Ian Darke's best- and worst-case scenarios for every Premier League club

Pulses quicken at the start of a new Premier League season. It's a time to dream about what lies ahead -- or dread it. For instance, a year ago, who would have thought that a struggling Manchester United would actually finish above defending champions Liverpool or that Sunderland -- tipped to go down by nearly every pundit -- would qualify for Europe. It was a wild 2025-26 season. What will happen during this campaign? Here are some reasons to be cheerful -- and fearful -- for every Premier League club. ARSENAL Best-case scenario: Having waited 22 years for a title, the Gunners ended last season seven points clear of Manchester City. They can build a dynasty. The signing of Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle will add to the strength of their midfield and ease the workload on Declan Rice, who has run himself into the ground over the past year. Arsenal have finished in the top two for the past four seasons and they should go very close again. Worst-case scenario: With England's Ezri Konsa arriving from Aston Villa to fill the defensive void left by the injured William Saliba, it's hard to see how things could go wrong for the Gunners, but retaining the title is hard. It's possible their title rivals counter Arsenal's superb set piece routines better, and the Gunners discover that retaining the title is even harder than winning it. There's also a feeling that another major signing is needed for the problematic left wing position. ASTON VILLA Best-case scenario: The revered manager Unai Emery continues to pull rabbits from the hat, and the Europa League winners enjoy another successful year. The exciting Swiss signing Johan Manzambi gets over his knee injury to play a leading role and youngsters such as George Hemmings and Brian Madjo, both of whom starred against Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup, give Emery exciting new options. - Men's transfer grades: Rating every major summer move - Premier League kits, 2026-27: Ranking every design as they are released - ESPN FC's 2026-27 predictions: Premier League, Champions League, more Worst-case scenario: Villa do not look the same team without Morgan Rogers, transferred to Chelsea, or Youri Tielemans, who has left for Manchester United. Left back Lucas Digne has gone, too, with reports that Ollie Watkins and Emiliano Martinez could go too. Such departures will make it hard for Villa to repeat the heroics of three consecutive top-six finishes. BOURNEMOUTH Best-case scenario: The experienced German coach Marco Rose, who takes over from Andoni Iraola, makes for a seamless transition. The Cherries should continue to impress and entertain, having kept their main players on board. Worst-case scenario: Rose struggles to get the same tune from the team, particularly with the heavy workload of European football for the first time. Last season's incredible sixth-place finish turns into a bottom half struggle with the relentless schedule of matches on Thursday for the Europa League and Sunday for the Premier League. BRENTFORD Best-case scenario: Keith Andrews has bolstered last season's ninth-place finishers with record signings Mamadou Sangare and Jaidon Anthony, while aside from Jordan Henderson, there are no major player departures. If top scorer Igor Thiago can repeat his 26-goal bonanza from last season, Brentford could qualify for a first-ever foray into Europe. Worst-case scenario: The Bees' form dried up a little on the run-in last season. Was that a sign that opposition teams are figuring out how to counter their dynamic direct style of play? BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION Best-case scenario: The team's slick football entertains supporters once again, and they improve on two consecutive eighth-place finishes by showing a little more consistency. It could happen if midfield man Carlos Baleba rediscovers his best form and the club can find a good replacement for Danny Welbeck, who has left for Chelsea. New keeper Luka Vuskovic, who joined for a £50 million transfer fee, is an interesting addition. Worst-case scenario: Brighton badly miss the leadership of Welbeck and the retired James Milner. Jan-Paul Van Hecke, transferred to Spurs, might leave a hole in defense. Is the squad strong enough to cope with UEFA Europa Conference League play as well as the Premier League? If not, it spells trouble. CHELSEA Best-case scenario: New boss Xabi Alonso adds experience, tactical nous and a new mentality to what was a very chaotic scene at Stamford Bridge last season. Morgan Rogers' British record signing at £117m adds real threat, while Cole Palmer bounces back to top form after a summer of rest. Signing old heads Welbeck and Henderson proves masterful, and with no European football to distract them, Chelsea make a bold bid for the title. Worst-case scenario: With a bloated squad, Alonso finds the