Arsenal begin the 2026/27 season as defending champions after ending a 22-year Premier League drought. The campaign kicks off on 21 August, a week later than usual because of the World Cup. Pep Guardiola and Arne Slot are gone, eight clubs are under new managers, and Coventry City are back in the top flight after 25 years. Here is everything an African bettor needs to know.

Premier League 2025/26 Season Recap

Arsenal clinched the title with a match to spare on 19 May, after Manchester City drew 1-1 with Bournemouth, ending their longest-ever wait between Premier League titles. Sunderland's return was almost as remarkable: the Black Cats finished 7th in their first season back after an eight-year absence, securing Europa League football, while promoted Burnley went straight back down.

Pos Team Pts Europe Notes
1 Arsenal 85 UCL Champions, 4th title, 1st in 22 years
2 Manchester City 78 UCL Pep Guardiola's final season
3 Manchester United 71 UCL Carrick era began mid-season
4 Aston Villa 65 UCL Also won the Europa League final
5 Liverpool 60 UCL 5th spot via European Performance Spot
6 Bournemouth 57 UEL Highest-ever PL finish
7 Sunderland 54 UEL Inherited City's FA Cup spot
8 Brighton 53 UECL Inherited City's League Cup spot
17 Tottenham 41 - Survived on the final day by 2 points
18 West Ham United 39 - Relegated, ending a 14-season run
19 Burnley 22 - Relegated after 1 season
20 Wolves 20 - Relegated, ending an 8-season run

Crystal Palace also secured Europa League football by winning the Conference League final on 27 May. The individual awards went to Erling Haaland (Golden Boot, 27 goals, his third in four seasons), David Raya (Golden Glove, 19 clean sheets, his third in a row) and Bruno Fernandes, whose 21 assists broke the all-time Premier League single-season record on his way to Player of the Season.

What's New in the Premier League 2026/27

Promoted and relegated

In (promoted) How Out (relegated) Top-flight run
Coventry City (25 years away) Championship champions under Frank Lampard West Ham United 14 seasons
Ipswich Town (1 year away) 2nd in the Championship Burnley 1 season
Hull City (9 years away) Play-off winners, 1-0 v Middlesbrough Wolves 8 seasons

Manager changes

Eight clubs start the season under new permanent managers, and two more confirmed mid-season appointments.

Enzo Maresca replaces Pep Guardiola at Manchester City after a ten-year reign, Andoni Iraola takes over from the dismissed Arne Slot at Liverpool, and Xabi Alonso begins a four-year deal at Chelsea.

Marco Rose succeeds Iraola at Bournemouth and Pierre Sage replaces Oliver Glasner at Crystal Palace, with Glasner himself moving to Nottingham Forest. Gary O'Neil steps in at Ipswich after Kieran McKenna stepped down.

Fulham, the last vacancy, appointed former Real Madrid boss Alvaro Arbeloa on a three-year contract after Marco Silva left for Benfica.

Roberto De Zerbi stays on at Tottenham after steadying their survival fight, and Michael Carrick, appointed permanently in January, leads Manchester United into a first full season.

Key summer 2026 transfers

The window opened on 15 June and closes at 11 pm UK time on 1 September. The biggest confirmed deals so far include a British-record transfer and two nine-figure sales, and you can follow every move as it lands on the 22Bet transfer hub.

Club Key arrivals Key departures
Arsenal Piero Hincapie (€40m, Leverkusen), Illan Meslier (free) Leandro Trossard (Besiktas), Jakub Kiwior (Porto)
Man City Elliot Anderson (€135m, Nottingham Forest, British record) Bernardo Silva (Real Madrid), Manuel Akanji (Inter), Nathan Ake, John Stones
Man United Andrey Santos (€56.3m, Chelsea), Youri Tielemans (€41m, Aston Villa), Karl Darlow (free) Rasmus Hojlund (Napoli, €44m), Casemiro, Jadon Sancho (both free)
Liverpool Jeremy Jacquet (€63.6m, Rennes), Victor Munoz (€40m, Osasuna) Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson, Ibrahima Konate (all free)
Chelsea Marco Palestra (€57m, Atalanta), Geovany Quenda (€50m, Sporting CP), Emmanuel Emegha Andrey Santos (Man Utd), Marc Cucurella (Real Madrid, €55m)
Aston Villa Johan Manzambi (€60m, club record), Joao Gomes (€40m) Youri Tielemans (Man Utd), Donyell Malen (Roma)
Promoted clubs Coventry: Aurele Amenda (€18m), Frank Onyeka. Ipswich: Emersonn (€28m), Chuba Akpom, Cedric Kipre. Hull: Jack Butland -

The two biggest deals of the window so far happened at Tottenham: a club-record €108m move for Newcastle's Sandro Tonali, followed by a second big-money swoop for West Ham's Mateus Fernandes at around €99m, while Newcastle also sold Anthony Gordon to Barcelona for €80m.

African players in the Premier League 2026/27

Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon) remains central to Manchester United's attack after helping fire them to third, with Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast) under contract until 2030 and declared not for sale this summer.

Manchester City carry the strongest African contingent at the top: Antoine Semenyo (Ghana), Omar Marmoush (Egypt) and Algeria left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri. Marmoush is now Egypt's standard-bearer in the title race after compatriot Mohamed Salah left Liverpool as a free agent this summer.

In north and south London, Ghana's Mohammed Kudus and Senegal's Pape Matar Sarr give Tottenham real African quality, while Ismaila Sarr (Senegal) brings Europa League football to Crystal Palace. Nicolas Jackson (Senegal) is back at Chelsea after a season on loan at Bayern Munich and will fight for his place under Xabi Alonso, though his future is not fully settled.

