win in his first season to show for all that progress (with a team that was built by Unai Emery). The last few years, the Gunners have been the bridesmaid after finishing in second place three years in a row. They look to win the league for the first time in a couple of decades. It feels hard to believe that the last time Arsenal won the title, in 2004, was the season in which they went unbeaten. This time around, they’re second favourites with Betfair offering odds of 13/5 on Arsenal emerging triumphant come May.

2025-26 Premier League winner odds

There is genuine enthusiasm around the Emirates, as the club have finally splashed the cash in a bid to secure some silverware. The most notable signing is Viktor Gyökeres after a protracted transfer saga that concluded with Arteta finally getting his man. Oh, how Arsenal could have done with such a prolific goalscorer in recent years. The Sweden international nabbed a remarkable 54 goals in 52 games for Sporting Lisbon last season and he will undoubtedly be relishing the opportunity to strut his stuff at Old Trafford in Arsenal’s opening fixture.

Somewhat staggeringly, City are third favourites despite dominating the competition over the last decade. The odds of 7/2 perhaps reflect the disappointment of last season as well as Kevin De Bruyne’s exit. On top of that, Rodri is not expected back until September at the earliest after suffering a groin injury at the Club World Cup, a player whose absence was felt keenly last term.

In a sense, City probably represent the best value for money since the majority of their players have experience of winning title races. Their manager will not have extended his contract without a genuine belief he can make City great again. Were it not for a staggering loss of form in November and December last season, things might have been very different. The fact that they recovered enough to finish third and reach the FA Cup final shows that even a bad season for City involves Champions League qualification and a major final. The players will undoubtedly be out to prove last campaign was a mere aberration.

In truth, it feels unlikely anyone other than the aforementioned teams could win the title, but Chelsea are the fourth favourites at 8/1 having qualified for the Champions League last season as well as winning the Europa Conference League. They would need to be a lot more consistent to mount a serious title challenge, something that certainly applies to the fifth favourites, Manchester United.

United are 25/1 to go all the way for the first time since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, astonishing really given they finished 15th last season. They have bought well and will have an entirely new front three against Arsenal on Sunday. The general consensus is that their summer business has not yet been concluded as Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ruben Amorim look to turn things around at Old Trafford.

A lack of European football, as well as United’s prestige and storied history, will have affected those odds because Newcastle, at 64/1, seems like a better bet if one was looking outside last season’s top three. The bookmakers rarely lie, though, and there is a reason Liverpool are such short odds to retain the title. Slot’s side will take some beating.

Betting/odds links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.

(Photo of Jeremie Frimpong and Ibrahima Konaté: Clive Mason / Getty Images)

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