dressing room as hard to manage as it was at Real Madrid. The defense, now minus Madrid-bound Marc Cucurella, looks unconvincing and the fans get restless after a woeful 10th-place finish last season. COVENTRY CITY Best-case scenario: Fielding many of the men who won the Championship title last season, Frank Lampard's newly promoted team "do a Sunderland" and defy the critics predicting instant relegation. Promotion heroes like Jack Rudoni and Matt Grimes demonstrate that they can play at the Premier League level, while a handful of summer signings -- Caleb Yirenky, Loum Tchaouna, Gustavo Hamer, Carl Rushworth, Aurele Amenda -- prove good investments. Worst-case scenario: They lack the solidity, quality, squad depth and scoring ability to survive relegation, despite Lampard's knowledge of what it takes at this level. Friday night's opener at champions Arsenal is a baptism by fire. CRYSTAL PALACE Best-case scenario: Manager Pierre Sage, having done some award-winning work in France at Lens, is a great appointment to follow Oliver Glasner. Still, with top players like Adam Wharton (criminally omitted by England at the World Cup) and goal scorers Jean-Philippe Mateta and Ismaila Sarr involved, Palace have enough quality to challenge for a top half finish, especially if they make a couple more signings before the deadline. Worst-case scenario: Having lost Marc Guehi to Manchester City and Maxence Lacroix to Chelsea, Palace's defense becomes a problem. There is also the issue of whether Sage can win hearts, minds and points in this very tough league. Top players could become restless if they sense Palace lack ambition to match their own. The club is at a crossroads. EVERTON Best-case scenario: Having faded out of European contention rather tamely last season, the Toffees kick on to become a genuine top-half team after recent finishes of 16-17-15-13-13. It could happen if one of the strikers can hit 12-15 goals. Summer signings look solid -- Hayden Hackney (best player in the Championship as a box-to-box operator at Middlesbrough), Christian Norgaard to anchor midfield, Brennan Johnson and Tyrique George on the wings. James Garner and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall are contenders to play for England. Worst-case scenario: Strikers Thierno Barry and Beto fail to properly fire, and a defense that got leaky toward the end of last season again proves porous. FULHAM Best-case scenario: New manager Alvaro Arbeloa puts his Real Madrid nightmare behind him to prove doubters wrong and lead Fulham into calm waters beside the River Thames in south-west London. In a perfect world, the £34m signing of Madrid's Gonzalo Garcia -- last season he hit a marvelous a hat trick against Real Betis -- will rack up the goals alongside another new signing, midfielder Shea Charles. Finishing mid-table would be just fine in a transitional year. Worst-case scenario: The gamble on Arbeloa backfires. He struggles in his first Premier League job after only half a season of being a top-flight manager at the Bernabeu. Fulham feel the loss of two key men in Harry Wilson and Raul Jimenez, slipping into a relegation fight. HULL CITY Best-case scenario: Sergej Jakirovic's team won at Wembley in the Championship playoff final to clinch an unlikely return to the top flight. They must hope their happy knack of winning away from home somehow carries forward in the Premier League, though a cruel injury to new keeper Jack Butland hardly helps. The Tigers have not splashed the cash on headline-grabbing player signings. So, expect a siege mentality and real fight. Worst-case scenario: Relegation. IPSWICH TOWN Best-case scenario: Gary O'Neil has taken the reins from Kieran McKenna, and a bevy of new signings -- Paraguayan World Cup star Julio Enciso, Abdul Fatawu from Leicester City and Daizen Maeda from Celtic -- add pace and flair in attack. Ipswich are primed to put up a fight for survival. Worst-case scenario: Despite the improved attacking options, they concede too many goals, especially away from home, putting big pressure to win at Portman Road. Ipswich like pretty football. Something more pragmatic might be needed in what looks certain to be a relegation scrap. LEEDS UNITED Best-case scenario: After surprising many by finishing eight points clear of the drop on their return to the Premier League last season, Daniel Farke's team will be aiming to finish in the top half of the table this time around. Signing Harry Wilson from Fulham (10 league goals last season) is a real coup and if striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin can build on an excellent first year at Elland Road, Leeds can think big. Worst-case scenario: The injury-prone Calvert-Lewin misses too many games, and the team struggles to maintain last season's intensity levels. LIVERPOOL Best-case scenario: Even without Mohamed Salah, Liverpool bounce back from last season's disappointing fifth-place finish