The 2024-25 Premier League Has Started: Here’s what to expect

The 2024-25 Premier League season is here, and we’re here to help prime fans for another exciting year of top-flight football. 

As fans flip through the Premier League TV schedule, endless questions about the world’s most popular league run through their mind. Will Manchester City set a new record for the English top flight by winning a fifth consecutive title? Or is Arsenal’s time under the sun finally here? Will any of the newly promoted teams avoid relegation this season?

Let’s take a closer look at our guide to the 2024-25 Premier League season.

Premier League Teams

Arsenal

In North London, you’ll hear Arsenal fans declaring their all too familiar saying, “This year is our year.” Arsenal came heartbreakingly close to winning the 2023-34 Premier League title but ultimately fell to Manchester City for the second year in a row. 

When asked in a recent interview about last season’s disappointment, coach Mikel Arteta reflected, “I don’t want to get over it…we need that pain and that hunger to achieve what we want to achieve because the competition is unbelievable and we are going to need everybody feeling that way to achieve it.”

Arsenal’s roster is stacked with playmakers. Among those to watch this season are captain Martin Odegaard, defensive wall William Saliba and Golden Glove winner David Raya. And, who could forget Arsenal’s “starboy” and beloved English national player Bukayo Saka? Saka made his Premier League debut at age 17, and his infectious joy on the pitch quickly made him a fan favorite. Of course, he’s also an exceptional footballer: He has been involved with over 100 goals for the club.  

The biggest offseason addition to the club was Italian defender Riccardo Calafiori. Gunners hope Calafiori’s power on the left is what helps Arsenal get over the hump and brings a League trophy to Emirates Stadium in May. 

Aston Villa

Aston Villa surprised many folks last season when they finished in fourth place in the Premier League. Manager Unai Emery is one of the best managers in the world, and the job he did last year might be the best performance of his career, thus far. He led Aston Villa to their first Champions League qualification since 1982-1983, and as a result,  earned a contract extension until 2029.

Forward Ollie Watkins had a tremendous season last year, as he was named Premier League Playmaker of the Season. He followed up his fantastic season with an incredible goal in the Euro 2024 semifinals against Netherlands, which sent England to the finals. If Aston Villa wants to replicate last season’s top-four finish, they’ll need another great season from Watkins.

Bournemouth

Last season was a pleasant surprise for Bournemouth supporters, as they finished the season with a club-record 48 points in the Premier League. This was a great finish, considering the club didn’t earn a single win in their first nine matches of the season. With such a strong finish to last season, it’s reasonable to be optimistic about an even higher finish in the league table this season. However, losing star striker Dominic Solanke to Tottenham Hotspur could hurt the Cherries’ performance. We’ll have to wait and see if someone can manage to fill Solanke’s shoes.

Brentford

Brentford has become a bit of a feeder club for some of the best Premier League teams, producing two stars — Raya and Watkins. Though, they struggled to establish themselves in the highest league. After being promoted to the Premier League for the 2021-22 season, Brentford had two seasons where they finished in the middle of the table and finished last season 16th in the Premier League.

As of this writing, it looks like Brentford’s star player Ivan Toney will likely transfer to another club. Another 16th place finish for Brentford might be wishful thinking following the Toney transfer. 

Brighton & Hove Albion

Brighton has been on a steadily improving trajectory since 2020-21. In just two seasons they climbed up the table to finish sixth. This consistent improvement has been impressive, but it’s difficult to imagine Brighton moving up higher than sixth in the table.

Much of their success can be attributed to manager Roberto De Zerbi, who joined the Seagulls in 2022. In his first season, the squad solidified a spot in the club’s history books. Brighton finished with the fourth-most goals in the Premier League and made it to the FA Cup semi-finals. Unfortunately, they have since lost Alexis Mac Allister to Liverpool and De Zerbi to Olympique de Marseille, but they still return an impressive and exciting core in Kaoru Mitoma, Facundo Buonanotte, Julio Enciso and Evan Ferguson.

Chelsea

The manager position at Chelsea has been a game of musical chairs ever since Todd Boehly took over the club just a few years ago. Under Boehly as chairman, Frank Lampard, Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, Mauricio Pochettino and now Enzo Maresca have been managers of the club. This season, Maresca hopes to bring Chelsea back into the top-four of the Premier League after two disappointing seasons where they finished 12th in 2022-23 and sixth in 2023-24. 

