Introduction
The 2025/26 season is over. Now the Premier League reshuffles. Three clubs have gone down. Three new clubs are coming up. Several of the biggest managers in football have left or are leaving. Before the World Cup takes over, here’s your guide to what next season will look like.
Who's Been Relegated
West Ham United are one of England’s most famous clubs — a club with a proud East London identity, an iconic stadium (the London Stadium, built for the 2012 Olympics), and a heritage that includes producing legends like Bobby Moore and Geoff Hurst who won England the World Cup in 1966. They spent 15 consecutive years in the Premier League before being relegated on the final day of 2025/26. Their fans are devastated. Their return will be expected — but the Championship is unforgiving.
Burnley are known as a “yo-yo club” — a term used for clubs that go up and down between the Championship and Premier League regularly. They were promoted, came up, struggled, got relegated, and the cycle continues. They will be among the favourites to come straight back up.
Wolves had a terrible season — 19 games without a win at one point. They were the first club relegated, confirmed in April, and will need a major rebuild to return. They have a passionate fanbase and the infrastructure for a top-flight club, but something went seriously wrong this season.
Who's Been Promoted
Coventry City — Champions
Coventry return to the top flight for the first time in 25 years. They’re a club from the Midlands with a fanbase that has been waiting for this moment for over two decades. Their home ground, the Coventry Building Society Arena, will need to meet Premier League standards.
Ipswich Town
Ipswich have been on a remarkable run — promoted again after several years in the Championship. A club with genuine history (European champions in 1981) who are building something real under good management.
Hull City — Play-off Winners
Hull City earned promotion through the play-offs — winning the most valuable game in football. They last played in the Premier League several years ago and their fans had a wild night at Wembley.
The Manager Revolution
Off the pitch, 2026/27 will begin with more managerial change than the Premier League has seen in a generation. Here’s what we know:
Manchester City — Post-Guardiola
Pep Guardiola left City after 10 years and 20 major trophies. His successor is Enzo Maresca — the Italian manager who previously had a mixed spell at Chelsea. Replacing Guardiola is arguably the most impossible job in football. Maresca takes over a squad still packed with talent but beginning to transition.
Chelsea — Xabi Alonso Arrives
Chelsea appointed Xabi Alonso on a four-year deal starting 1 July 2026. Alonso is one of the most exciting managerial appointments in years — a World Cup and Champions League winner as a player, he managed Bayer Leverkusen to the Bundesliga title (unbeaten) and then had a spell at Real Madrid. He is Chelsea’s fifth permanent manager since their current owners took over in 2022.
Arne Slot was sacked as Liverpool manager at the end of the season — a shocking decision given he won the Premier League in his first year in charge. Liverpool’s second season under Slot was far less successful, and the club decided to act. Andoni Iraola, who had done brilliant work at Bournemouth, is the leading candidate to replace him.
Manchester United — Michael Carrick
Michael Carrick — the former United midfielder who had impressive results managing Middlesbrough — was appointed as United’s permanent manager. He takes over a club that finished third this season, largely thanks to Bruno Fernandes, but which has not won the Premier League since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
Crystal Palace — Oliver Glasner Leaves
Oliver Glasner, the manager who took Palace to the FA Cup and Conference League in consecutive seasons, left the club after the Europa League final. He departs having delivered two major trophies to a club that had never won anything significant before. His replacement is not yet confirmed as of publication.
What to Watch Next Season
Can Arsenal defend the title? Can the post-Guardiola City still compete? What will Xabi Alonso‘s Chelsea look like? Will the promoted clubs survive? Will West Ham bounce straight back? Next season promises to be as dramatic as the last.