and challenge for the title under the guidance of new boss Andoni Iraola. Expect a return to something like Jurgen Klopp's "heavy metal" attacking football at Anfield. If Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz show why they commanded such huge transfer fees, Iraola's team could be even more exciting to watch than his previous club, Bournemouth. Worst-case scenario: Iraola struggles to make the step up to this bigger stage. The players take time to execute his tactics work -- his Bournemouth team did not win in his first nine games in charge. The front-foot style puts pressure on a defense that replaced Ibrahima Konate with Ronald Araujo, who was no longer first choice at Barcelona last season. MANCHESTER CITY Best-case scenario: Last season's runners-up make a seamless transition from Pep Guardiola to Enzo Maresca, who does know the territory from a previous assistant coaching stint at the Etihad. A squad that has been significantly freshened up flourishes, aided by the scoring exploits of Erling Haaland, the wing wizardry of Jeremy Doku and Antoine Semenyo, the addition of Elliot Anderson in midfield and a defense with a fit-again Josko Gvardiol. Worst-case scenario: Maresca finds Pep too big an act to follow and the old winning vibe gets lost in a locker room without John Stones, Bernardo Silva and Rodri. MANCHESTER UNITED Best-case scenario: United continue to improve under Michael Carrick and dare to dream of challenging for a title they have not won since Sir Alex Ferguson's departure in 2013. Two important midfield additions, Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans, have strengthened a key area, and with assist king Bruno Fernandes making the passes for Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko, silverware of some sort is a realistic aim so long as the defense stays solid. Worst-case scenario: The manager's warning about the need for more players to fight on four fronts -- Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and league cup -- goes unheeded. The squad looks too thin, especially if key men are hit by long-term injuries. A left back is a priority to cover for injury-prone Luke Shaw. Carrick's bandwagon loses momentum. NEWCASTLE UNITED Best-case scenario: Despite the downbeat mood among Toon fans, the little-known players signed this summer prove to be successes. Likewise, head coach Matthias Jaissle steps up impressively to fill the void left by Eddie Howe. Sights are lowered and just staying clear of trouble might be the best Newcastle can hope for. It would help if Anthony Elanga, Yoane Wissa and Nick Woltemade can come to the party after underwhelming starts in the last campaign. Worst-case scenario: The club toil after losing big talents like Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon. Jaissle comes under pressure and the new recruits struggle to make an impact. NOTTINGHAM FOREST Best-case scenario: Despite losing Elliot Anderson, Forest thrive under new boss Oliver Glasner, who won Crystal Palace's first two trophies during his tenure in London. The £34m outlay to sign Ousmane Diomande completes an impressive back three with Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo, and in the new system watch out for a link between Morgan Gibbs-White and Dan Ndoye, who gave Argentina's defense a real headache when scoring for Switzerland at the World Cup. Worst-case scenario: Forest cannot dominate in midfield without Anderson, the players struggle with Glasner's system and Igor Jesus fails to score enough in the league. SUNDERLAND Best-case scenario: Staying out of trouble in the Premier League and a strong run in one of the cup competitions or the Europa League. Keeping their inspired leader Granit Xhaka out of the clutches of Chelsea was important ahead of another challenging year, but Regis Le Bris and his players proved well up to the job last season. Worst-case scenario: The hectic schedule of European travel undermines their Premier League campaign and the team fall into lower reaches of the table. TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR Best-case scenario: A return to the "glory glory" days of chasing trophies after two shocking 17th-place finishes. Spurs have splashed the cash on new player signings -- Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes, Jan-Paul van Hecke and Andy Robertson are in so far, with reports that they are seeking a double signing of Omar Marmoush and Savinho from Man City -- and manager Roberto Di Zerbi has worked hard on changing the team's mentality, even including a boozy, team-bonding lunch with his players. Tottenham ought to be challenging for one of the European places and having a deep cup run if they can turn the upbeat mood into points on the pitch. Worst-case scenario: The malaise and injuries that have plagued Spurs for too long prove hard to shake off, and Di Zerbi's honeymoon gets cut short with fans and players alike.