Sunderland's European tilt leans on Habib Diarra (Senegal), AFCON winner Simon Adingra (Ivory Coast) and Mozambique's Reinildo Mandava, and Fulham keep Nigerian duo Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey. Carlos Baleba (Cameroon) remains a Brighton player despite persistent Manchester United interest.

Among the promoted sides, Nigeria midfielder Frank Onyeka joins Coventry from Brentford and Ivory Coast defender Cedric Kipre arrives at Ipswich.

Key Dates for the Premier League 2026/27

Date Event
15 Jun to 1 Sep 2026 Summer transfer window (deadline 11pm UK, 1 Sep)
16 Aug 2026 Community Shield: Arsenal v Manchester City (Cardiff, 3pm)
21 Aug 2026 Season opener: Arsenal v Coventry City (Emirates, 8pm)
22 to 24 Aug 2026 Main opening weekend (Matchday 1)
12 to 14 Sep 2026 Manchester derby 1: Man United v Man City (Old Trafford)
21 Sep to 6 Oct 2026 Extended international break (FIFA's new merged 16-day window)
c. 31 Oct 2026 Chelsea v Manchester United: Alonso v Carrick
Mid-Nov 2026 November international break (nine-day window)
c. 21 Nov 2026 Liverpool v Manchester United (Anfield)
Late Nov 2026 Merseyside derby 1: Everton v Liverpool (Hill Dickinson Stadium)
5 Dec 2026 North London derby 1: Tottenham v Arsenal
26 Dec 2026 Boxing Day fixtures
1 Jan to 1 Feb 2027 Winter transfer window
9 Jan 2027 FA Cup third round begins
c. 30 Jan 2027 Merseyside derby 2: Liverpool v Everton (Anfield)
21 Mar 2027 Carabao Cup final (Wembley)
1 May 2027 North London derby 2: Arsenal v Tottenham (Emirates)
22 May 2027 FA Cup final (Wembley)
30 May 2027 Final day: all 10 matches simultaneous

The autumn calendar looks different this season. As you may know, FIFA has merged the September and October breaks into a single 16-day window from 21 September to 6 October. This means around three weeks without Premier League football early in the campaign.

Opening fixtures to circle: the champions host Coventry on night one, Hull welcome Manchester United in their first Premier League game for nine years on 22 August, and Iraola's first away match as Liverpool boss comes at Newcastle the following day.

Premier League 2026/27 Title Race: Who Will Win?

Arsenal are clear favourites at 2.55, and it is hard to argue. Mikel Arteta's side hit 85 points, and David Raya has three straight Golden Gloves. The spine of Gabriel, Declan Rice and 14-goal Viktor Gyökeres is intact, with Piero Hincapié's loan made permanent.

Verdict: Banker, even at a short price.

Manchester City are the great unknown at 3.70. Haaland's 27 goals, Aït-Nouri, Semenyo and Marmoush all remain, and Enzo Maresca has been backed with Elliot Anderson at a British-record €135m. But Bernardo Silva, Akanji, Aké and Stones have all gone, and post-Guardiola transitions at elite clubs have historically been bumpy in year one.

Verdict: Trap at the current price; the rebuild is bigger than the odds suggest.

Manchester United are priced at 7.40 as Michael Carrick begins his first full season with Champions League football restored. Bruno Fernandes, the reigning Player of the Season, is now flanked by Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans in a rebuilt midfield, with Mbeumo adding firepower. The ceiling is real, but so is the fact United have not won the league since 2013.

Verdict: Trap for the title, interesting for a top-four bet.

Dark horse: Liverpool at 6.85 under Andoni Iraola could be dangerous; the Spaniard built Bournemouth into England's sixth-best team and now inherits one of Europe's strongest squads, even without Salah.

Our pick: Arsenal at 2.55 to retain the title. Champions with an intact core against a transitioning City and a still-maturing United is the soundest read of the market, though this is editorial opinion rather than a certainty. Check the latest outright prices on 22Bet before the season starts, as odds will move through the window.

Team Pick Odds
Arsenal Arsenal to Win the Premier League Title 2.55
Manchester City Manchester City to Win the Premier League Title 3.70
Manchester United Manchester United to Win the Premier League Title 7.40
Liverpool Liverpool to Win the Premier League Title 6.85

Check the latest odds and place your bets at 22Bet.

Odds recorded in July 2026. Prices may change as the transfer window develops and the opening round approaches.

Relegation Battle: Who Goes Down?

History says at least one of the three promoted teams goes straight back down, and the market agrees. Coventry, back after 25 years, have the strongest platform: Frank Lampard's side won the Championship outright and have recruited sensibly with Aurele Amenda and Frank Onyeka, though the wage-budget gap to established Premier League sides is enormous.

Ipswich look the most vulnerable of the three: Kieran McKenna's departure leaves Gary O'Neil inheriting a squad in transition, and clubs bouncing between divisions with a new manager have a poor survival record. Hull, promoted via the play-offs, were only the sixth-best team in the Championship by xG, and that kind of overperformance usually regresses hard at this level.

Among the established sides, Tottenham finished 17th and survived by two points despite heavy spending. Although De Zerbi's big summer rebuild (Tonali, Fernandes, Van Hecke, Robertson) should lift them clear, another slow start would change that quickly.

Everton and Nottingham Forest, who sold Elliot Anderson without replacing him so far, both look fragile. Verdict: Hull to go down is the Banker of the relegation market; Ipswich to survive is the Trap. Treat both as opinion, and compare the relegation prices on 22Bet once the market settles.