The Premier League is back, and for the first time in more than two decades, Arsenal enter a new campaign as defending champions. Here, we assess the top five outright favourites for the 2026/27 Premier League title.
ALSO READ: The 10 Biggest Football Transfers In Europe’s Top Five Leagues So Far.
After three consecutive runners-up finishes, Mikel Arteta finally led the Gunners back to the summit last season, ending their 22-year wait for the Premier League title. Manchester City finished second, while Liverpool endured a disappointing title defence and finished fifth.
Now comes arguably an even greater challenge for Arsenal: doing it again.
The champions are 2.50 favourites in the BetJets Premier League winner market, but there are compelling cases for each of their four main challengers. Manchester City are entering a new era without Pep Guardiola, Liverpool have changed managers after surrendering their crown, Manchester United are increasingly dangerous under Michael Carrick, and Chelsea possess enough talent to force themselves into the conversation.
With the summer transfer window remaining open until 1 September, squads could still change considerably after the season kicks off on 21 August.
Arsenal – 2.50
Can The Champions Do It Again?
The question surrounding Arsenal has changed.
For years, it was whether Arteta’s side could finally get over the line. Now it’s whether they can establish themselves as the dominant team in English football.
After finishing second three years running, Arsenal finally broke through in 2025/26. Manchester City’s draw against Bournemouth mathematically secured the title with a game remaining, handing the Gunners their first league championship since the Invincibles of 2003/04.
That history of near misses arguably makes them more dangerous now.
Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhães, Martin Ødegaard and the rest of Arsenal’s core know both sides of a title race. They’ve experienced the disappointment of falling short and now the pressure of getting across the line.
Arteta has also built arguably the strongest defensive platform in England.
The Premier League’s own analysis ahead of the transfer window described Arsenal as possessing a “world-leading defence”, while identifying greater directness on the left wing as an area that could take the champions to another level. Only 33 per cent of their attacks went down the left last season compared with 43 per cent on the right, illustrating how reliant they can become on Saka/Madueke’s side.
Addressing that imbalance could make an already formidable team considerably harder to stop.
There is also continuity.
While several rivals are adapting to managerial changes, Arsenal enter another campaign with Arteta’s methods deeply embedded. That stability matters enormously over 38 games.
Their opening schedule gives them an opportunity to establish momentum as well. Arsenal begin at home against promoted Coventry City before facing Aston Villa away and Chelsea at the Emirates. Liverpool do not arrive until late October, while their first league meeting with Manchester City comes at the end of November.
At 2.50, however, the market knows exactly how good Arsenal are.
They’re deserved favourites, but retaining a Premier League title is a different psychological challenge from winning one for the first time.
Manchester City – 3.75
Life After Pep Begins
This might be the most fascinating Manchester City season in more than a decade.
For the first time since 2016, Pep Guardiola will not be standing in the technical area.
His departure fundamentally changes the landscape of the Premier League. Guardiola didn’t merely win titles at City. He built the most dominant domestic machine of the modern era, winning six Premier League crowns and setting standards that forced Arsenal, Liverpool and others to evolve simply to keep pace.
The Premier League itself described his departure as the biggest change facing the competition this season.
Replacing that influence is virtually impossible.
Replacing the players is easier.
City remain loaded with elite talent and have continued refreshing a squad that had already begun transitioning away from the old Guardiola core.
One particularly significant addition is Elliot Anderson. City won the race for the England midfielder after his outstanding development at Nottingham Forest, giving them another technically secure and energetic presence in central midfield.
And then there’s Erling Haaland.
As long as City have arguably the world’s most devastating No. 9 leading their attack, they will remain capable of winning the league. Add players such as Rayan Cherki and the other young talent accumulated during City’s recent rebuild, and the incoming coach inherits considerably more than a blank canvas.
The uncertainty is structural.
How much of Guardiola’s football survives? How quickly does Enzo Maresca impose his ideas? And how will a group accustomed to one of football’s most demanding tactical minds respond to such a fundamental change?
Those questions explain why City are 3.75 rather than favourites.
Yet they also create an interesting betting proposition.
Arsenal may be the safer pick, but City’s ceiling remains enormous.