The storied club has long had star after star grace the pitch. Most recently, the Blues put their faith in wunderkind Cole Palmer. The 22-year-old is one of the best young footballers in the world, and he was one of the best players in the Premier League last season. He netted 22 goals and handed out 11 assists. It’ll be fun watching Palmer develop into an even bigger star this year. We feel like Chelsea has what it takes to make the jump back into the top four this season. 

Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace finished last season in the middle of the table at 10th place, their best finish in the Premier League ever. And to be honest, it looks like that’s around where they’ll land again this season. After some mid-season drama led to the firing of manager Roy Hodgson, their new manager Oliver Glasner helped propel the team to six wins in their last seven matches of the season. Over the 13 matches that Glasner oversaw for Crystal Palace, only three Premier League clubs earned more points (traditional powerhouses Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea).

Of course with great success, comes a whole lot of attention. Bayern Munich tried to lure Glasner away from Palace, but they were rebuffed. However, they did manage to get Palace’s best player Michael Olise to join them in Germany. Though it’ll be difficult for Palace to break into the top half of the tables, nobody should count out a Glasner-led team after seeing what he accomplished last season.

Everton

This season promises to be a memorable one for Everton, as they will be saying goodbye to Goodison Park — their home of 132 years. Unfortunately, the farewell tour might not be the best for Everton from a production standpoint. The club looks like they will finish in the bottom half of the table for the fourth consecutive season. In any case, the season should feel a bit better for fans considering the team will no longer be penalized on the pitch for financial infringements.

Based on their play alone, Everton would have finished 12th in the table, but they ended up finishing 15th due to the eight-point penalty. As of this writing, it looks like Everton is discussing selling its biggest star Dominic Calvert-Lewin. If the Toffees can bring in some younger talent to energize the club, Everton may surprise us.

Fulham

At one point, Fulham was bouncing back and forth between the Premier League and Championship in a pattern of promotion and relegation. However, after two solid seasons in the Premier League, they seem to have finally found solid footing. Despite losing two of their biggest stars in Joao Palhinha and Tosin Adarabioyo, Fulham will likely finish well ahead of the bottom three. 

The biggest addition to the Cottager’s squad is Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe, and he just might be the most talented player on Fulham in the past decade. He debuted in the League at age 18 and stole the hearts of Arsenal fans everywhere, scoring 10 goals in his first season.  

Ipswich Town

Ipswich Town is a newly promoted team in the top league of English football. They are the first club since Southampton in 2012 to earn back-to-back promotions from League One to the Championship to the Premier League. Ipswich Town is led by young manager Kieran McKenna, who was one of the most sought-after managers during the offseason. It was rumored that established Premier League clubs Brighton, Chelsea and Manchester United were interested in McKenna. But the manager stayed with Ipswich Town and will lead them through their first season in the Premier League since 2021-22.

Leicester City

Leicester will always be known as the club that came out of nowhere to win the 2015-16 Premier League title. They’ve fallen on tough times in the Premier League recently and ended up relegated to the Championship last season. But, their time in the Championship was short-lived, as they won the league and earned a promotion back to the top league.

Unfortunately, their success in the Championship caught the eyes of larger clubs, and the Foxes lost their manager Enzo Maresca and star player Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to Chelsea. New manager Steve Cooper has experience leading recently promoted clubs, as he led Nottingham Forest to a promotion to the Premier League in 2021. Realistically, it looks like Leicester will finish near the bottom of the table and face relegation again unless young players Michael Golding or Abdul Fatawu evolve into a star this season.

Liverpool

For Liverpool fans, the 2024-25 season will be bittersweet. At the end of last season, beloved manager Jurgen Klopp left Anfield for the last time. In his nine seasons with the club, he collected both prestigious Premier League and Champions League titles, one FA and two EFL Cups and countless other coaching accolades. In his final press conference, Klopp said a heartfelt goodbye: “I don’t imagine that the club will need my help in the future, but if the city needs me, I’m there.”

The Reds started a new chapter led by Dutch manager Arne Slot on Saturday at newly promoted Ipswitch Town’s Portman Road. Though the team is sure to go through an adjustment period, they are likely to remain a solid squad with football titans Virgil van Dijk and Mo Salah on the pitch.

Manchester City

Under Pep Guardiola’s leadership, Manchester City might be the best dynasty in the history of the Premier League. Under Guardiola, Manchester City has amassed 16 major trophies since 2016, including five Premier League titles, a Champions League crown and two FA cups. They were the first club to earn 100 points in a single season. 

