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2025–26 Premier League Table Compared to 2024–25: Biggest Improvements, Drops
Progress is seldom linear, and the illusion that things can only get better ultimately leads to disappointment.
In rare cases, improvement is steady and gradual, bereft of hiccups. Sometimes, there’s a staggering leap. At the other end of the spectrum, spectacular downturns are not merely possible, but common.
When we get to making our preseason Premier League predictions, so many of us fall foul of a more macro example of the “hot hand” fallacy. We unjustifiably form expectations about what is going to happen next based upon what has just occurred.
There are far too many variables for everything to remain the same, and there were notable differences between the 2024–25 and 2025–26 Premier League tables.
Here‘s how the two compare.
2024–25 & 2025–26 Premier League Tables Compared
Position | Club | Points Difference | Position Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
1. | Man Utd | +29 | +12 |
2. | Arsenal | +11 | +1 |
3. | Man City | +7 | +1 |
4. | Tottenham | +3 | = |
5. | Bournemouth | +1 | +3 |
6. | Everton | +1 | = |
7. | Aston Villa | -1 | +2 |
8. | Fulham | -2 | = |
9. | Brentford | -3 | +1 |
10. | West Ham | -4 | -4 |
11. | Brighton | -8 | = |
12. | Crystal Palace | -8 | -3 |
13. | Chelsea | -17 | -6 |
14. | Newcastle | -17 | -7 |
15. | Nottingham Forest | -21 | -9 |
16. | Wolves | -22 | -4 |
17. | Liverpool | -24 | -4 |
Who Had the Biggest Improvement From 2024–25?
Manchester United, far and away, experienced the biggest improvement in 2025–26, having endured their worst-ever Premier League finish under Ruben Amorim last season.
The Portuguese boss departed at the start of 2026 with United just outside the top-five, so their position was already drastically improved, but the Red Devils continued to ascend after Michael Carrick joined for his second interim managerial spell.
Carrick won 12 of 17 league games during the second half of the season, as United claimed a league-high 39 points after his appointment. Back in the Champions League thanks to a third-place finish, Man Utd earned a whopping 29 more points in 2025–26 and finished 12 places higher in the table. No wonder Carrick got the job permanently.
They’re one of just six clubs to earn more points this season than they did in 2024–25. Everton and Bournemouth each notched an extra point, although the latter were three places better off and qualified for Europe for the first time ever.
Despite their wretched season, Tottenham Hotspur actually gained three more points from the season before. They’ll hope to get over their back-to-back 17th-place finishes with Roberto De Zerbi leading the way.
The division’s top two also improved, having seen Liverpool waltz to the title last term. Arsenal were a distant second last year, but claimed 11 more points this time around to hold off Manchester City and secure their first league title in 22 years. City, meanwhile, notched seven extra points and jumped a place, but they were unable to take the title race to the final day.
Who Dropped Off the Most From 2024–25?
11 teams suffered points losses from last season, although two of them, Aston Villa and Brentford, actually improved their league position.
Villa jumped from sixth to fourth despite recording one less point, while Brentford, who many tipped for the drop after a mini summer exodus, were three points worse off but barely missed out on European soccer.
Brighton & Hove Albion earned eight fewer points yet still ended up with a Conference League berth. West Ham United’s subtle demise was the most costly, with a four-point drop enough to send them to the second tier.
There were five major declines, including the reigning champions Liverpool. They coasted to the title in Arne Slot’s first season in charge, but were pitiful for much of 2025–26. The Reds were 24 points worse off for a fifth-place finish.
Wolverhampton Wanderers finished bottom of the pile, having rallied under Vitor Pereira last season to survive. Their 22-point decline was fatal, while Nottingham Forest (-21 points) also flirted with relegation.
Chelsea and Newcastle United’s seasons of indifference leaves them without European soccer for 2026–27.
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James Cormack is a freelancer soccer writer for Sports Illustrated FC. An expert on Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, he follows Italian and German soccer, taking particular interest in the work of Antonio Conte & Julian Nagelsmann.