Liverpool – 6.00
Can Iraola Restore The Champions Of 2024/25?
What a difference 12 months can make.
Liverpool entered last season as defending champions. They finished fifth.
The response has been decisive.
Arne Slot is gone, and former Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola has taken charge at Anfield after guiding the Cherries to sixth place and European qualification. Iraola has made no secret of why he accepted the Liverpool job, speaking about the opportunity to compete for trophies.
Stylistically, the appointment makes sense.
Iraola’s teams are aggressive, intense and direct. His Bournemouth side became one of the league’s most uncomfortable opponents, and Liverpool possess significantly greater individual quality for him to work with.
But this is also a Liverpool side in transition.
Mohamed Salah’s departure removes one of the defining players of the club’s modern era, leaving Iraola with the enormous task of reshaping Liverpool’s attack and replacing years of guaranteed goals and assists.
The club have responded in the market.
Victor Muñoz has arrived from Osasuna, Jeremy Jacquet has joined from Rennes, and Liverpool have continued adding defensive reinforcements, including Ronald Araújo on an initial loan.
Keeping Dominik Szoboszlai is equally significant.
The Hungarian was Liverpool’s Player of the Season in 2025/26 after producing 13 goals and 12 assists across all competitions, and reports in July indicated he had agreed a long-term extension.
The question is whether Liverpool can simultaneously learn a new system, replace Salah’s output and close the gap to Arsenal.
At 6.00, you’re being compensated for that uncertainty.
If Iraola’s football clicks immediately, Liverpool have enough quality to turn that price into genuine value.
If there are growing pains, another season battling for Champions League qualification may be more realistic.
Manchester United – 7.50
The Dark Horse Nobody Will Want To Face
There is something unfamiliar about Manchester United heading into 2026/27.
Optimism based on evidence.
United’s improvement under Michael Carrick has transformed expectations around Old Trafford, and the club now enter the season as fourth favourites rather than outsiders merely hoping to sneak into the Champions League places.
The attraction at 7.50 is obvious.
United already possess match-winners, and their recruitment strategy has increasingly focused on assembling an attack capable of sustaining a genuine challenge.
Bruno Fernandes remains the heartbeat of the team, while Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Šeško give Carrick a varied collection of attacking weapons.
The Premier League highlighted United’s increasingly clear transfer strategy earlier this summer, reflecting a club attempting to build around the coach’s requirements rather than simply collecting expensive names.
That’s important.
For much of the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, United have possessed enough talent to beat anyone on a given weekend without possessing the consistency required to win 25-plus league matches.
Carrick’s challenge is changing that.
The biggest question is whether United are ready to jump directly from improvement to championship contention.
There is an enormous difference between becoming competitive again and going toe-to-toe with Arsenal and City from August until May.
But at 7.50, punters don’t need United to be the most likely champions. They need their true probability of winning the league to be greater than the odds suggest.
Of the teams outside the top three in the market, United are arguably the most intriguing.
Chelsea – 9.00
Talent Is Not The Problem
Chelsea at 9.00 might be the most difficult price on the board to assess.
The talent is undeniable.
Their squad is packed with technically gifted players, and there is enough youth for Chelsea to improve substantially from one season to the next.
But once again, change is the defining theme.
The Premier League’s summer coverage has highlighted another new chapter at Stamford Bridge, while Chelsea continue to operate aggressively in the transfer market.
There is also uncertainty surrounding key personnel.
Enzo Fernández has attracted Manchester City interest, with Chelsea reportedly valuing the Argentina midfielder at around £120 million. With the transfer window remaining open into September, that is precisely the type of potential departure that could materially change Chelsea’s title prospects.
At their best, Chelsea can compete with anybody.
Cole Palmer remains one of the league’s premier attacking players, and with the addition of Morgan Rogers, the squad contains enough depth and athleticism to overwhelm weaker opposition.
That last point is essential.
Premier League titles aren’t usually decided solely by what happens against Arsenal, City or Liverpool. They’re won by consistently turning draws into victories against the middle and bottom of the table.
Chelsea need to prove they can do that relentlessly.
At 9.00, they are priced as genuine contenders but still comfortably behind the leading trio.
That feels about right.
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