Some folks think Manchester City may lose its dominant grip on the League this season, but with Rodri, Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne on the roster, the Citizens will be hard to beat. Not to mention Jack Grealish, Ruben Dias and Bernardo Silva — who are all stars in their own right — also call the Ethihad their home.

Broadcaster Roger Bennett described the teams in competition for last season’s League title as “Arsenal are poetry. City are less prose, more computer code.” We look forward to seeing if any Davids can finally take down this Goliath in 2025. 

Manchester United

Last season was a roller coaster of disappointment and joy to Manchester United fans everywhere. They placed eighth in the Premier League table, their worst finish ever. But, they rallied to beat giant Manchester City in the FA Cup.

Manager Erik Ten Hag stayed on as manager after a successful end-of-season run overshadowed the rough season. At his previous club, dutch Ajax, he was known for a fast attacking style. We predict that Manchester United will have employ Ten Hag’s signature approach to see success this season.

Red Devil star Kobbie Mainoo had a tremendous run for England during Euro 2024, and it looks like he might have the potential to turn into the next big Premier League star. With Mainoo and Bruno Fernandes in the midfield, United might just have what it takes to compete for a spot back into the top four.

Newcastle United

Can Newcastle return to the top four after finishing seventh in the table last season? It’s possible, but it will be difficult to pull off, especially with typical powerhouses Chelsea and Manchester United overhauling their squads.

Newcastle has the richest owners in the Premier League, but they can’t just buy a team of stars due to the Premier League’s financial fair play rules. Instead, manager Eddie Howe has built the club methodically at key positions, beating traditional football powers to sign rising stars like Anthony Gordon, Alexander Isak and Bruno Guimarães over the last two and a half years. However, an offseason reshuffling of club leadership has fueled rumors Howe might leave Newcastle for the vacant England job following Gareth Southgate’s resignation. It’ll be interesting to see how this season plays out for both Newcastle and Howe.

Nottingham Forest

Since being promoted to the Premier League two seasons ago, Nottingham Forest has narrowly avoided relegation. In the past two seasons, they finished in 16th and 17th, respectively. This season, the club added Jota Silva from Vitória Guimarães in an effort to bring some more energy to the wing. It’ll be interesting to see how the “Portuguese Grealish” adapts to the Premier League.

Southampton

Southampton returns to the Premier League after spending one season in the Championship. In the second tier, they finished fourth during the regular season but earned their promotion in an exciting promotion playoff final. Southampton is the favorite to finish at the very bottom of the table this season.

Tottenham Hotspur

At the start of last season, it looked like Tottenham had a legitimate chance to win a Premier League title. However, after 10 matches, everything fell apart. Manager Ange Postecoglou’s fast-paced style went from being a match-winner to being what tore the team apart down the stretch.

If Postecoglou can make some adjustments to his tactics this season, the club might have a chance to finish in the top four. Fans rest their hopes for a comeback in the hands of Spur’s legendary forward Son Heung-Min, who has scored 162 goals for the club in his nine seasons. With support from midfielder James Madison and Cristian Romero in the back, this team could be a major competitor this season.

West Ham United

After six seasons as manager, David Moyes left West Ham. He was a steadying force for the club, but his conservative style and defensive-minded approach did not make for exciting play.  With the departure of Moyes, some folks thought that West Ham would bring in a more inspiring, attacking manager. However, West Ham seems to have brought in Moyes 2.0 in Julen Lopetegui. We expect West Ham to be a conservative club that finishes around the middle of the table. 

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Manager Gary O’Neil joined Wolves right before the 2023-24 season started. He led Wolves to 14th in the table, their lowest finish in years. But it wasn’t too disappointing of a season as the  Wolves became the first team in the season to beat goliath Manchester City. With a full summer of practice and preparation under his belt, it’ll be fun to see how the Wolves identity has evolved. Our focus is on Hwang Hee-Chan, who scored 12 goals last season. 

Premier League Schedule

With 20 teams, there are a lot of matches to watch. Keep up with the Premier League schedule as well as MLS soccer and fútbol from around the globe on DIRECTV. 

Check out our complete soccer schedule and find more information on viewing sports on either DIRECTV  or DIRECTV STREAM.

How To Watch Premier League

DIRECTV customers can watch Premier League matches on NBC and USA Network, starting with the first game on August 16. 

Don’t have DIRECTV? Let’s change that!

Premier League Highlights